Mattress exchange/refund rights 17 October 2022 at 12:00PM in Consumer rights 59 replies 1.8K views

Ath_Wat

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

greenstick said:

We paid £1500 minus the original purchase price, so the difference between the two, not the full £1500

Thanks OP, my view is that when they gave you the value of mattress 1 against mattress 2 that was the end of the matter, mattress 1 has been resolved, it now belongs to them and they should collect it when it's convenient for you.

They have no right to suggest sending someone to look at it because it doesn't matter, they accept the fault by providing a remedy.

Mattress 2 was faulty, no need for questions because they accepted it and replaced it, mattress 3 is the same as 2 so by their own reasoning it must be faulty also.

I feel mattress 2 was a brand new purchase, clock restarts and as we are within 6 months and there has been one failed remedy (mattress 2 as a replacement) you have the final right to reject for a full refund.

With mattress 1 they could have reduced the value, they could have said it cost £750, mattress 2 is £1500 but as you had it for a year we're only giving you £650 and you owe £850, but they didn't and it's too late for them to change their mind.

You said it's a well-known national bed/mattress retailer, which company is it OP? (You are allow to say on here )

Mattress 1, as I understand it, is gone.  The one they currently have is mattress 2.  They replaced mattress 2 ( a new mattress) with mattress 3 sight unseen, but when the OP said Mattress 3 was exactly the same and sent it back unopened, they then said hang on, let's have a look at mattress 2.

I am not sure they have accepted mattress 2 was faulty, they just were prepared to replace one brand new mattress with another brand new one.  But now they are under the impression that the OP is going to find some fault with anything they send, so they want to see exactly what they say the problem is.  "Not being a uniform shape so you can see the bed frame" is probably not a complaint they have encountered before.  Possibly also when they have received mattress 3 back they have thought "there is nothing wrong with this".  The delivery men are not in a position to judge and are just going to take it back without arguing.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

So if OP only has mattress 2 the company have accepted it was faulty by providing the remedy of mattress 3.

The company are free to look at all three of the mattresses but I don't see they have any right to insist that takes place in the OP's home, within the first 6 months it is taken the goods did not conform unless demonstrated otherwise.

The company should collect any mattresses the OP may have, inspect them at their shop, warehouse, factory, whatever and if they feel they can demonstrate on the balance of probability the goods did conform to the contract they give OP back mattress 3 and seek to cover any losses as damages, should it be worth their time and inclination, (but not relating to mattress 2 as they willingly replaced it). 

The whole thing is a mess and the company are to blame, they should have taken 2 when 3 was delivered and then inspected 3 when it got back to them after being refused, or they should have pick up 2 and looked at it before sending 3 (and if agreeing to replace they should have examined 3 to make sure it didn't have the same problem as 2). 

sheramber

As the OP's complaint is that he cans eee the bed frame, maybe that is not apparent without seeing it on the bed. 

Maybe the bed frame is not a regular shape.

greenstick

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

So if OP only has mattress 2 the company have accepted it was faulty by providing the remedy of mattress 3.

The company are free to look at all three of the mattresses but I don't see they have any right to insist that takes place in the OP's home, within the first 6 months it is taken the goods did not conform unless demonstrated otherwise.

The company should collect any mattresses the OP may have, inspect them at their shop, warehouse, factory, whatever and if they feel they can demonstrate on the balance of probability the goods did conform to the contract they give OP back mattress 3 and seek to cover any losses as damages, should it be worth their time and inclination, (but not relating to mattress 2 as they willingly replaced it). 

The whole thing is a mess and the company are to blame, they should have taken 2 when 3 was delivered and then inspected 3 when it got back to them after being refused, or they should have pick up 2 and looked at it before sending 3 (and if agreeing to replace they should have examined 3 to make sure it didn't have the same problem as 2). 

Thank you, this is exactly my thoughts on it.  They can inspect mattress 3 as they still have it. I feel that they accepted that 2 was faulty at the point they agreed to replace it.

I really wish this was not happening, we love the mattress and will have to move to an airbed on the floor (if they agree to take this away) until a replacement is delivered.  We're not going to find fault with anything that is delivered, but don't feel that it is unreasonable to expect a rectangular mattress of the correct width, when the ones in the 3 local stores are all perfect, especially at this price range.

greenstick

sheramber said:

As the OP's complaint is that he cans eee the bed frame, maybe that is not apparent without seeing it on the bed. 

