Misrepresentation, Breach of Contract, and Fraud
This is a company to avoid. In December, I ordered a pair of trainers from Baltini. Their product listing suggested UK sizing. But, once the order was submitted, it did not specify UK sizing. I therefore emailed Baltini that day asking them to confirm whether UK or US sizing was used. A simple enough query. However, it has still not been answered properly. Instead, on 9 January 2025, Andre emailed me stating a UK size 9 equates to an EU size 43. I had not asked that question. In the same email I was asked to advise them how I wish to proceed, indicating I had options. Since Baltini failed to address my simple query, I ordered the trainers elsewhere. Given the order from Baltini had not been shipped, or even fully processed to be shipped, on 9 January, I advised them to cancel the order and issue a refund. On 10 January, I received a reply from Andre stating, “Unfortunately, we are unable to cancel your order at this stage as it has already been shipped out.” This was clear and unequivocal misrepresentation. The tracking information still showed the order had not been sent or even fully processed to be shipped. I therefore escalated this as a complaint and received a reply from Joy that same day. Joy wrote, “We also apologize for the incorrect confirmation regarding your order status. To clarify, your order is currently being processed and has not yet shipped.” However, referring to the Baltini order and shipping policy, she refused to cancel the order despite the fact the order still hadn’t been processed or shipped. Worse still, the legal consequences of their misrepresentation have not been fully appreciated. Shipping is a condition to the contract between Baltini and me. And the misrepresentation in Andre’s email (10 January) amounts to a breach of contract. Hence, their policy no longer applies and there is a clear entitlement to the cancellation of the order and a full refund. Their only suggestion has been that I accept the order, have it shipped with import fees, and then return the trainers paying an additional return fee. Such expense and inconvenience is wholly unnecessary. Furthermore, it is plain that this company engages in fraudulent practices. I would strongly suggest reading other 1 star Trustpilot reviews, as well as the Better Business Bureau complaints about Baltini. It seems common practice for them to falsely claim that an incorrect item has been returned or that an item has been worn. They then reject the return and charge the customer even more money. It is little wonder that the Better Business Bureau has given Baltini an F rating. 31/01/2025 Update: The order was finally cancelled and I have now received a full refund.