Last Thursday, the Swiss footwear brand On was hit with a class-action lawsuit in Oregon after two consumers claimed their shoes were too squeaky. The complaint alleges the company knowingly sold defective shoes, while refusing to fix the issue or offer refunds.
According to Footwear News, the plaintiffs, Patricia Ramirez and Louis Bologna, both purchased the On Cloudmonster in September 2024–Ramirez from an Oregon retailer, and Bologna online–but found the shoes were squeaking with every step. Ramirez only wore the shoes three times before claiming she was “no longer able to use her shoes as intended due to the embarrassment and annoyance.” Bologna reported the squeaking began after three months of wear.
Alleged fraud
The case was filed as a civil tort alleging fraud, with the plaintiffs claiming they were deceived and suffered financial harm as a result. Footwear News reports Ramirez and Bologna say they were “injured by the price premium” they paid for the Cloudmonster (which retails for C$230) and that the company specifically excluded the reported defect from the shoes’ warranty.
The complaint states: “[On] continued to market and sell its high-priced athletic shoes with a defect that it knew existed but failed to remedy the issue. At the same time, [On] refused to make injured consumers whole by exempting this defect from its warranty and continued to sell the product without any warning. [On] could have warned consumer, fixed the design, and/or offered to fix the shoes or give consumers their money back but did none of those things.”
Canadian Running reached out to On for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Squeaky shoes, nothing new
Plenty of shoes squeak–especially when they’re brand new. But apparently, extremely squeaky On shoes isn’t a new occurrence. On Reddit, there are countless threads about the problem, debating whether refunds are possible and sharing potential fixes.
@ciaran.armstrong How to fix squeaky On Shoes? Dont buy them in the first place #running #shoes #run ♬ original sound – Ciaran 🏴🇪🇸
“I’ve had quite a few pair of Ons, and this is normal,” one user wrote. Another thread, dating back two years, warns against buying the shoes: “Warning/do not buy: On shoes squeak and they do not acknowledge the flaw.”
Other users say they’ve tried to obtain refunds–some successfully, others not. And it seems fans of On shoes have gotten their anti-squeaking hacks down to a science: baby powder, WD-40, silicone spray, dryer sheets and even sandpaper. “Spray a little [WD-40] in the back 3 holes left and right and let it dry–instantly fixed my squeak issues,” another comment read. “Lasts about 3 months before needing to reapply.”
