Am I being unreasonable?

1399steve

Hi all, just want a quick straw poll as to whether I'm being reasonable in my expectations.

I bought some shoes for £70 at the end of October. Since then I've worked out that I've worn them 37 times (yes I'm that sad!) in my carpeted office at work. The heels have started to go and the sole has started to come away from the shoe which I think is shocking given the cost and the length of time I've had them.

The shop has offered a re-heel or a 50% refund but I don't think this is good enough. I'm holding out for a full refund or a replacement at the very least - do you think I'm being reasonable?

If the shop don't agree then what's my next escalation? I'm already dealing with shop owner and the manufacturer doesn't want to know

arcon5

They've offered to repair them so they've met their legal obligations. You can request a replacement or refund, but they can reject it if basically the cost is greater to them than a repair.

I work out you've worn them equivalent to every other day, so I'm thinking by offering a 50% refund it brings to price down to what you could expect through wear and tear on a £35 pair of shoes

mo786uk

2.5 months and 37 wears is probably too late to be asking for a full refund (i.e rejecting the goods). A free reheel is probably reasonable or a slightly higher refund.

SarahCarer

What brand are they?

UsernameAlreadyExists

37 wears? I wear the same pair of work shoes 5 days a week. So that's less than 2 months of "daily" use. If my shoes conked out in that time I'd be appalled. I don't think you're being unreasonable, but the timeframe is working against you. And switching sides to the Shop owner ... it's hardly his/her fault and they seem to have no comeback on the mfr, so they're losing out.
I'd take whatever I could, and get something else.

techno12

Amazon gave me a full refund of my £60 Timberland shoes after 11 months of wearing them every other day (one of them started letting in water and they were my 'waterproof pair')

I was very surprised by that (I asked for a swap but they didn't stock the shoes anymore), and I bought a different pair from Amazon using the refund.

So, in your case I'd definitely be expecting a repair/replacement as I know it can be done. Of course, very few businesses have Amazon-style superb customer service...

1399steve

Quite a mix of opinions so far. I don't really want to name the brand but its a well known brand with a reputation for quality which is why I bought them - I expected them to last.

On the basis of the responses so far, "reasonableness" is quite subjective and more variable than I expected, looking forward to see if consensus will go one way or another.

To answer one of the other points made I'm not sure what comeback the shop has with the mfr but I presume they would have some comeback. When I said that the mfr is not interested, what I mean is that they won't deal with me directly

SarahCarer

Why don't you want to name the brand?

pinkshoes

I think their offer to repair them is more than fair.

If they break again, take them back again.

If you've worn them 37 times, then they're clearly comfortable, so go for the repair!

1399steve

Didn't want to name the brand because I don't think it's fair to "name and shame" a company on an internet forum for what may be a one-off problem.

I think I'll probably just accept the repair, albeit reluctantly!

vyle

techno12 wrote: »

Amazon gave me a full refund of my £60 Timberland shoes after 11 months of wearing them every other day (one of them started letting in water and they were my 'waterproof pair')

I was very surprised by that (I asked for a swap but they didn't stock the shoes anymore), and I bought a different pair from Amazon using the refund.

So, in your case I'd definitely be expecting a repair/replacement as I know it can be done. Of course, very few businesses have Amazon-style superb customer service...

Considering how much amazon is worth and how much tax they DON'T pay (consider that this shoe seller likely pays full tax, while Amazon is keeping millions and millions of free money) so they can afford a free pair of shoes and more. Most companies can't just keep absorbing that kind of loss.