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Thanks for that Rosie, I did try to get the invoice on their behalf but the details I gave Levines came up with wardrobes having been purchased and not the bed! Didn't want to push the issue in case they became suspicious. I've looked at the site you've mentioned and it is definitely useful. However the fee of £250 they charge for their inspection will be too much for my friend to afford. They may just have to cut their losses and buy a new one. But once again thanks for your help, it's appreciated. Angie

Can anyone offer any advice please? Thanks

Hi All This has been going on for ages but my friend finally got a response from the retailer last week. She sent them the suggested letter above posted by Tom. Their only response was to say that they had already assesed it twice and that they were unwilling to do anything further. If my friend wanted to take it further she would have to get an independant body to look at the mattress to assess it. Would anyone out there know how to contact someone to go about doing this? Would the retailer then have to pay for this if the mattress was found to be faulty? I appreciate all your help. Thanks Angie

Just spoke to my friend and it would appear she has no proof of purchase...... She paid cash for the bed all in about £700 and can't locate the receipt. This will probably complicate it a bit won't it. I imagine the fact that Levines have sent two reps out to look at it indicates they recognise the purchase. I suppose she'll have to somehow get them to send her a copy of the purchase invoice without alerting them as to why she needs it.......

Thanks Tom, this letter looks great. I'll get started on it straight away. Angie

A friend of mine bought an ex-display Hypnos mattress from furniture company Levines last year in October. By the beginning of this year both my friend and her husband were suffering with their backs. The springs in the mattress were simply not doing their job and supporting their backs, in fact when lying on it, their backs are very low and their legs almost raised in comparison. Both are on the lighter side of the weight scale so it's not a size issue! They went back to the retailer in April / May this year and were told someone would come out to assess the mattress. A representative did come out and was very surprised, as Hypnos mattresses are normally very good and are very rarely faulty. However this particular mattress was definitely faulty and he said as much. He also said that he would have to go back to the store and write a report and new mattress would be arranged and that they would be contacted within two days to arrange this. Two days came and went and no contact was issued, and over the course of weeks my friends went back to the store several times to chase this up. On the third visit they were told that there was no such report. The manager of the store did call up the representative who had assessed the mattress. The rep (whose name my friends don't have unfortunately) was very vague and said initially that he couldn't recall coming out to their house, he then turned around and said that he didn't feel that their mattress had been faulty. The store manager suggested another rep come out to assess the mattress, this one came over on July 28th and said that the mattress was fine. He said he needed the serial number off the mattress so just ripped the label off it to take with him! The mattress was bought in October 2005 and my friend has had two extended periods of time off work, once in October 2005 and once in February 2006, these were due to back, shoulder and neck ache. She is now in pain on a daily basis. However when she spends the night elsewhere on a different bed her back is fine the next day. Her husband has also started to suffer with back pain and both of them have had to go to the doctors due to the severity of the pain. Can anyone please advise what they should do next? They feel as though they have no recourse as they've been to the store and they have denied any problems. Is it possible for them to involve trading standards and if so how do they go about doing it, or would a strongly worded letter to the retailer threatening legal action do the trick? Please, please, can someone help, my friends are on a low income and can't just afford to throw away the mattress and buy a new one, and instead their health is now starting to suffer. Thanks Angie

Oh no, just seen your message BW after paying up for a new pair. I'm about to order these also, SCP TOURMALINE CERAMIC HAIR STRAIGHTENER which are on special offer at £34.95, down from £79.99 this month only. They have a 14 day return policy on them. If they are no good I'll return them within the 14day period and keep the new GHD. If they are good, then I have a brand new pair of GHD which will go on ebay for £65 or to a deserving friend / family member for £43.

The woman I spoke to (Barbara Chapman) was insistent that they had been overused due to the plates being loose. She also said that the fact they caught fire was one of the hazards of all hand held electrical items, eg hoovers, irons etc. I mentioned the court case and she said that it had nothing to do with the cord catching fire and was an other safety issue and that the items in question were all made in 2002 and had since been recalled. When I mentioned the article referred to a woman whose starighteners had caught fire and that she informed Trading Standards I was told the article was inaccurate and not to believe the papers!

Just called them up and they offered me a new pair for the price of the repair which is £43.00. Should I accept?

Lovely! Have just emailed it to myself at work, so I have something to do tomorrow!

That would be great thanks.

