Topman help - Shoes are broken, where do i stand?

foodpoison

foodpoison

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Edit: I realise that the title of this thread had an unexpected pun :p Not a wind up, but I realise after having a think that I can't really expect £35 shoes to last any longer than this. Will be investing in some proper shoes soon.

I bought a pair of these shoes - click

From Topman probably around 8 months ago. Edit: I've had these shoes 5 months, not the original 8 month quote.

I don't still have the receipt for it as I paid with cash and lost it. they have the topman logo on and still make the shoe so it is clear that I'm not trying to con anyone.

I wear the shoes twice a week for roughly 15 hours while at work and occasionally for a few hours if I go out in the week. Very little use.

The shoes have split on the sole where the toe bends.

Not very happy as it's not as if they were cheap shoes (cheap by louis vitton standard, but not cheap as in you'd expect this to happen standard).

Am I entitled for them to be replaced? A gift voucher for new shoes? Or a 'sorry, your fault, you can't prove anything, move along' attitude from Topman?

Pictures:

Expected wear and tear of the sole and the inner heel

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First shoe

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Second shoe

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Now normally, if the wear and tear and broken-ness of the shoes didn't affect comfort or aesthetics, I wouldn't mind. The breaking is on the underside of the shoe - not the end of the world.

BUT. The shoes leak in the rain and dampen my socks, and as the material is being pushed into my shoe it makes them uncomfortable to walk in.
Also as there is a significant gap in the first shoe (the right shoe), it actually makes it occasionally dangerous to drive, as the shoe catches on the gas and brake pedals.

I work in Jessops as many of you know, which is a sales floor job. I don't do anything that would put unreasonable strain on the shoe, and when I go out I go to clubs and bars - again no unreasonable strain.

So, where do I stand?

Any help would be very, very much appreciated.
 
Last edited:
foodpoison said:
Topman help - Shoes are broken, where do i stand?
Click to expand...

Not in a puddle? :shrug: HTH.




Seriously though ... are you serious? :lol: It sounds like you wear them all day everyday. For a £35 pair of shoes I think you got some good wear out of them!

If you want shoes to really last the answer is wooden/other material souls (not rubber) that can be replaced by a cobbler when they start (not when they have begun to wear the leather away) to wear down.
 
As you've pointed out, your problem is proving that a) you bought them, b) when you bought them, & c) the amount of use.
I think, at best, you could expect a good will, but minimal, gesture on TM's part (if you make enough fuss, and then that''ll be just to silence you and get you off the premises!.)
 
If you phone up there head office, they can give you the number of there reccomended repair centre. they can trace the serial number and see when they were manufactured and hopefully fix if need be:lol:

seriously though, they look pretty heavily worn on the soles to me, and by the fact both have broke, i think you might be up the creek as they say.
 
Having said that, I bet if you sent all that you put in the OP, including pics to Topman Customer Services (customer.service@topman.com), you would get a new pair of shoes for free :lol:
 
Put yourself in Topman's shoes - oh, wait...you already have :lol:

They may still be making the shoes, but then they may have been making that model for 5 years and you can't prove when you bought them.

Think of it this way,if someone came into your Jessops with a camera bag and said "I bought this 8 months ago and it's fallen apart, but I don't have a receipt" would you give them a refund? or would you put a post on here saying how unreasonable they were for not keeping the receipt, etc?

Oh and we say "accelerator" in this country, Sean, not "gas pedal" ;)
 
I'm waiting to find out if this is serious or not? If I post a serious reply I'm sure I'll get told to chill out lol.

But I will say that they aren't driving shoes and driving can destroy shoes pretty quickly. I usually keep something more appropriate in the car to keep my good shoes in good condition.
 
Sean will be having a good chuckle over this in Jessops back room :D
 
8 months 2 days a week, 35 quid shoes write them off.

only company I know that take back broken shoes is timberland and thats just because they have a rep for unbreakable shoes and thats only for the boots
 
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You gets what you pay for is all I can say.

The only decent shoes you'll buy for £35 these days are Converse All-Stars :)
 
Those photos show an awful lot of wear for only two days a week, Topman would look at them and say "you're extracting the micheal my old son".

If you want shoes for work, buy work shoes, fashion shoes are just that, a lesson I learned a long time ago when some fashion shoes I bought for work turned out to be mostly cardboard and fell apart in a couple of weeks.
 
Steep said:
Those photos show an awful lot of wear for only two days a week, Topman would look at them and say "you're extracting the micheal my old son".

If you want shoes for work, buy work shoes, fashion shoes are just that, a lesson I learned a long time ago when some fashion shoes I bought for work turned out to be mostly cardboard and fell apart in a couple of weeks.
Click to expand...

The crack right up the middle is strange for normal wear, unless FP has a really odd gait :shrug:
 
whilst i'm not sure if this is a joke, i had the same problem years back with some clarks.

i just took the shoes back and argued until they got fed up with me and gave me 50% off a new pair... fair enough really.
 
Okay guys, not a wind up and in hindsight I got my shoes a month after my new manager started about 6 months ago. These shoes are 5 months old.

The stated 2 days a week is no exaggeration. I get your point Flash, about Jessops, and no I pretty much realise I have no leg to stand on, but if it was a Jessops product that had turned sour we might be more inclined to fix it.

