Not so "Sweet Dreams"

macman71

Hi Forum
I wanted to ask for a little advice. I needed to buy a new double mattress, and whilst wandering around the local Dreams showroom I thought I spotted a bargain. We were told that the mattress was an ex-display model and that was why it was reduced, however at £350 it was still a substantial expense for us. The mattress seemed to be in good condition apart from a few marks on it, so we decided to go ahead and buy it.

Unfortunately, after just 2 months of use, the mattress developed a long ridge down the middle, and two deep dips where our bottoms would go making it very unsupportive and uncomfortable. It got so bad that my wife and I reverted to using a mattress that was left by the previous owners of our house.

When we contacted Dreams to tell them about the problem they sent an engineer out to have a look at the mattress, and on inspecting it, he said that there wasn’t actually a manufacturers fault, but it was showing the symptoms of what generally happened to this type of mattress after substantial use. When we pointed out that we had only had the mattress for 2 months, he declined to comment.

Following the submission of the engineers report, we were sent a letter by Dreams to say that the mattress was not faulty, and although they were sorry about our misfortune, they couldn’t help us further. We wrote back to Dreams and said there may not have been a fault with the mattress, however we believe that the mattress was far more worn than we were led to believe, and that it was not fit for the purpose that it was sold, and that we certainly expected to get more than 2 months of use out of the mattress for the £350 that we paid. Again we received a similarly “sympathetic” letter back from Dreams, which still basically told us to ‘get lost’ in a round about way.

Obviously I am going to pursue this further, however, as a hard working self employed father of three, my free time is precious, so before I start contacting C.E.O.’s, trading standards local newspapers, etc., I though that I would see if any of you guys had any advice for a speedy resolution?

Thanks in advance

Mac

Barneysmom

Have you tried letting them know you're goingto contact trading standards, it might spur themon to refund or exchange?

macman71

No not yet, the latest letter arrived today, so I am planning my response.
Thanks Barneysmom!

Tim_Deegan

1. Mistake number one: you went to Dreams (or many of the other big chain stores).
2. Mistake number two: you believed what they told you in Dreams.
3. Mistake number three: you paid Dreams £350 believing you were getting a bargain.
4. Mistake number four: you accepted what the so called 'engineer':rotfl: told you.
5. Mistake number five: you didn't threaten them with Trading Standards straight away.

Go to the shop tomorrow and demand to see the manager. Make sure that there are loads of other people around to hear your complaint, and make sure they can all hear you. Tell the manager that you will be contacting Trading Standards first thing on Monday morning unless you get a full refund.

By the way, what model mattress was it, and what size was it?

macman71

Don't hold back there Tim!

Yes, I'm far too trusting.

It was a Silentnight Mellow Double. The "engineer" was from a group called Homeserve.

Mac

Tim_Deegan

macman71 wrote: »

Don't hold back there Tim!

Yes, I'm far too trusting.

It was a Silentnight Mellow Double. The "engineer" was from a group called Homeserve.

Mac

Sorry I didn't mean it to sound as if I was having a go at you.

If the 'engineer' was actually an expert on mattresses then he would have known that Silentnight mattresses don't last very long. I suppose in a round about way he was telling you this. However the mattress should still be covered by Silentnight's guarantee. So it would be a good idea to find out from Dreams exactly how old the mattress is. Then after you let Dreams have both barrels, if you still aren't getting anywhere, then contact Silentnight.

If possible go for a refund rather than a replacement, as you could have the same problem again if they give you another Silentnight (rest Assured and Sealy are also the same company).

smcaul

If it were me, I would go ands see the manager of the store, inform him he has a choice of either refunding there and then or you will start proceedings through the small claims court at your first opportunity. I would also take a letter with you that states the same. If they refuse to refund hand them then letter then go home and start a claim on moneyclaim.gov.uk

Don't mess around with trading standards, it will just cost you extra time. I am willing to bet that a couple of days after the letter from moneyclaim drop on Dreams head office mat they will be in contact to resolve the issue.

Tim_Deegan

b_hunters wrote: »

all silentnight mattresses come with a five year guarantee - there customer serivce are very helpful (well we found them to be when we had a problem)

Without reading all the small print this is what I understand about Silentnight's guarantee:

• The standard guarantee period is 12 months.
• There is an option at an extra cost of an extended warranty. This is basically an insurance policy that you end up paying for, and it's value decreases the longer you have the mattress. This could mean that if your springs break after 4 years you could end up having to pay 80% of the value of the replacement (just an estimate). I have been caught out by a similar warranty at DFS.

