While I'm incredibly disappointed that my brand new shoes are coming apart after just a month and a half, I'm more disappointed that I'll have to pay to ship my shoes to Dr. Marten.  They said it'll be 4-6 weeks for them to decide if the defect was manuf. related or due to wear and tear.  As they won't return defective shoes and if the defect isn't convincing enough to prove manufacturer defect-I'll be out the shoes and the money I paid for them.  If they do find that the shoe is defective and not by me, they'll gladly replace the shoe with the same shoe or a comparable one.  That's crazy-why would I accept a "comparable" shoe, when I may not like the look and it may not be what I need.  This just stinks.  I think I'll just scrap the shoes and purchase from another company.  Dr. Marten shoes aren't what they use to be.  Very disappointed.