Maybe the bed frame is not a regular shape.

See your point about the bed frame, however the tape measure doesn't lie and Mattress 1 fitted perfectly

Ath_Wat

greenstick said:

sheramber said:

As the OP's complaint is that he cans eee the bed frame, maybe that is not apparent without seeing it on the bed. 

Maybe the bed frame is not a regular shape.

See your point about the bed frame, however the tape measure doesn't lie and Mattress 1 fitted perfectly

What, in actual measurements, is the disparity you are claiming?

Ath_Wat

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

So if OP only has mattress 2 the company have accepted it was faulty by providing the remedy of mattress 3.

The company are free to look at all three of the mattresses but I don't see they have any right to insist that takes place in the OP's home, within the first 6 months it is taken the goods did not conform unless demonstrated otherwise.

Is this a legal point or an opinion?  If this is what the law states, fair enough, otherwise I don't see that effectively saying "if you don't like that one take a different one instead then" without even looking is acknowledging anything except trying to please the customer.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Ath_Wat said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

So if OP only has mattress 2 the company have accepted it was faulty by providing the remedy of mattress 3.

The company are free to look at all three of the mattresses but I don't see they have any right to insist that takes place in the OP's home, within the first 6 months it is taken the goods did not conform unless demonstrated otherwise.

Is this a legal point or an opinion?  If this is what the law states, fair enough, otherwise I don't see that effectively saying "if you don't like that one take a different one instead then" without even looking is acknowledging anything except trying to please the customer.

It's a logical conclusion really, retailers don't go to the trouble and expense of swapping out goods that have nothing wrong with them with the exact same thing just to keep customers happy, it wouldn't make sense. 

OP hasn't said but if mattress 2 was removed from the cellophane that would go further to support the view they accepted a fault given mattress retailers don't appear keen to accept back ones which have been opened under the guise of hygiene. 

greenstick said:

 they said they were concerned that there may be other issues with it and insisted on sending a 3rd mattress 

Sounds very much like accepting a fault to me.

If you have a legal point to counter it would be useful for the OP  

Ath_Wat

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Ath_Wat said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

So if OP only has mattress 2 the company have accepted it was faulty by providing the remedy of mattress 3.

The company are free to look at all three of the mattresses but I don't see they have any right to insist that takes place in the OP's home, within the first 6 months it is taken the goods did not conform unless demonstrated otherwise.

Is this a legal point or an opinion?  If this is what the law states, fair enough, otherwise I don't see that effectively saying "if you don't like that one take a different one instead then" without even looking is acknowledging anything except trying to please the customer.

It's a logical conclusion really, retailers don't go to the trouble and expense of swapping out goods that have nothing wrong with them with the exact same thing just to keep customers happy, it wouldn't make sense. 

OP hasn't said but if mattress 2 was removed from the cellophane that would go further to support the view they accepted a fault given mattress retailers don't appear keen to accept back ones which have been opened under the guise of hygiene. 

greenstick said:

 they said they were concerned that there may be other issues with it and insisted on sending a 3rd mattress 

Sounds very much like accepting a fault to me.

If you have a legal point to counter it would be useful for the OP  

It might be logical to you but they clearly didn't look at mattress 2 before agreeing to send out another.  Unless you think they sent it out knowing there was a fault with it, it doesn't make sense to me to assume they have acknowledged one by agreeing to replace sight unseen.

And if they knew they all have this fault and then just sent out another one, that isn't logical either.  To me it makes much more sense that they just agreed to replace it for the sake of a quiet life but now the OP has rejected another for the same reason - quite possibly a reason that nobody else who has ever bought one of these mattresses has ever mentioned -  they want to actually check.

greenstick

I've finally had the call back I was promised on Monday.

They're still demanding to inspect it, saying mattress 3 was sent as a gesture of goodwill, not admittance of fault.

They say they would be happy to class the purchase of mattress 2 as a new purchase but "that just complicates things"

If mattress 2 is a new purchase, do I have the right to reject under the consumer goods act as the issue was reported within 30 days.  Do they have the right to challenge this and demand inspection?