The online mattress minefield

Jellynailer

sheramba said The shop I bought my matress from advised returned mattresses were cleaned and donated to charity.

So what.  My retailer openly states it sells returned mattresses (as I have already said)

sheramber

Jellynailer said:

sheramba said The shop I bought my matress from advised returned mattresses were cleaned and donated to charity.

So what.  My retailer openly states it sells returned mattresses (as I have already said)

You said there were no comments about the sale of returned mattresses.  I gave you mine.

Finally, I note th at there are no comments regarding the sale of used mattresses. 

Jellynailer

Like your previous comment, it was not a helpful comment in response to my original thread which Aylesbury Duck helpfully summarised: Where I think OP may have a case is that it seems the care information wasn't available until after purchase and after unwrapping, which then prevents an immediate return.

If you want me to respond you need to name the retaller and say whether the information was provided in writing = attach copy or over the phone.  Thank you in anticipation.

Aylesbury_Duck

Jellynailer said:

Like your previous comment, it was not a helpful comment in response to my original thread which Aylesbury Duck helpfully summarised: Where I think OP may have a case is that it seems the care information wasn't available until after purchase and after unwrapping, which then prevents an immediate return.

If you want me to respond you need to name the retaller and say whether the information was provided in writing = attach copy or over the phone.  Thank you in anticipation.

I did say that, but I also twice asked:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Jellynailer said:

born again said I can understand why some may struggle with doing such (not that such difficulty has anything to do with consumer rights). 

Aylesbury Duck understands – see below

LinLui said It is my experience that often what people are complaining about is that the information wasn't " in their face" and you actually had to go and look for it

I had no idea the weight and care information would be issues for which I needed to ask questions

Aylesbury Duck said - Where I think OP may have a case is that it seems the care information wasn't available until after purchase and after unwrapping, which then prevents an immediate return.

Thank you for a spot on understanding.

Vectis said - If you can't do something on your own, you ask for help. That applies to all of us, not just disabled people. That help, in this case, could be a carer or couple of carers, friends, family, neighbours or any combination of the above.

When you are nearly 80, I hope you can call on two people to come together every week for 3 months or have the funds to pay for extra carers. FYI my son is driving down with my grandson to rotate because the mattress is sagging badly and I only weight 45kg

While I understand the problem, I did ask one relevant question.  You said information was withheld.  That's quite different from information not being initially provided.  Where I think you have a case is if you asked about care requirements and the retailer declined to provide an answer, or misled you with their answer.

Was that the situation?

Jellynailer

So sorry.  Have been struggling to respond to multiple posts, many of them negative.  I did give the information you requested in my response to Exodi and others:-

When I complained .. the retailer just said that weight information is given if the consumer asks BUT I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS AN ISSUE until the packaging was removed.  If I had known, I would not have arranged for a pristine mattress to be removed and given my Dormeo topper to charity.  (My home help periodically turned and/or rotated these + hoovered them regularly with my anti-dust mite Dyson).  I would just have bought a suitable replacement topper = a geltex one that I needed due to overheating side effects of my cancer treatment.

In addition to the absence of weight information, the link provided for the guarantee for my mattress did not work and the link for mattress care was not provided until the confirmation email and this link did not work either.  In this email I missed the tiny print at the bottom of the page regarding the hygeine rule.  The information was only given in the subsequent dispatch email in more detail and larger print.

FYI, a) having complained about the two links, the retailer deleted the guarantee link in the information for my mattress (I have screen shots for both versions).  I don't know wether the same applies to the care link; 

b) the manufacturer also said weight information would be given on request but when I emailed a request for a mattress without the gel topper, I only got an acknowledgement and nothing since then

Aylesbury_Duck

Jellynailer said:

So sorry.  Have been struggling to respond to multiple posts, many of them negative.  I did give the information you requested in my response to Exodi and others:-

When I complained .. the retailer just said that weight information is given if the consumer asks BUT I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS AN ISSUE until the packaging was removed.  If I had known, I would not have arranged for a pristine mattress to be removed and given my Dormeo topper to charity.  (My home help periodically turned and/or rotated these + hoovered them regularly with my anti-dust mite Dyson).  I would just have bought a suitable replacement topper = a geltex one that I needed due to overheating side effects of my cancer treatment.

In addition to the absence of weight information, the link provided for the guarantee for my mattress did not work and the link for mattress care was not provided until the confirmation email and this link did not work either.  In this email I missed the tiny print at the bottom of the page regarding the hygeine rule.  The information was only given in the subsequent dispatch email in more detail and larger print.

