I came across a professional-looking website advertising colourful artisan-made shoes produced from leather and fabric offcuts, all very ethical and admirable. They looked interesting and different and there was a slip-on style that I thought would make a good slipper, so I bought a pair.
When they were delivered I tried them on wearing clean socks on the clean carpet in my bedroom. At which point it became clear that they were too wide and unstructured to work for me as wearable shoes. The fabric around the heel flopped down and didn't hold the shoes around my heel/ ankle. I took a couple of shuffling steps gripping onto them with my toes and realised that this wasn't going to work. It's not just the size, it's the fact that the fabric construction and design offers nothing to enable the shoe to hold onto the foot. Within a couple of hours of receiving them I contacted the company to say that they didn't fit and I also mentioned that I couldn't actually walk in them.
I'd checked that they had a returns procedure before I booked (I took the risk of having to pay to return the product) and I'd briefly read on there about having to return the goods in their original packaging etc so I've kept all that. The company turns out to be owned and run by a lone woman who, when I asked for details about getting a refund, has argued that a) it was clear that these were unstructured shoes and what did I expect? and b) that in the small print of the returns process it states that any returns have to be unworn and as I've tried the shoes on they are worn and I can't return them and c) that if I pay to return these she'll send a smaller pair, but I'll have to pay for them to be delivered — and that's all she can offer. They cost £65 and I'd like my money back. AIBU?