Ikea customer service issues - need your advice

majeedk

I made a claim for mattress replacement under warranty with Ikea on 23rd February. I was asked to provide pictures of the defect which I did via email. I had clearly mentioned that I am putting the mattress on the floor to take picture due to nature /position of the defect.

I had no response whatsoever from Ikea so i contacted them again and a day later on 13th March I received an email stating they can't offer me a replacement because:

I have requested the images to be  assessed by our specialist, who advised it is clear in one of the images that the bed is been used on the floor with no supportive bed base.

With this in mind  Ikea cannot offer you an exchange as this clearly is not been used as meant to be and negates any guarantees.

I called them back explaining that their specialist is wrong and I had already mentioned that I will placing the mattress on the floor for the pictures.

Since then, I have called Ikea customer service 5-6 times but all they say is they will mark the case as high priority and "the relevant department" will respond.

During today's call, I was told that:

1. CS can't do anything other than to keep marking my case as high priority.
2. They can't give me contact details of any manager or the team dealing with the case
3. There is minimum of 72 hours wait time after submitting picture (I sent the pics on 23rd February) and there is no maximum wait time. That effectively means that there is NO SLA to close a case.

Since they initially rejected the claim falsely (on 13 March) and I contacted them to clarify, there has been total lack of response from Ikea replacement team and I have to keep calling CS team. The claim has been open for 69 days now. What can I do now?

How/who do I contact so that my claim is dealt with swifty.

Have you dealt with IKEA to replace items under warranty? What was your experience?

mattyprice4004

I'd go for a letter before action to their UK head office, then a Small Claim if they don't deal with it.
It's pretty clear you've given them plenty of chance to sort it out so far. 

majeedk

mattyprice4004 said:

I'd go for a letter before action to their UK head office, then a Small Claim if they don't deal with it.
It's pretty clear you've given them plenty of chance to sort it out so far. 

Where do I send this letter?

user1977

majeedk said:

mattyprice4004 said:

I'd go for a letter before action to their UK head office, then a Small Claim if they don't deal with it.
It's pretty clear you've given them plenty of chance to sort it out so far. 

Where do I send this letter?

To their UK head office, like @mattyprice4004 said

Manxman_in_exile

You say you are claiming under their "warranty".  Is that what you are claiming under or do you want to use your statutory consumer rights?

You will need to know which to use as your basis of claim to put in your Letter Before Action and to exert most pressure on them.

When did you buy the mattress?  Did you buy in-store or online?  What is the fault?

(Do the terms of their warranty cover this fault?)

majeedk

Manxman_in_exile said:

You say you are claiming under their "warranty".  Is that what you are claiming under or do you want to use your statutory consumer rights?

You will need to know which to use as your basis of claim to put in your Letter Before Action and to exert most pressure on them.

I am claiming the replacement under warranty. When I opened the case the CS advisor confirmed that it was covered under warranty.

When did you buy the mattress?  Did you buy in-store or online?  What is the fault?

(Do the terms of their warranty cover this fault?)

I will have to check the receipt but I think this pocket sprung King Size mattress was bought in 2019 from Ikea Wembley store along with king size bed to go with it. The mattress cost me ~£500 at the time.

around few months ago the mattress developed a dip closer to the edge on one side. It was just couple of inches wide to begin with and it felt like spring(s) have gone out of place. I thought I can live with it. However, the dip kept increasing in width and now its nearly 3 feet wide. Before you ask... NO the mattress hasn't been misused (like kids jumping on it etc) nor did me or my Mrs even sit on that edge because that side has always been next to wall so there is no chance anyone can sit on that edge.    

Before opening the claim I had searched online and many people had complained about same issue with Ikea mattress and had successful  claims hence I decided to go with it too.

Given that many other people online have complained about the same issue, I am sure that it is a manufacturing defect/poor quality product.  Even though I didn't read the T&Cs in its entirety, What I have gleaned is that things like normal wear and tear and damage due to unintended use (like using it on the floor) isn't covered under warranty. 

oldagetraveller1

Unless I've missed it, there doesn't appear to be any mention in the warranty pdf about the mattress having to be on a bed base/frame?

Therefore, by omission, it must be o.k. to use on the floor anyway?

majeedk

oldagetraveller1 said:

Unless I've missed it, there doesn't appear to be any mention in the warranty pdf about the mattress having to be on a bed base/frame?

Therefore, by omission, it must be o.k. to use on the floor anyway?

I will check the docs I had received when making the purchase… 

In my case it doesn’t even matter because I purchased king size bed and mattress from IKEA and they were always used togather.