Blacks on the blacklist

[santaman2000]

What does that have to do with julia's rights here in this situation?

As stated before, your contract as a consumer in the UK is not with the manufacturer unless you bought from the manufacturer, there is no grey area it is black and white in UK.

I have absolutely no knowledge of UK consumer laws. lets get that out of the way here at the start. Many on here (from the UK) seem to dispute your claim though.

But in any case, consumer rights are useless without consumer choices. So how many choices do you have for quality British mad footwear? Compared to the choices you had prior to the laws in question.

 

[GGTBod]

Nobody has disputed anything i wrote, i just offered genuine advice from my working life, a simple googling will confirm everything i said, my wording was very specific, I have no desire to bicker with you and won't

 

[Toddy]

Santaman2000 it's not the laws that are the problem; it's wages. We (like many USA manufacturers) import goods made in the 3rd world at 3rd world wages.
It's called Capitalism and MNC's owe none of us any loyalty, or us them.

M

 

[widu13]

I have absolutely no knowledge of UK consumer laws. lets get that out of the way here at the start. Many on here (from the UK) seem to dispute your claim though.

But in any case, consumer rights are useless without consumer choices. So how many choices do you have for quality British mad footwear? Compared to the choices you had prior to the laws in question.

The Far East or Asia as it's known in the US makes the vast majority of footwear here in the UK. Our footwear is our design, specs etc but is produced in a factory on our behalf. Even well known UK brands source much if not all of their offerings from the Far East, most often China.

 

[santaman2000]

Nobody has disputed anything i wrote, i just offered genuine advice from my working life, a simple googling will confirm everything i said, my wording was very specific, I have no desire to bicker with you and won't

Nor do I wish to bicker. Nor to spend the 4th looking up UK consumer laws. I'll leave that discussion to you and the other British members here (those who dispute the claim as to whether the contact is with the vendor or the manufacturer)

Santaman2000 it's not the laws that are the problem; it's wages. We (like many USA manufacturers) import goods made in the 3rd world at 3rd world wages.
It's called Capitalism and MNC's owe none of us any loyalty, or us them.

M

Exactly Mary. that's why I said what I did about any company going out of business if they can't please the consumers. That's farmore effective than the laws of either of our countries. Though I would dispute that wages alone are the sole factor in moving the manufacturers overseas. Taxation, over-regulation of industries in general have also contributed to the companies financial burdens when attempting domestic production.

The Far East or Asia as it's known in the US makes the vast majority of footwear here in the UK. Our footwear is our design, specs etc but is produced in a factory on our behalf. Even well known UK brands source much if not all of their offerings from the Far East, most often China.

Much the same as is done here, although here there are also many from South America or India as well.

 

[santaman2000]

We are side-tracking this thread though. The main issue is whether it's reasonable (as the OP and a few others post) for a customer to expect an immediate replacement. What if the store had offered a full refund? Would that have satisfied the law? Even if it had been offered (and satisfied the law) Julia would have been stuck going home with cash in her purse and bare feet.

 

[reddave]

And the wear inside the shoe just might be caused by foot problems rather than shoe defect.

Bingo.
Each shoe is designed to fit a certain foot type / last. I have wide feet so don't buy Zamberland boots, I have odd shaped heels so the outer back of the heel gets trashed pretty quickly. I could sort this by have custom made shoes, but I'm not that rich. So I live with it. Its not the manufacturers fault, it's mine.
If I was clever, I would research what my foot shape would correspond to and find shoes that have that consideration as a design parameter.
That fact that the problem is internal would lead me to think there's a foot / shoe interface problem as opposed to a structural problem. If you get your money back, I'd go to a decent sports shop or a Clarkes store and have your feet assessed. Then purchase according to your actual requirements rather than the look of the shoe

 

[Toddy]

Read the replies SM2K; even with Julia's understandable irritation with the company, many would happily defend their right to behave just as they have done, and other's will still happily use the store anyway.

All they said was that it wasn't a decision that they (the staff in that store) could make, and that the shoes would have to be returned to be assessed by someone trained to deal with such matters.

I don't know of any company who could withstand the losses of folks doing as some suggested re returning after use knowing that they'll get their money back regardless.
That's business sense.

Black's are a retailer, not a manufacturer (unless you want a tent ) they sell goods produced by other companies.

