Return of online order

mlody

Hello, everyone
I recently purchased a mattress from Debenhams online and I wanted to return it but they are refusing to accept it, as far as I'm aware I have a right to return any online or phone orders in the first 14 days, they are trying to tell me tha they are unable to accept it because I opened the mattress an it's not hygienic to return it, they are saying that I should try it while it was still in a bag, I explained to them that this was not applicable in this case because the mattress was vacuum sealed and the only way of trying it was to unseal it and allow it to expand for at least 24h as it says in the manual, I am unable to use it as I have spinal cord compensation and the mattress is making it worse, I've tried mattresses from other online sellers and never had issues with returns, mattress is in perfect condition i have pictures to prove it and although I pointed out the customer rights act and distance selling they are refusing to accept it. What are my rights in this situation? What I can do about it?  Thank you in advance 

eskbanker

It's true that cancellation rights for online purchases don't apply "in the case of a contract for the supply of sealed goods which are not suitable for return due to health protection or hygiene reasons, if they become unsealed after delivery", but whether or not a mattress would legitimately be considered to fall within that is debatable.

mlody

eskbanker said:

It's true that cancellation rights for online purchases don't apply "in the case of a contract for the supply of sealed goods which are not suitable for return due to health protection or hygiene reasons, if they become unsealed after delivery", but whether or not a mattress would legitimately be considered to fall within that is debatable.

But the mattress is vacuum sealed only to save on the shipment costs 

Penguin_

mlody said:

eskbanker said:

It's true that cancellation rights for online purchases don't apply "in the case of a contract for the supply of sealed goods which are not suitable for return due to health protection or hygiene reasons, if they become unsealed after delivery", but whether or not a mattress would legitimately be considered to fall within that is debatable.

But the mattress is vacuum sealed only to save on the shipment costs 

Does it not ensure that the mattress arrives clean?

eskbanker

mlody said:

I am unable to use it as I have spinal cord compensation and the mattress is making it worse

Are you able to make a case that the mattress isn't compliant with its specification, which would grant you additional return rights?  Presumably if you have a spinal condition, you need to to choose mattresses carefully and will have picked one with specific characteristics, so if it doesn't match its description then you should be able to send it back on that basis....

mlody

Penguin_ said:

mlody said:

eskbanker said:

It's true that cancellation rights for online purchases don't apply "in the case of a contract for the supply of sealed goods which are not suitable for return due to health protection or hygiene reasons, if they become unsealed after delivery", but whether or not a mattress would legitimately be considered to fall within that is debatable.

But the mattress is vacuum sealed only to save on the shipment costs 

Does it not ensure that the mattress arrives clean?

Well, yes but that also prevents me from being able to see if it's right for me, and we just went a full circle, so it's like hey because we sealed it you lost your customer rights, I tried other companies and there was no issue with return some are even accepting returns up to 100 nights of sleep and apparently the fact that I unsealed it wasn't a problem

eskbanker

mlody said:
I tried other companies and there was no issue with return some are even accepting returns up to 100 nights of sleep and apparently the fact that I unsealed it wasn't a problem

But the fact that some other companies choose to offer more generous terms doesn't affect your statutory rights with this company....

mlody

eskbanker said:

mlody said:

I am unable to use it as I have spinal cord compensation and the mattress is making it worse

Are you able to make a case that the mattress isn't compliant with its specification, which would grant you additional return rights?  Presumably if you have a spinal condition, you need to to choose mattresses carefully and will have picked one with specific characteristics, so if it doesn't match its description then you should be able to send it back on that basis....

It claims tha it provides optimal spine alignment and relieves pressure points 

Mark_d

https://www.debenhams.com/pages/informational/returns

The Debenhams returns policy clearly states that for hygiene reasons...mattresses...must be unused and in their original unopened packaging.

You therefore do not have a case under the Consumer Contract Regulations.

eskbanker

Mark_d said:

https://www.debenhams.com/pages/informational/returns

The Debenhams returns policy clearly states that for hygiene reasons...mattresses...must be unused and in their original unopened packaging.

You therefore do not have a case under the Consumer Contract Regulations.

Whether or not OP has any statutory rights isn't driven by what the merchant chooses to include in its Ts & Cs!

eskbanker

mlody said:

eskbanker said:

mlody said:

I am unable to use it as I have spinal cord compensation and the mattress is making it worse

Are you able to make a case that the mattress isn't compliant with its specification, which would grant you additional return rights?  Presumably if you have a spinal condition, you need to to choose mattresses carefully and will have picked one with specific characteristics, so if it doesn't match its description then you should be able to send it back on that basis....

It claims tha it provides optimal spine alignment and relieves pressure points 

But that's really just generic marketing blurb - is there anything quantifiable and measurable regarding how hard or soft the mattress is?