FAQ

Whilst we are always happy to hear from our customers, from experience we have found that a large number of enquiries can be answered from our FAQs.

Products

THE SIZE I WANT IS OUT OF STOCK, WHEN WILL IT BE AVAILABLE?

Our footwear is constantly in production, but our best-selling products and sizes are selling out quickly. We are trying to remedy this by increasing our stock and most styles are available to purchase from our website again within the next 2-3 weeks. 

The quickest way to know when a product and size is available again is to register for our back in stock notification on the relevant product page. If your size is out of stock the ‘ADD TO CART’ icon will change to ‘SOLD OUT’ when the size is selected. Click on the ‘NOTIFY ME WHEN AVAILABLE’ (under the ‘SOLD OUT’ icon) and enter your email address and you will be emailed when they are available to purchase again. 

Once Limited Edition styles/sizes are sold out they will not come back into stock. To avoid missing out, we encourage you to act quickly. 

ORDERS

CAN I CANCEL OR AMEND MY ORDER?

As soon as you place your order on our website, our warehouse team will begin to prepare your order so that you can start wearing your new footwear as soon as possible.

Unfortunately this means that once your order has been packed we are unable to stop an order or make any changes, including:

Delivery addresses 

Change of size

Change of colour

Adding an item

Removing an item

DELIVERY & RETURNS

UK DELIVERY

UK & Northern Ireland orders are dispatched via DHL.

During sale or seasonal peak periods, we aim to dispatch orders within 2 business days.

Please note, orders cannot be processed during factory closures which include Saturdays, Sundays and UK Bank Holidays.
Orders placed during this time are processed the next working day.

Delivery timescales are based on approximations due to third party factors and will require a signature on delivery. If you have ordered
multiple items where stock delays are experienced, your goods may be delivered in instalments.

Orders over £100

Free Standard Shipping – Usually delivered within 5 working days

Express Shipping – Usually delivered within 3 working days from £4.20


Orders under £100 

Standard Shipping– Usually delivered within 5 working days from £4.80

Express Shipping – Usually delivered within 3 working days from £7.20

RETURNS & EXCHANGE POLICY

We’ve gone paperless! As part of our commitment to sustainability we do not send out returns paperwork with orders, instead we have a simple online returns system.

We hope you will not need to return your order, but if you do all you need to hand is your order number and email address.

 

When you’re ready head over to our Returns Center. Simply enter your order number and email address and select the items that you wish to return, you will then have the option of a refund or exchange.

Use our FREE returns option with DHL for a quick and easy return. With drop off locations worldwide and the ability from several locations to book a collection at a time and place to suit you, returning could not be simpler.

Please note to use this service, you will need access to a printer.

 

Should you be in a location not served by DHL, we will recommend that you use your local postage service using a tracked service. Unfortunately we are unable to reimburse you if an alternative shipping service is used.


Please ensure the Returns Form is completed within 60 days of receipt of the shipment, you are able to send the items back at your earliest convenience.

 

Your items must be returned unworn and returned in its original condition.

MAKE AN EXCHANGE

MAKE A RETURN

FULL RETURNS POLICY

HOW DO I CARE FOR MY SHOES?

CLEANING GUIDELINES

NPS and Solovair footwear takes several weeks to manufacture and when combined with the benefits of Goodyear welting and quality materials, can last many years. Following our tips will help you achieve an optimal lifespan for your purchase. 

Follow our general guidelines below for basic shoe care, or read our blog post for more comprehensive leather and sole care here.
You can purchase all your essential shoe care accessories here.


GENERAL GUIDELINES
1) Always clean your footwear ideally after each use by cleaning off any surplus dirt with a brush or damp cloth. You can find all your essential leather maintenance products in our Waterstop Care Kit.
2) Our footwear is water-resistant but not waterproof. DO NOT wear footwear in prolonged or extremely wet conditions. If your footwear becomes wet, follow our water exposure care tips below.
3) Leather is a natural product and requires a rest period. The general rule of thumb is to allow footwear to rest for double the time they were worn. For example, footwear worn for 8 hours should rest for 16 hours. A rest period allows the leather to breathe and rid itself of moisture. Too much moisture can cause the internal sock liner to shift and lining damage. DO NOT wear footwear over consecutive days. We recommend wearing footwear in rotation.
4) We recommend using shoe trees to help retain shape when footwear is not being worn. Shoe trees are designed to slightly stretch the vamp area of the shoe to allow the leather to dry from natural feet moisture of water exposure without hardening or drying in an unnatural or highly creased state. Without the use of a shoe tree, leather upper fibres are susceptible to breaking down more quickly. Shoe trees can also be used for boot style as boot trees tend to be difficult to come by.
5) Repair soles or defects in good time using a reputable repairer. Continued wear of damaged footwear may result in irreversible damage. If your boots arrive with loose threads, DO NOT pull them as this may result in seam damage. Instead, send an enquiry with images to our customer services team who will be able to inform you if these can be trimmed.
6) It is important to wear the correct size footwear. Too small or too large fitting styles can cause leather to rub along pressure points or crease abnormally resulting in premature damage including holes. We do not compare our sizing to other brands and always recommend following our Size Guide. Where half sizing is not available we advise customers purchase a removable insole to bridge the sizing gap. If you are wide fitting, please contact our customer services team who will be able to guide you with shoe width measurements.

