Bensons for Beds

[louiserawlings01]

I purchased a Airflow Sup5000 in August 2011 costing £600 with a £100 voucher making the mattress £500, but now experiencing problems. After speaking to the store they have advised me to contact customer services or alternatively bensonsforbeds.co.uk. I decided to google bensons for beds and saw complaints and therefore this has directed me to this site. After reading all the blogs on this company I wish I had been smart enough to google them before buying this mattress as I think I may be in for a world of pain, (not counting the back pain I now have).

 

Unlike most of you guys we did have a user guide and have have religiously rotated this non turn mattress every wednesday since delivery. At first we thought we were just getting used to the mattress but it has become very apparent over the last 9 weeks that this mattress is not meant for people with vast weight differences........ My hubby is 20 stone I am 13 stone. We roll into each other every night but again were hopping the mattress was just getting used to us so to speak, but no. This morning after stripping the bed clothes I noticed that there is a significant dent in each side exactly where our bums are and it has remained there all day.. Wish me luck guys I will keeep you posted on my progress and see if rotating the mattress weekly is met with the same problems.

[rebel11]

Hi louise

 

Welcome to CAG

 

Have a read of 10,12 and 13 in my signature.

[Bazooka Boo]

Ah, my all time favourite bed supplier, I had a very good run in with them a few years back, and their customer service was non existent, the bed they supplied was water damaged missing parts and screws, they offered me fifty quid to keep the bed, they were told that if it wasn't picked up by the end of the week, that it would be outside for them to collect and a full refund was the only thing I would accept.

 

They were really the worst people to have ever done business with, I will NEVER use them again, and I warn all of my friends not to either.

 

If you need any help, feel free to shout, and I will try and help out.

[Guest bensonsforbeds]

I purchased a Airflow Sup5000 in August 2011 costing £600 with a £100 voucher making the mattress £500, but now experiencing problems. After speaking to the store they have advised me to contact customer services or alternatively bensonsforbeds.co.uk. I decided to google bensons for beds and saw complaints and therefore this has directed me to this site. After reading all the blogs on this company I wish I had been smart enough to google them before buying this mattress as I think I may be in for a world of pain, (not counting the back pain I now have).

 

Unlike most of you guys we did have a user guide and have have religiously rotated this non turn mattress every wednesday since delivery. At first we thought we were just getting used to the mattress but it has become very apparent over the last 9 weeks that this mattress is not meant for people with vast weight differences........ My hubby is 20 stone I am 13 stone. We roll into each other every night but again were hopping the mattress was just getting used to us so to speak, but no. This morning after stripping the bed clothes I noticed that there is a significant dent in each side exactly where our bums are and it has remained there all day.. Wish me luck guys I will keeep you posted on my progress and see if rotating the mattress weekly is met with the same problems.

 

Hi,

I am very sorry to hear you are having problems with your new mattress. However, we ask that you give it at least 3 months, rotating the mattress weekly. If you are still unhappy with the mattress, please contact our customer services department on 01925 237600 and we will investigate it further.

Kind Regards,

Bensons for Beds

Official Customer Services Advisor

[MARTIN3030]

We welcome the company rep from Bensons for Beds and hope to see some positive outcome from their presence here.

Please keep the thread updated and share the progress with the forum once you have some news to report.

[platta]

Wish you all the very best.

 

I had dealings with this lot some 9 years ago and the Customer 'Service' was terrible beyond belief. We paid £404 for a sturdy cabin bed for my daughter. The shelf and drawer units were well built and came constructed....but there were bits of the veneer missing as the screws hadn't been fitted properly and a whole top side of the bed section was made the wrong way round so to fit it the rough edge was on top.

 

I called, wrote, ended up at the CAB and after 7months I got £150 refunded to me. They had offered to take the bed back and completely refund but we wanted THAT bed as other models by other brands were cheap flat pack versions. Happy with the refund, not happy it took so much effort on my part (they NEVER called back when they said). It's good to get the name of a Manager in Customer Services and direct all your contact to that person.

 

You will be in for a long haul i'm afraid but the key is don't give up. Reading your post I would perhaps tell the store you want a full refund and to return the mattress as it's clearly unfit for purpose.

[MARTIN3030]

These days companies are beginning to realise the importance of maintaining good levels of aftersales and service and customer services-we have seen this evolving.

Many have chosen to use Social Media sites,and some with success but in lots of cases customers see it as more of an advertising platform rather than a pro active initiative to improve their business.

In the current economic climate it is suicide for any business to fail in their customer services.

Time will tell if BFB have changed for the better since the old days from those things reported here.

 

Lets wait and see and give them a chance to demonstrate that they have.

