17 replies to this topic

[pipi]

Last Thursday night I bought a pair of shoes from a well known brand from Rebel Sports. I have worn the shoes twice (Friday morning and then today, Monday morning) and covered about 20 km's. During todays run the rubber sole delaminated from the shoe (fell off). So, after owning the shoes for less than 4 days I returned them to the shop. Rebel Sports is unwilling to refund or replace the shoes until they are inspected by the manufacturer.

I was suprised by Rebels responce, as the sign at the shop entrance states that they will provide a refund for faulty merchandise. I would expect any reputable shop to replace or rufund faulty goods without having to wait for the manufacturer to take a look.

So now I am very curious. Have other runners had new shoes fall apart with minimal or almost no use (eg. less than 100 km's of running on good surfaces)?

Have other runners had their faulty shoes replaced or refunded without having to wait for the manufacturer to take a look?

[DontStop]

Rebel are absolutely obligated to replace the faulty merchandise. If I were you, I'd march straight back in there and and not leave again until you had a brand new pair in your hands, or a full refund.

Did you speak to the manager, or just some part-time kid? If the manager, demand to speak to his/her manager. And so on.

That is disgraceful behaviour on their part.

[littleblackpug]

pipi, on Apr 6 2009, 02:49 PM, said:

So now I am very curious. Have other runners had new shoes fall apart with minimal or almost no use (eg. less than 100 km's of running on good surfaces)?

Have other runners had their faulty shoes replaced or refunded without having to wait for the manufacturer to take a look?

Yes I have had this happen to one pair of Loco's and one pair of Merrell Overdrives and on both occasions they were replaced. I simply had to return the shoes, then they sent me a new pair! The Loco's were about 4 weeks old when the glue on both shoes caused the entire sole to separate from the uppers, and the Merrell's were about 6 months old! Both were replaced happily by the company, and neither replacement pairs have had the same issue.

I assume you still had the receipt?

That's really terrible service from Rebel

[zandrsmum]

I absolutely agree. Go back, they will replace them. I have worked in retail for 20 years - not Rebel but other large companies, and this should not have been an issue. They are faulty and the shoe company will have no problem with the return. Good luck, K

[Bellthorpe]

I wouldn't go back again. I'd write to them. Keep any reply.

Then I'd charge the credit card transaction back through my bank.

Actually when I first returned them I would not have left the store until I had a new pair or a refund.

[Lost Boy]

Retailers such as Rebel and Retailer X (which happens to be associated with Rebel) often seem to use the excuse that the warranty is provided by the manufacturer and not by the retailer so the customer needs to contact the manufacturer and not the retailer. This is correct for warranty claims but products which are faulty at the time of purchase or within X days of purchase must be replaced by the retailer.

I suffered through a number of years working for Retailer X and saw this kind of rubbish often. If you can be bothered, go over their heads and get a return authorisation from the manufacturer (they should provide you with a number which can be verified by the store and authorises them to return the product to the manufacturer for credit) then tell the store that due to their crap service you will not be shopping there anymore. Try not to be too hard on the sales flunky, they're just doing what they have been told to do.

I am so glad that I do not have to put up with this rubbish anymore.


Edited to remove the name of the retailer.

Edited by Lost Boy, 07 April 2009 - 11:46 AM.

[D8888]

Lost Boy, on Apr 7 2009, 11:43 AM, said:

Retailers such as Rebel and Retailer X (which happens to be associated with Rebel) often seem to use the excuse that the warranty is provided by the manufacturer and not by the retailer so the customer needs to contact the manufacturer and not the retailer. This is correct for warranty claims but products which are faulty at the time of purchase or within X days of purchase must be replaced by the retailer.

I suffered through a number of years working for Retailer X and saw this kind of rubbish often. If you can be bothered, go over their heads and get a return authorisation from the manufacturer (they should provide you with a number which can be verified by the store and authorises them to return the product to the manufacturer for credit) then tell the store that due to their crap service you will not be shopping there anymore. Try not to be too hard on the sales flunky, they're just doing what they have been told to do.

I am so glad that I do not have to put up with this rubbish anymore.


Edited to remove the name of the retailer.

I would ring the store manager and explain what has happened. Try to work it out with them. If you are still unsuccessful, I would call Head Office and speak to customer complaints. You will need to keep details as to who you spoke to and what they said. Request their email address and confirm in writing.

The last resort is to lodge a complaint with the Department of Fair Traiding. You will need to provide them with details of who you spoke to and any response (hence the need for an email trail). For example NSW link is http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/About_us..._complaint.html

Good luck. My bet is that they will resolve it ASAP. You also might want to notify Head Office of this thread.... it never hurts, particulalry if the store's policy is in breach.

By the way, any goods sold must be fit for purpose... your shoes are certainly not. What brand of shoe did you buy?

[Lost Boy]

D8888, that is some sound advice. In my experience working with these franchised retailers such as Rebel, calling the "head office" generally results in the customer getting what they want.

