Tower London (often styled as TOWER London) is a UK-based footwear retailer. Founded in 1980, it’s a family-run independent shoe shop operating multiple London locations (Brick Lane, Camden, Shoreditch) and an online store. The official website (tower-london.com) offers men’s, women’s, and children’s shoes from many brands.
It advertises free tracked UK delivery over £70 and free returns for account holders. The site displays valid payment options (Visa, MasterCard, Amex, PayPal, Klarna, etc.) and links to active social media pages. In short, the brand appears to be a well-established retailer with real store addresses (e.g, 196 Brick Lane, London E1 6SA) and official contact details (Tower Boots London Ltd, Kingsland Road, London E2 8DD).
Table of Contents
- History & Reputation: According to its About Us page, TOWER London was “founded in 1980” as a family-run indie footwear retailer and has won multiple British independent retail awards. It highlights decades of business experience and community involvement. In short, the company has an official heritage: as their site notes, “we’ve built a noteworthy reputation over 40 years”.
- Company Details: The TrustedShops profile for tower-london.eu lists the company name as Tower Boots London Ltd. at Perseverance Works, 38 Kingsland Road, London. (Tower London’s official store page also shows a phone number and UK addresses.) This confirms that the business is registered in the UK.
- Shopping Policies: The site advertises free standard UK delivery on orders over £70 and free returns for account holders. It also shows a Trustpilot logo and a commitment to customer service. Payment methods include credit cards, Amazon Pay, PayPal, and Klarna. All this is typical of a legitimate retailer.
Trust & Safety Signals
We examined both positive trust indicators and customer feedback to assess legitimacy:
- ScamAdviser Check: ScamAdviser (an automated site-safety checker) rates tower-london.com as high trust, noting a valid SSL certificate, long domain registration period, and positive aggregated reviews. It reports a TrustPilot score of 4.5/5 from ~33,000 reviews (i.e., generally favorable feedback). ScamAdviser also highlights that the company offers money-back payment options and that “people are giving this website positive reviews”. While ScamAdviser can be overly generous to big brands, this suggests the site isn’t an obvious phishing or malware operation.
- Trusted Shops & Reviews: Tower London has a Trusted Shops profile (for the tower-london.eu site) showing an Excellent overall rating (4.81/5) from 114 recent customer reviews. This profile carries a valid Trustmark with Buyer Protection. One verified review (Dec 2023) praised “excellent price and fast delivery”. These endorsements reinforce that the EU branch is reputable.
- Trustpilot and Online Ratings: While we couldn’t fetch Trustpilot directly, publicly available data (via ScamAdviser) indicates a 4.5/5 TrustPilot rating from about 33,900 reviews. That many reviews imply a large customer base. Such a score is quite high for any retailer. Tower London’s own site prominently displays thustPilot logo, reinforcing that image.
Customer Feedback – Mixed Experiences
Despite the official trust signals, customer reviews are mixed. We found many negative comments on independent review sites:
- Positive Comments: Some buyers report smooth transactions. For example, a Reddit user said their order “arrived with no issues” after ordering from tower-london.com. Many positive reviews on sites like TrustedShops mention quick delivery and correct items (e.g., “Ordered shoes, delivery in 3 days, exactly what it said on tin”). This suggests that many customers do get legitimate products as promised.
- Common Complaints: However, a significant number of reviews allege quality and service problems. On Reviews.io, Tower London has a very low rating (1.6/5, with only 14% recommending). Typical complaints include:
- Poor product quality: Several reviewers mention cheap or “fake” items. One customer said their sneakers had “ugly glue around the sole” and concluded, “Tower London sells fake products !!! Never from this company,”. Another wrote that a pair of boots fell apart in 2 months.
- Damaged shipments: Multiple buyers said their shoes arrived damaged or poorly packaged (e.g., “Box arrived damaged… Dreadful!”).
- Return/refund issues: Many reviews cite difficulty getting refunds. One angry customer recounted that they returned shoes, but the store claimed not to receive them and refused a refund – leaving the buyer out-of-pocket “151 Euro for shoes I don’t have”. Another wrote in French that the company sold “fake” items and “does not reimburse returns,”.
- Unresponsive customer service: A frequent theme is that customer support is slow or unhelpful. In the reviews, customers often mention being left on hold or getting only boilerplate replies.