[Bazooka Boo]

I must say that having a BFB rep on CAG is extremely positive, welcome and hopefully you will prove me wrong.

[platta]

I agree; I think it's a positive move for a Rep from BFB to appear on here (or any consumer forum) and hopefully they will be able to sort out the issue but tht said it's a bad show for the Company that they've not dealt with the issue when you complained and it's taken one conscientious employee of BFB to get involved. That employee deserves good recognition.

[louiserawlings01]

Hi,

I am very sorry to hear you are having problems with your new mattress. However, we ask that you give it at least 3 months, rotating the mattress weekly. If you are still unhappy with the mattress, please contact our customer services department on 01925 237600 and we will investigate it further.

Kind Regards,

Bensons for Beds

Official Customer Services Advisor

 

Well I must say I am very dissapointed that I am being asked to put up with this for another 7 weeks as clearly the mattress is getting worse not better.... Am I to believe that the mattress will right itself and stop sinking bizzarly??? I think not, the bed is not fit for purpose and that is to have a reasonably comfortable sleep in.. I have not slepts without being awakened at least once during the night since getting the mattress and hubby is now being sleep deprived and not happy at all. I stated in my last correspondence that we had the mattress for 9 weeks but it is only 5 weeks. I await with anticipation your response.

 

Regards

 

Louise Rawlings

[MARTIN3030]

I have to agree that it seems a little bizarre that someone who is not happy with a product is being asked to give it 3 months and then if still not satisfied then their complaint will be looked at.

 

If you bought a car and was not happy with it,would the garage ask you to give it 3 months ?

If you bought a kettle/iron /toaster/food mixer or whatever and it was not performing as it should would you be happy to wait 3 months before your complaint was being taken seriously ?

It seems that 5 weeks is more than an adequate timescale to know if a bed has a fault,just the same as any other product or service.

 

In fact since we are talking about a bed,then you would only need a couple of nights to know that something was not quite right.

Or am I missing something ?

[Guest bensonsforbeds]

Well I must say I am very dissapointed that I am being asked to put up with this for another 7 weeks as clearly the mattress is getting worse not better.... Am I to believe that the mattress will right itself and stop sinking bizzarly??? I think not, the bed is not fit for purpose and that is to have a reasonably comfortable sleep in.. I have not slepts without being awakened at least once during the night since getting the mattress and hubby is now being sleep deprived and not happy at all. I stated in my last correspondence that we had the mattress for 9 weeks but it is only 5 weeks. I await with anticipation your response.

 

Regards

 

Louise Rawlings

 

Hi,

 

The mattresses are brand new and will need time to settle. That is one of the main reasons we ask that you turn the mattress weekly. This allows the mattress to settle evenly. However, if you feel you can not wait any longer then please do not hesitate to contact our customer services team on 01925 237 600.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Bensons for Beds

[Guest bensonsforbeds]

I have to agree that it seems a little bizarre that someone who is not happy with a product is being asked to give it 3 months and then if still not satisfied then their complaint will be looked at.

 

If you bought a car and was not happy with it,would the garage ask you to give it 3 months ?

If you bought a kettle/iron /toaster/food mixer or whatever and it was not performing as it should would you be happy to wait 3 months before your complaint was being taken seriously ?

It seems that 5 weeks is more than an adequate timescale to know if a bed has a fault,just the same as any other product or service.

 

In fact since we are talking about a bed,then you would only need a couple of nights to know that something was not quite right.

Or am I missing something ?

 

Hi,

 

You can not compare buying a bed to a kettle/iron/toaster etc. If you buy a new house, do they not say you need to let the house time to breath, settle down? When you are buying a car do you not take time over the decision? Take multiple cars for a test drive? It should be the same when buying a bed. You need to take your time, visit your local store and test different types of mattresses. Go back and test them again on a different day.

 

The complaint from Louise Rawlings sounds like the mattress needs to settle down. If they continue to turn the mattress the problem should go away.

 

Bensons for Beds

[MARTIN3030]

Thank you for your explanations.

Whilst I am no expert on mattresses,my points were in consideration of the customers experience.

It seems strange to me that it needs 3 months to be able to have a good nights sleep after buying a new mattress.

[platta]

I'd take the advice of the BFB rep and get onto Customer Services. Tell them in no uncertain terms that you have been sleep deprived longer than is reasonable already.

 

I have to be honest and say that I have never ever heard of any mattress needing 3months to settle and as far as turning it every week....really?? That seems like a way around the body 'dents' not being quite so bad. I don't think it's reasonable to turn a mattress weekly, what if you were physically unable to do so. A £500 mattress should be up to a lot more wear than needing weekly turning. We got a £200 silentnight memory foam one 13months ago, not a single dent in it! O and never been turned

 

Goodluck....and again, it's been good to have a rep of the company in question on here.

