Shoe Zone denied warranty 2months old.

al4

Warning, don't repair broken goods yourself if under warranty! My son's shoes had a gaping hole after 20 days use, only bought the shoes in November. Shoe Zone refused to replace or refund on the basis that we had applied glue to get us through the school week. The shoes were only £12.99 but should have lasted longer than that!

filevans

they are just trying to worm their way of it with any excuse they can think of, as i took my shoes back after just 3 months when the soles had worn completely through to the other side, and their attitude was absolutely terrible, they refused to exchange them on the basis they had "worn out"? yes that's why i was taking them back, they shouldn't wear out after 3 months, when they were not even the main shoes i was wearing, as i was using other shoes during that period too

ive since wrote to them about it and they have refused to do anything about it. Terrible company and terrible customer services

ikati5

There is a different law regarding footwear to other goods, in the customers favour, the glue is irrelevant the shoes are not fit for purpose.

Contact your cab.

lateandlive

ikati5 - I'd be intrigued to see the *special* law just for footwear. if you can find a copy online it'd be interesting reading.

al4 - your problem, and I appreciate your desire to keep your son's feet dry, is the fact you tried to repair the shoes yourself. If you'd returned them when the hole appeared then you'd have stood a chance of getting the remedy you were after. I say 'stood a chance' because it depends a lot on what your son was doing in the shoes. If he was kicking a football round at break times for example (and I'm not suggesting he was!) then that's not what they're designed to do.

Bear in mind this statement from the Office of Fair Trading's website:

Circumstances when customers do not have a legal right to a refund, repair or replacement.

Customers do not have a legal right to a refund, repair or replacement from you if they:
accidentally damaged the item
misused it and caused a fault
tried to repair it themselves or had someone else try to repair it, which damaged the item

ikati5

I have previously been employed as store manager for a high street shoe shop.

The Sale of Goods Act covers the purchase of most things from shops, suppliers and online or mail order retailers. It also details the retailers obligations in situations where you have to return an item to them take on the basis that it is damaged or faulty – or both.

Your statutory rights

One of your principal statutory rights is the expectation that the item will be of reasonable quality. This also includes fitness for purpose specified, appearance and finish, freedom from minor blemishes, safety and durability. The failure of the product to meet any one of these criteria is a breach in your statutory rights, enabling you to go back to the retailer, even after some months of use.

It is all in the wording.. of satisfactory quality – last for the time you would expect it to and be free of any defects

The cab used to have a print out on the sale of goods act and faulty footwear.

lateandlive

ikati5 wrote: »

I have previously been employed as store manager for a high street shoe shop.

The Sale of Goods Act covers the purchase of most things from shops, suppliers and online or mail order retailers. It also details the retailers obligations in situations where you have to return an item to them take on the basis that it is damaged or faulty – or both.

Your statutory rights

One of your principal statutory rights is the expectation that the item will be of reasonable quality. This also includes fitness for purpose specified, appearance and finish, freedom from minor blemishes, safety and durability. The failure of the product to meet any one of these criteria is a breach in your statutory rights, enabling you to go back to the retailer, even after some months of use.

It is all in the wording.. of satisfactory quality – last for the time you would expect it to and be free of any defects

The cab used to have a print out on the sale of goods act and faulty footwear.

Thanks, but with respect - that's just a truncated explanation of the SoGA, not the 'different' law regarding footwear that you mentioned initially.

The failure of the item to meet those criteria is a breach in your statutory rights as long as the product was used for the purpose it was intended. If I bought a pair of flip flops and tried to do a 5 mile run in them, and they fell apart, then I can't take them back to the shop and claim a breach of my rights under law - that's not what the product is designed for.

If the OP's son has simply used the product to walk to, from and around his school in then fair enough. Again, though, they're not designed for playing football in.

The stumbling block wasn't so much the fault in the shoe, more the fact the OP glued them together herself rather than returning them when the fault was found.

narabanekeater

Ive had similar problems that why ive voted with my feet (excuse the pun) maybe write to head office

ikati5

I didn't say special.. If the op speaks to an advice centre she will get her refund in full regardless of glue. Shoe shops will not agree immediately to refunding, they are a business, I doubt very much if her school age son was wearing flip flops, however as 'footwear' covers sandals to pit boots, the fit for purpose rule for footwear is open to interpretation and is not cut and dried as it is for some other retailers.

wealdroam

OK, not 'special', just different...

ikati5 wrote: »

There is a different law regarding footwear to other goods...

s_b

£12.99 for a pair of school shoes is ridiculous
go buy your child some proper shoes OP

lateandlive

ikati5 wrote: »

I didn't say special.. If the op speaks to an advice centre she will get her refund in full regardless of glue. Shoe shops will not agree immediately to refunding, they are a business, I doubt very much if her school age son was wearing flip flops, however as 'footwear' covers sandals to pit boots, the fit for purpose rule for footwear is open to interpretation and is not cut and dried as it is for some other retailers.

I sincerely doubt the OP bought her son pit boots for school.

I also disagree with the generalisation that 'Shoe shops will not agree immediately to refunding' - there are a large proportion that will, but only in the correct circumstances.

The fit for purpose term is definitely open to interpretation, but I still maintain that a shoe is fit for the purpose of being a shoe, not taking the place of a trainer.

The OP will also not walk into an advice centre and 'get her refund in full regardless of glue'. If that is the case, may I suggest you contact Consumer Direct and the OFT and inform them of their inaccuracies in their interpretation of the SoGA?