John Lewis Tempur trial

Aylesbury_Duck

Are there enough manufacturer and retailer offers around to enable someone to sleep almost free of charge for a long time?  Asking for a friend...

sghughes42

Sorry, there seems to be confusion here.

This is the first 'transaction' - I bought the mattress and found I don't like it so am looking at options.

Having tried the rest of the range in store, there is one other option, but as far as is possible to test in store it doesn't feel significantly different to the one I have. There is another which feels more comfortable but which you sink in to so much it is a struggle to move at all. I've ruled that out as I turn frequently in bed and the effort needed to do so would most likely be enough to fully wake me up, leading to poorer sleep overall.

I'd been assured by store staff that the one I ended up choosing would soften up in the first few weeks and that I'd get used to the feeling quickly. Unfortunately neither is true. I think I'd been sold too much on the 'Tempur is great' message that is out there and didn't listen to my own misgivings.

I could do an exchange for the other possibility - the hybrid - but due to the limited difference I can feel between the two in-store I'm unconvinced it would solve my problem. If I were to do an exchange and it proved my feeling was correct then I'd be stuck with it, therefore I'm wondering about a straight refund for the one I have, then buy the hybrid as a new transaction which should (?) also allow a refund. In other words, no exchanges, just a refund with the possibility of a second one should the other option be no better.

Slightly cheeky in some ways, but when I'm paying many times more for a mattress than I have done in the past I'm wanting to do the best I can to make sure I have got it right.

sghughes42

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Are there enough manufacturer and retailer offers around to enable someone to sleep almost free of charge for a long time?  Asking for a friend...

The big problem with that plan of yours is the gap between returning one mattress and getting a refund to allow you to buy a second. You'd also need to be the sort of person who can sleep on anything - main reason I chose Tempur is that I wanted something I could actually get some proper rest on. Fed up of years of being lucky to get 5 hours sleep a night due to discomfort. Well, at least that's fixed - I'm lucky to get 4 on the Tempur!

photome

sghughes42 said:

Sorry, there seems to be confusion here.

This is the first 'transaction' - I bought the mattress and found I don't like it so am looking at options.

Having tried the rest of the range in store, there is one other option, but as far as is possible to test in store it doesn't feel significantly different to the one I have. There is another which feels more comfortable but which you sink in to so much it is a struggle to move at all. I've ruled that out as I turn frequently in bed and the effort needed to do so would most likely be enough to fully wake me up, leading to poorer sleep overall.

I'd been assured by store staff that the one I ended up choosing would soften up in the first few weeks and that I'd get used to the feeling quickly. Unfortunately neither is true. I think I'd been sold too much on the 'Tempur is great' message that is out there and didn't listen to my own misgivings.

I could do an exchange for the other possibility - the hybrid - but due to the limited difference I can feel between the two in-store I'm unconvinced it would solve my problem. If I were to do an exchange and it proved my feeling was correct then I'd be stuck with it, therefore I'm wondering about a straight refund for the one I have, then buy the hybrid as a new transaction which should (?) also allow a refund. In other words, no exchanges, just a refund with the possibility of a second one should the other option be no better.

Slightly cheeky in some ways, but when I'm paying many times more for a mattress than I have done in the past I'm wanting to do the best I can to make sure I have got it right.

Why are they saying only 1 exchange per address ?

Did you use the breathable cover for the mattress as per their t and c

Aylesbury_Duck

sghughes42 said:

Sorry, there seems to be confusion here.

This is the first 'transaction' - I bought the mattress and found I don't like it so am looking at options.

If people are confused it's because you mentioned the clause, below.  Why did they (John Lewis?) bring up the address point?  Have you had a refund for a mattress before?

sghughes42 said:

However, they are now claiming only one refund per UK address is allowed even though there is nothing in the T&Cs that mentions this. They seem to be suggesting this is a term imposed by Tempur but I don't see how that is relevant as I bought from John Lewis, not Tempur...

Okell

sghughes42 said:

screech_78 said:

Whoever you have been speaking to is confused. 

JL offer a 60 night comfort trial on all of their own brand mattresses however the terms of this are exchange only; you won’t get a refund. 

The Tempur Trial is separate and you can have a refund if you wish, minus the £29.95 collection fee. 

