Emma Mattress refused refund after promising to accept one

davidc123_2

Just wondering what people's thoughts on what my rights here are... I bought a mattress from Emma in March that comes with a 200 day guarantee. It became very sunken on one side, which they said was a fault and I returned it in august for a replacement. 23 days after this it developed the same problem so I asked them for a refund, which they were happy to process, but I obviously can't return it until I have a replacement. I wanted to order an ergoflex mattress but they weren't getting stock until late september, so I asked Emma if we can delay the collection until late september while I get a replacement. They said this was fine, just let them know when i want to arrange the collection, and I ordered the replacement mattress.

Ergoflex had a delay so I didn't get the replacement until last Friday (09/10). I contacted Emma to tell them I'm ready for it to be collected, but they're now saying that as it's past the 200 day guarantee they're not going to give a refund. So now I'm left out of pocket and with a mattress that I need to dispose, because they won't stick to their promise of refunding it.

One question I have is whether the guarantee still applies to the original date even when I receive a replacement. Logically it should be the the replacement date, but in practice I suspect they'll say it's the original date. But even then, 200 days from the date I got the original is september 22nd, which is already before the 'late september' date they agreed it could be delayed to.

So basically it seems that they've agreed to something over email that goes against their own policy, and now that it's time to carry it out they're refusing to because it's against their own policy.

Aylesbury_Duck

The 200 day guarantee is their own policy, in addition to your consumer rights, so they can attach whatever terms they like to it, including applying it to the first purchase and not re-starting the clock when a replacement is sent out.  That's pretty standard practice for most manufacturer warranties for most products and will probably be detailed in the guarantee's terms and conditions.

You might consider the consumer rights route, because they've acknowledged the fault and the fact it's appeared on two successive mattresses suggests it's inherent, i.e. a design flaw.

davidc123_2

Thanks, I checked the t&c's and couldn't see anything about when it's 200 days from. Does the fact that they had already agreed to it not oblige them to do it?

Aylesbury_Duck

Not necessarily, no, because you are now beyond the 200 days.  Had you returned it straight away I suspect they would have just refunded you, but you elected to hold onto it until you'd bought a replacement.  Even then, they'd agreed to refund in September, it's now mid-October.

JJ_Egan

Do you have evidence of this delay on collection and promise to refund after delay .

All i see is collection delayed  no mention by Emma that they would delay the refund as well .

davidc123_2

The delay was in ergoflex delivering the replacement. Emma's email agreeing to the refund said:

"Please email us back once you're ready for us to collect the mattress."

I had told them I won't be ready for them to collect the mattress until I had the replacement, so didn't request it until last Friday.

davidc123_2

I guess my main point is that they agreed to a refund when I contacted them in August, and also agreed to delay collection until I had a replacement, which I was expecting until late September. They didn't say that the claim would effectively start anew once I had the replacement, and that in practice I only had until September 22nd to get it. If I had known this I wouldn't be in this situation.

Aylesbury_Duck

Playing devil's advocate, you want them to stick to their verbal promise of a refund, but you didn't stick to your verbal promise to return the mattress by late September.  They're a retailer, not a mattress hire establishment with obligations to loan you a mattress until you manage to source a replacement.  You could have got a brand new double mattress from IKEA for £99, or an inflatable one for much less to tide you over.

As advised earlier, if they're not enacting the guarantee as you'd like them to, you can pursue a refund using your statutory rights.  You could go down that route rather than wasting time going back and forth trying to pin them down on the exact wording of their guarantee or their previous communications.

tjilhan

EMMA MATTRESS REFUND ISSUE

Last January 2020 I ordered an Emma mattress then cancelled the mattress a few days later. The message was received by the Emma support team, they emailed back to explain that the mattress had been despatched and that I was to turn it away when it arrived, I followed their instructions and took photographic evidence of me turning the van away which i attached to a corresponding email to them.

I considered the matter closed. How shocked I was to find that Emma had neglected to cancel the ancillary contract with Klarna Finance. I discovered this on 29th December 2020 when checking my statement, I telephoned Klarna to ask what I was paying for, I had originally thought this was for another item I purchased around the same time. I was shocked to hear that not only was the ancillary contract not cancelled I had in fact paid the entire finance agreement in full as of that date and the account had been closed.

 Klarna directed me back to Emma and told me to seek a refund through Emma.

Since the 04th January 2021 I have been in constant contact with the support team at Emma Mattress, each time I get a new team member with no continuity. I have submitted email after email, I have provided all the evidence from Klarna of the completed loan agreement.

 I have received emails from Emma stating that my refund is being sorted, however nothing has been forthcoming in the time specified.

I managed to find a phone number for Emma, however forget it, they do NOT answer! I have been hung up on twice and left hanging on the line umpteen times. After some research I found the email address of the CEO of Emma, Dennis Schmaltzi and their head of Business affairs Felix Focken, their email address are @Bettzeit.com. I outlined my case, asked for the appropriate funds to be given back, however i haven't received a response or my money back. 

I really have only one avenue open to me and that is to ask the bank to enter into a dispute with them via the Direct Debit Agreement and get my refund that way as no one at Emma is talking to me. Absolutely terrible experience,  I would never EVER recommend Emma to anyone, not because of the product but because of their absolutely diabolical lack of customer services. Meanwhile they are boasting a 86% increase in sales however owe people thousand and thousands in refunds!     Not Happy! If i could talk to Martin i would ask him to do a programme on Emma.

 

sheramber

When you took out finance the finance company paid the whole amount to Emma.
You DD paid back the finance company.
The DD Agreement won't work as your refund is due from Emma , not the finance company.