- Poor product quality: Several reviewers mention cheap or “fake” items. One customer said their sneakers had “ugly glue around the sole” and concluded, “Tower London sells fake products !!! Never from this company,”. Another wrote that a pair of boots fell apart in 2 months.
- These negative reviews, while not the majority, are substantial enough to raise concern. One Reddit comment summarized: “They boast about good reviews on TrustPilot… BUT there are also bad reviews online too”. (And indeed, aside from TrustPilot and TrustedShops, user-generated sites like Reviews.io and PissedConsumer show many unresolved complaints.)
For context, some issues might stem from the fact that Tower London offers many branded shoes – it’s possible some are drop-shipped or of lower grade. One Reddit post even noted: “It’s possible that they are dropThey may behere’s a chance it could be bootlegged or bad quality”. - Return Policy Note: We checked their Returns page. The site promises free returns for account holders, but also has various exceptions. A reviewer noted that the product box itself had a tiny print warning: “May not last 3 months on the box,”. This suggests caution: some products might be lower quality or not built for long-term wear.
Scam Check – Is It Fraudulent?
Given the above, is Tower London a scam? The evidence suggests not an outright scam, but rather a legitimate but imperfect retailer:
- The company is officially registered and has real stores, phone numbers, and addresses. That alone is rare for scam sites (which usually lack verifiable details).
- Large volumes of (mostly positive) feedback on TrustPilot and TrustedShops indicate a real business handling many transactions.
- ScamAdviser’s high trust score further backs legitimacy. It detected no typical scam red flags (no malware, valid SSL, etc.).
- There are no reports of phishing or illicit activity; rather, complaints focus on product/service quality.
In other words, Tower London seems to be a legitimate retailer that has quality control and customer service issues, not an identity theft or payment fraud operation. However, the volume of negative comments means prospective buyers should be cautious:
- Shopping Advice: If you decide to buy, pay with a secure method (PayPal or credit card with dispute options). Record your tracking numbers. Read the fine print on returns and shipping costs. As the reviews suggest, double-check your order upon arrival and report any problems promptly.
- Alternatives: If you’re concerned, remember that Tower London also has real stores in London; if you’re local, you can inspect in person. Otherwise, you might prefer buying from well-known retailers or the brand’s flagship site (Tower London’s site is the flagship).
Also Read: Koupon.ai Review: Scam or a Legit Site for Amazon Coupons?
Technical Scoring Table
| Category | Weight | Score | Rationale |
| Domain & WHOIS | 20% | 18/20 | Domain is long-established, WHOIS not hidden, registered to a real UK business (Tower Boots London Ltd). Minor deduction for lack of WHOIS detail. |
| Security (SSL, Blacklist) | 20% | 20/20 | Valid SSL certificate, not on any known blacklists, secure checkout and payment gateways. |
| Performance (Speed, Design) | 15% | 12/15 | Clean, professional design; mostly mobile-friendly. Speed is decent, though some users report sluggishness. |
| Transparency (Contact, Policies) | 15% | 10/15 | Real addresses and company names listed. Clear return/shipping policies, but vague refund enforcement and missing direct support email. |
| Reputation (Reviews, Social) | 20% | 12/20 | TrustPilot rating is strong, but significant negative reviews on Reviews.io and forums hurt reputation. |
| Content Quality | 10% | 9/10 | Accurate product listings, full-size guides, detailed return instructions. Content is branded but not overly marketing-heavy. |
| Total | 100% | 81/100 | Legit, but with customer service and trust concerns. Good technical and business structure with patchy execution in user experience. |
Final Rating:
81/100 – Technically Legitimate, but Mixed User Trust
Tower London scores well on all technical and structural fronts: it’s a real business, secure, with full policies and verified presence. However, the customer experience and product quality vary widely, so caution is advised, especially for first-time buyers.
Conclusion
Tower London is a real UK footwear retailer with decades of history. It is not a fraudulent scam site in the sense of stealing identity or money outright. The company has a legitimate storefront, TrustPilot presence, and proper business registrations.
However, customer reviews reveal mixed quality and service: some buyers got their shoes without issue, while others reported damage, poor fit, or refund difficulties.
In summary, Tower London appears legitimate but has received enough complaints that you should order cautiously. Always use secure payment and be prepared for possible return hassles. Our recommendation: Tower London is probably safe to try for genuine products, especially if you want UK-based service, but lower your expectations on quality and customer service. Treat the site with moderate trust and buy only if you accept the risk of a non-ideal experience.
