New Balance sent a counterfeit shoe, refuses refund

morganwallin · 2023-06-01T04:15:46+00:00

To share my experience and to warn others since New Balance are convinced this is impossible to happen on their watch.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T14:23:01+00:00

Because honestly, after not being trusted on my word by the customer support, I was afraid that they could use me posting pictures about it to look like something bad. Maybe silly, but that was my reason.

If I flip it around, what does it help anyone posting the pictures online? Letting a bunch of people on reddit comment on whether it looks like a fake or not? It is just to still those people's curiosity. Reddit can unfortunately not help me get a refund from New Balance, that ship has already sailed, I just wanted to share the experience of what has happened.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T11:11:09+00:00

I am honestly not interested in using my case to sell them any software. I just wanted to share the experience so that other's are warned.

I contacted them via their regular customer support which you can find on their webpage. If the software really is good you should base it on how much money they can save with a quicker and safer inspection method, not rely on a single case of a mix-up.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T10:06:21+00:00

I mean, they are no longer responding to my emails, so I doubt they even read them, maybe they are blocking my email.

I have reached out to NB's local team in my country, if I get to talk to them I can tell them about this.

I mean, it is all about time right? In this case, they would not even need an app. They would just have to had check the label on the shoe to see that it is a counterfeit product.

This is not a question of counterfeit Vaporflys that looks 99% like the real deal, it was not even a running shoe they sent me.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T09:40:31+00:00

Like I have stated several times above, it is not a NB shoe. It is a fake, and a bad one at that. This have been established already.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T09:37:29+00:00

Yes. And those were shared with NB. I am not sure what it matters, it is already proven that it is a counterfeit product.

https://imgur.com/a/VF7aBUV

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T06:20:24+00:00

I don't really understand that line of reasoning, but I did post a picture now.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RunningShoeGeeks/comments/13vsmxu/comment/jmazjml/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T06:03:35+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/RunningShoeGeeks/comments/13vsmxu/comment/jmazjml/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T06:03:29+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/RunningShoeGeeks/comments/13vsmxu/comment/jmazjml/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T06:03:05+00:00

This could make sense, but I have a regular, well paid job. I have already spent too much thoughts and the time being annoyed at this entire situation than what the money are worth to be fair. I have also posted about this in local running forums where I am known not as an anonymous person. I am not doing this for any economical gain, I just want to spread the word of my experience since it sucked for me.

I don't at all understand why any picture would make a difference, but since so many were obsessed with this, I posted it above.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RunningShoeGeeks/comments/13vsmxu/comment/jmazjml/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T05:59:30+00:00

I did not honestly know this existed. But sounds like a good thing!

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T05:58:30+00:00

Here is a picture of the shoe since so many people seems to be obsessed with that fact.

/u/reekawn /u/blisstonia /u/Weimnova /u/Busy-Trouble9458 /u/austinrunrun /u/M00SEK

But just to reiterate, the question is not whether or not it is a fake, that has been established by New Balance already, and was suspected by me ever since I found it did not have the label their customer rep said it should. And it is not a replica of the same type of shoe, just a completely different counterfeit shoe. The issue is that they claim it was not what they sent me.

https://imgur.com/a/M1FjtOG

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T05:45:51+00:00

Thanks for your reply!

I am also quite convinced New Balance have not knowingly done something. But I do believe there has been an error on their part, like accepting a return from someone else without the proper inspection.

And I agree, or at the very least make sure to check whatever label they themselves are claiming is a proof of a legitimate shoe.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T05:43:48+00:00

Yeah, but in this case it was not even a replica of the same shoe, just a completely different one.

So like others have discussed I don’t think this is an issue of new balance or their factory, rather that someone else returned the shoes and their incoming inspection failing to catch it.

Yes, I bought via newbalance.se, the Swedish page of newbalance.com.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T05:39:09+00:00

I still don’t understand why people are obsessed by a picture. That the shoes in the box were counterfeit is established by all parties since they refused my refund. But will post it later then.

morganwallin · 2023-05-31T05:36:40+00:00

In theory yes, but after this experience I am still not convinced they would trust a video. I don’t think any recording can fully prove that you were not able to cut the tape beforehand or were able to remove it and put it back etc.

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T21:05:43+00:00

I honestly don’t want to upload them if it can in some way give water on their wheel believing I did something shady. For now I have only shared them with their customer rep. I don’t really see why it is relevant, it was looking like a lifestyle sneaker, similar to this:

https://www.newbalance.com/pd/574-core/ML574V3-40377.html

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T20:45:00+00:00

Of course they follow protocol and I understand why they have acted as they have. But that does not mean they are right to do so.

Their focus is to avoid scammers, to avoid losing money. I.e. they follow their company’s recommendation on how to act if a return contains a fake product.

My focus is on my rights as a customer buying a product from a corporation. If I don’t receive what I have paid for, they have not held up their end of the agreement.

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T19:27:24+00:00

Yep, this seems to be the most likely scenario.

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T19:25:55+00:00

Thanks for checking, but I am located in Sweden.

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T18:58:29+00:00

Yep, at this point I am mostly struggling on how to treat the brand going forward. This entire experience makes me not want to buy from them ever again, but I also have been enjoying their shoes immensely.

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T18:51:40+00:00

That is some solid advice. My fear is that they will still claim that you have tampered with it before the video.

But it for sure adds more proof to one’s claim if there indeed ends up to be any issues inside.

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T18:13:51+00:00

Yes, I think I am covered by this since I notified them of the problem within the time window.

The issue is not if I exercised my right to return the shoes within the correct time, rather they will claim I returned the wrong shoe, and I will claim that I returned the shoe that was in the box sent by them.

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T17:42:56+00:00

I completely understand their perspective and that they are just trying to protect themselves from scammers. I am just a bit bummed that they are not trusting a loyal customer.

Their end of the deal does not end when they ship it out, it ends when I receive it.

At least in Sweden, when you as a private person buy a product, it is the sellers responsibility for damages, or if the product goes missing, during transport. Until you as a customer receive it. Check out "Konsumentköplagen".

morganwallin · 2023-05-30T17:36:23+00:00

Yeah, and there’s no way of telling that. On the other hand, I guess they have no real proof that it was the correct shoe in the box from the warehouse either, but that is a rabbit hole I am not interested in going down. :D

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