Sports Direct £85 football boots broken after 5 months

[Micky the Hippo]

Hello everyone

 

I bought son one a pair of football boots in Sport Direct in late Jan this year, the only ones that fit his rather odd feet were £85, so far so good.

 

After five months one of the moulded studs ripped away from the sole leaving the boots useless.

 

I've bought him boots every year, astro and grass for the last ten years and every single pair lasted a season until he grew out of them, in this case the sole of the boots simply tore under normal use on astroturf and for the money I paid it seems to me that the sole was not strong enough for the purpose, ie unfit.

 

The store I bought them in refused to deal with me but their head office said send them in and have just replied after a couple of weeks to say that their opinion was that it was due to wear and tear and not a manufacturing fault.

 

I said that was not acceptable to me and they had failed in the exact purpose for which they been made and bought for and I would pursue this legally. £85 for me is too much for something to fail after 5 months or normal use.

 

Never ever pursued anything like this before, I wrote a LBA which went with the boots to them, they are going to return the boots, what do I do now, start a claim in Small Claims?

 

Any and all advice appreciated inc a link to a suitable thread.

 

many thanks

Micky

Edited July 14, 2019 by Micky the Hippo

[dx100uk]

how did you pay for them?

 

[Micky the Hippo]

Visa Debit card, chip and pin

[king12345]

It's all chinese made rubbish.

5 months is a good duration, my son only got only 20 days out of their own brand trainers before they disintegrated. 

Mind you, they were only £25 and when the store manager said it was normal wear and tear he left them there and walked out laughing. 

[slick132]

Hi Micky,

 

1. What did you say in the LBA.

 

2. How did the HO reply to you.

 

3. What did they say when denying there was any fault and it was just wear and tear.

 

[Micky the Hippo]

Hi,sorry for delay in respnse, just started a new job.

 

LBA here

 

Sports Direct

1^st June 2019

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

On 26^th January 2019 I bought a pair of Phantom VSN in size 11 from Sports Direct Chingford.

Please see my details of purchase below.

..... screen grab from bank statement of card payment ....

On the 27^th June 2019 I was surprised to see that the sole of the right boot had torn open at one of the rear studs, making the boots unusable. Please see picture below.

..... picture of torn sole of boot ....

The Consumer Rights Act makes it an implied term of the contract that goods be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality.  I do not feel that an £85 pair of boots should fail after five months of being used for nothing other than their intended purpose.

As you are in breach of contract I am rejecting the boots and request that you refund the sum paid to you of approximately £85 which I trust you will be able confirm from your records. I have bought a replacement pair of the same boots from your website on the 28^th June 2019 as my son needed boots almost immediately, for that reason please give me a full refund of the original purchase price.

I am today returning the faulty boots along with this letter to the Chingford branch of your store.

If I do not receive your satisfactory proposals for settlement of my claim within 7 days of the date of this letter, I intend to issue a claim against you in the county court without further reference to you.

Yours faithfully,

 

They replied by email to say this

.............

Thank you for send your football boots for a further inspection.

 

I would like to advise you that on inspection it is our belief that the issue is due to wear and tear and not an inherent manufacturing fault. I appears that the stud had been caught on something which has caused it to rip apart from the sole.

 

Sadly, I am afraid for this reason we are on this occasion unable to offer a replacement or refund for your boots.

 

I have now returned your boots to you.

 

Apologies for any disappointment caused.

Kind regards,

................

The boots arrived back to me today

 

I assume I now make a small claims claim?

 

Thanks

Micky

 

[king12345]

31 minutes ago, Micky the Hippo said:

I appears that the stud had been caught on something which has caused it to rip apart from the sole.

He appears...

This is written by a 3 year old.

Well, of course the stud has been caught in something...earth!

That's what they should be designed for so you get a grip on the field, otherwise you could use tennis shoes.

They're as bad as their CEO. 

[Micky the Hippo]

yes, I thought the same, astro as well so not even a grass field, they've plainly simply torn under the exact use they were designed and bought for

[slick132]

Hi Micky,

 

The letter you sent was your Prelim Letter and you should send an LBA before issuing proceedings.

 

1. Who replied to your letter that was taken in to the Chingford store - eg was it the store manager.

 

I suggest you send your LBA to the store Head Office enclosing a copy of the original letter and give them a final 14 days to reply and refund.

[Micky the Hippo]

Hello again

 

Coolio, the manager in the store refused to even look at the boots, said it would make him liable. The oil at the counter looked and said wear and tear but also refused to accept the letter or the boots.

 

Aye aye on the LBA, will get that in the post this week and update accordingly as and when.

 

Thanks

Micky

[slick132]

Sorry, I was replying earlier but had to go.

 

Ok, so do you know who replied to you from their HO. Was it a specific department or a complaints handler for example.

 

You could continue using Resolver to address the complaint before resorting to court. If Resolver can't get you the result you want, you can still take SD to court afterwards. Just search "Sports Direct complaint" on Google. 

 

The advantage is this may save money but the process may take longer than starting court action. Also others here are not in favour of using Resolver but it's not something I've had experience of.

 

One would hope that SD's Head Office would appreciate your continued custom (as you replaced the broken boots via website) but this will not help in you winning a court claim using the CRA.

 

 

 

[ericsbrother]

it should be considered as to what they are used for and whether they are fit for purpose- they are football boots designed to be worn on football pitches so in my opinion they fail the test of being of merchantable quality and fit for purpose.

You could ask SATRA if they have done any testing on this style of boots, either for Sports Direct or for anyone else to determine if they are up to the job. Also ask what data they have for other footy boots they can share with you

then you clobber SD with whatever you find out as I bet there is no testing done so they cnat say that they are up to a standard

[ericsbrother]

let BBC watchdof know od your troubles, they might like a story that tugs at the heartstrings

[Micky the Hippo]

I leave you guess how the second pair of the same boots have done, the sole and the upper have torn apart in two separate places on the same boot, about an inch in each instance, i was going to let this slide but two pair on the trot is too much.

 

Two pairs and we're barely half way through the season, and the astro boots only see half the games.

[Micky the Hippo]

Right, I might go through Resolver, it certainly got my banks attention sharpish recently on another matter.

 

It seems to me that two pairs of the same model of boots failing in succession strengthens my argument so should I start from scratch with both pairs n a single complaint?

[Micky the Hippo]

have opened a case in Resolver for both pairs, will update as and when, off to the shop for a third pair this sat, not the same model this time.