Ecco review: Ecco boots where the soles disintegrated 2nd time I wore them - I see others have had similar issues

I bought a pair of ECCO boots for $240 (ECCO Sarterelle Tall Buckle Boot 25). I only wore them 3 times, and the second time I wore them the heel on one boot cracked and pieces of black plastic started falling off. The third time I wore them, the sole on the other boat also cracked while walking over some gravel. So I emailed customer service as obviously I am very disappointed with the quality. I thought Ecco boots were good quality, hence why I bought them for Canadian winters. I have now had 10+ emails with customer service, basically giving me a huge runaround even though I have provided pictures, my home address, my phone number etc. The latest request is that if they are going to give me a gift certificate to honor the warranty, that I have to destroy the boots (both heels are missing, and I put a knife through the leather of both boots and took pictures of all of this, which I sent). But the customer service agent Stephanie is still telling me this isn't adequate, I have not adequately destroyed the boots and I am supposed to cut them (with my kitchen scissors? They are leather, that isn't easy to do!) I am so sick of getting a run around. I am a real customer, who wrote a genuine complaint. With the totaly number of emails, photos etc that I have provided, I can only conclude they really don't want to honor the warranty. I note here on this site that other people have complained of EXACTLY the same quality problem with the soles.

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