Please note, damage incurred from footwear worn in incorrect weather conditions or from poor shoe care are not considered manufacturing faults.

SOLE REPAIRS

RE-SOLE SERVICE
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Solovair re-sole service for our UK customers.

Solovair footwear is manufactured to an excellent standard and will provide many years of use, however our soles are made from PVC which is a soft, flexible, and durable material and the upper will always wear much longer than the sole.

Due to this and popular demand, we are now offering an in-house re-sole service at our factory in Wollaston.

Do you have a pair of Solovair boots or shoes that are in need of a re-sole? For £65 we will fully replace the soles as well as collect and deliver the footwear back to you via an Express DHL service.

To find out more and to see the terms and conditions please click here.
 
For customer's wishing to use an alternative company, replacement soles can be purchased from our Accessories Collection here.
Please note, replacement soles need to be purchased x1 size larger than your standard shoe size to accommodate for sole trimming.

Please contact us if you require further assistance with sole repairs or refurbishments.

REPLACEMENT LACES

We stock a selection of replacement laces in various colour choices. You can shop our range here.

We recommend the following lengths when purchasing replacements:

3 eyelets: 65cms
4-5 eyelets: 80cms
6-8 eyelets: 150cms
11 eyelets: 180cms
20 eyelets: 250cms

FIND OUT MORE

WHAT IS GOODYEAR WELTING?

Goodyear welted footwear acquires its name from the long strip of material called a ‘welt’ which is sewn to the upper and insole of the shoe or boot by a chain stitch. The outsole is then attached separately to the welt by a lock stitch. The machinery used for this process was invented in 1869 by Charles Goodyear Jr. This traditional method of manufacturing serves to provide the following key advantages:

COMFORT AND STRENGTH
The cavity created by the inseam between the inner and outer sole is filled with a flexible compound that moulds to the  shape of the wearer’s feet. This provides comfort, strength, outstanding performance and excellent shape retention.
INSULATION
The flexible compound that is sandwiched between the inner and outer soles provides excellent thermal insulation
and protection from uneven surfaces.
EASY TO REPAIR
 As long as the uppers are taken care of, it is easy to re-sole worn welted footwear by sewing or heat-sealing
new soles to the existing welts.

Read more about Goodyear welting including more information about sole repairs and refurbishment by reading our blog here.

ABOUT OUR LEATHER

Our full-grain, chromed bovine leather is sourced and tanned within the EU and REACH compliant. This includes our 100% bovine leather lining. 


We use Vegetan for our vegan products, it is hard wearing, breathable, water-resistant, polyester and polyurethane upper material with classic smooth finish.


Read more about the different leather finishes and basic care tips using the below links:
Solovair Leather Explained
NPS Leather Explained

HOW DO NPS & SOLOVAIR FOOTWEAR FIT?

Our size guides refers to the internal foot-beds of our footwear, the average foot width and the type of last used within manufacturing. As our sizing cannot be compared with other competitive brands, we strongly recommend customers follow our size guide and a foot measuring process before purchasing to help find an ideal fit.
Please double-check measurements across different styles as guides may differ.

Our comprehensive size guide can be found here.
Alternatively, reference size guides via the Size & Fit link found on each product page.

If after measuring your feet you are still unsure what size to purchase, please contact us.
Please note, we offer a 30 days Returns Policy for orders that are in an unworn condition, but we are not accountable for orders where the incorrect size has been purchased.

IS YOUR STEEL TOE COLLECTION [EN ISO 20345:2004] COMPLIANT?

Unfortunately our boots are defined as fashion steel cap only; we do not recommend them for industrial use and they are not compliant to any safety certification. We do intended to launch a safety rated shoe and boot later in 2022. Please sign-up to the newsletter on our website to be the first to know when they are released.

WHAT RESISTANCE QUALITIES DO YOUR SOLES HAVE?

Our Classic and Commando soft-suspension soles are made from a PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) compound which means they are resistant to acid, oil, fat, petrol and alkali.
Unfortunately we cannot guarantee our soles are 100% slip resistant.

ENQUIRIES

HOW DO I MAKE AN ENQUIRY?

For all other enquiries, please email us on  help@nps-shoes.com, call us on +44 (0) 1933 664207. 

Our Customer Services team operate within the GMT time zone of Mon-Fri 9am-5pm (excluding public holidays). We aim to respond to all messages within 4 working days. 

Get in touch

Have questions about your order, or a general enquiry?