Thanks for the link, very interesting, especially with regards to the court action against them. In their letter to me they stated that they had very stringent safety tests.... Anyways I just saw this when I googled faulty ghd's.... "Just to let you know what happened when I phoned GHD about their faulty hair straighteners. I simply said that according to the Sale of Goods Act I was entitled to compensation for faulty goods for up to 6 years after the item was bought, regardless of the 1 year warranty. The women on the phone said she'd speak to the supervisor, so she disappeared for a minute. When she came back to the phone she said that GHD would repair the hair straighteners for free and send them back to me by recorded delivery in the next few days. I received the repaired hair straighters 7 days later." So a change of heart, I will state that my level of usage would in no way count as excessive and I will also mention the sale of goods act. I think I'll insist on a new pair rather than a repair, owing to the fact they'd caught fire once and could do so again.

Thanks for that Lisa, I'll try the kissy up tack and ask them to reconsider. Dolly, the address to post your straighteners to is : Jemella Ltd Unit 12 Ryefield Way Silsden Nr Keighley West Yorkshire BD20 0EF the telephone number is 0845 3301133 If you send by special delivery it's about £5.00, recorded will be cheaper though.

Thanks for your message. I would understand if one day I tried to use my irons and they wouldn't work, I wouldn't expect GHD to do anything about it. But the fact that they caught fire is worrying. Had I been using them on the back of my hair, it could well have caught alight. Surely they would have had to answer for it if my head turned into a giant fireball?

I have a pair of GHD straightening irons that I bought in July 2003. While I was using them a couple of weeks ago they caught fire. A flame shot out from the cable where it joins the irons, scaring the s**t out of me, so I dropped them onto the carpet! I sent them back to Jemella, the people who manufacture the GHD's with a covering letter explaining what had happened. I received a reply this morning stating that they were well out of the warranty period and that the break in the cord where it caught fire was due to "excessive flexing of the lead wire over a period of time". Also that "the plates were loose which is due to wear". They offered to repair them at a cost of £43.00. I used my irons over three years, on average, a couple of times a week and I NEVER wound the flex around them when storing them. Does anyone know whether I have any recourse, can I demand a FOC repair or replacement irons or will I have to buy a new pair. Any help and advice would be most appreciated. Angie (now with frizzy hair!)

I was the same, had an overdraft of £850 and was overdrawn by £400. I still went ahead with my claim. They didn't at any point ask me to repay it. I received a settlement letter last week and which said provided I agree to their terms and conditions they'll credit my account with the amount of the claim.

Bummer! The credit balance was due to an overpayment. I stupidly thought that being a credit I'd be able to withdraw it without incurring charges. Maybe if I call them up and shout at them and threaten them, then ask them to refund as a gesture of goodwill they might do it......... Will let you know how I get on. Angie

A question for anyone who can help. I have a credit balance on my Nationwide credit card which I've drawn against on 3 seperate occassions using a cash point machine. Looking at my statement I've been charged £4 each time. That's £12 to withdraw money that's mine. When I queried this with them I was told the charge was for using the cash point machine. Does anyone know if this is right? Is this something I can claim back? Angie

Fiona, don't give up!!!!! I got a letter a few day ago offering to settle. so there is light at the end of the tunnel. With regards to your questions. No1 use abbreviations and take out any extra words, eg change 'standard terms and conditions' to 'standard T&Cs'. You could start with 'Claimant has account with defendant dated.....' and then shorten the next sentence to read ' Claimant requires return of funds taken by way of charges....' etc No2 work out how much is owed at the date of the claim including the 8% interest. Work out the monetary value of this at 8% and this will be the daily rate. eg: £4,500 inclusive of 8% interest to 01/06/06. £4,500 x 0.00022 = 99p per day. I've been through this and am now doing the claims procedure for friends and family. So if you need any help of support just PM me and I'll do what I can. Angie

Just had a look at the letter and noticed it differred to the others as it didn't ask me to come in for an account review. It did state that as I don't have an overdraft limit I must maintain the account in credit. The strange thing is I do have an o/d limit of £850 and am currently o/d by £400. I just logged on to internet banking and the limit is showing on screen. Does this mean they intend to take away my overdraft facility????? Most odd.

Ahhhhh, geddit now. Assumed you meant they paid up £5000, duh. It's late and I should be asleep, hence being a bit slow.

Interesting........ The thing is I really don't want to mess up my claim on the chance I may or may not get paid for keeping quiet. As a matter of interest how much was the claim for, against which £5000 was given for silence?

Rang him at work earlier to gloat, and I did gloat big time! He wanted to know why I hadn't told him, and I told him the truth, being that if I had mentioned it, he would have discouraged me all the way. Easier not to mention it in case it went against me too! I got one lot of 'well done' from him, then a lecture on my irresponsible spending habits in managing to rack up so many charges. Some people, hey?

I think, like spiceskull said, it's best not to look greedy. I'll just write back accepting their offer but not their terms. But if they do offer to pay me for my silence, I won't be turning down them down!