Problem with new mattress

richjo100

Hi All,


I have recently bought a new mattress from a company I'll call PS. It was delivered 6 February and I was away on business and slept in it for the first time on 9th February. By the morning of the 12th February (6 days after delivery) I was thinking I had made a mistake. Here's the backstory....


I had bought a double mattress from PS about 18 months ago. It was the most comfortable mattress I had ever used. My wife and I got a second hand devan recently. It was a kingsize so we needed to get a new mattress. I went to PS to get the same mattress we had originally bought but in kingsize. I talked to the assistant and he recommended getting one with latex on top. I said I was concerned that I had heard things like memory foam caused overheating. I was assured that because latex is natural there would not be a problem. It would just make my sleeping experience better. I paid up and after three weeks the mattress was delivered.



Fast forward to now and my wife and I are sleeping in our spare room. I spoke to PS and asked if I could swap the more expensive latex mattress for the original mattress that we went into the shop to buy (which was actually cheaper than the latex one so I feel a little ripped off but anything to get a good night sleep) .They said


* you cannot cancel an order. Once it has been paid for it is your regardless of whether it has been delivered. This is in the terms and conditions which is it...but you only receive these once you have paid! This makes me think swapping mattresses might not be easy. Having such strict terms which you only get once you've paid seems wrong. (although this does actually affect me) I was told no exchange of mattress is possible.



* after complaining of mis-selling (I was told that latex wouldnt cause overheating) I was told that I could email and it would be forwarded to the regional manager



I emailed twice last week. The first email received a reply saying that they were looking into it. The second email was ignored. My concern is that I'll just be put into a holding pattern until I give up. I have tried to find the CEO's name of PS but without luck as I am more than happy to email him or the regional manager directly.


I can understand there could be hygiene issues with returning a mattress but my issue here is mis-selling. I am not sure if the assistant purposely misled me but he certainly got a bigger sale from his advice as the latex mattress cost 100 more




What are my rights here? If any? Any advice on where to go now apart from wait?


Thanks

wealdroam

It looks like you made this purchase in a shop, rather than online or mail order or otherwise at a distance.

Unless the shop has a cancellation policy which allows you to return the goods if you 'change your mind', then I am afraid you are stuck with your purchase.
Clearly the shop has no such policy.
They do not have to advise you of this.
It is always wise to consider all sales final unless told otherwise.

Now to the mis-selling...

This is going to turn into a 'he said', 'she said' battle.
Have you any way of proving anything that the salesman said?

Sadly you will struggle.

whitelabel

if you state youre looking for a mattress that doesnt have overheating problems (which are based on individuals anyhow rather than a flaw - but regardless) and they recommend and sell on that does, you do have rights
and becomes less of a he said she said issue as long as ps isnt a small one company who arent fully aware of consumer law

http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/sogaexplained/

if a customer says - or when it should be obvious to the retailer - that an item is wanted for a particular purpose , even if it is a purpose the item is not usually supplied for, and the retailer agrees the item is suitable, or does not say it is not fit for that purpose, then it has to be reasonably fit.

Before a customer is believed to have accepted the goods they have purchased, the law allows customers a reasonable opportunity to inspect or examine the goods and this should take place within a reasonable time .

For items sold in a shop, it is important for retailers to know that inspecting them in a shop is often not considered a reasonable opportunity. This is due to the restrictions of packaging and in-store display in allowing a customer to identify a problem or a fault.

Agricolae

I'm not sure, but if they send you a contract after the sale and it is significantly different to what you had been led to believe at the shop, then you are not bound by that contract.

Cancellation rights are only mandatory in the case of distance selling however.

You haven't actually stated if the latex is causing overheating though it is implied throughout. "Overheating" is unfortunately very subjective, kind of like going to a concert and being unhappy with the performance or getting a haircut and being unhappy because it doesn't suit you. People have different tolerances for temperature. I feel you may struggle.

InsideInsurance

The others are clearly right on the distance selling aspect.

As to finding the CEO, assuming you have the company name, which will be on the invoice then simply go to the Companies House website http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/ and find the company. Then use the Order Information to get the Current Appointment Report which is free and gives you the details of all the officers of the company

richjo100

Many thanks for all your replies. Im really annoyed that I have spent over 900 on a mattress and may have to try and sell it second hand as i dont think I can stay sleeping in my spare room.

Thanks for the advice - all very useful. Especially the companies house link!

Thanks again

Chickabiddybex

What is the actual problem with the mattress?

Fire_Fox

Are you actually getting too hot or too sweaty or both? Maybe try a lighter weight duvet, turning the radiator off in your bedroom, a padded mattress protector in a breathable fabric.

Hintza

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Are you actually getting too hot or too sweaty or both? Maybe try a lighter weight duvet, turning the radiator off in your bedroom, a padded mattress protector in a breathable fabric.

This is my thought.

We have a latex mattress too and before we got that we used to use an under blanket on the bed but it was too hot. We now have a bedroom that has no heating on and we all sleep pretty well.

OP make some adjustments to your bed and bedroom.

Lip_Stick

I know someone who put a couple of sheets onto their mattress to stop over-heating. Perhaps that might work temporarily if that's the problem?

richjo100

Thanks for the additional replies. The problem is that we are getting hot and waking up because of it. We do have a mattress protector and I will check what material it is made of. I will try a lighter duvet. My concern is that we have a lighter duvet now and then come the summer we are stuck again as we are too hot. We used the same duvet and sheets as with our old non-latex mattress. Perhaps this was a mistake and we need to adjust things slightly.

Thanks for the advice and tips - I'll certainly try adding another couple of sheets underneath!