No repair service

I bought a pair of Dr. Martens sandals from a shoe store at the Kelapa Gading Mall. After wearing the sandals for about a month and a half one of the buckles broke. I approached the Dr. Martens store to have it repaired and was told they did not have the facilities to repair the sandals.

The shop referred me to the distributor for Dr. Martens Airwair in Indonesia. The distributor suggested I get the sandals repaired at any shoe repair shop or by any traveling cobbler. Contacting Airwair Limited's Customer Service Department in England was not much help either. They sent me a fax on Dec. 19, 1996 promising immediate action, but nothing has happened since. I sent a second letter explaining my dilemma but have still received no reply.

I have two complaints against Dr. Martens Footwear. One is of course their abysmally poor customer service. They toss customers' complaints from one office to another, claiming it is not their responsibility. And when a company sells a certain product, it has a responsibility to also provide either repair facilities or have a replacement policy. Dr. Martens Airwair offers neither. Their policy seems to be "sell and forget".

SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY

Jakarta