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Garantia Legal de Conformidade — 3 anos

Legal guarantee of three years

New goods sold to consumers in Portugal carry a three-year legal guarantee of conformity. This page states what that covers on a leather shoe, where the line between a defect and ordinary wear falls, and how to claim.

Last updated 15 August 2026 · Governing law: Portuguese law · Language of the contract: English, with Portuguese legal terms retained

1. Three years

  • The legal guarantee of conformity on new goods is 3 years from delivery.
  • For the first 2 years, a lack of conformity that appears is presumed to have existed at delivery. We carry the burden of showing otherwise.
  • In the third year the presumption no longer applies, but the guarantee does. You may be asked to show that the fault comes from the product rather than from use.
  • There is no longer any requirement to notify us within a fixed period after noticing a defect. Tell us when you find it; the three-year period is what matters.

2. What conformity means

Goods conform to the contract when they:

  • match the description, type, quantity, quality and materials we stated;
  • are fit for the purpose shoes of that kind are normally used for — a dress shoe is for walking in ordinary conditions;
  • have the qualities a consumer can reasonably expect for that kind of product, taking into account the price and our public statements about it;
  • come with the accessories and instructions we said they would.

Everything we publish about a product is part of the contract: the three-part material declaration, the sole construction, the last and the width across the ball, the heel height, the weight, and the statement of whether the pair can be resoled. If any of those is wrong, that is a lack of conformity.

3. What it covers

Examples of what we treat as a lack of conformity:

  • a seam that opens under normal wear;
  • welt stitching that fails, or an outsole that separates from the welt or the upper;
  • a heel block that comes loose or a top piece that detaches;
  • lining that tears through in the first months of ordinary use;
  • a leather upper that splits or cracks through the grain where it has been cared for as we described;
  • eyelets or buckle hardware that break or corrode in normal use;
  • any product where the material declaration, the construction or the stated measurements turn out to be inaccurate;
  • the two shoes of a pair not being the same size.

4. What is ordinary wear

Leather changes with use. That is not a defect, and no guarantee anywhere covers it:

  • creasing across the vamp where the foot flexes — it appears in the first weeks and deepens for the life of the shoe;
  • the outsole thinning at the ball and the heel top piece wearing down; a leather sole in regular use typically needs replacing within one to two years;
  • colour deepening or shifting with polish, sunlight and time, particularly on hand-painted museum calf;
  • the insole taking an impression of the foot;
  • suede nap flattening and darkening where it is handled;
  • damage from neglect or misuse: drying wet shoes against a heat source, cream polish applied to suede, machine washing, chemical solvents, or wearing a shoe whose sole has already worn through.

5. How to claim

  1. Email support@loccalcado.baby with your order reference, a description of the fault, and photographs — one of the whole shoe, one close to the fault, and one of the underside.
  2. We reply within two business days, and tell you whether we need to see the shoes. If we do, we send a prepaid return label. Carriage for a guarantee claim is always ours.
  3. We assess and tell you the outcome in writing, with reasons. Where we conclude it is ordinary wear rather than a lack of conformity, we say so plainly and explain what we looked at.

6. What you can ask for

Where the goods do not conform, you may require, free of charge:

  1. repair or replacement, at your choice, unless the one you choose is impossible or would impose disproportionate costs on us; then
  2. a price reduction, or termination of the contract with a refund, where repair or replacement was not carried out within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to you, where the fault reappears, or where the fault is serious enough to justify it directly.

Repair or replacement is done within a reasonable time from when we receive the goods, and always free of any postage, labour or materials charge.

7. Resoling is not a guarantee claim

An outsole worn through by walking is wear, not a defect, no matter how soon it happens if the shoe has been worn hard. On a Goodyear welted pair that is what the Resole Voucher is for — it is a paid service, not a warranty remedy.

Cemented pairs cannot be resoled at any price. That is stated on every cemented product page before purchase, so it is a property of the product you chose, not a fault in it.

8. No separate commercial guarantee

We do not offer a commercial guarantee on top of the legal one, and we make no claim of a lifetime warranty or of shoes that last forever. The legal guarantee described here is the guarantee, and it is the one the law obliges us to honour.

If we decline a claim and you disagree, you can file a complaint in the Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico or refer the matter to TRIAVE, the consumer arbitration centre with competence over Felgueiras. Our decision is not the last word.