UGG Australia - AVOID!

donnac2558

slopemaster wrote: »

Thanks.
I've had Emu's before, and maybe next time I'll try the Ozwear.

I wanted real Aussie uggs, and I don't get all this "Deckers are the only real uggs" thing

Deckers are the company who make what everyone calls Ugg Boots as we know them. The original genuine Ugg Boots are made and sold by Deckers only. Other companies use the term Ugg Australia etc are a generic brand of boot which are copies.

People get dazzled and see made in Australia Ugg Boots. The real Ugg boots made by Decker have always been made in China.

wealdroam

slopemaster wrote: »

When I was in Australia recently I ordered a pair of Uggs online from UggAustralia.
SO disappointed when they arrived and the whole seam on the back of one boot was unstitched, just a gaping hole!

Having seen their website (“the only Aussie sheepskin footwear manufacturer preparing materials in our own tannery in Melbourne, Australia…We are proud of our land, our products, and our name…”) I pretty much assumed they would be mortified that such a bad fault had got through their quality control and would want to sort it out immediately. But no. Turns out it is all spin.

I have been e-mailing back and forth for 3 weeks, have sent photos of the fault, and have returned the boots. There has been no hint of an apology; instead they refer me to their small print which says
“we do not provide refunds but offer repair or exchange of incorrect or faulty product”.
A replacement is not an option as I am no longer in Australia, and they will not send them to me here. According to the official Australian consumer watchdog, the ACCC, you have the right to ask for your choice of a replacement or refund. Also it is against the law for businesses to tell you that they do not give refunds.

This is not some crappy ripoff website; this is the “real” UggAustralia; the only fully Australian-made ugg boots in the world. (They are sold as Roman & Ludmila overseas because Deckers registered ‘Ugg’ as a trademark in the US.)
Their managing director says in the press “It's about the loyalty that people know because they've tested one of those products that falls apart…”:rotfl:
Yet there seems to be no quality control on their products, and their customer service is appalling.

OK, I think the message in you title will be heeded.

As you have pointed out, they do not ship to addresses outside Australia, so there is little likelihood of anyone in the UK falling foul of their 'appalling customer service'.

slopemaster

donnac2558 wrote: »

... The original genuine Ugg Boots are made and sold by Deckers only. Other companies use the term Ugg Australia etc are a generic brand of boot which are copies.

I think its the other way round.
Originally, ugg was a generic (Aussie) term for sheepskin boots.
Then an Aussie who moved to the US and started seelling them, registered the name.
I(ve just had a look, and its complicated

Extracts from the Wikipedia article Ugg boots trademark disputes UGG is a registered trademark in the US, Europe and many other countries. There have been various disputes within Australia, Europe, and the United States about the validity of Ugg trademark.

Deckers trades as Ugg Holdings, Inc. in Australia, where it is known for a trademark dispute over the use of the widely used term uggs.


In 1971, Australian surfer Shane Steadman began selling ugg boots and registered the name Ugh-boots as a trademark in Australia. In 1979 Brian Smith, another Australian surfer, brought several pairs of Australian-made sheepskin boots to the US and began selling them in New York and California. He set up Ugg Holdings Inc. and in 1985 registered a US trademark on a rams head logo with the words "Original UGG Boot UGG Australia. In 1995, he sold his interest to Deckers Outdoor Corporation.


It was only in the early 2000s, when demand for ugg boots was soaring and Australian manufacturers began selling uggs over the Internet, that Deckers' law firm began a serious effort to halt Australian companies from using the word "ugg"...


In 2005, the validity of the UGG trademark was challenged in Federal Court in California; the court ruled for Deckers, stating that consumers in the United States consider Ugg to be a brand name.


Australian manufacturers formed the Ugg Boot Footwear Association to fight the corporation's claim, arguing that "ugg" is a generic term referring to flat-heeled, pull-on sheepskin boots. They further argued that Australian manufacturers had been making and trading this style of boot for decades, including in the US. ..... Their legal action was successful in 2006, and the UGH-BOOT registration was removed from the Australian Trademark Registry. The officer who heard the case stated that the "evidence overwhelmingly supports the proposition that the terms (ugg, ugh and ug boots) are interchangeably used to describe a specific style of sheepskin boot and are the first and most natural way in which to describe these goods." The ruling only applies in Australia...

slopemaster

wealdroam wrote: »

OK, I think the message in you title will be heeded.

As you have pointed out, they do not ship to addresses outside Australia, so there is little likelihood of anyone in the UK falling foul of their 'appalling customer service'.

Well, they do...but onder another name because of the trademark dispute! Anyway, you're probably right

Pollycat

You could also consider Kiwis:
https://www.kiwisheepskins.com/

I don't think they are as good quality as UGGs but I wear their (kids) boots as slippers in the winter.

And this company based in Cornwall:
https://www.celticandco.com/

slopemaster

Bookmarked for future reference, ta

pulliptears

Best pair I ever owned were by a company called 'Warmbat'.

http://www.warmbat.com/en/home/

At the time there was an eBay company selling off a few pairs and I paid £55 delivered. They outlasted my Decker Uggs and I still use them now as my bad weather pair.
Unfortunately dropping on them now is bloody difficult