ECCO shoes self destructing. Hardly worn but probably seven years old. Fit for purpose?

nonlinear

I bought an expensive set of Ecco boots about seven years ago. For various reasons I've hardly worn them, they have been in storage in a wardrobe. I tried to wear them recently and discovered the heels have completely disintegrated. They could not have been worn more than a dozen times. These are a smart casual type of boot that reasonably would be worn occasionally on special occasions. I would expect them to last a lot longer than this. I have other footwear much older than this that have taken a real beating and still going strong.  Do I have recourse under the consumer rights act?  

Manxman_in_exile

Not after more than 6 years.

Assuming these are synthetic rather than leather heels, there is always a possibility that the material will degrade  over time.

mikb

Manufacturing defect. Also affected Budgens, Hotter and other brands -- the soles disintegrate if you don't use them. Google "shoes disintegrating soles" -- there have been threads on here about it too.

https://sootheyourfeet.com/are-ecco-shoes-good

Scroll to "ECCO Shoes Complaints & Sole Problems"

"... quick to refund ..." ... so you might get a goodwill gesture from the manufacturer, if lucky?

Pollycat

Lots of posts on here about this.
Clarks included.
I'll post links when I'm on my laptop.

nonlinear

Thanks for all your comments. I had seen the previous posts, but nothing recently. I see this as a design fault, Ecco used the wrong material, in the same way Lancia used the wrong steel, incorrectly protected in the Beta. I am aware that the consumer rights act only extends to 6 years but I was wondering if there is any other legal course of action. I have emailed Ecco and they are fobbing me off. I bought them in a shop so supposedly I have to complain to the store, but there isn't one near me. 
Realistically my best course may be to see if a cobbler can put some new heels on for me, and never buy Ecco again. 

Manxman_in_exile

It's not the Consumer Rights Act that is your problem.  The 6 year limit is an overall legal limit imposed by the Statute of Limitations.  (Can't remember off hand which is the one that currently applies).

You can't issue any kind of civil legal proceedings after 6 years have passed* after whatever happened that you want to sue about.  If you bought them over 6 years ago you don't really have any legal remedy.  But there's nothing to stop you complaining to Ecco and they may give a goodwill gesture.


*You might be able to argue that the 6 years should only run from when you discovered the damage or fault.  But I'm pretty certain that that is qualified by when you should reasonably have discovered the fault.  I don't think buying them over 6 years ago, only wearing them a couple of times and discovering the damage now would be "reasonable" in the eyes of the law.

Alderbank

Even if you could have got round the Statute of Limitations, the most you would be able to claim would be a fraction of the purchase price discounted for the expected life remaining.
https://theshoesnobblog.com/how-long-should-my-shoes-last/

How Long Should My Shoes Last?
if you buy the Ecco, you just might get 2-7 years out of them. 

So after 7 years you would not have got very much

TELLIT01

Rather different situation, but I had a pair of walking boots which I used a lot prior to injuring my knee.  They then sat, unused for about 3 years, and when I wore them again the stitching started to break apart.  I simply bought a new pair of boots but mentioned what had happened.  The sales person, and this was in a specialist outdoor wear supplier, said that because the thread in the stitching wasn't being flexed regularly it became stiff and brittle.  Presumably the same can happen to any material which is supposed to be flexible but is left in the same position for an extended period.

We had a similar issue with pairs of shoes which my wife no longer wore, but would still have been good enough for a charity shop.  When we checked some of those, which had been in the wardrobe for a couple of years, the glue had failed and the soles were coming away from the uppers.

mikb

Alderbank said:

Even if you could have got round the Statute of Limitations, the most you would be able to claim would be a fraction of the purchase price discounted for the expected life remaining.
https://theshoesnobblog.com/how-long-should-my-shoes-last/

How Long Should My Shoes Last?
if you buy the Ecco, you just might get 2-7 years out of them. 

So after 7 years you would not have got very much

Yeah, but that's 2-7 years of USE. I would argue the OP has had practically NO use out of them

Surprised that ECCO are now fobbing off customers affected by their poor choice of inadequate materials, maybe the brand no longer stand behind their products? Wonder why the down-shift in attitude?

nonlinear

Manxman_in_exile said:

It's not the Consumer Rights Act that is your problem.  The 6 year limit is an overall legal limit imposed by the Statute of Limitations.  (Can't remember off hand which is the one that currently applies).

Ahh, thanks, that is what I was looking for (in the sense it's a clear legal full stop). Thanks for the link to "theshoesnobblog.com", It does seem to be a lottery though. I've got a pair of Clarkes that are older than the Eccos, and still going strong. Also a still usable pair of Scarpa climbing boots that are about 25 years old. It really doesn't seem to be down to price. On the Ecco front I found the following link where they acknowledge the problem is due to hydrolysis in the material they used. Looking at them again it looks like the soles are rotten too, so probably only fit for the bin. ctwatchdog.com/business/ecco-shoes-warning-almost-new-expensive-shoes-disintegrate

Manxman_in_exile

mikb said:

Alderbank said:

Even if you could have got round the Statute of Limitations, the most you would be able to claim would be a fraction of the purchase price discounted for the expected life remaining.
https://theshoesnobblog.com/how-long-should-my-shoes-last/

How Long Should My Shoes Last?
if you buy the Ecco, you just might get 2-7 years out of them. 

So after 7 years you would not have got very much

Yeah, but that's 2-7 years of USE. I would argue the OP has had practically NO use out of them

Surprised that ECCO are now fobbing off customers affected by their poor choice of inadequate materials, maybe the brand no longer stand behind their products? Wonder why the down-shift in attitude?

Has anybody said anything about ECCO fobbing people off?  The OP hasn't said anything about approaching them yet.

As I and at least one other poster has said, there's nothing to be lost approaching ECCO  -  they might give the OP a goodwill gesture.

It's not a question of use.  Some synthetic materials used in shoes deteriorate over time.  Seven years is quite a long time for a pair of shoes.  (Although just like the OP I have a pair of walking boots - Zamberlan Ultralite I think - that are 30 years old with a synthetic midsole and still usable).