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Anyone know my rights?
lustyrusty
Posts: 126 Forum Member
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Recently my favourite boots had a bit of the sole come loose so I asked my sister to drop them into the cobbler to be glued properly.
When she went to pick them up he said I had already picked them up, when she said she knew I hadn't cause I'd rung her the previous evening he admitted that he's lost them. He asked for a few days to have a good look - when she returned again he still hadn't found them and told her he was speaking to his solicitor to see what his rights were! He said that as they were cheap boots with a 'crap plastic sole' he might offer £20 compensation! They were soft leather with a rubber sole!
Does anyone know where I stand with this? I'm at a complete loss. Due to the hours I work I find it hard to get to see him myself (hence asking big sis!) If he were to offer a reasonable reimbursement I'd accept that but £20 and a load of excuse and lies is a bit of an insult (at least I think it is?!!!)
What would be reasonable in this situation?
When she went to pick them up he said I had already picked them up, when she said she knew I hadn't cause I'd rung her the previous evening he admitted that he's lost them. He asked for a few days to have a good look - when she returned again he still hadn't found them and told her he was speaking to his solicitor to see what his rights were! He said that as they were cheap boots with a 'crap plastic sole' he might offer £20 compensation! They were soft leather with a rubber sole!
Does anyone know where I stand with this? I'm at a complete loss. Due to the hours I work I find it hard to get to see him myself (hence asking big sis!) If he were to offer a reasonable reimbursement I'd accept that but £20 and a load of excuse and lies is a bit of an insult (at least I think it is?!!!)
What would be reasonable in this situation?
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Take the £20. Ask yourself if you would have got more than £20 if you sold it in its condition. I doubt it. Its not worth the hassle. Take it as i think the bloke lost it and made a reasonable offer. If he sells his customers shoes he wont have a business before long.
what a load of cobblers.....
This is a classic of Cockney rhyming slang. It has nothing directly to do with shoemakers but originates from 'cobblers' awls', the pointed hand-tools that cobblers use to pierce holes in leather. The rhyme is with 'balls', meaning testicles.
The phrase is often reduced to simply 'cobblers', which is now considered an acceptable vulgarism, as many may not be aware of its origin. 'Cobblers' sounds as though it might have been said by cheeky Victorian barrow boys in Dickens or similar. In fact, it isn't as old as it might sound and wasn't used until the mid 20th century. The earliest example that I've found in print, bearing in mind that it probably existed as street slang for some time before printed versions appeared, is from Philip Allingham's Cheapjack, his account of life amongst English market traders and fairground stall-holders, which was published in 1934:
I would have gotten a lot more than £20! That's why I was having them 'fixed' rather than replaced.
Thank you for your reply though. I appreciate your opinion.
take the £20, they have gone missing, no solicitor will take it on.
suck it up and forget about it
Tell me the original price and age of the shoes. Then i will tell you what you would have got for it with a sole coming off. There is really no market in used shoes with sole damaged. Sorry.
I can understand your annoyance as I'm sure it would cost a lot more to replace them, it's not as if you could or even want to buy an identical secondhand pair to replace them.
It would be best to see someone at your local Citizens Advice, it's free.
I'm more annoyed with the lies and excuses. My sis is really nice and pretty easily intimidated so I think he thinks he can bully her into taking such a paltry sum!
How much did the boots cost and how long have you owned them?
If they are worth substantially more then £20, threaten to make a claim to the small claims court. The initial court costs might be higher than the value of the boots, but the loser pays the court fees.
I'm not really sure why this is necessary?
I don't think so.
The boot's are obviously important to the OP, that's why she's asking for advice.
It's typical that some people have got nothing better to do than take the piss rather than trying to help.
No I asked her to drop off and pick up some boots as I was in work and this is what she was faced with. And yes she is my 'big' sister as in she is older than I am. This does not exclude her from being a very nice person.
Thank you again. You're very kind.
I really don't understand why people come on these forums just to be horrid to others. I just assume its a sign of low intelligence and low self-esteem. Thankfully I'm past the stage where I need to put others down to make me feel better about myself.
All I was asking was if anyone knew what my rights were in this situation and I get a load of rubbish about the origin of the word 'cobbler' and comments about me sending my nice 'big' sister to deal with the problem!
I'm just thankful there are some decent people out there!
They are second hand shoes that was in need of repair.
They will have a very low value (even if a mega expensive pair).
They have offered £20 and that's a figure you start the negotiation with. It's highly unlikely they will offer a hugh amount of money but with firm negotiations it should be a bit more.
But they should not be made by the sister, If the OP has not got the time to spend on this then that's their choice
Don't worry yourself about my intelligence or self esteem, neither are low.
(And I didn't feel the need to denigrate yours)
Just listen to the posters you think are not as "kind" as Andrew and who are simply giving you a reality check.
Worn boots in need of repair - move on.
Regarding the OP's situation, I would say he should be entitled to a like-for-like replacement (regardless of the condition of the lost pair). He needs a decent pair of boots for work and will be left seriously out of pocket if he's only given £20 but needs to spend over £100 - and yes, a really good pair of work boots will cost well over £100.
I would suggest sending the cobbler a letter (by recorded delivery) with your reasonable request and a hint that you are prepared to pursue it through the small claims court. He won't want it to go that far so he'll settle.
(Leaving the OP out of this) the cobbler declares them poor quality, the customer declares they were their "favourite" boots.
No photographic evidence, no receipts.
Every time this happened the retailer would be wide open to extortionate claims.
Well the retailer could always look after things and not lose them. Then they wouldn't get extortionate claims.