You need to make it clear you are returning under the Tempur comfort trial, not the JL one.  

Yes, they do finally seem to have realised this. However, they are now claiming only one refund per UK address is allowed even though there is nothing in the T&Cs that mentions this...

OK - so JL have finally accepted that the trial exists as you believed it did.  So far so good.

Why is the bit I've put in bold a problem for you?  Why is that of any significance at all if you've not had a previous Tempur return at your address?

FWIW I think the JL link you provided makes it pretty clear that the offer you want to take advantage of is a manufacturer's offer from Tempur - subject to Tempur T&Cs - and not one from JL.

If I were you I'd just get a refund and look at other mattresses.  Personally I wouldn't buy a Tempur mattress at all.

sghughes42

No prior refunds, but I was honest with them in expressing a desire to refund then buy the alternative with a view to refunding that if not suitable.

Not that clear to me it's a Tempur offer, but if so surely we should be given those Tempur T&Cs at the point of sale, which we don't seem to be if there is one preventing multiple returns?

To be honest, the main reason it is an issue is stupidity on my part. We get discounted JL gift vouchers through a work scheme, so if I don't buy a replacement mattress from them I've got rather a lot of vouchers to spend at a store I don't normally shop at. I should have avoided the complexity of using such vouchers for a relatively modest saving.

Aylesbury_Duck

sghughes42 said:

No prior refunds, but I was honest with them in expressing a desire to refund then buy the alternative with a view to refunding that if not suitable.

Not that clear to me it's a Tempur offer, but if so surely we should be given those Tempur T&Cs at the point of sale, which we don't seem to be if there is one preventing multiple returns?

To be honest, the main reason it is an issue is stupidity on my part. We get discounted JL gift vouchers through a work scheme, so if I don't buy a replacement mattress from them I've got rather a lot of vouchers to spend at a store I don't normally shop at. I should have avoided the complexity of using such vouchers for a relatively modest saving.

Ah, I see.  So they are pre-empting what they see as a possibility of two returns.  I can't see how they are allowed to withhold a contractual feature just because you might want to return a second time.

As far as the terms are concerned, you can only be held to the terms that were visible and which you agreed to when the contract was formed.  They can't impose a term that, for whatever reason, was not visible to you.

Can the vouchers be used at Waitrose?  If so, I'd simply get a refund and use the vouchers on grocery shopping until they're spent.  Waitrose isn't cheap, but if you've already had a discount on the vouchers, you may "break even".

sghughes42

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Ah, I see.  So they are pre-empting what they see as a possibility of two returns.  I can't see how they are allowed to withhold a contractual feature just because you might want to return a second time.

As far as the terms are concerned, you can only be held to the terms that were visible and which you agreed to when the contract was formed.  They can't impose a term that, for whatever reason, was not visible to you.

So, while presumably they can't reject a return on this order they could impose a term on future orders that would prevent a refund being available?

Can the vouchers be used at Waitrose?  If so, I'd simply get a refund and use the vouchers on grocery shopping until they're spent.  Waitrose isn't cheap, but if you've already had a discount on the vouchers, you may "break even".

That's the only option really. We don't have a local Waitrose - they aren't that common outside the south - but do get to one now and again. Depends on how long the vouchers are valid for of course.

Okell

sghughes42 said:

... Not that clear to me it's a Tempur offer, but if so surely we should be given those Tempur T&Cs at the point of sale, which we don't seem to be if there is one preventing multiple returns?... 

Sorry but I don't think I can agree with you on either count.  The JL website refers to the trial as "TEMPUR®'s 60 Night Comfort Trial".  Because of the possessive apostrophe I read that to mean that it is a trial offered by Tempur and not a trial offered by JL.

Also I take the last sentence of clause 8 of the T&Cs to mean that you can only have one exchange or refund under the offer:

"8. Comfort exchange. During the 60-night trial period, you can exchange your TEMPUR® mattress with an alternative TEMPUR® mattress from the current collection sold by John Lewis. One comfort exchange is permitted"

Yes, you could argue that they use the word exchange rather than return or refund, but I think the meaning of the clause is clear.  You can only return a mattress - whether for exchange or refund - once under the comfort trial.

Use the vouchers to buy something else from JL or food from Waitrose.  And get a better mattress.