HIGH street shoe retailer Clarks is scrapping its free school shoes replacement scheme due to the ongoing Covid restrictions which have forced stores to temporarily close.

The shoe store rolled out the scheme in July last year before pupils went back to school, ensuring youngsters would have shoes that fit ready for the start of the new term.

The scheme will be replace with a new promotion offering parents 30 per cent dicounts on school shoes. Here is everything you need to know. 

‘No clear time frame’

Under the scheme, parents could take their children into a store for a special fitting between 13 July and 14 September, and would be offered a free exchange if the child’s shoes no longer fit.

MORE NEWS:

If your child’s shoes were between a size seven to nine and a half, you would have needed to exchange them by 20 November last year.

If the shoes were size 10 and above, you would have had until 28 February this year to return or exchange them, or get a refund.

However, to claim the promotion, shoppers needed to visit stores with the shows, show their receipt and have a Clarks fitter agree that they no longer fit.

With tightened Covid-19 restrictions forcing non-essential shops to temporarily close across the country, shoppers have been unable to take advantage of the promotion.

Clarks has now confirmed that the scheme has been cancelled. A spokesperson said: “Due to current lockdown restrictions, and no clear time frame for when our stores will be able to reopen, we are very sorry to inform our customers that we can no longer continue with the guarantee or provide an exchange or refund.

“This is because a customer would need to visit a Clarks store to see if they are eligible for the guarantee and have the fit of their child’s shoes assessed by a trained member of staff.

“While this decision has been made directly as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, we appreciate how popular the guarantee has been and are truly sorry for the disappointment this news may cause.”

Replacement offer

While the replacement scheme has been cancelled, Clarks has introduced a new promotion to allow any customers who purchased a pair of school shoes in one of its stores between July and September 2020 to get a 30 per cent discount off their next purchase.

The school shoes do not need to have been purchased under the guarantee, and can be any size.

The discount will apply to any full-price kids or adults shoes, and customers will need their receipt to claim it.

To do so, simply enter the details of your receipt into the shop’s online form and Clarks will email you within three days with a promotional code.

This code will only be valid for online purchases only and customers will have until 31 March to use it.

It cannot be used alongside any other offer, or reduced price items.

Clarks branches in Gwent:

  • Abergavenny: Frogmore Street
  • Cwmbran: The Parade
  • Newport: Newport Retail Park, Spytty
  • Halfords Stores in Gwent:
  • Blackwood: North Court, High Street
  • Brynmawr: Lakeside Retail Park, Blaina Road
  • Caerphilly: Gallaghar Retail Park
  • Cwmbran: Cwmbran Retail Park, Cwmbran Drive
  • Newport: Newport East Retail Park