New Balance customer service

lesleytuck

Hi all, I need a little bit of advice. I was bought a pair of trainers for Valentine’s Day from the New Balance store in London by my lovely other half. I’ve not worn them too much as they need wearing in so they are immaculate, I was putting them on about 2 weeks ago and the laces holes on one shoe have split open & the suede is broken. I’ve contacted New Balance customer service as I’m not near any stores. I have a bank statement listing New Balance store £95 but not a receipt. 

I’ve been told that I have to visit the store and the online customer service is only for people who have an actual receipt. They are pretty dismissive if you have no receipt, I did explain that legally as the item is faulty I only have to prove my purchase & a bank statement is sufficient. I’m getting nowhere, what an I do? Help please. 

user1977

It's your other half who has consumer rights as they bought the shoes. They ought to be able to send them back to the retailer - there's no legal requirement that the customer has to bring the item back in person (though obviously it might be safer/easier if they do so).

lesleytuck

Thank you, I think I’ll get him to ring the store itself and see what they say. The online customer service have said they could help if I had the receipt but without it they can do nothing even though the bank statement is from our joint account & shows the transaction. Thanks for the reply.

tightauldgit

lesleytuck said:

Thank you, I think I’ll get him to ring the store itself and see what they say. The online customer service have said they could help if I had the receipt but without it they can do nothing even though the bank statement is from our joint account & shows the transaction. Thanks for the reply.

Ringing the store in question is probably your best bet. I'm a bit surprised they wouldn't help you online as at least you would have thought they'd be able to give you an address or something to send them to. I don't have the law to hand but I think a shop can say that you have to return something bought in store to the store. 

user1977

tightauldgit said:

lesleytuck said:

Thank you, I think I’ll get him to ring the store itself and see what they say. The online customer service have said they could help if I had the receipt but without it they can do nothing even though the bank statement is from our joint account & shows the transaction. Thanks for the reply.

I think a shop can say that you have to return something bought in store to the store. 

You need to return it to the retailer, that doesn't mean you need to make a personal visit to the shop.

lesleytuck

I thought I could just contact New Balance customer service and they would help but it’s not a good one, very difficult to deal with & after 6 emails they have said they won’t do anything without a receipt. I did explain about not needing a receipt as it’s a faulty item and the bank statement shows the transaction but they have said take it back to store and see if they can do anything. Feel a bit fobbed off. 

Bradden

lesleytuck said:

I did explain that legally as the item is faulty I only have to prove my purchase & a bank statement is sufficient. I’m getting nowhere, what an I do? Help please. 

Is a bank statement proof of purchase itself? It will indicate a purchase was made but not what specifically was purchased.

lesleytuck

Apparently that’s right, if it’s a faulty item. The bank statement does show new balance and the figure for the trainers and that’s all it has to show, I just needed proof of purchase & that’s sufficient. 

lesleytuck

Well that should be sufficient but not for new balance customer service, it’s sad as I like the trainers but it puts you off when the customer service just isn’t very good. I did say I’ve owned lots of pairs of their trainers and they’ve all been good but this pair aren’t. I’m thinking the shops response is going to be similar, will see how he gets on calling them. 

tightauldgit

lesleytuck said:

I thought I could just contact New Balance customer service and they would help but it’s not a good one, very difficult to deal with & after 6 emails they have said they won’t do anything without a receipt. I did explain about not needing a receipt as it’s a faulty item and the bank statement shows the transaction but they have said take it back to store and see if they can do anything. Feel a bit fobbed off. 

In fairness to them though the website does say for items not purchased online please contact the retailer/store directly. So until you've done that I think we can't really condemn NB customer service just yet. 

Manxman_in_exile

lesleytuck said:

I thought I could just contact New Balance customer service and they would help but it’s not a good one, very difficult to deal with & after 6 emails they have said they won’t do anything without a receipt. I did explain about not needing a receipt as it’s a faulty item and the bank statement shows the transaction but they have said take it back to store and see if they can do anything. Feel a bit fobbed off. 

While contacting their online customer service is a good idea and it's what I'd do first myself, I don't think it's necessarily their responsibility.  Very often a retailer's online legal entity is a different one from a physical shop.

So the person who actually paid for the shoes really needs to raise it with the physical store and see what can be done.  I don't think a solution necessarily requires a visit in person, but the shoes will need to be returned to the shop somehow.

Is there any reason why there is no receipt?  Did the store not offer one?

While I think a receipt is not strictly legally necessary in the case of returning faulty goods, it does make things difficult if you don't have one.

[Edit:  I never understand why people decline receipts when asked or don't keep them safe.  Always get a receipt.  Always keep it safe]

[Edit2:  Once had a problem with M&S.  Online CS were extremely unhelpful and obstructive.  Went instore and helpful staff sorted it out straight away.  Similar experience with Boots]