Sleepmasters mattress faulty but they won't replace-help!!

mackem1980

Thanks Tim.

I'm not sure what I can say about the "independent engineers"?

I sent photographs originally but they show very little. The proof of the problem is apparent when lying on the mattress. I am waking every day with back pain.

Tim_Deegan

mackem1980 wrote: »

Thanks Tim.

I'm not sure what I can say about the "independent engineers"?

I sent photographs originally but they show very little. The proof of the problem is apparent when lying on the mattress. I am waking every day with back pain.

You could tell them that you suspect that the engineers aren't independent and impartial, going by the posts from many people on MSE.

Former_MSE_Alana

Hi,

We have received this response from Sleepmasters:

“Hi,

I work in Customer Services for Sleepmasters. I noticed your posts regarding the problems you’re experiencing with your mattress, and thought I’d see how you got on following your inspection from Ecomaster (the furniture technician).

Despite responses on this thread, Ecomaster are actually entirely independent and have no contract or performance payment scheme from Sleepmasters. They generally find about 50% of beds/mattresses that they inspect to be faulty.

If you’ve got any queries, drop us an email to enquiries@Sleepmasters.co.uk and quote ‘MSE’ in the subject field. It would really help if you identify yourself as mackem1980 too. If your mattress is faulty, then we’ll fulfil our obligations to you – there is no debate on this matter - we don’t try to hide from our customers’ complaints.

Thanks,
Jon”

mackem1980

Just a quick update.

Inspector came out, felt the mattress, took one look at me and said the mattress is not faulty but is far too firm (9 out of 10 on the firmness scale) for someone of my light weight (I'm around 12 stone). His description of the mattress was "like a rock".

He carried on with a full inspection, part of which involved putting a wooden plank across the bed. When he did this, he found a very slight "settlement" but said mattress retailers won't even look at replacement unless you can fit a fist between the plank and the mattress.

He said Sleepmasters would get his report in a fortnight, yet I got a letter from them after only TWO DAYS saying there was nothing more they could do. It's as if they couldn't wait to tell me they weren't going to help!

All in all, I got the impression that appealing to Sleepmasters is a complete waste of time. I'm kicking myself really because I usually do a lot of research before buying anything of this value (over £400). Had I looked on here first I'd have known never to buy anything from Sleepmasters. This has proven to be a very expensive mistake.

I am now left with three years of monthly payments for a mattress that is less than one year old and clearly not fit for purpose.

Please be warned people.

Tim_Deegan

mackem1980 wrote: »

Just a quick update.

Inspector came out, felt the mattress, took one look at me and said the mattress is not faulty but is far too firm (9 out of 10 on the firmness scale) for someone of my light weight (I'm around 12 stone). His description of the mattress was "like a rock".

He carried on with a full inspection, part of which involved putting a wooden plank across the bed. When he did this, he found a very slight "settlement" but said mattress retailers won't even look at replacement unless you can fit a fist between the plank and the mattress.

He said Sleepmasters would get his report in a fortnight, yet I got a letter from them after only TWO DAYS saying there was nothing more they could do. It's as if they couldn't wait to tell me they weren't going to help!

All in all, I got the impression that appealing to Sleepmasters is a complete waste of time. I'm kicking myself really because I usually do a lot of research before buying anything of this value (over £400). Had I looked on here first I'd have known never to buy anything from Sleepmasters. This has proven to be a very expensive mistake.

I am now left with three years of monthly payments for a mattress that is less than one year old and clearly not fit for purpose.

Please be warned people.

Have you tried contacting Jon at Sleepmasters as suggested above?

I don't care what he tries to tell us. The fact remains that if an engineer is paid for by Sleepmasters, and they want Sleepmasters to continue to use them, then if Sleepmasters asked them to find in their favour most of the time, then they would. This doesn't just apply to Sleepmasters obviously.

As for the indentation. This is why I don't like reflex foam. The reflex foam is constructed from loads of tiny bubbles. In time the bubbles start to burst which can leave a dip or soft spot in the mattress. Many manyfacturers regard a dip of an inch as normal wear and tear. Personally I wouldn't want any dip in my mattress.

mackem1980

No, I haven't tried. Sleepmasters have already made it very clear that they consider there to be no fault and can help no further though they are "sorry" I am "disappointed" with my purchase. Unfortunately, that is not going to legally allow me to cease paying back nearly £500 for a crap mattress!

Sleepmasters do, however, say I am entitled to pay for an inspection by an "independent" party - read into their use of the word "independent" what you will! They also make this point after saying "the technician records with ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY that no fault has been identified" - they obviously have an open mind!

Judging by other people's experience of dealing with Sleepmasters, I don't get the impression they've become sympathetic overnight.

I suspect the request to email them direct is a pathetic attempt to direct people to Sleepmasters thus preventing a few from airing their views publicly. In the consumer interest, I'd prefer to post on here.

Tim_Deegan

mackem1980 wrote: »

I suspect the request to email them direct is a pathetic attempt to direct people to Sleepmasters thus preventing a few from airing their views publicly. In the consumer interest, I'd prefer to post on here.

Thats my thoughts exactly. And I'm surprised that MSE allowed them to come out with so much rubbish on here. They have posted the same thing on two threads where people have been complaining about them. As you say this is an attempt to stop people complaining on forums, but it leaves non MSE members with no help whatsoever.

The reason I asked if you had contacted them was to find out if they were actually bending over backwards to help people who they fear may post more negative reports about them.

mackem1980

If they're a) paying such close attention to these forums and b) worried about negative comments, you would hope they would contact me (they will have my details).

Tim_Deegan

mackem1980 wrote: »

If they're a) paying such close attention to these forums and b) worried about negative comments, you would hope they would contact me (they will have my details).

I wouldn't have thought they would bother. You are probably just one of 1000's of unhappy customers.

The trouble with many big companies is that they rely on the power of advertising to make quick profits. Even with 1000's of customers who they have upset, there will still be millions out there who haven't heard how terrible their service is. They will have seen the adverts saying how good the company is, and they believe them. Why do you think Dreams have a continuous "better than half price sale", when the truth is that they only sell products at the so called full price in one store for a couple of weeks a year. But they get away with it because people believe advertising, especially TV advertising (which is why you often see "as seen on TV").

property.advert

I went after Dreams to see if they could explain what their products were really worth. I mean, you don't actually think they wait for a year and then collect your grubby £7.50 a week do you ? Of course not, they are paid out and what they are really selling you is not a bed but a very expensive loan.

On a headline figure of say £1000, "discounted" to £500, they are even not getting £250 up front from the finance company as the internal rate of return must be at least 30% and most likely the £1000 bed is worth maybe £100.