Clarks shoes, brand new, rotting in their thousands - check your wardrobes now!

Doc_N

Fuzzy wrote: »

I had a Clarks pair disintegrate in the wardrobe; made a horrible mess, as I recently discovered. They hadn't been worn that much and I don't know how long I'd had them, but they were several years old, so wouldn't have had any recourse, and I didn't have the receipt

Sorry to hear that. As you say, they make quite a mess when they disintegrate.

More and more people discovering these things in wardrobes, having assumed, quite reasonably, that their shoes (often brand new and boxed) remained in the condition in which they were put away.

Gracie84

I recently has this too. We were clearing out my mums house after she died and she had boxed of shoes from Clarks. The mess is awful.

Silvertabby

Nothing new. Mr S wore his 'best' Clark's shoes to an interview some years ago. As soon as he got out of the car, both of the heels disintegrated into a crumbled mess! He rang me to ask me to bring him another pair of shoes, but I wouldn't have got there before his interview, so I could only say 'wing it'.

He got the job - even though he had to walk on the balls of his feet and left a trail of rotten rubber behind him!

Pollycat

I've posted a number of times on this thread that it's not just Clarks.
Be wary about Hotter and Ecco too.

I've personally not had an issue with Ecco but I have with Clarks (and Dunlop and a pair I bought from New York).
I had a clear out of footwear recently and 2 pair of Clarks sandals had to be thrown away.

It's not always immediately obvious either.

If you're looking at buying a pair of shoes 2nd hand, I'd advise you to bend the sole to see if they are OK.
Both pairs of Clarks sandals mentioned above split right across the sole when I bent them.
Neither had been worn much.

Doc_N

What’s really galling about all this is the total absence of any real concern or assistance from Clarks.

They don’t give a damn and just assume people will keep buying their overpriced tacky shoes regardless.

From a personal standpoint I can assure them that they don’t. No one in this entire family will ever buy their awful shoes again, and I’m sure we’re not the only ones boycotting a very poor and shabby company.

Pollycat

Doc_N wrote: »

What’s really galling about all this is the total absence of any real concern or assistance from Clarks.

They don’t give a damn and just assume people will keep buying their overpriced tacky shoes regardless.

From a personal standpoint I can assure them that they don’t. No one in this entire family will ever buy their awful shoes again, and I’m sure we’re not the only ones boycotting a very poor and shabby company.

From a personal standpoint, I can assure them that I do.
I've recently bought 2 pairs of shoes and one pair of boots from Clarks Outlet at great prices.

None of the soles are those that degrade (Not all sole types do degrade).

So the shoes I bought weren't 'overpriced and tacky' - imho of course.

They were all leather and I paid less than £50 for all 3 pairs. I'd have struggled to buy cheap shoes from Primark for that price.

Doc_N

Pollycat wrote: »

From a personal standpoint, I can assure them that I do.
I've recently bought 2 pairs of shoes and one pair of boots from Clarks Outlet at great prices.

None of the soles are those that degrade (Not all sole types do degrade).

That's exactly what people thought when they bought the ones that have disintegrated.

I admire your continued confidence in a company that's let so many people down so badly - and done precious little to help them. That, for me, is a company that doesn't deserve any customer loyalty.

This is not the old, reputable, Somerset-based, family Quaker business that looked after its customers so well over so many years. This is a bunch of sharks intent on maximising its profits by use of the cheapest materials possible, and doing precious little to help when it all goes wrong.

The recent Watchdog was an eye-opener. So many people yet to discover that vile mess at the bottom of the wardrobe that used to be a pair of Clarks shoes.

Moglex

Adding a few more pieces of anecdotal evidence:

Over the years I have had many pairs of Clarkes shoes.

Most are simply worn out. (One of the main reasons I buy them is that the soles of the 'air' brand are extremely hard wearing and I walk a lot).

Some that have been left, even if new, have got to a stage where they (the soles) will disintegrate if worn, or even if the sole is simply flexed in the hand.

Some, that are many years old, have soles that appear to be in perfect condition.


What I have never had is a pair where the soles actually disintegrate in situ, without being handled - although I can see that that is what would eventually happen if the deterioration I observed continued to worsen.

Pollycat

Doc_N wrote: »

That's exactly what people thought when they bought the ones that have disintegrated.

But I know - from experience - what type of soles used by Clarks, Hotter, Ecco, Dunlop etc do disintegrate.
I knew when I dug the 2 pair of sandals out that it was likely that the sole would split.

The new pairs I've bought don't have this type of sole.
Exactly like this:

Moglex wrote: »

Some that have been left, even if new, have got to a stage where they (the soles) will disintegrate if worn, or even if the sole is simply flexed in the hand.

Some, that are many years old, have soles that appear to be in perfect condition.

Doc_N wrote: »

I admire your continued confidence in a company that's let so many people down so badly - and done precious little to help them. That, for me, is a company that doesn't deserve any customer loyalty.

Aw shucks.
Thanks.

I don't actually have customer loyalty to any company.
I bought some shoes at a bargain price.
The soles will not disintegrate - I do have confidence in that.

Your continued refusal to accept that it's not all sole types that disintegrate mean you're either somewhat blinkered or have only bought shoes that have that type of sole.

Doc_N

Pollycat wrote: »

But I know - from experience - what type of soles used by Clarks, Hotter, Ecco, Dunlop etc do disintegrate.
I knew when I dug the 2 pair of sandals out that it was likely that the sole would split.

The new pairs I've bought don't have this type of sole.
Exactly like this:




Aw shucks.
Thanks.

I don't actually have customer loyalty to any company.
I bought some shoes at a bargain price.
The soles will not disintegrate - I do have confidence in that.

Your continued refusal to accept that it's not all sole types that disintegrate mean you're either somewhat blinkered or have only bought shoes that have that type of sole.

I fully accept that it isn't all types of sole, but I have no confidence whatever in Clarks' capability of getting it right in the future. Their track record is abysmal, and their only interest is in finding the cheapest possible material, regardless of the longer term consequences for customers. They see that as solely a customer problem, not theirs, so why should anybody trust them again?