The Purchaser Writes:
I have bought footwear from this firm before with disappointing results. But I thought I'd give them another chance and take up a special offer.
The previous order
was for a pair of snow boots. Things got off to a bad start when Cotton Traders charged my credit card as soon as they got the order but didn't send the boots out for several weeks; I got them some time AFTER I'd had my credit card bill. They're fur-lined and very good for wearing around the house on a cold day. But after a few months, I took them out in snowy conditions and came home with wet socks because they were leaking
Cotton Traders' second chance
was a half-price offer for suede boots. They looked big enough, and it said size 10 on both the box and the moulded sole, so I was quite surprised to find that the toes of my size 9½ feet were rammed up against the toecaps of these Chinese boots.
All became clear when I put a tape measure into the Cotton Traders boots, and then into several pairs of genuine size 10 boots & shoes from elsewhere. The Cotton Traders boots had an internal length of 9 inches while a proper, British size 10 boot has an internal length of 9¼ inches.
As a result of being sent Chinese size 10 boots instead of proper British size 10s, I am now out of pocket to the tune of £12 for postage and return postage (assuming they refund the cost of the boots) and I will most definitely NEVER EVER buy anything else from Cotton Traders.
You'd think a firm which has been in business as long as Cotton Traders would have the elementary business sense to check that what is described as 'size 10' by a foreign manufacturer actually is the right size.
27th February, 2008
I received a rather sniffy letter from Cotton Traders to say the order was supplied as I requested so they're not refunding the postage. As what they supplied is a Chinese size 10, but 1/4" short of being a British size 10, and they are sorry that we can be of no further assistance in this matter, it looks like my best course of action would be to drop a complaint about them on my local Trading Standards Department and remain firm in my resolve NEVER EVER to buy anything from this outfit ever again.
Postscript
Cotton Traders keep sending me letters saying they want to reward me for being one of their best & most loyal customers. If that's really so, it's difficult to imagine what their worst customers are like!
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