I bought a specific walking shoe on advice from the sales assistant. After seven months the inside heel wore away on both shoes, causing blisters and subsequently stopping me from wearing them. I checked their complaints policy and returned to the store of purchase. The sales assistant said it was fair wear and tear, then moved on to another customer. I emailed the company, who asked for pictures, sales docket and history. They too came back as fair wear and tear, even though I had stated that I believed the shoes had not met acceptable quality or fitness for purpose in accordance with Australian consumer law. The original cost was $169, suggesting to me that the company accepts I should be paying in excess of $340 a year to wear their product. What are my next steps?
– Rob, Queensland
As a consumer I often lament the ever-dwindling lifespan of things. But just because the things we buy are of increasingly poor quality, fall apart or break faster, it doesn’t mean that as consumers we don’t have rights.
Under the Australian consumer law, some of these rights are called “consumer guarantees”. The consumer guarantees say that goods you buy must be of “acceptable quality’. While there are no set rules for deciding if something is of acceptable quality, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has some guidance on what you might consider.
To be of acceptable quality, goods must at least be safe and durable, and do everything that similar products are commonly used for. The ACCC says this means that goods are “expected to be durable enough to perform [their] intended function(s) for a reasonable amount of time”.
When measuring how long you can reasonably expect goods to last, there are a few things to consider. Some of these include the nature of the goods, the materials the goods are made of, the price of the goods and statements made about the goods.
In this case, it might be reasonable to expect that expensive walking shoes, used the way they are intended, will last longer than seven months. While price is not necessarily an indicator of durability, there is generally also a reasonable expectation that higher-priced goods will be better quality, and therefore last longer. Depending on the advice you received from the sales representative when you bought them, you might also have had this expectation reinforced at the point of sale.
It’s worth noting there are some exceptions to the rule, which only applies under “normal circumstances”. That means if you’re using the shoes in an unexpected way, for instance, if you’ve been wading through water in them and they’re not designed to be waterproof, you can’t reasonably expect them to last as long.
Similarly, if you’ve treated them in a way that’s inconsistent with any other advice, for instance, if washing instructions say dry-clean only and you threw them in the washing machine, the consumer guarantees will not apply.
In terms of “fair” wear and tear, you should also consider the frequency and intensity of walking activities you’ve been doing. Are you going on lengthy hikes over rocky terrain every weekend? That might be something that decreases the lifespan of your shoes. Or are you casually strolling around an urban environment? If that’s the case, you might reasonably expect them to last much longer.
In short, you must be using the shoes for the purpose they were “intended or designed” for. So if all you’ve been doing with the shoes is regular walking activities, you probably have a good case to make for a repair, replacement or refund.
The first step is to contact the business, but you’ve already done this twice, and haven’t received an outcome you’re satisfied with. The next step is to contact your local consumer protection agency.
In Queensland, this is the Office of Fair Trading. To raise a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading, you will need to provide receipts or proof of purchase, evidence of the fault with the product (photos should suffice), correspondence with the retailer and any other relevant documents. You can fill out an online complaint form, where you will be prompted to upload this information.
The Queensland Office of Fair Trading will provide you with advice, and potentially also contact the retailer to support the resolution of the dispute. If that doesn’t work, your next step would be legal action, but for the cost, time and stress it will take, it might not be worth the $169 to you.
Regardless of the outcome of your dispute, you can leave online reviews for products via a retailer’s website, Google reviews, social media and other channels, which can be powerful. Ultimately, you can also shop elsewhere. Look for businesses that offer lifetime guarantees and free repairs on their products, as some brands are starting to take sustainability and customer care seriously.
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