Handmade boots not made as my specification

saz67

Hello,
My father sadly passed away in 2019 and I decided to get some handmade leather boots made for myself out of my inheritance. I have wide feet and its been a dream since I was a teenager.
So, after a long process of having my feet fitted, choosing the leather and unable to go for my first fitting for over a year due to Covid, I finally took ownership of them yesterday. 
I realised that they were shorter than the template I had given them, ie my old boot. I don't like them as they are too short on my leg.
This evening I decided to measure my old boot and the new ones, the difference is 1.5cm shorter.
I am not sure what my rights are? 
Can I ask for a full refund, as they have not been made to my specifications?  Or should I ask them to get the 'uppers' of the boot remade to the correct height as requested and ask for some compensation. The boots were VERY expensive. 
Thanks in advance for any advice given. 

DB1904

saz67 said:

Hello,
My father sadly passed away in 2019 and I decided to get some handmade leather boots made for myself out of my inheritance. I have wide feet and its been a dream since I was a teenager.
So, after a long process of having my feet fitted, choosing the leather and unable to go for my first fitting for over a year due to Covid, I finally took ownership of them yesterday. 
I realised that they were shorter than the template I had given them, ie my old boot. I don't like them as they are too short on my leg.
This evening I decided to measure my old boot and the new ones, the difference is 1.5cm shorter.
I am not sure what my rights are? 
Can I ask for a full refund, as they have not been made to my specifications?  Or should I ask them to get the 'uppers' of the boot remade to the correct height as requested and ask for some compensation. The boots were VERY expensive. 
Thanks in advance for any advice given. 

If they remake them to the correct specification why do you think you should also get compensation?

saz67

Fair enough, I guess I am disappointed. But you have a point. 

Sandtree

What happened at the fittings such that you didnt notice the length issue? Presumably we're talking about the shaft/leg of the boot being shorter?

Presumably you mean bespoke rather than simply handmade? You can walk into many shops in London and find fully handmade shoes and boots sold as ready to wear off the shelf

MalMonroe

What agreement did you sign?

If you're not happy, the first thing to do is contact the manufacturer, tell them you paid a lot of money and you are not happy. See what they can do to help you.

There's some really good information in the following link from Citizens Advice about the Consumer Rights Act 2015, with a number to phone to enquire about what you can do. See the section under the heading "What do I need to know?"

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/our-work/citizens-advice-consumer-work/the-consumer-rights-act-2015/

Alderbank

Your rights are to get whatever was agreed in the contract.

Be polite and don't get upset. Contact them and explain what has happened. Email is good because everything is documented. 

Hopefully they will be as sorry as you are and will put things right. They will ask you to return the boots, you should take photographs before you do so.

They are the experts so I would be cautious about telling them exactly what to do. That's their problem.

The outcome should be that you get exactly what you paid for or if they can't do that you get a full refund. You should not expect to get back more than you paid, although a thoughtful firm might make an ex gratia payment or send you some flowers if it was their fault.

Edited to add:
They might offer a discount for you to keep them but you don't have to agree if that's not what you want.

saz67

I am shy and when I had my fitting i did notice that it was a little shorter but didn't have a tape measure and was worried to say something, as the uppers were made by a separate company. They were bespoke. They made a last for me.

saz67

Thanks for the link to the Citizens advice. 
I'm not sure how to reply to everyone individually. 
Thank you for everyone's suggestions.
I think I will email them and send the photos I have taken of my boot and the boots they made for me, with a tape measure showing the different heights. Asking that they rectify the fact they are not the height I specified. Then see what they say. 

Sandtree

saz67 said:

I am shy and when I had my fitting i did notice that it was a little shorter but didn't have a tape measure and was worried to say something, as the uppers were made by a separate company. They were bespoke. They made a last for me.

Making something truly bespoke likes shoes or suits etc then the fitting process is critical because you take measurements all you want but nothing replaces trying it on and communicating with the cutter (and whatever the shoe equivalent is) on how things are as you move etc. Some are trying to use tech to scan feet etc but its not materially better than an expert with a tape measure because it only captures the foot in one or two positions.

Are you sure the boot looks too short rather than simply being slightly shorter than you specified? If it looks wrong it should have looked wrong at the fittings. Measuring after can influence your views.

Your plus side is that whilst bespoke footwear is very expensive most companies make little to nothing on the first pair and want a good relationship such that you come back and get more made off the same last which is where they make more monies... some eastern european companies go for a different model and charge more for the first pair to cover the last making and less on subsequent pairs but few UK (or US) makers have adopted this.

Personally, try them on again and make sure you think they are actually to short rather than believing they are too short because what the tape measure says. If you still think they are wrong then talk to the company, and probably worth acknowledging that you didnt mention anything during the fittings. They wont refund but will make adjustments/replace the shaft

DB1904

saz67 said:

I am shy and when I had my fitting i did notice that it was a little shorter but didn't have a tape measure and was worried to say something, as the uppers were made by a separate company. They were bespoke. They made a last for me.

saz67 said:

Thanks for the link to the Citizens advice. 
I'm not sure how to reply to everyone individually. 
Thank you for everyone's suggestions.
I think I will email them and send the photos I have taken of my boot and the boots they made for me, with a tape measure showing the different heights. Asking that they rectify the fact they are not the height I specified. Then see what they say. 

So they have made what you were measured for and have completed the contract. The problem here is you didn't inform them at the time they weren't what you wanted. 

saz67

Thank you for your long and in depth reply. When I arrived for my first and only fitting, the uppers had already been attached and I did comment on a buckle fitting that needed adjusting, as it didn't allow for any adjustments when the leather starts to stretch. Unfortunately, that hasn't been done either. 
The boots are definitely shorter than my old ones and just do not look right on my legs. I have spent the day trying to convince myself they look alright, but they simply don't. Which is why I got out the tape measure to confirm what my eyes were naturally seeing. I have a form of Bipolar which means I have quite an eye for being precise and plus it means I am scared of confrontation. 
I didn't mention the fact they were shorter at the time of fitting because I knew the uppers had been made miles away at another company and I didn't want to cause trouble. I do not like confrontation. 
I guess it won't make any difference now, as the uppers were already attached when I tried on the boot and I guess its a case of getting new uppers made.