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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Wibu to expect a refund/new pair in these circumstances?

50 replies

pyjamaramadrama · 05/04/2014 12:06

Clarkes school shoes bought early December.

They now have a big hole in the sole letting water through.

I don't have the receipt.

I'm going back into the store, what do you think I should expect?

OP posts:
Nomama · 05/04/2014 12:08

Ask to speak to the manager and keep your fingers crossed.

You may get a voucher for repair....

SecretNutellaFix · 05/04/2014 12:13

4 months out of school shoes? I think you are doing quite well.

As an adult, I rarely get that much use out of a pair of shoes.

MicrochipsAndMemories · 05/04/2014 12:14

Be nice and polite, don't go in there looking for a fight. The staff didn't make the shoes and have no input on how they ate made so remember it's not their fault. You're more likely to get a good outcome with the correct attitude.

I am at work today, rude customers who rant at me get nothing.

Good luck.

MicrochipsAndMemories · 05/04/2014 12:17

also, school shoes actually get a LOT of wear and tear so you've actually done quite well I'd say.

We get a lot of people trying to return shoes that they've "only worn to walk the dog" after asking a few questions you find out they are "only" walking it twice a day for at least an hour each time through long wet grass and not drying their shoes out properly in between.

Shoes aren't magic.

BikeRunSki · 05/04/2014 12:20

I don't think 4 months is a bad lifespan for school shoes.

Original poster
pyjamaramadrama · 05/04/2014 12:20

Yes they do get worn everyday, although mostly in a classroom.

His shoes do usually last a lot longer, as do mine.

I will definitely be nice and polite, just interested to hear what others think.

OP posts:
Wuxiapian · 05/04/2014 12:25

I would expect school shoes to last longer than 4 months, and, would hope they would either refund/part refund.

Be calm and pleasant and good luck!

deakymom · 05/04/2014 12:26

considering the prices i expect mine to last till they need new ones

KuppiKahvia · 05/04/2014 12:31

IMHO shoes that wear out with 4 months of normal use are not fit for purpose.
I expect school shoes to last until they are grown out of too.
Go in politely following microchips excellent advice.

phantomnamechanger · 05/04/2014 12:33

have his feet not grown at all in 4 months?

I do think that kids shoes get heavy wear, all that racing about at playtime, kicking footballs or just sticks and stones, and crawling round the floor etc

why did you not take them back sooner, when the soles first started showing excessive wear/the holes first started?

I don't think you will get anywhere without proof of purchase TBH - for all they know you brought them second hand over a year ago!

Whereisegg · 05/04/2014 12:34

I bought my dcs their school shoes from Clarks in August, with a polish they still look like new.
Where are you all buying shoes that you think 4 months is good?! Shock

RhondaJean · 05/04/2014 12:35

I really don't think you will get anywhere with four month old school shoes.

It all depends on what would be classed a reasonable period of time for them to last and IMO and many others with the type of use school shoes are put to four months isn't really unreasonable.

You will definitely not get a new pair though, as you accepted the goods as okay at teh time of purchase so the best you could expect is a partial refund.

RhondaJean · 05/04/2014 12:36

Tbh definitely not clarks whereis, any shoes or boots from there have been really poor quality, I think I would have been delighted to get four months out of them!

Do your children levitate? Grin

Cringechilli · 05/04/2014 12:42

I would hope for them to last more than 4 months but school shoes are subject to heavy wear so I wouldn't be surprised if they got worn out. My ds has a startrite pair which lasted 2 terms, I've just replaced them (gone through on sole). I think unreasonable to expect a refund or new pair having got 4 months everyday use from them, personally.

Timeforabiscuit · 05/04/2014 12:42

tbh - I think it has to do with the wearing pattern, DDS shoes have a decent bit of trend left but the design means that the heel is hollow and has broken through and letting in shoes.

frustrating as I regularly polish and the uppers are still in fantastic shape.

Timeforabiscuit · 05/04/2014 12:43
  • letting in stones not shoes!
80sMum · 05/04/2014 12:44

Shoes should last longer than 4 months. It is reasonable to expect shoes that are sold as 'school shoes' to be able to withstand the wear and tear of normal everyday use.

Assuming that they haven't been misused, ie he hasn't been playing sports/rock climbing/sliding or skidding over rough ground etc, then you can legitimately claim that they are not fit for purpose.

If you bought them on a credit or debit card, take your statement as proof of purchase.

Whereisegg · 05/04/2014 13:22

RhondaJean dd has always been pretty light on her feet but ds seems to drag his toes across the ground so they are scuffed but polish up brilliantly.

I would like to levitate though, especially when I'm wearing heels Grin

whomadeyougod · 05/04/2014 13:51

id expect at least 6 months at their prices .

5madthings · 05/04/2014 13:54

Where do you buy shoes that only last four months?!!

My boys are hard on their shoes and they wear them out of school as well as in school, they still last until they outgrow them!

I buy Ricosta or geox or ecco shoes, good quality and hard wearing. In 14 yrs we have had to take one pair back and they were swopped no problem.

Viviennemary · 05/04/2014 13:57

I don't think that much of Clarke's shoes I'm afraid but I did buy them as it was the done thing. Must look after the children's feet and all that stuff. But I suppose 4 months isn't that bad for Clarke's. Try a different brand next time.

ADishBestEatenCold · 05/04/2014 14:02

Is the hole in the sole along a 'crack' line, for example, where the shoe folds & flexes as the forepart of the foot bends? Or is it a worn hole, on a flat part of the sole, for example a roundish worn hole thin round it's edges?

If the former, I would guess that it would be a fault of design, so maybe a refund. If the latter, I would think wear and tear.

Does he have a bike?

Original poster
pyjamaramadrama · 05/04/2014 14:53

He hasn't misused them such as on a bike, only for school and we don't even walk to school! I can't remember on the hole because the whole of the tread on the bottom had completely worn away.

Took them in and they said that they only give their shoes 12 weeks life. Which I couldn't quite believe.

They agreed to give me half price off a second pair providing his feet hadn't grown at all.

They measured his feet and sold me another pair half price.

OP posts:
Wuxiapian · 05/04/2014 15:31

12 weeks life?!

This says a lot about Clarks shoes. I wouldn't be buying any more shoes from them, I'd spend my cash elsewhere!

Aeroflotgirl · 05/04/2014 15:36

My dd kickers shoes lasted 1.5 years, until she outgrew them. Clark's sound a load of rubbish, there are other better brands.