Also you have to remember that they should be used to dealing with complaints as they get so many, so they should be good at it.

Tim_Deegan

Just found this on Silentnight's web site, so it appears that you would have to pay 80% of the value after 4 years:

8.1 GUARANTEE

<LI class=terms>8.1.1 The manufacturer(s) of your particular product(s) may offer a guarantee(s) of various periods on the product(s) from the date of delivery of the product(s). Please note that the terms of any manufacturer’s guarantee shall be attached to your product(s) on delivery and is offered as an extra benefit and does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer. The manufacturer’s guarantee terms will contain warranties relating to the quality of their product(s). <LI class=terms>8.1.2 In the unlikely event that any breach of warranty should arise due to either faulty material or poor workmanship, during the first year, in accordance with clause 8.1.1 above, the manufacturer promises to replace any part or all of the product that is defective and ensure delivery completely free of charge. <LI class=terms>8.1.3 Any complaints made by you in the first year should be made initially by e-mail to us, quoting your order reference number and outlining the nature of your complaint. We shall then liaise with the manufacturer on your behalf and keep you fully informed of how the matter is progressing. <LI class=terms>8.1.4 In subsequent years, we offer as an extra benefit to you an additional guarantee, separate from and extending the manufacturer’s guarantee (where applicable) to 5 years, depending on the length of the manufacturer’s guarantee. We will levy a charge for the replacement of the faulty item. The charges are based on a sliding scale, the older the item is, the more you will need to contribute towards the replacement (including delivery costs) which would be calculated as follows (please note that the periods set out below are defined with reference to the date from delivery):- 12-23 months 20% charge of replacement (calculated by reference to new price); 24-35 months 40% charge of replacement (calculated by reference to new price); 36-47 months 60% charge of replacement (calculated by reference to new price); 48-60 months 80% charge of replacement (calculated by reference to the new price).
• 8.1.5 In order to be entitled to a replacement product in accordance with our additional guarantee, referred to at clause 8.1.4 above, you would need to comply with our additional guarantee conditions, set out at clause 8.2 below.

8.2 OUR ADDITIONAL GUARANTEE CONDITIONS

• 8.2.1 The product(s) must be turned regularly, as per the instructions, thereby minimising the settlement of the cushioning layers. The exception is a no turn product, which will be clearly specified on the label.
  8.2.2 We are unable to accept items that are either soiled or un-hygienic. Therefore, please ensure that you use a mattress protector/cover from the first day of use.
  8.2.3 The additional guarantee is void and you will not be entitled to a replacement product if a fault results from misuse of the product. Examples of misuse would include:-
  1. Use without bed linen;
  2. Subjecting the product(s) to excessive wear and tear, e.g. jumping up and down on the mattress(es);
  3. Using the product(s) with a base for which it was not designed (e.g. an old sprung base);
  4. Rolling or bending the product(s);
  5. Overloading any drawers and causing distortion of the base.
  8.2.4 Wherever possible, any replacement will be made of identical material. However, if no longer available, we reserve the right to substitute appropriately with a similar material or one of higher quality.

Optimist

Don't take it lieing down !

The fact that it was ex display model is irrelevant is should still be fit for purpose. You can contact consumer direct in the first instance but I would also suggest writing to Dreams, Mention the Sale of goods act 1979 pointing out that your contract is with them out that the mattress is not fit for purpose and should not reasonably be expected to sag to such an extent after two monthsusage. Give them two weeks to rectify your problem and then if all else fails be prepared to go to the small claims court.

macman71

Hi Forum

Just wanted to let you know what happened next. Consumer Direct suggested we try going through the credit card company that we used to buy the mattress with. They were very interested at first, but when we sent all the corresondence, they went cold on us, and fobbed us off. Not interested. So we tried our local Trading Standards, who were VERY interested in the attitude of the credit card company. They said they would look into it for us. Well I just took a call 5 minutes ago from Dreams PLC head office, and they are now VERY VERY SORRY, if my wife and I can make our way to the nearest Dreams branch, and choose a new mattress to the same value, they will arrange to have it delivered at our convenience.

So my message is know your rights, stay calm, record everything, and never give up! It's what they want you to do, so they can get away with ripping off the consumer. Don't get me wrong, there are many companies that look after their customers properly, but some seem to be too interested in profits over morals and ethics.

Thanks for your help, I'm now twice shy, and hope to avoid these situations in future!