My Not-So-Happy Experience with Lamoda: A Cautionary Tale

Hey there, folks!

I'm back with another review, and this time it's not exactly a happy one. I want to share my experience with Lamoda, an online store I've used before and thought was pretty great.

A little backstory...

Last time, I wrote about my mistake of buying shoes from Guess on Lamoda. If you want to read more about it, you can check out the review here.

I've always had a pretty good opinion about Lamoda. They've got a wide selection of products, and it's awesome to see so many well-known brands and their diverse range. They often have new arrivals, too.

Overall, I'd give them a solid 4 out of 5. One thing that's a bit of a downside is the price. Often, the prices on Lamoda are higher than on other online platforms, and it's basically the same product.

But compared to WB, it's like night and day. WB has turned into a mess, with a bunch of cheap stuff being sold at 3-5 times, or even more, the original price. Even when it comes to shipping, Lamoda's packages are neat, clean, and pleasant to receive, without long queues and trash scattered around after receiving the goods, like on WB.

Check out my happy moment when I took my long-awaited purchase in a nice box:

And here's how the shoes looked initially, after I bought them:

As I mentioned earlier, I was stuck deciding what to do: either try to return the shoes or take them to the repair shop. The second option wasn't exactly appealing to me, since the shoes aren't cheap.

Without a personal discount, they cost 15,900 rubles!

I'm attaching a screenshot from the website:

And here's what happened to my shoes just a few wearings later:

I decided to return them

So, I decided to return them. I opened the app and saw the following information:

Even to clarify this question, I wrote to the support team, but got the same answer.

I have to say, when I asked totally different questions, I got the same copied responses back every time. Trying to have a chat with customer support was a total waste of time!

Return policy for defective products from the online store

The online store sets a 30-day warranty on the sneakers.

If the warranty period is over, you have to send the product to an independent expert on your own, and only after that will you get a refund for a defective product.

Customer support's response from Guess:

So, who's the actual manufacturer? Who sets the warranty on their products?

On the official brand website, it's one thing, but the partner platform gives a completely different story! It's not a big deal, but what really gets me is that the actual manufacturer sets a 2-year warranty on their products! Normal, right? 30 days vs 2 years?

In my case, I ended up buying these sneakers, but since it was still cold, I barely wore them for a month. I bought them on March 22nd, but the weather in my area wasn't warm enough for me to wear them, so I stuck to my autumn boots.

I got 'lucky' and wore the new sneakers only a few times, and they ended up breaking - not my fault, and the warranty had already expired! What a scam, if you ask me! And there are shoes on the website that are 2, 3, or even 5 times more expensive than mine, which I don't consider cheap either!

Now, according to Lamoda's rules, I have to prove at my own expense that it's a factory defect, basically proving that I didn't wear them enough! Maybe it's just me, but for a respectable online store and a brand that's an official partner, this is just unacceptable and unprofessional!

Lamoda and the Russian law 'On the Protection of Consumer Rights'

But then I remembered that there's more to it than just the online store's rules - there's also the Russian law 'On the Protection of Consumer Rights'.

So, what does the law say about this situation? Here are a few excerpts:

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So, what do we get in this situation? According to the law, the online store can't set a warranty period that's shorter than the one set by the manufacturer. In my case, that's the brand Guess itself. As I mentioned earlier, on the official website, the warranty is 2 years, but Lamoda decides to set their own rules and gives a 30-day warranty instead.

I tried to contact customer support again, and here's the response I got:

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<\/a><\/div><\/div>I have to say, the customer support at Lamoda just isn't interested in helping their customers. Every time I asked a question, they just copied and pasted the same pre-written response!

I took a close look at their responses, and it seems like I'll have to take my issue to Rospotrebnadzor. I thought it would all get sorted out without any drama, but I guess Lamoda isn't as great as I thought.

TL;DR

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After this experience, I'm not too keen on dealing with Lamoda again. The prices are a bit steep, but I was willing to pay for a quality, original product. The selection is nice, with some big brands, but I don't want to get burned again.

I'm not sure how this whole thing with the defective shoes will play out, but I'm definitely not leaving it alone!

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Update

After I filled out the return form and attached some photos of the defective shoes, a manager from Lamoda got in touch with me and said I could go ahead with the return.

<\/a><\/div><\/div>So, my question is... why didn't they do the same thing the first time I reached out for help?

I don't want to think about it anymore, so I've sent the shoes back and I'll get my money back within 3-10 days. It's a bit of a relief, but it's left a bad taste in my mouth.