I tried three ways to check if they really leak. I first put a teaspoon amount of water on the fabric area above the toe area, that's the first place that I noticed that they were leaking. I soon felt the water on my fingers when I placed them inside the boot under the toe area. I then placed the boots in water, that was a bit tricky, they wanted to float away so I used a couple of stones inside to hold them down. The water seeped in quickly, within an hour and a half a 1/4" of water was in the bottom of each boot, the stones were wet. I then filled the boots to the top with water and it seeped and dribbled out quickly, this morning only about 1/2" of water was still in the boot. All of the leakage points were coming out via the fabric areas.
I have now discovered where they were ordered from, (sportsshoes.com) so in a couple of days, I will contact them for a 'discussion.'
My boots are really great, so comfortable and they fit my feet like a glove, so for me ideal for hiking. I wouldn't be so annoyed if these 'waterproof' boots had a small leak that had developed slowly, I do not seek perfection. But these boots leak so badly there is no way that they can be considered waterproof.