Bensons Mis Sold Mattress - What next?

haydencohen

Hi,

I'm wanting some help as to what to do next:

We recently bought a mattress from Bensons for Beds. It was adaptive (meaning each side had different levels of firmness) and was clearance. We were told that it was perfect for us as I like to sleep on my side and my partner likes to sleep on their front. We were also told that whilst usually they can't do anything if we don't like a clearance mattress, they would figure something out (Ha!). What they didn't tell us is that the design of the mattress meant that we would be constantly rolling into the middle due to the different tensions. Most reasonable people would not expect this to happen so I strongly believe is a clear cut case of misselling

We gave 2 weeks to see if it would settle and it didn't so went back to Bensons and looked at swapping for a far more expensive mattress and paying the difference. They said contact customer services (after asking them a few times). When I eventually got through they told me they couldn't do anything so I should go straight to the Furniture Ombudsman. I explained that we were willing to get another mattress etc. but they said that this was their was process.

Just to make sure we were jumping through all the correct hoops, we contacted the ombudsman who said we needed a mattress engineer. So they came and said that rolling into the middle was a design of the mattress and so the mattress was not faulty.

After another month, the ombudsman came back saying they don't deal with cases of misselling, only faulty items so that meant our case was rejected.

This has so far meant we've had over 2 months of restless nights which has affected our health (back pain and lack of sleep), work performance as well as causing relationship tension has the usual partner mattress conflicts have been expanded as we've both been rolling into the middle.

Where should we go next? Trading Standards? Small Claims? What can we do to maximise our success?

I want to get this sorted as quickly as possible. Advice is greatly appreciated!

LilElvis

haydencohen wrote: »

Hi,

I'm wanting some help as to what to do next:

We recently bought a mattress from Bensons for Beds. It was adaptive (meaning each side had different levels of firmness) and was clearance. We were told that it was perfect for us as I like to sleep on my side and my partner likes to sleep on their front. We were also told that whilst usually they can't do anything if we don't like a clearance mattress, they would figure something out (Ha!). What they didn't tell us is that the design of the mattress meant that we would be constantly rolling into the middle due to the different tensions. Most reasonable people would not expect this to happen so I strongly believe is a clear cut case of misselling

We gave 2 weeks to see if it would settle and it didn't so went back to Bensons and looked at swapping for a far more expensive mattress and paying the difference. They said contact customer services (after asking them a few times). When I eventually got through they told me they couldn't do anything so I should go straight to the Furniture Ombudsman. I explained that we were willing to get another mattress etc. but they said that this was their was process.

Just to make sure we were jumping through all the correct hoops, we contacted the ombudsman who said we needed a mattress engineer. So they came and said that rolling into the middle was a design of the mattress and so the mattress was not faulty.

After another month, the ombudsman came back saying they don't deal with cases of misselling, only faulty items so that meant our case was rejected.

This has so far meant we've had over 2 months of restless nights which has affected our health (back pain and lack of sleep), work performance as well as causing relationship tension has the usual partner mattress conflicts have been expanded as we've both been rolling into the middle.

Where should we go next? Trading Standards? Small Claims? What can we do to maximise our success?

I want to get this sorted as quickly as possible. Advice is greatly appreciated!

Comfort, with a bed/mattress, is very subjective so if it isn't actually faulty then you are reliant on the firm's exchange/refund policy. If they still refuse to allow you to exchange then you might be better off cutting your losses and selling it on eBay or similar - as you bought it at a clearance price you should be able to recoup a fair percentage of your cost.

If you want something truly adaptive then look at Hulsta beds and matresses. Effectively the large sizes of beds are in two halves - 2 sets of slats and 2 matresses. The slats are separately adjustable on each side and also the top and bottom can be independently raised for elevating legs/ reading in bed. They are expensive but have extremely long guarantees and are built to last - our bed will be 14 years old this summer and is as comfortable now as it was on delivery and my parents one is only 6 months younger than me, and I'm 51!

greatgimpo

Hardly a solution, but could you consider raising the centre underneath by shoving in an inch thick lump of mattress length wood? Probably only work if it's a firm base.

neilmcl

greatgimpo wrote: »

Hardly a solution, but could you consider raising the centre underneath by shoving in an inch thick lump of mattress length wood? Probably only work if it's a firm base.

The princess and the pea springs to mind

elsien

A mattress designed so people roll into the middle? Does that mean it's just very poorly designed, or some people actually want that effect?

askmeaboutsofas

Did you have the opportunity to try the mattress out in store, i.e. lying on it while it was still in the packaging? Was it on a different type of bed to the one you have at home? It's just about possible that a mattress designed for a sprung base and used on a plain divan or slat bed could have this issue. Another possibility is that if one of you is very heavy (most weight limits for good quality furniture is about 18stone) that could cause it.
If you purchased something in store that you were able to try out while you were there, and it isn't faulty, you're going to have difficulty returning it. You've had it for two months so it is now secondhand from Bensons point of view, which means they're likely to fight this. I'm going to assume that you didn't specifically ask the sales person at Bensons if the mattress would do that, so it isn't exactly misselling if they didn't volunteer that information.
Your best bet is as LilElvis says, to sell it yourself on eBay. As you bought it clearance you may even make a little money on it, and should certainly be able to get your money back.
I have no experience with Hulsta (yet!), but would strongly recommend any good quality zip-and-link mattress as that would definitely solve this problem.

loochie

Hi, I'm in a similar situation where our mattress has started to collapse (just under 2 years old with the 5 year guarantee), and Bensons say the photos we sent them do not show any evidence of this. Obviously laying on the bed does back up our claim we feel, but they are insisting we get a mattress engineer. I don't want to use the company Bensons works with as having read previous reports on how they 'work for' Bensons to reduce return rates etc. so am looking for an independent engineer. Can I ask who you used? Our google searches are not showing many obvious hits for companies who offer this kind of service

Thanks
Rob