By the way, using the "fast reply" button at the bottom of the page enables you to reply without unnecessarily quoting the above post. Hitting the "reply" button directly below the most recent post will quote that post in your reply.

[pipi]

D8888, on Apr 7 2009, 12:15 PM, said:

By the way, any goods sold must be fit for purpose... your shoes are certainly not. What brand of shoe did you buy?

The shoes were a pair of Nike Air Pegasus + 25.


Rebel Sport claims that they get an excessive number of returns of Nike's and would provide a refund for other brands of shoes. I think this claim is just spin and they would make the same statement about any other brand - but that is just my personal belief.

[DontStop]

They whaaaaa...??

These guys are jerking your chain. Seriously. If they have such a problem with Nike, then they should either stop stocking them (not gonna happen) or replace the faulty merchandise with no questions asked.

Time to make some serious noise against these people

[D8888]

I sent Rebel Head Office an email yesterday notifying them of this thread, hoping that they would resolve the isssue for you. I followed it up again today with another email.

All I can say is that it would be nice of Rebel to explain what their store policy is and follow-up the faulty shoes with pipi. The shoes must be fit for purpose and not faulty. My understanding is that under Trade Practices and Fair Trading laws you are entitled to a full refund. The store policy cannot be inconsistent with Trade Practices & Fair Trading Laws (but hey, I am no lawyer).

Good luck

[dmnz]

Well, actually the manufacturer is supposed to assess it and replace/refund if needed. This is provided to the retailer who passes it to the customer.

An assessment needs to be made, otherwise they would lose a lot of money. That being said, sounds like you'll probably get some sort of happy outcome from what you've posted Pipi but I don't think expecting a refund on the spot is the norm.

There are also lots of dodgy warranty claimants out there so they have to be prudent too.

[D8888]

Good news pipi....

I received a reply from Head Office

Thanks for your recent contact with Jody and informing us of the issues highlighted on the Cool Runnings Website.

We are attempting to investigate the specific store and staff in questions to gain their feedback and ensure that they fully understand our roel and responsibilities in dealing with Returns.

I have also informed our Operations team to ensure that the various regional managers refresh our store staff and management on consumers rights on returning goods.

We appreciate you brining this to our attention and hope to ensure that such an incident doesn't occur again.

Edited by D8888, 09 April 2009 - 09:31 AM.

[Lost Boy]

D8888, on Apr 8 2009, 09:41 PM, said:

I sent Rebel Head Office an email yesterday notifying them of this thread, hoping that they would resolve the isssue for you. I followed it up again today with another email.

I am sure you had the best intentions but I am not sure that acting on someone else's behalf in this way was the correct thing to do. If I had been the one to start this thread and you took this action I would be extremely angry with you. Did you ask for Pipi's consent before acting on their behalf?

[D8888]

Hi Lost Boy,

I was more interested to let Rebel know that they potentially had a reputation issue at hand. I have alot of time for Rebel as I think they provide a great range of items (particulalry for runners) and would not like this to erode because of one bad situation. Australia really lacks running stores like in the USA and UK.... Already 300+ people have reviewed this thread. The forum is public and all I did is made them aware of a thread - nothing more.

You may have a point if this thread was only available to members... it is not. Lets look at the big picture....

Cheers

[tim]

Lost Boy, on Apr 9 2009, 09:31 AM, said:

I am sure you had the best intentions but I am not sure that acting on someone else's behalf in this way was the correct thing to do. If I had been the one to start this thread and you took this action I would be extremely angry with you. Did you ask for Pipi's consent before acting on their behalf?

Did you get Pipi's consent to be extremely angry?

what an odd thing to say. I have a feeling that when you post on a public forum you are opening it up for replies and for others to act.

Maybe I have it wrong?

[Lost Boy]

tim, on Apr 9 2009, 11:06 AM, said:

Did you get Pipi's consent to be extremely angry?

I am not angry in the least. What I said was that if someone had acted on my behalf without my consent then I would be angry. That has not occurred, so I am not angry. I understand that D8888 was trying to do the right thing and was being helpful and I applaude him/her in this regard. Sometimes, however, when help is not requested it is not welcome. This could be for any number of reasons.

tim, on Apr 9 2009, 11:06 AM, said:

what an odd thing to say. I have a feeling that when you post on a public forum you are opening it up for replies and for others to act.

Maybe I have it wrong?

Given the nature of a public forum and social interaction in general I think it is hard to say that anyone is wrong. People have different values, may adhere to different social conventions and have different expectations of other people. This simply appears to be an instance in which my values are different to yours. No big deal.

[Bellthorpe]

Lost Boy, on Apr 9 2009, 09:31 AM, said:

I am sure you had the best intentions but I am not sure that acting on someone else's behalf in this way was the correct thing to do. If I had been the one to start this thread and you took this action I would be extremely angry with you. Did you ask for Pipi's consent before acting on their behalf?

It's not necessary to ask for anyone's consent to advise someone of the existence of a thread that touches on their after sales service.

I did exactly the same thing in another thread about poor service relating to a treadmill.

Here is the original complainant's response to my intercession.