FYI, a) having complained about the two links, the retailer deleted the guarantee link in the information for my mattress (I have screen shots for both versions).  I don't know wether the same applies to the care link; 

b) the manufacturer also said weight information would be given on request but when I emailed a request for a mattress without the gel topper, I only got an acknowledgement and nothing since then

Thanks.

I think that a weakness in your argument is that the information about the weight wasn't withheld, it just wasn't provided automatically.  However, getting back to the main point, have you actually tried to reject the mattress and been refused?  How did you pay for it, and when?

Jellynailer

I responded to this at length but closed by mistake before I finished.  I cannot repeat my attempt to answer your questions but I will not use the term withheld in future.  For me the point is that weight is not provided under the 'Dimensions' link and it is only an issue due to the manufacturer's instructions which are not accessible until the packaging is removed.  In the final analysis, it is the denial of my 14 day legal right to return for a refund that is the key issue (unfair contract terms?)

I purchased it on 23 May; the retailer has evaded the substantive issues in tortuous exchanges over the phone, on Trustpilot; and by email culminating in (on 2 July) a rejection of my formal complaint of 14 June.  I have decided to seek help from a consumer champion + I have also contacted the Equality Advisory Support Service.

Aylesbury_Duck

How did you pay?

And where is the mattress at the moment?

RefluentBeans

On what grounds are you attempting to reject the item? 

Under the Consumer Contract Regulations (what people are covered by distance selling like internet sales) - the time to reject (for any reason) is 14 days. Did you attempt to cancel in that period? 

The Consumer Protection Act covers you for faulty items. This includes faulty by not conforming to the description (ordering a red shirt and getting a blue one instead, for example). How is the product faulty? From what you’ve said they didn’t add in the weight, but I don’t think that forms a strong basis for ‘not as described’. 

Finally you have the sleep guaranty/warranty etc. These policies don’t remove your rights, but are distinct from your consumer rights above. They can as such have clauses in (such as requiring mattress protectors etc). Some guarantees are very generous and some are not worth the paper they’re written on because there’s so many rules and regulations to actually benefit from the policy. 

As for the discrimination angle - I don’t think this is a particularly strong argument I’m afraid. Prior to your purchase, did you inform them that you required additional consideration? If not, then I think you’ll struggle to make a case they should’ve put more in to support you. This is unless it’s a specific store for the elderly or catering to people with medical conditions where weight is likely to be a factor in a purchase. 

I am really not trying to be negative here - but your complaint needs to be founded in law (whether consumer protections or contract for the warranty). Everything that is added (the continuous discounts ending in X days only to be replaced, the old mattress recycling scheme terms etc) is stuff that makes the story more complicated but weakens the overall message. You need to focus on exactly what is important and why you should be entitled to your money back, which should be supported by the law.  

So the TLDR questions are:
Did you attempt to reject the mattress within the 14 days?
Were you told (either explicitly or in the terms and conditions of purchase) you could reject the bed within 14 days? 
If not - what is faulty about the item?
If not as described - what was it described as that makes it faulty? 

If warranty claiming - did you follow the care instructions to make it eligible for warranty claim? 

EssexHebridean

I am substantially younger than the OP but having been sleeping on mattresses all my life I am aware that they generally tend to be heavy. It surprised me that someone else in presumably a broadly similar position would not be aware of this - even changing bedlinen, one becomes aware that a mattress is a fairly weighty item, surely? Also, every mattress we have ever bought stresses the need for rotating or turning or sometimes both at intervals - indeed, this information is pretty widely known I would expect.

OP - with your vulnerabilities I would have thought that the proactive thing to do when making a purchase of this nature would be to ensure that the item is suitable for you as part of the purchase procedure - so clarifying the required interval for turning etc in order to make sure that you will be able to get assistance at the times needed. The comment from the retailer that “2 people are required” is simply a safeguard to ensure that nobody tries to do it alone and then comes after them for damages claiming they have been injured - it’s belt and braces, nothing more. As others have said - it’s perfectly possible to do single handed. For the reasons given above I would not suggest you demand this of a home help though - but instead arrange for a family member to be there to assist them. 

I have to say that I don’t think your failure to do a sensible level of research allowing for facts which must have been known to you prior to purchase (ie mattresses are heavy items, and most mattresses require turning and/or rotation, especially when new) means you have a decent argument against the retailer on this, and certainly not for discrimination. Yes, they have an obligation to treat disabled people fairly, but the disabled person also has an obligation to ask for information that is pertinent to their disability in connection with  the item they are purchasing, surely?