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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Should they ship the missing shoe?

33 replies

DutchCowgirl · 10/03/2023 15:04

This isn’t my biggest dilemma in my life, but I just value your opinion on it as i’m not from the UK and maybe you have different standards about customerservice then I am used to :
A week ago we were in England for a short trip and we bought shoes for both my sons at a shoe-store (of a big sportsbrand, I leave out the name intentionally). By accident my son didn’t put one of the shoes back in the box after he fitted them. And nobody checked.. so we bought a box with 1 shoe in it. And we didn’t found out until we got home…

We rang the store, but they don’t want to ship the single shoe. We offered to pay the shipping costs, but they refused. They say we must go over to the nearest one of their stores, explain our story, and we’ll get a refund there. However the nearest store is 60km away in a big city, it’ll be a city trip all by itself with a lot of extra costs.

YABU: we should have inspected the shoebox ourselves, the shop manager isn’t responsible for this. Just throw the single shoe away and forget all about it.
YANBU : they should ship the missing shoe, contact their headquarters and make a fuss about it

OP posts:
CremeEggsForBreakfast · 10/03/2023 15:16

I wouldn't "make a fuss about it" but I would consider contacting head office. Explain what happened and that accessing an alternative high street shop is not feasible for you. They will have powers and authority and resources that the high street store will not.

It's worth trying before you discard a perfectly good shoe.

CurlsLDN · 10/03/2023 15:19

Oh how disappointing! Unfortunately given that it was your party who removed a shoe from the box and left it out of the box, the store has no responsibility here

Catspyjamas17 · 10/03/2023 15:19

I think it's reasonable for them to ship one of the shoes. The assistant should have checked the shoes at the till.

BertieBotts · 10/03/2023 15:21

Maybe a MNer who is local to the store could ship the shoe for you if you paypal them postage costs?

I can see why they would not want to as it essentially opens them up for you to claim that the shoe never arrived and they probably don't want the hassle.

BertieBotts · 10/03/2023 15:22

I think it is strange that they didn't check the box at the checkout - I would have expected them to do this to check you had not hidden a more expensive pair of shoes inside and to remove any security tags.

OneFrenchEgg · 10/03/2023 15:22

BertieBotts · 10/03/2023 15:21

Maybe a MNer who is local to the store could ship the shoe for you if you paypal them postage costs?

I can see why they would not want to as it essentially opens them up for you to claim that the shoe never arrived and they probably don't want the hassle.

That's a good idea. Where was it?

MoneyInTheBananaStand · 10/03/2023 15:23

The assistant should have checked at the till. I don't think I've ever bought a pair of shoes where they haven't checked there's 2 of the same size etc

Greydogs123 · 10/03/2023 15:23

ive never bought a pair of shoes where they didn’t open the box at the till and check the shoes - not got two lefts and the size is the one you want. On that basis I would offer to return the single shoe you have and ask for a refund over the phone.

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 10/03/2023 15:24

Where was the store op and where does it need shipping to?

Catspyjamas17 · 10/03/2023 15:26

The point of sale is at the till and the contract is completed there, not when you try the shoes on. They have sold you an item which is not fit for purpose or as described, breaching the under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 and not what you expected to be in the box, so also a breach of contract on their part.

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 10/03/2023 15:27

Where do you need it shipping to? If it’s not in the UK there are customs tax consequences and maybe they don’t have the other shoe anymore so can’t just ship it. It is bad they didn’t check in the shop though but if you took it up to the till without assistance then probably not fully their fault.
for a 60k journey, I think it’s worthwhile getting the refund and make a day out of it.

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 10/03/2023 15:29

YANBU if it's Sports Direct as they have to check boxes at the till. I don't actually think YABU at all tbh. What's a fiver to ship a single shoe for a multi national company?

Original poster
DutchCowgirl · 10/03/2023 15:55

It was a store in York.
I don’t know if they will just give the shoe to a random mumsnetter if they aren’t willing to ship it…

OP posts:
Original poster
DutchCowgirl · 10/03/2023 15:57

CurlsLDN · 10/03/2023 15:19

Oh how disappointing! Unfortunately given that it was your party who removed a shoe from the box and left it out of the box, the store has no responsibility here

No , to be precise we didn’t remove the missing shoe from the box there was one shoe on display and one shoe in the box…
Not that i think this matters much.

OP posts:
copperplated · 10/03/2023 16:11

Not that it makes much difference now, but did your son only try one shoe on?

JackiePlace · 10/03/2023 16:14

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 10/03/2023 15:29

YANBU if it's Sports Direct as they have to check boxes at the till. I don't actually think YABU at all tbh. What's a fiver to ship a single shoe for a multi national company?

I suspect they do not have the shoe any more so they would essentially have to give away a pair of shoes. Even so I think the store is at fault!

Deadringer · 10/03/2023 16:17

They sold you the shoes they should ensured that they gave them to you.

IhearyouClemFandango · 10/03/2023 16:17

They should have checked at the till.

But could a friend or family member go and collect it and post?

ShirleyPhallus · 10/03/2023 16:20

I’m surprised they didn’t check, I used to work in a shoe shop and we had to check both shoes were in the box otherwise you’d end up with 2 left shoes or half sizes etc. Later, they brought in separate barcodes for each shoe so you had to scan both and it would tell you if they weren’t a match.

seems really silly and quite risky otherwise!

MaidOfSteel · 10/03/2023 16:20

The assistant really should have checked at the till.

I think it's worth trying the head office complaint route first. I believe there's even a website which give the names and email addresses of company chief execs. Can't hurt to try; you could also ask if it'd be possible for another MNer to collect the shoe for you.

Abc12389 · 10/03/2023 16:21

Why don’t you repost asking if someone on MN will collect it. If it was near me I’d collect and post to you, someone here is likely to be near that shop this weekend/next weekend. You could send them a copy of the receipt to show in store and PayPal them the postage.

UnattendedPotato · 10/03/2023 16:35

I know you ultimately want the shoes but they've probably got rid of the odd one by now. Why don't you just post the single on the vox back demanding a refund plus your postage tobthem? It seems ultimately the cheapest solution as you're not going to get a proper pair out of them. You'll either be out the full cost of a non pair, or a refund less postage. The best case is refund + postage.

Original poster
DutchCowgirl · 10/03/2023 16:57

Guess what!!! They just called to say they reconsidered it and they are shipping the shoe!!
Don’t underestimate the powers of mumsnet 😂

OP posts:
moonpixel · 10/03/2023 16:57

DutchCowgirl · 10/03/2023 15:55

It was a store in York.
I don’t know if they will just give the shoe to a random mumsnetter if they aren’t willing to ship it…

If you contact them and say you are sending someone to collect it, surely they would?

GoAgainstNicki · 10/03/2023 19:55

DutchCowgirl · 10/03/2023 16:57

Guess what!!! They just called to say they reconsidered it and they are shipping the shoe!!
Don’t underestimate the powers of mumsnet 😂

😂 wow. That’s great