clarks shoes & injuries to daugher

sunflower_2

Hi there

I am really not sure if this is an issue or not as when we buy a new pair of shoes we expect them to hurt for a few days until we "walk them in".

My children's school shoes have always came from Clarks or Russell & Bromley, somewhere with qualified staff to measure and fit the shoes.

I purchased a new pair for my 5 year old daughter in the Easter Holidays. Since going back to school, she has been saying the shoes hurt her - to the point of sometimes crying every morning.

As she has been crying/whining a lot lately I didn't think too much of it. But tonight whilst shopping I noticed a large patch of dried blood on her sock.
On removing the shoe & sock, there is a nasty wound.

From what I can see the buckle part of the shoe is too high for her foot, and rubs against, just under, the ankle bone thing (the bit that sticks out, sorry for my biology knowledge).

Now I was going to just take and buy her a new pair - but am I not right in thinking this is a problem with the fitting of the shoe?
Should they have noticed the problem with the height of the shoe?

The fitter was a young boy, very pleasant but clearly not very confident.
He had to get his manager to check the fitting of the shoes, all she did was ask my daughter to walk up and down the shop and then said they were fine.

Do I have any rights to return the shoes?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

splishsplash

I never expect new shoes to cause me pain and I would never (ever) buy shoes for a five year old who complained they were hurting her. As for putting them on her day after day when she cries with pain - really? You want to blame a fitter for this?

Wow.

denise38

Wow. You obviously are not the parent of a 5 year old girl or you would know that they whine and moan a lot. One of mine would claim shoes hurt her if she didn't like them so that I wouldn't buy them. Personally if I had shoes fitted by clarks I would trust that they were fitted properly and that they were either not too big or too small thus causing my child harm from rubbing.
As regards your rights i have no idea but I would definately take them back to the shop and complain if you think they were not fitted properly .

unholyangel

splishsplash wrote: »

I never expect new shoes to cause me pain and I would never (ever) buy shoes for a five year old who complained they were hurting her. As for putting them on her day after day when she cries with pain - really? You want to blame a fitter for this?

Wow.

Overly harsh imo. Its not as if OP is seeking compo for the wound. Merely asking if she can return the shoes - and openly admitted she didnt think anything of it because her daughter was crying/moaning a lot.

I'm sure she'll remember it in future should similar circumstances ever arise.

I cant remember her blaming the pain on the fitter either. Just enquiring whether he shouldve noticed this when fitting the shoe.

flashg67

splishsplash wrote: »

I never expect new shoes to cause me pain and I would never (ever) buy shoes for a five year old who complained they were hurting her. As for putting them on her day after day when she cries with pain - really? You want to blame a fitter for this?

Wow.

The shoes weren't hurting at the point of purchase, as I read it anyway?

I'm sure the OP was after some advice re returning the shoes - not thinly veiled criticism - useful :T

PS - sorry OP, don't know your rights either as they're not actually faulty but it can't hurt to ask - Clarks have a good reputation

pinkshoes

Take them back and see what they say.

Some styles of shoes don't fit certain foot shapes, so it sounds like they weren't fitted properly.

I took DS to one Clarks shop and the girl fitting measured his feet at 6.5H. The shoes were so hard to get on, but she insisted they were right. Went to a different Clarks where they measured him a 6.5H again, but she realised straight away that this shoe type wasn't suitable unless he went up a size.

See what they say...

kazzah60

as a clarks qualified and trained shoe fitter I can confidently tell you that we are TRAINED to check this point before agreeing that the shoes fit - the shoe fitter should run their thumb UNDER the ankle bone to ensure the shoe is not sitting too high and causing this type of problem

whilst this isn't a fault in the shoe ( childrens bone lengths vary considerably) it IS a fault in the fitting of the shoe and as such the OP is entitled to a refund or replacement pair

take them back to the shop and insist on seeing the manager
don't take no for an answer

iammumtoone

Take her back to clarks straight away so they can see the harm the shoes have caused and ask for the manager. The staff need to be re-trained so no more children experience this. If my 5 year old moaned because of his shoes I would carry on as normal like you did. as I expect a lot of parents with a 5 year old would.

Clarks are very good and I would expect you will get a free of charge replacement but this isn't the main issue the shop need to be aware of this, if they have a lot of complaints it may even be a design fault in the shoe.

When we go to clarks they always say to come back if any problems.

iammumtoone

kazzah60 wrote: »

as a clarks qualified and trained shoe fitter I can confidently tell you that we are TRAINED to check this point before agreeing that the shoes fit - the shoe fitter should run their thumb UNDER the ankle bone to ensure the shoe is not sitting too high and causing this type of problem

never noticed this being done before but I suppose it would be easy to miss, I will check next time and mention it, if this test isn't carried out. thanks

juno

I had a similar issue - ironically, my mum used to fit my shoes herself, and the one time she didn't I got injured! It was with Gordon Scott and I was a bit older, but when we went back the shop were really apologetic and I ended up with different shoes that were personally checked and approved by the manager.

sunflower_2

splishsplash wrote: »

I never expect new shoes to cause me pain and I would never (ever) buy shoes for a five year old who complained they were hurting her. As for putting them on her day after day when she cries with pain - really? You want to blame a fitter for this?

Wow.

yes - i admit i should have taken more notice. but she was whining about her socks being "squiggly?", her vest being too scratchy, pants too soft etc...

she was dancing around in the shop - loved her new shoes.
the complaints only came when getting ready for school, with all the other whines stated above.

i honestly thought she was just being a little bratt until i noticed the blood

as for the fitter - i explained he was very pleasant - i do not blame him at all as he was not confident in his role. i do however, think the manager could have made more of an effort to check the fitting. this is the reason i thought i may be entitled to exchange the shoes for those which fit properly.

splishsplash - i already feel terrible for making her wear the shoes (if that makes you feel any better).

thanks everyone else for your helpful advice

since i noticed the blood she has been wearing her old shoes as she hadn't changed size, they were just getting a bit grubby.

i will go to clarks tomorrow and explain - see what they say

thanks again and will let you know