Defective product that Nortiv8 won't stand behind
I bought a pair of hiking boots that at first I loved. So much so in fact that I had convinced several family members and friends to purchase boots as we were starting up a biweekly hiking club. I wore them maybe 25 times on hikes in Arizona. No water exposure or extreme weather/terrain - basically like walking on dirt or gravel roads. On that last hike, one insole had failed in one boot, resulting in a severe bruise with a blister on top of that as I returned to the trailhead. I reached out to Nortiv8, provided photo evidence of the near-new conditions of the boots, photo evidence of the defect, photo evidence of my injury and evidence of proof of purchase. The initially said that since it was past their 90-day warranty window there was no coverage. I get 90 days as a threshold for a pair of shoes worn daily, but for something worn for 60 to 90 minutes maybe every other week? They would have had to have failed after maybe 30 hours of total use for that warranty to hold. Eventually they offered a 30% refund. I explained to them and provided a receipt showing that these were a gift, and that my wife had our daughter purchase them on her behalf so that I wouldn't see the purchase in our own Amazon account and ruin the surprise. They refused to mail a refund or electronically process it and instead without warning credited my daughter's account. I'm not going to go collect it from her. I get that products can fail prematurely, and I get that they can't be warrantied forever. What I cannot accept is a brand that will not stand behind its products in the face of photographic evidence. Instead of encouraging others in our group to patronize Nortiv8, my message is now to steer clear unfortunately.
UPDATE: As mentioned above and in their reply, Nortiv8 did provide a 30% reimbursement to use towards a new pair (which I did not receive due to the fact that these were purchased for me). They subsequently offered a partial refund of 15% if I were to purchase them through their storefront, even though they were offering 25% off sale through Amazon. I did end up purchasing a new pair and they did honor the partial refund request, hoping that the pair I initially enjoyed was just an outlier defective pair, but I see below that they have a "one-time exception replacement" as an option, which is PRECISELY what I asked for from the outset and exactly what they told me they could NOT do. I provided evidence of VERY light use of these boots, evidence of the defect and evidence of my injury. So this adds to the frustration of my after-sale care.
Reply from Nortiv8
Dear Brian Corr,
We sincerely apologize for the unsatisfactory experience you’ve had with our hiking boots and the entire after-sales process.
We truly regret that the insole issue caused discomfort and injury during your hike. We certainly understand any negative feelings you may have regarding the lifespan of this product. After all, you work hard for the money you are spending on our business. While we can understand your position, claims that exceed 90 days are not allowed due to wear and tear and other contributing factors. Because we never know for certain how a defect came to occur—whether by accident, manufacturing, or customer neglect—we ask all issues to be reported within 90 days. Please keep in mind the frequency and duration of when shoes are worn will greatly affect the lifespan of your shoes.
The 30% refund we provided was already an exception we made beyond our standard policy; normally, orders outside the 90-day warranty period only offer a discount. Regarding the refund account, for account security, we can only process the refund to the original payment account used for the order and cannot manually change the receiving account—this is a mandatory rule to protect every customer’s funds and information security.
We never shirk our due responsibilities for product and service issues. We have now located your order and all your communication records. We want to clarify regarding your request for a one‑time exception replacement: we will submit an application to our superior to review your case as a special situation, but this does not guarantee approval. We evaluate each request based on our warranty policy to ensure fairness for every customer, while also taking your experience seriously.
As for the discounts you mentioned, our promotional activities are held from time to time. We have checked the price you paid, and it was actually lower and more favorable than our current regular price. We also honored the partial refund when you purchased a new pair, as we truly hoped to provide you with a better experience.
Your trust means a great deal to us, and we are truly sorry for letting you down. Your experience will help us improve our after‑sales support in the future.
Best regards,
Nortiv8 Customer Service Team