So basically, don't bother by asking if they fancy a good-will replacement because they'll turn around and tell me to **** off, but in actual fact to buy some real shoes if I want them to last?

Fair enough I suppose. I usually keep receipts for everything.

What about if I'd kept the receipt and could prove they were 5 months old? What then?

Thanks for all the serious replies, and thanks for not destroying me before you knew whether it was a wind up.
 
If you had proof of purchase you could haul them over the coals, as it is you're probably on a hiding to nothing..
 
Worth sending them an e-mail to see what you get, but I wouldn't hold my breath on any compensation.
 
Jo said:
Not in a puddle? :shrug: HTH.




Seriously though ... are you serious? :lol: It sounds like you wear them all day everyday. For a £35 pair of shoes I think you got some good wear out of them!

If you want shoes to really last the answer is wooden/other material souls (not rubber) that can be replaced by a cobbler when they start (not when they have begun to wear the leather away) to wear down.
Click to expand...

I don't wear them all day every day, I wear them on average 15 hours a week.

fletch5 said:
If you phone up there head office, they can give you the number of there reccomended repair centre. they can trace the serial number and see when they were manufactured and hopefully fix if need be:lol:

seriously though, they look pretty heavily worn on the soles to me, and by the fact both have broke, i think you might be up the creek as they say.
Click to expand...

Again, 15 hours a week. I think if I were to make a fuss via letter/phone/email they'd just give me a new pair to shut me up. Probably costs them £5 to make anyway.

Raymond Lin said:
You can always issue small claims for £30.

How much are the shoes again? :p
Click to expand...

Fair point :p

Flash In The Pan said:
Put yourself in Topman's shoes - oh, wait...you already have :lol:

They may still be making the shoes, but then they may have been making that model for 5 years and you can't prove when you bought them.

Think of it this way,if someone came into your Jessops with a camera bag and said "I bought this 8 months ago and it's fallen apart, but I don't have a receipt" would you give them a refund? or would you put a post on here saying how unreasonable they were for not keeping the receipt, etc?

Oh and we say "accelerator" in this country, Sean, not "gas pedal" ;)
Click to expand...

Had no idea they'd been making that shoe for 5 years!

If it was a Jessops product that had failed we'd probably sort it out for them. If it was a generic brand (lowepro, canon, manfrotto etc) we'd firstly ask for a receipt, if not we'd have the receipt on our database, if still nothing, tell them to go away because they can't prove it was bought from us.

I was taught to drive by gas not accelerator. Fully aware it's a mistake but bad habit!

cyclone said:
I'm waiting to find out if this is serious or not? If I post a serious reply I'm sure I'll get told to chill out lol.

But I will say that they aren't driving shoes and driving can destroy shoes pretty quickly. I usually keep something more appropriate in the car to keep my good shoes in good condition.
Click to expand...

I wasn't even aware that there was such a thing as driving shoes. Excuse my bluntness but is it so much to ask for shoes to last the 20 minutes drive to/from work, twice a week? Even if they're not driving shoes?

david1701 said:
8 months 2 days a week, 35 quid shoes write them off.

only company I know that take back broken shoes is timberland and thats just because they have a rep for unbreakable shoes and thats only for the boots
Click to expand...

I probably should, shouldn't I. Another quick one, these are actually 5 months old. Still no way of proving it though.

Timberland are probably a lot more expensive than £35 however :D

Steep said:
Those photos show an awful lot of wear for only two days a week, Topman would look at them and say "you're extracting the micheal my old son".

If you want shoes for work, buy work shoes, fashion shoes are just that, a lesson I learned a long time ago when some fashion shoes I bought for work turned out to be mostly cardboard and fell apart in a couple of weeks.
Click to expand...

Lesson learnt methinks.

Flash In The Pan said:
The crack right up the middle is strange for normal wear, unless FP has a really odd gait :shrug:
Click to expand...

Who's gait are you calling odd?!

Gary said:
whilst i'm not sure if this is a joke, i had the same problem years back with some clarks.

i just took the shoes back and argued until they got fed up with me and gave me 50% off a new pair... fair enough really.
Click to expand...

I don't like making a fuss and arguing to shop workers, as I'm pretty much always on the receiving end so I know how horrid it is. This approach would get me no where unfortunately :p
 
Legally?

You may be required to provide a proof of purchase (be it a receipt or otherwise). Without it, they have the right to smile and say 'off you pop, sir'.

If you DO have it, then the next question is, are you entitled to a repair, refund or replacement.
You could try rejecting the goods as not fit for purpose, but after 6 months the onus is on the customer to prove that.

The law states that goods must last as long as can reasonably be expected.
Is it reasonable to expect these shoes to last 8 months of around 20 hours a week of use? Well, that's open to interpretation, and ultimately if they say no, it would be up to a court to decide.

If you were using them one hour a week, I would say a definite yes, they should last longer.
If you were using them for 60 hours a week, I would say no. but 15-20? debatable.
 
foodpoison said:
I don't wear them all day every day, I wear them on average 15 hours a week.
Click to expand...

15 hours a week, for 8 months! That's like 500 hours odd. Can't see the being willing to replace them after such a length of time to be honest.
 
Thanks Marcel for the sincere and serious reply.

Just what I was looking for.

I think I'll write them off tbh.

Next question:

how much should I be looking to spend on shoes I can expect to last?!
 
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