Sole, Sole Trader shoe's no refund!!!

toolman_2

Hi all,
Is this the worst customer service experiance you have ever heard of?
I wanted to share my experiance with you, and say that if you are in the right and have the law on your side keep on fighting.....

In August 2007 i purchased a pair of 'Merrel' shoes £69 from a shoe retailer called 'Sole' (sometimes trade as 'Sole Trader') in Bullring Birmingham.
I tried the shoes in the store and also at home before going outside.
When i did wear them outside after walking 200/300 meters they became unconfortable and after more walking maybe 500 meters i could no longer wear them (Had to buy another pair to continue my day). I discovered a (small) fault in the toe area. I returned them to the store in birmingham (I live in Leicester) but the manager refused to even compare the shoes and to refund them. Only offering to send them to headoffice for inspection. I explained i would have to travel back to birmingham. They kept the shoes for 6 weeks untill i sent 2 letters (second recorded) stating they had had them an 'unreasonable' amount of time and that i would reclaim my costs in court. The head office (Twinmar Ltd) then contacted me with a standard letter (they forgot to change the dates) refusing to refund the shoes. I travelled to birmingham to collect the shoes and then proceeded to gain expert reports. This was very difficult and would also have been expensive. But i asked a local chiropractor, a podiatrist and a shoe retailier to write i short report about the fault. I sent this to the company but still got no responce. I sent another letter 'recored signed for' stating that i will proceed with legal action in 14 days (still no responce). So i sent a small claims summons which they said they would defend.... They did try to defend the action for £147.00 and even sent a representative to the court (Unbelivable for a company with a £40m turnover). the court ordered that they pay me the total amount for shoes cost of travel to birmingham and intrest (£147) in 14 days. After 4 weeks and another letter to explain that they were now in breech of the 'Court Order'. i proceeded to enforce the court order with a 'warrant of exicution' (£55) for the baliffe to claim the money or seize goods from the shops. Last week the company called me to asked that i return the shoes for a refund and collect my money. I explained that they need to pay the money as in the court order, and if they want the shoes they can collect them.... I am now waiting for the next sequence of events...!! Hopfully i will eventually get my money after 9 months.

bottleredhead

Well done for getting so far with this; you must be well chufffed!

Hope it all gets settled soon, keep us posted!

britguy_2

All that effot for 70 quid? You'd have been better just flogging them on fleabay!

dangeroussports

did you pay by credit card? If you did then you should of called them aswell. Infact if you had paid using your TESCO credit card you would of accrued CLUBCARD points too. The credit card company would of faught in your corner for you.

Also, dont forget quidco next time.

chou_123

'Also, dont forget quidco next time.'

I don't understand what quidco has to do with this thread? Also, I thought that you could only claim back on your credit card if you spent more than £100?

Well done OP for fighting back.

robinson79

Well done for fighting for your rights!! :beer:

philgee

Good luck toolman, I used to work for Twinmar - their shops used to be called Top Shoes For Men, then Top Shoes, and now Sole Trader.

I had a Saturday job when I was 15-16, and they were as tight as a duck's backside (£1.24ph tight). One of the managers from Head Office was called George and he was a real cockney wide boy (no offence to cockneys!).

If any shoes had defects, we had to cover them up - superglue and trainer whitener were the tools of the trade :eek: .

'R' Sole Trader, more like :rotfl:

gibby

What a hassle

I would have thought if you had gone to the manufacturer they simply would have replaced em for you

the retailer has no rights to have the shoes back now you have the court order
dont let them mess you around any further & let the bailiff sort it for you

G

toolman_2

Update....
The bailiff has now received the money and i am waiting for the cheque to clear through the courts bank....

In response to your replies.
a, To claim from a credit card company under the 'consumer credit act' the transaction must be more than £100.
b, My contract is with the retailer and not the manufacture. (if i had been able to contact Merrell direct then i would have done, but i was unable to find a uk contact number or address.
c, If the retailer had refunded or replaced the shoes then they would probably have returned them to the manufacture or wholesaler and not been out of pocket. Now they have lost £200+, 1/2 day at the court, they don't have the shoes and they have lost a potential future customer..... What a bad decision???