Blades & Outdoors / Hannes Blades - keep away (Delta Boots issue)

I bought a R900 pair of Delta Boots from Blades & Outdoor. It would be my son's 2nd pair - he wore the old pair every single day all day for 2 years. Within 1 month of wearing the new shoes they started breaking: the sole tearing away from the shoe. They did not get wet, were not used in mud and did not undergo heavy usage. My son simply wore them around the house.

I made contact with Hannes, the owner (Hannes Blades) who said I should courier the shoes back to him. He then told me very clearly (WhatsApp voice note) that he will reimburse me for the shoes, with no mention of a dependency on his suppliers feedback. 2 weeks later he had not reimbursed me so I followed up only to hear that he would not pay me back, accused me of lying and trying to commit ***** as his supplier is convinced, and can prove that the shoes I returned are more than 2 years old. Oh yes, and threatened me that they want to open a case against me with the Police.

I had provided the invoice for the purchase of the second pair of shoes as well as the exact date (bank statement) of when I purchased the first pair of shoes in June 2023.

Any respectable business would honor their word to reimburse a customer. The verbal commitment overwrites any official return policy.

We have spent thousands of rands on shoes, bags, knives & torches with this company but there is no way we will ever support them again.