Shoe manufacturers in the UK.....

http://www.britishfootwearassociation.co.uk/promotion/made-in-britain/

5,000 people make shoes in the UK apparantly

cheers,
Toddy

 

[mountainm]

Substitute trousers for trainers and see how absurd it appears.

 

[GGTBod]

The retailers have a very similar line of protection as they are a consumer from their supplier, they then invoke their rights on any returned items, i used to deal with this stuff day in day out all day at British Airways, T-Mobile, Automobile Association and several other lesser companies, everything is in the cycle, the retailer is a consumer from the supplier, the supplier is a consumer from the manufacturer or distributor.

As we all see in the news time and time again the UK economy is controlled by consumer spending, sadly we make very little compared to pre 1975.

 

[santaman2000]

Read the replies SM2K; even with Julia's understandable irritation with the company, many would happily defend their right to behave just as they have done, and other's will still happily use the store anyway.

All they said was that it wasn't a decision that they (the staff in that store) could make, and that the shoes would have to be returned to be assessed by someone trained to deal with such matters.

I don't know of any company who could withstand the losses of folks doing as some suggested re returning after use knowing that they'll get their money back regardless.
That's business sense.

Black's are a retailer, not a manufacturer (unless you want a tent ) they sell goods produced by other companies.

Shoe manufacturers in the UK.....

http://www.britishfootwearassociation.co.uk/promotion/made-in-britain/

5,000 people make shoes in the UK apparantly

cheers,
Toddy

Thanks Mary. Those are all exactly the points I'm trying to make.

 

[santaman2000]

.....As we all see in the news time and time again the UK economy is controlled by consumer spending, sadly we make very little compared to pre 1975.

Yeah; here too.

 

[Nice65]

I have absolutely no knowledge of UK consumer laws.

So why have you waded in then?

 

[Blaidd]

In my previous post I note that I talked about manufacturers rather than retailers, fair enough. Regardless of the law, when I find a retailer who practices a "no-quibble" guarantee, I am inclined to shop there for my goods. In the absence of a guarantee like this I will look around for alternatives. Sticking to the law won't build customer loyalty, exceptional companies tend to practice exceptional customer service. Sorry, this doesn't help you Julia, and is not strictly on topic, Blacks obviously believe that sticking to the law makes them more profitable. I wonder if it does?

 

[Toddy]

They seem to be. 500+ stores.....most folks accept that well used kit won't be exchanged/refunded instantly but will just go back to the manufacturers for them to decide. Three months use = used kit.
http://www.blacks.co.uk/
The returns policy is clear enough, and the 'faulty' items bit clearly says that once the item is returned to the warehouse then they'll be in touch.

Toddy

 

[GGTBod]

The Blacks store in Newcastle Upon Tyne was one of the first big names to disappear from Newcastle City Centre when the recession double dipped, was always the most expensive place for outdoor gear beforehand and they did nothing to the prices even on closing day, I figured they just moved the stock to the smaller Gateshead store

 

[santaman2000]

So why have you waded in then?

LOL. Because laws aside, it appears some people have unrealistic expectations.

The vendor (Blacks) appears willing to work with the customer (Julia) But there's an expectation (in society at large) for instant gratification now-a-days. I have to confess that I'm also guilty at times.

 

[Nice65]

LOL. Because laws aside, it appears some people have unrealistic expectations.

The vendor (Blacks) appears willing to work with the customer (Julia) But there's an expectation (in society at large) for instant gratification now-a-days. I have to confess that I'm also guilty at times.

Yeah, me too. We're living in such a consumer led society, a couple of minutes on a computer, or phone even, and the desired product arrives on the doorstep. It's crazy really, and tends to devalue and numb us to what previous generations had to do to get something they wanted, or wanted but would never be able to get.

 

[Stew]

Yeah, me too. We're living in such a consumer led society, a couple of minutes on a computer, or phone even, and the desired product arrives on the doorstep. It's crazy really, and tends to devalue and numb us to what previous generations had to do to get something they wanted, or wanted but would never be able to get.

Can you imagine "please allow 28 days for delivery" these days?

 

[GGTBod]

I bought a pair of Altbergs direct from the factory back at the end of April, they had to be made for some reason and i was given an expected delivery date of 6th june, i nearly had a coronary in shock cancelled my purchase and bought from a recommended retailer and they arrived 2 days later. I had clearly forgotten all about the please wait 28 days for delivery days of my younger days