I had a pair of Scholl walking sandals for a few years, but had only worn them a couple of times before my hip started playing up and I was unable to go far. They looked almost new when I got them out this summer but the first time I wore them, the soles disintegrated. I sent them back to Scholl in September by recorded delivery. The parcel was signed for, but since then I have heard nothing. I tried telephoning on the customer service number but got an automated message, saying I should return problem footwear to the shop where they were bought, together with the receipt. I have neither the sandals, nor a receipt, and I cannot remember where I bought them.
Scholl obviously got them but they did not even send an acknowledgement. I am not hopeful of any recompense, but I wanted them to tell me what was wrong with them. MG, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs
Clearly the shoes were beyond repair. You sent them back to Scholl’s then parent company, Reckitt Benckiser in Slough (coincidentally just after it had sold the business to the Aurelius Group, a European company). The new outfit, known as Health and Fashion Shoes, operates in the UK through distributor Alliance Healthcare, selling the shoes through independent pharmacies.
The Sale Of Goods Act says goods must be fit for purpose and last a reasonable amount of time – rights which are in addition to any guarantee from Scholl. But there are time limits and you can ask for a repair or replacement only up to six years after you bought the goods as long as it is reasonable for them to have lasted this long.
We contacted Health and Fashion Shoes which said it advises consumers who have problems with any goods to take them back to the shop – this is not possible in your case as you could not remember where you bought them.
After further chasing it was, miraculously, able to locate the missing shoes. The company says this particular style was last produced about 15 years ago (you think less) in which case you would no longer be covered.
However, Health and Fashion Shoes’ chief executive, Joelle Brunet Naman, was struck by your persistence. In a very generous gesture of goodwill, the company is sending you a gift of a similar style of sandals, worth €83 (£65).
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