Disappointed by an age old Irish company

tmc86

The company in question is Dubarry.

Unforunately they have left a very sour taste with me due to their product and the outcome of my complaint process.

Dubarry are a well respected Irish company with well respected products. Dubarry deck shoes are one of their most popular products of which I bought a pair about 4 years ago. I still have these and they are in relatively good condition still. They carried quite a high price tag aimed at the sailing market.

Last August I bought a pair of Dubarry Direction brown shoes for a new job I was starting in Dublin. I paid €60 for these on sale in a retailer in Cork.

I wear them for work literally from about 8:30am to 5:30 am and take them off as soon as I get home. I get the bus to work and back and the stops are no more than a 2min walk in each direction. The left shoe started to deteriorate quite fast with the sole coming unattached at the front and the rubber heel cracking and splitting. A couple of weeks ago it was raining and water seeped in through these cracks. The right shoe is worn underneath but the sole is fine and there are no cracks.

I emailed Dubarry to ask about a guarantee to which they replied all products carry a guarantee of 1 year. They told me to take them back to the retailer. I then took them back and they said that they would pass on to the Dubarry rep (they stock mainly Dubarry shoes). I received a call from the retailer saying Dubarry had sent the shoes back with a letter stating that they were worn because of excessive use and therefore I am not entitled to a replacement.

This is an absolute farce, the left shoe is shot whereas the right remains in expected condition. I do not have a limp or a shorter left leg so there is no reason why it should wear quicker than the right. After 9 months of use in an office you would expect a leather shoe to be in realtively good condition.

I am extremely disappointed with this outcome and will be writing a letter once I get my shoes back to express this disappointment and to enquire as to why one shoe is in tatters and the other is fine.

I will not be engaging with their brand and products in the future and am more disappointed by the fact that an Irish shoe manufacturer (somewhat rare these days) has blatantly ignored the fact that one shoe has to be faulty to have worn that badly.

If this is the way they deal with situations like this then I have no problem purchasing shoes from a foreign manufacturer. I would rather support an Irish business (which is what my job entails) but not if this is the way they carry on.

Rant Over.

Esoteric_

9 months use? But you bought them 11 months ago..

Tbh, if you're wearing them 5 days a week, 9 hours a day, even with not too much walking, I'd expect them to be worn down by now. My work shoes carry a guarantee of 3 years (they're specially made), but always wear away after 6 months because of the physical nature of my job.

I'd email them mentioning that one shoe was significantly more damaged than the other, which would indicate a fault of some kind, but I wouldn't expect too much in return.

tmc86

It worked out as 9 months as I bought them in August but didnt start work until early September and then sent them back end of May, it just took this long to get a response etc.

Fair point that they might have seen a fair bit of wear during those 9 months which would be refelcted in the condition of the right shoe but the left is falling apart. if they experienced normal wear and tear then surely they should be almost the same.

dudara

When you look at it, you have been wearing the shoes for approximately 8 months, probably in a wide variety of weather conditions.

On the other hand, there is a noticeable difference in the condition of the two shoes. Assuming that you have no inherent bias towards one leg or the other, then this is the way forward with Dubarry. (Do all your shoes wear evenly, or do any of your other pairs show signs of irregular wear?)

Tow

I believe the soles were outsourced to Spain a good few years ago. In any event I have found that the sailing shoes they made up to the early 90's were better quality. Not just the soles, but better leather was used.

tmc86

Dudara my other shoes wear evenly and this is the first time a noticeable difference is evident.

The deck shoes they made were great, as i said I still have mine and wear them from time to time and these were only bought 2006 or so, the quality was good then too.

I will be writing to them again anyway to let them know that I disagree with their evaluation. I bough a new pair of shoes when I sent them off so Im not bothered as much by compensation. Obviously I would like a replacement not necessarily a refund.

elusiveguy

I had a navy goretex pair turn green over the space of a month. They first said it was because they HAD come in contact with salt water and then when told that they hadn't been near salt water yet they said it was because they HADN'T been immersed in salt water.

There CC was disaster but even after that and this thread has reminded me that I need to replace my current pair

TheInquisitor

elusiveguy wrote: »

I had a navy goretex pair turn green over the space of a month. They first said it was because they HAD come in contact with salt water and then when told that they hadn't been near salt water yet they said it was because they HADN'T been immersed in salt water.

There CC was disaster but even after that and this thread has reminded me that I need to replace my current pair

Did this happen during the last winter?

maxer68

1. Dubarry don't make shoes - they design and market a brand. The shoes sre made in factories in. Italy. Spain, India ance China.

2. €60 is not a lot for shoes and I wouldn't expect more than 6-9 months regular wear from such a pair.

3. This applies to everyone. Last winter's weather combined with hundreds of tonnes of salt spread on raids and footpaths the length and breath of the country ruined many pairs of shoes.

uck51js9zml2yt

I stopped buying Dubarry years ago. Every pair of shoes I got ended up falling apart within a few months...I never kept the receipts to make a claim:(

I always buy Clarkes now and never a problem.

elusiveguy

TheInquisitor wrote: »

Did this happen during the last winter?

No, about 5 years ago

TheInquisitor

elusiveguy wrote: »

No, about 5 years ago

Just to note if it did happen during a winter its likely it was salt water. Counsils spreading salt to clear the roads footpaths etc. I've heard of many cases of it happening this winter so its possible it happened to you

booboo88

maxer68 wrote: »

1. Dubarry don't make shoes - they design and market a brand. The shoes sre made in factories in. Italy. Spain, India ance China.

2. €60 is not a lot for shoes and I wouldn't expect more than 6-9 months regular wear from such a pair.

3. This applies to everyone. Last winter's weather combined with hundreds of tonnes of salt spread on raids and footpaths the length and breath of the country ruined many pairs of shoes.

thats what happened mine. wit a mix of salt and gritted footpaths, snow ice and rain, they are bound to get worn,
9 months is average for work shows op.