I bought a pair of shoes for my son from Sole Trader at MacArthur Glen in Bridgend on 15 August 2011. However, when he wore them, after about 30 mins the toe on one foot was very sore, so he took the shoe off to see what the problem was. It turned out that the stitching in one of the shoes where one side of the tongue joins the shoe had a fault that meant it was protruding into the shoe and had rubbed against his toe making the shoe so uncomfortable that it is not wearable. We therefore took the shoes back as soon as possible (i.e. 4 days later on 19 August 2011) and requested that the shoes be exchanged to a pair which did not have the faulty stitching. The lady at the shop briefly felt the inside of the shoe, and declared that there was nothing wrong with the shoe, and refused to exchange the shoes, because the shoes had been worn, albeit only for long enough for the discomfort caused by the fault to become apparent. She said that all she could do was send the shoes back to head office for "testing". She duly sent the shoes back to the head office address. She also gave me the name of the Customer Services manager, Dave Mercer. After many calls to him that Friday and on Monday 22nd August (most went through to voicemail), I explained that all we wanted was a replacement pair - we were not even asking for our money back at that stage - we just wanted a pair of shoes that were wearable. He said that he would wait for the shoes to come from Bridgend and give me a call back later that week, which he did not. I eventually got through to him (again after many attempts), and he said that he had "tested" the shoes, and that in his opinion there was nothing wrong with them. All he could do was send them back to the store in Bridgend for us to collect. That is where they still are. I asked the company to keep them there as I was going to seek advice. The thread here shows a very similar case on the website, which was taken successfully to the small claims courts. I would like to avoid going to Court for the sake of a £29 pair of shoes, but I feel aggrieved that we have wasted £29 on a pair of shoes which cannot be worn. Hence this email to you, to see what remedies I have as the shoes are not fit for purpose. Hoping someone can help and advise.