Running Spikes - Inherent Fault (Six Years To Make A Claim?)

pinkshoes

neilmcl said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

What make are they?  I'm amazed Sports Direct sell spikes.  Bit too specific for them - difficult to wear as "fashion" accessories.

What amazes me is that anyone would think about buying something like this from the likes of SD in the first place.

OP, consumer rights aside, I think you in for a struggle to get these replaced or refunded by Sports Direct.

My school had them as a requirement for athletics in the summer so we used to just buy a cheap pair that would do! Only the more serious track athletes bothered with 'posh' running spikes!

Manxman_in_exile

Where was Lillywhites in Nottingham?  We lived down the road in Derby for a few years in the 80s.

neilmcl

Manxman_in_exile said:

Where was Lillywhites in Nottingham?  We lived down the road in Derby for a few years in the 80s.

On Clumber Street, where Sports Direct are now.

jimbo6977

One of the unfortunate unintended consequences of the work of Martin Lewis (inter alia) is that the vast bulk of consumers only want cheap cheap cheap and never mind the quality, which is why mid-market companies cannot survive and end up in the hands of Mike Ashley.

SD sells lots of spiked shoes for running, cricket, golf....

First question to ask is how much (money and/or bother) is an unused pair of 3.5yo running spikes worth? 

unholyangel

Sandtree said:

neilmcl said:
What amazes me is that anyone would think about buying something like this from the likes of SD in the first place.

Are SD really that bad? Sure their main target market are not serious sports people/athletes but amongst the "fashion" sportswear there does tend to be at least some reasonably priced mid market offerings as long as you don't need advice. 

Yes, they really are. 

They have a long and very blemished history on multiple fronts. Such as purchasing trusted brands (that were used by professionals - they were that trusted/established) and then stripping out the quality so it's just cheap tat. 

They have had more than a few posts on them over the years on here - whether it be due to the quality, the fact their returns policies often contradict (not just subjectively, but outright) consumer rights/law, that some of their trading practices have been deemed unfair or misleading etc. I'm also pretty sure I remember them doing something dodgy with the mugs. Whether it was adding & charging for them automatically or making their consumer rights contingent on the mug, I can't remember. Just remember thinking how crackers they are to do it. They've manipulated prices to mislead consumers - sometimes by using their ownership of the brands I mentioned above. 

Then you have the treatment of workers & the minimum wage controversy - severe docking of wages for minor infractions & not paying them for time which was actually working time. More recently there was also SD declaring themselves as an essential service & that the covid lockdown didn't apply to them.  I believe there has also been issues with the football teams the owner invested in. 

And that's just what I remember. Ever want a scandal? Just wait 6 months & mike ashley won't disappoint. 

DoaM

Re. the mugs ... as I recall, they were adding them to online orders as a compulsory (and payable) item - there was no mechanism to remove them from online orders. This fell foul of consumer protection rules on the basis of making orders contingent on compulsory upselling.

Spank

Makes my skin itch to defend SD, but some of brands they bought, they were going downhill and that's why SD picked them up on the cheap

Manxman_in_exile

neilmcl said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

Where was Lillywhites in Nottingham?  We lived down the road in Derby for a few years in the 80s.

On Clumber Street, where Sports Direct are now.

Must have been after my time then?  Haven't been back to Nottingham since 1987.  Mind you we never got much further than Yates' wine lodge (ah! - the string quartet in the gallery... ), the Salutation and the Laguna Tandoori.

EDIT:  We were last there for a England NZ test match.  After play we somehow managed to blag our way into some sort of party in a marquee.  My wife was much amused watching a well know England bowler (not Botham) chatting up Gladstone Small's GF.

Manxman_in_exile

jimbo6977 said:

One of the unfortunate unintended consequences of the work of Martin Lewis (inter alia) is that the vast bulk of consumers only want cheap cheap cheap and never mind the quality, which is why mid-market companies cannot survive and end up in the hands of Mike Ashley.

SD sells lots of spiked shoes for running, cricket, golf....

First question to ask is how much (money and/or bother) is an unused pair of 3.5yo running spikes worth? 

I think there's some truth in that (especially regarding the Dunlop brand and possibly Karrimor) but I'd find it difficult to believe of names like Field & Trek and Sweatshop. (I'm not sure about Evans'bikes.  I think I had heard they did have financial troubles). I assume the owners simply cashed in by selling - or in the case of Sweatshop, Chris Brasher's estate, after he died.  It just seems like reputational asset stripping to me.

EDIT:  There's two SDs near me and I'd have to say their staff always seem very good and fairly happy.  Never had to deal with CS.

unholyangel

DoaM said:

Re. the mugs ... as I recall, they were adding them to online orders as a compulsory (and payable) item - there was no mechanism to remove them from online orders. This fell foul of consumer protection rules on the basis of making orders contingent on compulsory upselling.

That rings a bell! Although I was thinking more like giving free mug with chargeable delivery & then refusing refund (under CRA or CCR) when customer didn't return said free mug that they never asked for but got anyway. I seem to recall in some instances, they'd disposed of the mug either to someone else or because it had arrived damaged. 

ETA: I suppose you could say they were "taken for a mug". I'll get my coat.