Two days ago I purchased a pair of $80 shoes from the Shoe Warehouse - owned by Sterling Shoes. They fit perfectly at the time. Today I wore them for the first time, and after one hour of wear, the shoes had stretched so badly they were flopping off of my feet. I happened to be in a mall with another Shoe Warehouse outlet and decided to go in and see if I could exchange. I was immediately informed that because I had worn the shoes, there was no exchange or refund available. I told the salesperson that shoes that had stretched so terribly within one hour were defective, and the defect could not be known until the shoes were worn. He simply said I was out of luck. I then asked for the name of someone I could contact at their head office. I was given a name of the regional manager at Sterling Shoes, the parent company of the Shoe Warehouse. The salesperson further elaborated that I could complain all I wanted, but would get nowhere. He was right.
After two calls to this manager, I was finally put through two hours later.By then the shoes had stretched even further and I had to curl my toes to just keep them on. After explaining the situation, the manager curtly told me that it "was normal for leather to stretch" and there was no refund or exchange on worn shoes in any case. I informed her that I have purchased many a leather shoe in the past 25 years and have never had shoes that stretched out of shape like this--there had to be a defect in the leather. She then informed me that it was their policy to only refund or exchange if shoes could be put back on the shelf for resale. This implies to me that should this company ever refund/exchange a pair of shoes, they put them back on the shelf with known defects for the next sucker to buy. I informed this manager that defective shoes should be going back to the manufacturer and not back on the shelf.
The Sale of Goods Act in British Columbia does not support the practice of selling defective goods to an unsuspecting buyer.
I wonder why neither the Shoe Warehouse nor Sterling Shoes does not clearly post their exchange/refund policy for all customers to see? I would suggest the reason is no customer would readily buy shoes knowing that this company could care less about customer satisfaction. All they want is to relieve you of your money. As far as I am concerned they are deceptive theives. I, will never shop there again, will never recommend them, and sincerely hope anyone reading this takes heed.
Marilyn
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
Canada
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