Avoid SportsShoes.com if you might need to return/exchange items
In the past I've had good experiences with SportsShoes.com. I buy most of my running gear there as well as most of my casual shoes.
This time I'm attempting to go through their returns/exchanges process and it's really disappointing as I previously had them marked as a reliable retailer. Ok, the delivery is both slow and expensive, but they are usually hassle free.
I've aggravated something called a Morton's Neuroma in my foot, which prompted me to try to get a pair of wide fit trainers for running.
I ordered a pair of New Balance 2E width shoes on 21st December.
They arrived 23rd December. I tried them on, thought they didn't really feel any wider than my Asics, so I sent them back the same day, requesting the 4E variant as an exchange.
After hearing nothing, I emailed them on Sunday 15th January.
Three days later on Wednesday 18th January I got a fairly bad response telling me my account had been "credited" for the value of the order (minus postage), asking me how I wished to proceed with the credit. I replied three minutes later asking why it had been credited and why they hadn't handled the exchange.
Two hours later I hadn't heard anything so I wrote a longer reply re-stating the item I wanted in exchange, and told them the delay so far had been unreasonable and the reply they'd given me was unsatisfactory hoping that being polite but agitated might get me escalated.
24 hours later... still nothing.
So we are looking at a timescale of over 3 working weeks now.
If I simply request a refund and submit a separate order it means I'll be charged again for delivery, and I'll lose the 15% off discount voucher on the original order.
Compare and contrast to Amazon: I bought something, it was delivered for free but was the wrong size, I sent it back free of charge and had an email confirming the refund before I got home.
Update: After posting a bad review to Feefo and TrustPilot things started moving. I received the exchange on 21st January. They seem to monitor Feefo and TrustPilot and react a bit quicker if you post bad reviews.
Talk is cheap