I've just sent this email to Watchdog:
Dear Watchdog
I watched with interest your story about Comet not fulfilling their obligations in relation to expensive extended warranties.
In September 2009 I paid £699 for a new specialised orthopaedic mattress that was supposed to be good for people with low back problems. I was assured of the following:
1: This mattress will never have the problems often associated with other mattresses in that there would never be any tilt or rolling after any amount of use. In other words, the mattress would not “sink” (for want of a better explanation) towards the middle after a certain amount of use, due to the specific way it was “built”.
2: On spending £90 on a 5 year “Care and Protection” 1000 Plus warranty I was told by the salesman that if there were ANY problems, the mattress would be replaced immediately with no quibble whatsoever.
3: He also said that if I had an accident, such as spilling a hot drink on it, or putting my foot through it, even something like that would cause the mattress to be immediately replaced with no quibble.
I asleep alone.
In my case, I have had no such accident but I recently found out that the mattress was faulty. I slept on it for two years with no problem and then decided to rotate it as a “dip” was forming where I was lying, despite the assurances I was given, that this would not happen.
On going to sleep on the “new” side, I found it tilted towards the middle. Nobody has ever slept on that side of the bed.
I have a long history of low back problems which can be evidence by my GP if necessary. I have had years of physiotherapy and also spinal injections. If I do not sleep on a flat mattress then I get a tugging sensation in my lower back which causes pain the next day.
I contacted the company via the telephone number provided on the warranty. Somebody eventually came out to see the mattress. He used some sort of “red string” and a card which did in fact indicate that there is, indeed, something wrong. However, when I said to him something along the lines of “I’ll be glad when it has been replaced because I could use a good night’s sleep” he said something like: “it won’t be replaced as it is not damaged enough”.
Apparently the “tilt” has to be 3.5cms before they will replace it. The “tilt” on my mattress was, as I recall, 2.5cms. Not that that matters. It should have been flat.
Therefore it seems Bensons for Beds will only replace a faulty mattress if it conforms to their idea of what is not acceptable, regardless of the fact that I have long standing low back problems (which is why I bought this mattress), and I was assured that this super-duper mattress that was never going to “tilt”, but it has done, or rather it has always had the tilt as nobody has ever slept in that bed apart from me.
Plus I had been assured that if ANYTHING went wrong then it would be replaced immediately.
The assertions made to me by the salesman was the selling point. I now feel that I have been sold two items under false pretences:
The mattress would never tilt
The warranty ensured that the mattress would be replaced without quibble.
I feel cheated by Bensons for Beds because they have sold me something that cost £699 that does not do what I was told it would and clearly it has a fault and also I was conned into spending £90 on a warranty that will never be honoured.
It looks like I will now have to go to the added expanse of getting a good quality mattress topper – certainly I will not be going to Bensons for Beds for that.
I wondered if Watchdog has had any other complaints in relation to this company and the warranties not being fulfilled.
I have copied this email to Peter Neaves of Bensons for Beds, who arranged for the technician to visit. I emailed him after the technician departed and although he clicked the receipt for my email I have never had a response back.
Thank you for your time
