I bought some Northwave Lizzards from Leisure lakes in Wolverhampton in August 2008.
Sometime around late 2009 the soles started coming away from the uppers.
I can't remember when, exactly, but I was in Wolverhampton last November and I know it was before that because I remember thinking I should have brought the shoes with me to return them.
I bought another identical pair, then, looking at the information that came with new pair, realised they have a two year warranty.
Ever since then I've been putting off going back to Wolverhampton, but time was running out, so I took them back today.

The guy in the shop was very unhelpful about giving me a refund.
He offered to send them back to Northwave, but seemed sure they would refuse a warranty claim because someone else had sent some back recently and been refused.
"So it's a known fault with these shoes then" I said.
"No, it's just a coincidence." he said "They look like they've had a hard time"
I was so sure it would be a simple refund for faulty manufacture I hadn't come prepared for an argument. The best I could come up with was "They're mountain bike shoes. I've been wearing them on my mountain bike".
He repeated that the manufacturer was unlikely to refund me, but he would try for me.
I said I thought that, as a customer, I had a contract with the retailer, not the manufacturer.
He said "OK then, I'm the retailer and I say it's fair wear and tear, not a warranty claim"

I left the shoes with them and I should hear within a week whether I will get a refund or not.

Assuming my warranty claim gets rejected, how do I go about claiming a refund ?
Do I need to get an independent specialist to examine the shoes ?
Do I make a claim in a small claims court ?
Are shoes that come unglued within their warranty period of "merchantable quality" or whatever the official phrase is ?
I could do with a bit more knowledge of my rights before I contact them again.

Northwave rate their shoes in their catalogue from 1 to 5, from Sport to Performance to Pro.
The Lizzard is a 4, halfway between Performance and Pro, so I would expect it to last it's warranty period when worn by an amateur.

you wore a set of mtb shoes for a year, and then they started to fail, through a years use mtbing………….and you now want a refund……….

😆
much

Had my Lizzards for about 3 years now and the soles are fine. Bit battered though.
Great shoes.

Just as an aside I use leisure lakes in wolvo and know some of the lads pretty well and they are a pretty good bunch of lads.

Had warrenty issues with a set of 2008 Marzocchi 66's and they were really helpful. (had to go back several times…)

I imagine if they say its unlikely to be a get warrentied then it won't be, I cant imagine them fobbing you off just to save the hassel of sending a pair of shoes back from my experience over a number of years its not their MO.

I've only been in the shop a couple of times before and found them helpful enough. One time I mentioned their 10% on line discount and straight away he gave me 10% discount on the shop price.

I was just surprised that he was so adamant that a sole coming unglued was down to fair wear and tear.
I thought it was the one fault with a shoe that definitely couldn't be put down to misuse or accidental damage and could only be caused by faulty materials or workmanship.
Twice he mentioned that the shoes looked like they had had a lot of use or had had a hard life as if I was asking too much, expecting of a pair of £85 mountain bike shoes with a two year warranty to last two years of mountain biking.

I was just surprised that he was so adamant that a sole coming unglued was down to fair wear and tear.
I thought it was the one fault with a shoe that definitely couldn't be put down to misuse or accidental damage and could only be caused by faulty materials or workmanship

My mate (well, acquaintance) that works in an outdoor stuff says that whenever his shop gets soles coming away from hiking boots etc, it's usually because the person wearing them has warmed them up by a campfire. Is that relevant to your situation?

(fwiw, it's a big chain he works for and I don't think he particularly cares whether stuff gets sent away or not, so I don't think he's got any big reason to make stuff up)

The shoes have never been near a fire.
I've got no central heating at home, just a log burner, so they have never been on a radiator either.
I never put any of my shoes near the fire to dry, I always use the stuffing them with old newspaper method.

I've just Googled NorthWave Lizard and the first description says that they're a "lightweight cross-country shoe" which would limit its use in my opinion. As it is lightweight there has to be some form of sacrifice over strength and durability. If they have been used as an all mountain shoe then I would expect them to have a shortened life and fail in some way.

Maybe you'll just have to accept this as one of life's little lessons and move on, not what you want to read, I know.

Been in the washing machine?

If not then it does sound rubbish but you can hav an argument with Northwave, and flame them/never buy again if unsuccessful.

I have had 2 pairs of Shimano m122s warrantied each pair after nearly a year because the soles are rubbish.In contrast an old pair of Shimano shoes have lasted me 6 years

Ive got some northwave lizzards and have no issues with the soles but do have an issue with them stinking of cat pee- does the warranty cover that d'ya think?

They've definitely never been in the washing machine.
I don't know what the difference is between All Mountain and Lightweight Cross Country, I just get on my bike and ride it. To work & back, on trailquests, on marathons, up & down Sustrans Route 45 or round the local bridleways.

Anyway, back to my original questions.
What's my next step when an item of sports equipment I have bought fails within its warranty period while being used for its intended sport ?
I think I'll try the CAB on Monday, unless anyone's got a better idea.

Your contract is with the retailer but if they are being difficult get hold of trading standards on Monday rather than CAB

I have no idea about the difference either.

Good luck.

Once again. YOUR STATUTORY RIGHTS ARE NOT THE SAME AS A WARRANTY!

Your contract with the retailer is for goods of merchantable quality under sale of goods act. At two years old its up to you to prove that the goods are faulty and your chances of a successful claim are low – you have had two years use out of them anyway so only a partial refund would be in order even if you could prove your claim. how l;ong is the expected life for a pair of shoes? 3 yrs? 5? you only get a partial refund in proportion the the actual and expected life of the goods.

If you want a claim under the two year warranty than that is up to the manufacturer. Nothing to do with the retailer. The retailer is 100% right here and its nowt to do with trading standards either IMO

OK, no need to shout. It's not something I've ever looked in to before, so I just assumed that if something I bought failed during its warranty period I had the choice of refund or replacement.
So it's not really that straightforward then and manufacturers can put whatever warranty they want on an item with no intention of honouring it ?

Statutory rights I have always assumed have for power than a guarantee ot warranty.If the shoes were 50 quid should they last a year ? If they were 250 quid carbon race shoes should they last 5 years?.As I said I sent a pair back aftwer 10 months as the soles failed and did the same again nearly a year later and changed styles as m122 soles are crap .Madison were great over this so I don't see why another company should be any different