Is it reasonable to incur costs when claiming under the guarantee?

Mishomeister

I've bought a Rem-Fit mattress 5 years ago. One of the main reasons I chose it was due to it coming with 15 years guarantee.

I have now seen some substantial rips in the body of the mattress.

When trying to claim under the guarantee they present the below message:

I understand that should the guarantee claim be successful, I will pay £45 for the delivery of my replacement mattress and disposal of my faulty mattress.*

Now, if I buy an item that has 15 years guarantee, the expectation is that it will last 15 years and if it doesn't they would make it good. Now bearing in mind the matterss is super king size I would have to hire people to take it down the stairs and arrange the removal.

Are Rem-Fit allowed to do that?

Okell

What did the terms of the guarantee say when you bought it 5 years ago?

Any manufacturer or supplier who offers a guarantee or warranty is entitled to limit it by whatever terms and conditions they see fit.  Any question of "reasonableness" doen't come into it.  [Edit:  £45 for delivery of a free mattress and disposal of the old one seems reasonable to me]

Any rights a consumer has under a warranty or gurantee are entirely separate from any consumer rights granted by legislation

Alderbank

They are allowed to do anything they like in their guarantee.

There is no legal specification for a guarantee. It can last as long as they wish, it can impose any terms on you. They don't even have to offer one at all. 
The sole legal requirement is that because it is forms part of the contract of sale they must deliver what they promise.

Don't forget that quite separately from any manufacturer's guarantee you have consumer rights with the seller. Those rights are set in law.
Consumer rights trickle away as time goes by. After 5 years any continuing guarantee, even if you have to contribute, will probably give you more than your entitlement under consumer rights laws.

Don't assume that a 15 year guarantee means the manufacturer says it will last 15 years. Guarantees are essentially a marketing device to inspire confidence in a product.
If product sales flag because a product acquires a reputation for being poor quality and not lasting well, the maker might boost sales by offering a long guarantee. They know that the longer the guarantee the fewer valid claims they will receive (some buyers will have sold the product, binned it, lost the till receipt, etc).

Undervalued

Mishomeister said:

I've bought a Rem-Fit mattress 5 years ago. One of the main reasons I chose it was due to it coming with 15 years guarantee.

I have now seen some substantial rips in the body of the mattress.

When trying to claim under the guarantee they present the below message:

I understand that should the guarantee claim be successful, I will pay £45 for the delivery of my replacement mattress and disposal of my faulty mattress.*

Now, if I buy an item that has 15 years guarantee, the expectation is that it will last 15 years and if it doesn't they would make it good. Now bearing in mind the matterss is super king size I would have to hire people to take it down the stairs and arrange the removal.

Are Rem-Fit allowed to do that?

Yes, as others have said.

If a manufacturer's guarantee influences your purchase then it is very important to establish and understand the terms of that guarantee to ensure you are happy with the whole "package".

Also, unless the guarantee is underwritten by a major insurance company (as is sometime the case) you need to assess how likely it is a small to medium sized company will still be in business in 5, 10 or 15 years!

DullGreyGuy

Yes, warranties are in addition to your statutory rights and so can be as comprehensive or loophole ridden as they want to be. £45 for delivery/removal of the old one doesn't seem terrible to me and they could have argued you must have been wearing belts or zips or something else in the bed to rip the surface. 

Your statutory rights are with the retailer who'd be entitled to refund the item less the use you've already had out of the goods before the defect. The law doesn't state how this should be calculated but many seem to be using a straight line 6 years depreciation so at circa 5 years old many would be offering you about 1/6th refund and so a £45 contribution is far better than that.

Jumblebumble

Mishomeister said:

I've bought a Rem-Fit mattress 5 years ago. One of the main reasons I chose it was due to it coming with 15 years guarantee.

I have now seen some substantial rips in the body of the mattress.

When trying to claim under the guarantee they present the below message:

I understand that should the guarantee claim be successful, I will pay £45 for the delivery of my replacement mattress and disposal of my faulty mattress.*

Now, if I buy an item that has 15 years guarantee, the expectation is that it will last 15 years and if it doesn't they would make it good. Now bearing in mind the matterss is super king size I would have to hire people to take it down the stairs and arrange the removal.

Are Rem-Fit allowed to do that?

The terms and conditions that define the guarantee are crystal clear about the £45 charge

TELLIT01

Even with a 15 year guarantee they are entitled to reduce payment by 1/3rd for the usage you have had.  Assuming the original mattress cost more than £135 the charge to you of £45 doesn't seem excessive.

The wording of this "I understand that should the guarantee claim be successful, I will pay £45 for the delivery of my replacement mattress and disposal of my faulty mattress.*" suggests they will dispose of the faulty mattress so there will be no cost for that.  Check with them to see if their delivery team will get the mattress out of the house.  When I purchased a King Size mattress they removed the old one from the bedroom and delivered the new one to the bedroom.