Distance Selling Regs and shoes that I have worn.

cylmax

Hello,

I'm a newbie so please be gentle with me but I need some advice on a pair of Cross Country running shoes that I bought online recently.

The facts are:

Ordered online - Monday 10th Dec 2012
Paid by Credit Card
Received delivery on Thursday 13th Dec 2012

Ok, so simply, I wore these running shoes today (Sunday 16th Dec) for the first time in a cross country race and they were completely useless. I had to dig them out of the mud twice during some of the heavier sections and they provided hardly any traction.

Before I place the order online I called the merchant to confirm that the size I was ordering was right for this type of shoe (giving him my regular shoe size for reference).

My questions are:

1. Even though they have been worn once, in treacherously muddy conditions, can I still return them under the Distance Selling Regulations?
2. If so, when do the goods have to be received back by the merchant?

I have cleaned them to look like new but I not going to claim they are unworn. I have all the original packaging for them, if that makes any difference.

Many thanks in advance for your kind advice.

Mark

miduck

If they are not fit for purpose you would need to reject them under the Sale of Goods Act, not the DSRs.

ThumbRemote

Theoretically you can send them back under the DSRs and the retailer would give you a full refund, they would then decide to sue you for the loss of value of the goods you returned.

In practice they aren't going to accept back worn shoes, so the DSRs are unlikely to work for you.

artbaron

I bought some hiking shoes from Amazon (about £90) and wore them for a few miles. They rubbed on the heel so I returned them explaining I'd worn them and they were uncomfortable. Amazon said return within 30 days and I'd get a refund, which I did and the refund was processed immediately. I don't think there should be any problem if the shoes are undamaged and unmarked and there's a genuine problem, but if they are damaged or stained and you just didn't think they were much good then you might encounter problems. (and bear in mind my purchase was with Amazon, who in my experience are 100% when it comes to customer service).

techno12

Agree with the above post about Amazon, so if you're buying from there you ought to be ok.

I returned some shoes to Amazon after 11 months (worn over 50 times at a guess) and got a full refund as one of them had started letting in water. They were meant to be waterproof and I'd bought them as my winter 'waterproof pair'. Amazing service!

cylmax

Many thanks for the informative replies.

I bought them from a merchant I had not used before so I am yet to see how they react. I called them today and before I could even explain what was wrong they just said "Yep, no problem, just fill out the returns form and pop them in the post. Bye".

I'm hoping that's an indication that they are a no quibbles kind of outfit.

In all honestly the shoes offered me nothing in terms of performance so I will be very upset if I end up with them back on my doorstep.

Thanks again.

Mark