Skate Factory Customer Charter

We’re hearing from loads of customers about different horror stories buying skates and skate accessories from various retailers. We’ve launched our customer charter to set out our business ethics and explain what a family-run skate specialist offers different from other organisations.

  1. 40+ years Skate Trade experience – Steve opened his first skate shop in 1977 selling skateboards and converted roller skates for West London skaters. We have a wealth of experience, knowledge, and guidance to help skaters get the best from their skates. We read so many online posts with the latest help/knowledge – the majority of which don’t relate to the UK skate scene or UK weather/poor quality roads/pavements. If you need advice – we’re more than happy to talk you through all skate options and politely ask you to take everything you read online from “experts” and “influencers” with a pinch of salt.
  2. Honesty – we test all the products we sell and recommend them based on your needs. Not your pocket/wallet size. We purposely avoid overpriced items and believe they don’t offer the recreational skater any benefit, other than lightening your wallet. We used to sell Bauer Turbos with Full Precision and Sims Snakes for £150 in 1988 – we maintain our belief a £200 pair of skates offers no benefit over more expensive skates (£200+).
  3. Specialists in Recreational Skating – we specialise in rec skating. This means more than 75% of skaters in the UK would suit a recreational style skate/boot, suitable for Street Skating, Park Skating, Jam (dance) Skating, Skating Fast, Skating Slow, Skating Indoors, Skating to pose(!). If you’re looking for a dedicated speed skate or jam (dance) skate or bowl ride – there are different skates out there for you. We believe over 75% of skaters in the UK don’t need a specialist skate – recreational skates are more than adequate (and less costly) than dedicated, specialist skates.
  4. We only sell Quality Skates and Skateboards – we test all our products so we know what to recommend for our preference of skating. If you're looking for a specialised pair of speed skates, we can redirect your enquiry to a specialist skate store.We don't sell Scooters, Pogo Sticks, Frisbees or other extreme sports. We specialise in Recreational Skates only. This means we dedicate our time to researching the best available products, test them all and recommend the best available option to all our skaters.
  5. Stock control – We keep all items in stock and update our stock availability on our website and mark items out of stock as soon as we are aware we can no longer supply a product. What we don’t do is list all products available, take your money and hold on to it for weeks/months while an item is ordered for you.
  6. Dispatch Time  - We are realistic in our timescale to dispatch all orders. Our website and email confirmation will let you know how long you might expect to wait for your delivery to be dispatched. If there is an extended delay, we will always call or email you to let you know of any possible delay. What we won’t do is take your money and delay any dispatch date without any prior notification.
  7. We do not sell toy-rated skates – there are plenty of skate and toy stores out there that sell substandard skates for adults. We don’t stock any of them simply due to the fact, we don’t want any of our customers injured as a result of a substandard product. We recommend and sell skate-rated products suitable for prolonged use. This doesn’t mean it’s more expensive – we recommend the best value products for skating (robust) use.
  8. We don’t do Roller Derby or Artistic Dance Skating – there are plenty of local specialists out there – some we recommend too if you’re looking for a new setup or best advice on grippy speed wheels. We specialise in Recreational Roller Skates for a reason – we understand our products and recommend based on personal experience.
  9. We take complaints seriously – and always investigate each complaint, occasionally with a third party, offering neutral advice. What we don’t do is turn to social media or publicly (sometimes) privately criticise/insult/defame our actions/business. This can lead to a can of whoop-ass and legal action, so best to keep it friendly, right?
  10. We keep it green – all our waste materials are minimised and/or recycled, reducing the impact to the UK’s waste management policy. We have also switched to a low carbon-neutral delivery company, offering improved environmental performance too.