Consumer Rights- Fitted Shoes

[Levanna]

Can anyone tell me where I stand legaly with this? I bought DD a pair of startrite sandals @ £27 yesterday. They were fitted by the lady in the shop. I put them on DD for an hour today to get used to them (with socks on - she was wearing them when fitted too). When I removed them, there were horrendous red marks to each side of each of DD's ankles (took a photo with camera phone). I'm planning to take them back tomorrow, but I'm worried about being fobbed off entirely, or being offered a replacement. How can I trust them to fit DD properly with another pair folowing this! Can anyone tell me where I stand - would I be wrong in expecting a full refund, and an apology for injuring DD?

Goods have to be fit for the purpose they are intended. Obviously fitted shoes which don't fit are not fit for the purpose. However I'm not sure if they have to refund, or simply "make good" their mistake in the UK (I am in NZ). Hopefully someone else will know.

this is a dodgy one...i think that you can take shoes back as long as theyve only been worn on carpet not outside...they may try to fob you off saying that the shoes need to be "worn in" or something similiar and probably offer you an alternative. legally, i dont really know where you stand, sorry. i did used to work in a shoe shop but its been a long time and i cant remember. phone up trading standards before you go back to the shop, they should be able to help.

Okay, I've been here too. The shoe shop we used to use for start-rites used to say that they would give you a refund/exchange if you shoes really didn't fit. I don't know whether they are legally obliged to do this, but you're paying for their expertise in shoe-fitting (why else are start-rites so d*mn expensive?) Personally if I was convinced they really didn't fit, I would insist on a refund/replacement.

Having said that, red marks with brand new shoes are not that unusual. Before throwing the full wobbly I would try them again, putting plasters on her where the red marks were, and letting her wear them for a while to see if the leather softens up. Was she actually in pain/blistered? If are really unsuitable after trying a few times with plasters, then I would proceed as above.

This can happen, it doesn't necessarily indicate incompetence on the part of the shoe shop, as fit will be affected by tiny differences in foot shape and gait. I wouldn't overplay the 'injury to my child' line, and I would probably accept a replacement if they could explain to me why the new ones were likely to be better.

hth

Check the bits of the shoe which rubbed - are they unusually rough? Is the leather very hard? Is the stitching prickly? Are they, in your opinion, too tight round the ankle or even too loose and rubbing? I think Clarks are generally pretty good about sorting this sort of thing out (although there are bound to be people out there with different opinions!) so I'd hope Start Rite would be.

Go in and be terribly polite and only get bolshy and loud if they try to fob you off.

Same here I took mine back and complained, got my money back straight away with receipt, my dd screamed for all the time wearing them, but not in the shop!!
Take them back they at the very least should exchange them for soem more comfy shoes, or if nothing suitable a creidt note, but I suspect if the shoes are still as new they will refund without question.
~HTH

I took DS2 back to Clarks last week after a similar event. He had a pair of Doodles fitted exactly a week before and was crying with pain every time I put them on him. They had rubbed the back of one of his heels until it was bleeding. There was a bump on the seam at the heel of this particular shoe and the fitter in Clarks agreed that this was probably causing the problem but in her opinion the shoes were also too small which was adding to the problem so they replaced them with the same shoes in a bigger size and so far so good.

So yes I would take them back.

We had this problem with dd a while back. The shoes were from a local shop and were Elefanten or something similar. Her feet were raw after one morning, in spite of the shop assistant having spent hours finding the right fit. There were really harsh, rough areas where the strap was attached to the shoe, so they were pretty defective IMO. We took them back and after a lot of argy-bargy she said to the shop owner "well, they don't look too bad so we can just put them back on the shelves and give this lady a refund". I was gobsmacked that they were going to re-sell them, and never went back. They shut down not that long afterwards, ha bloody ha.

I approached the manager (extremely politely ) and she was really good. Gave me a full refund, and though there wasn't anything else suitable for DD in the shop today, made me feel extremely comfortable about returning in the future. She explained that start rite's can have a very ridgid heel support, and that the problem we've had isn't uncommon with them. She just asked me to remind them next time I brought DD in about the problem, just so they could be aware, and double check this area. So, all's well after all . Thanks for your replies, they certianly helped me feel better placed about approaching the shop!