Clarks refusing to exchange faulty sandals

worksurvivor

My son lives overseas. During his last visit to the UK, he bought a pair of sandals from Clarks in August 2024 for £72.

He took the sandals overseas; the buckle broke. When I visited him earlier this year, I brought the sandals back in order to return them and exchange them on his behalf. 

He didn't have the original shop receipt, but provided me with a transaction receipt for the payment, showing the date, purchase price, recipient, etc. 

The manageress of the shop refused to accept the return, referring to "policy" and a six-month "limit" (she was also visibly confused by the proof of purchase which used a yyyy - mm - dd date format, and included non-Latin alphabet characters). Dissatisfied with this outcome, I turned to the "customer care" section of the Clarks website. 

My first attempt to exchange the sandals via correspondence required me to provide photographs and proof of purchase. However, I was again rebuffed because I did not provide a "store receipt".



Pressing the matter, and referring to consumer law and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, I continued to exchange correspondence with a different "customer care" employee who is continuing to niggle at the receipt, claiming that "we cannot find the order" — presumably he has been unable to match the proof of purchase presented with a specific transaction — however, I'm not sure that any shortcomings with Clarks' internal records, staff record-keeping, or IT systems, is relevant here, or is my concern — pursuing my consumer law point, I have nonetheless, albeit with some difficulty, managed to get an acknowledgement that he is aware of and understands that I am attempting to exchange faulty goods by referring to my statutory rights and to consumer law, so I have moved the focus of the discussion to surer ground. 











However, at what I perceive to be a critical juncture in the ongoing correspondence, I am unsure how best to reply in order to press the advantage and secure the exchange — any advice and suggestions on how I might conclude the exchange — mate on the next move, if you will — should be gratefully received.

cmthephoenix

As far as I've always understood it you don't have any rights at all as you didn't make the purchase. Your son would need to pursue anything.

worksurvivor

cmthephoenix said:

As far as I've always understood it you don't have any rights at all as you didn't make the purchase. Your son would need to pursue anything.

That's an interesting observation. However, it isn't one that has been made by Clarks, and I have been quite clear in telling them I am acting on his behalf as he is a loyal Clarks customer who happens to live in another part of the world. 

ButterCheese

I might be talking out of turn, but even if they can find the order and match it to the card details you have provided, surely the only proof of purchse is the till receipt (which you do not have?).  I mean, theoretically you could have found "Dave's" card statement in the bin, and tried it on with every shop that Dave spent money in in order to get a refund?  Which I know sounds ludicrous, but it might be that the till receipt is the only proof of purchase they accept.  Matching up the transaction and card details may not necessarily prove that you purchased the sandals - it only proves that some sandals were sold using those card details

elsien

Were you within the six months of purchase when you tried to return them the first time because that isn’t clear from your post?

I would probably also limit any correspondence to the salient points and leave out habeas corpus et cetera. 

pinkshoes

If they were purchased August 2024, then it has now been more than 6 months since purchase, so as per the consumer rights laws, you'd need to get a report stating that the shoes failed due to an inherent fault and not through use.

Ergates

ButterCheese said:

I mean, theoretically you could have found "Dave's" card statement in the bin, and tried it on with every shop that Dave spent money in in order to get a refund?

You're missing the part about the OP also having a pair of sandals that exactly match the purchase details that are broken.

Civil cases are decided on balance of probability - we're well beyond that here.

worksurvivor

Ergates said:

ButterCheese said:

I mean, theoretically you could have found "Dave's" card statement in the bin, and tried it on with every shop that Dave spent money in in order to get a refund?

You're missing the part about the OP also having a pair of sandals that exactly match the purchase details that are broken.

Civil cases are decided on balance of probability - we're well beyond that here.

Exactly — I have the shoe: QED. 

I resented the snide insinuation that the sandals presented for exchange may have been stolen.

prettyandfluffy

I would be inclined to take them to an old-fashioned shoe repairer (cobbler) and get the buckle replaced, possibly both if they can't match what is on the shoe already.  Not free but shouldn't be expensive either and a lot less hassle.

Ergates

worksurvivor said:

Ergates said:

ButterCheese said:

I mean, theoretically you could have found "Dave's" card statement in the bin, and tried it on with every shop that Dave spent money in in order to get a refund?

You're missing the part about the OP also having a pair of sandals that exactly match the purchase details that are broken.

Civil cases are decided on balance of probability - we're well beyond that here.

Exactly — I have the shoe: QED. 

I resented the snide insinuation that the sandals presented for exchange may have been stolen.

As it's beyond 6 months then, putting aside the proof of purchase for the moment, Clarks' are allowed to ask you to provide evidence that the sandals were faulty, rather than damaged by use.  This is often in the form of a statement from some independent qualified person - a shoe repair place (e.g. Timpsons) should be able to do this.  They might charge - which you can claim back from the retailer if successful.   Might be worth getting a repair quote from them at the same time to determine if it's worth the time and effort to pursue this.

cmthephoenix

worksurvivor said:

Exactly — I have the shoe: QED. 

I resented the snide insinuation that the sandals presented for exchange may have been stolen.

I wouldn't take it as a snide insinuation, just from the company point of view it's very very sadly the case that customers are increasingly making false representations (this seems to have increased markedly since the pandemic) so they have to protect themselves. However, putting aside the question of proof of purchase (if that hurdle gets overcome) the company are definitely well within their rights to say your son needs to take it up with them and the burden of proof after 6 months is for him to provide an independent report that the sandals have an inherent manufacturing fault.