[locutus]

I purchased a Airflow Sup5000 in August 2011 costing £600 with a £100 voucher making the mattress £500, but now experiencing problems. After speaking to the store they have advised me to contact customer services or alternatively bensonsforbeds.co.uk. I decided to google bensons for beds and saw complaints and therefore this has directed me to this site. After reading all the blogs on this company I wish I had been smart enough to google them before buying this mattress as I think I may be in for a world of pain, (not counting the back pain I now have).

 

Unlike most of you guys we did have a user guide and have have religiously rotated this non turn mattress every wednesday since delivery. At first we thought we were just getting used to the mattress but it has become very apparent over the last 9 weeks that this mattress is not meant for people with vast weight differences........ My hubby is 20 stone I am 13 stone. We roll into each other every night but again were hopping the mattress was just getting used to us so to speak, but no. This morning after stripping the bed clothes I noticed that there is a significant dent in each side exactly where our bums are and it has remained there all day.. Wish me luck guys I will keeep you posted on my progress and see if rotating the mattress weekly is met with the same problems.

 

Hi,

I am very sorry to hear you are having problems with your new mattress. However, we ask that you give it at least 3 months, rotating the mattress weekly. If you are still unhappy with the mattress, please contact our customer services department on 01925 237600 and we will investigate it further.

Kind Regards,

Bensons for Beds

Official Customer Services Advisor

 

If you READ the actual complaint, they have been rotating it for 9 weeks. Personally I think louiserawlings01 has been more than patient and in her place I'd have LBA'd you guys and be at the court stage.

 

Offering a resolution of "call customer services" is not what I'd expect if you were being really "pro-active" toward sorting complaints. I think you are here as a PR stunt rather than to actually help customers who you have failed. The 1st sentence in your "about us" statement on your website states

 

"When you buy a bed from Bensons...

...you can be sure of expert help and advice, backed up by comprehensive customer service and after sales service."

 

Clearly that is not the case here, you have failed louiserawlings01 so far, why not change that and offer some actual help?

 

 

Personally I'd not dial their customer services department, I'd keep communications in writing.

 

1st I'd write a nice letter stating what is wrong and what I'd except as settlement (replacement mattress or refund, maybe a credit note if they settled this quickly and amicably)

2nd I'd follow that up 7 days later with a letter before action, stating this £600 mattress is unfit for purpose, replace or refund the money paid or I'd take this to small claims court in 14 days time.

3rd in 14 days time I'd file this in the local county court, where I'd also add court costs, and ask the judge to also add my costs.

4th If I still hadn't been refunded I'd send in the bailiffs and add their costs.

 

Best of luck louiserawlings01. Hope this gets sorted to your satisfaction.

[Bazooka Boo]

To be fair this is the first time the BFB rep has been on here and trying to help a customer out, I am pretty sure the Voda rep and SE rep couldn't wave a magic wand first time around, it is a good thing that official reps use sites like CAG to work through complaints with customers, less for the likes of DCA's, the less said about them the better!

 

Give the BFB rep some time to get to grips with this.

And as for turning the mattress, I do this every couple of weeks.

[locutus]

To be fair this is the first time the BFB rep has been on here and trying to help a customer out, I am pretty sure the Voda rep and SE rep couldn't wave a magic wand first time around, it is a good thing that official reps use sites like CAG to work through complaints with customers, less for the likes of DCA's, the less said about them the better!

 

Give the BFB rep some time to get to grips with this.

And as for turning the mattress, I do this every couple of weeks.

Time will tell. I don't know the SE rep, but the voda rep hit the forums running. Someone had issues with his credit file being fired and 2 days later it was fixed. Vodafone integrated their rep within their existing customer service contact on their website, so resolution is integrated within the Vodafone company (and I'm sure if a company the size of Vodafone can integrate their webteam with the rest of their CS, then a substantially smaller company like Bensons for Beds should be able to aswell)

 

The BensonsforBeds rep will need to do more than just "Oh, contact customer service" to deserve the status and the recomendation from other CAG members to contact them. Let me ask, if a family member of yours had trouble with Bensons for Beds, and it was now 9 weeks later, would you recomend the cag rep to sort the problem or recomend stronger action?

 

I don't know the SE rep, but the Voda rep sorted the 1st problem they came across within 2 days. I was impressed and I have since switched to Vodafone. That is the power of good customer service. I just hope BensonsforBeds don't think they can simply get a green name here and watch the extra custom walk thrugh their shop doors.

 

There are good and poor cag reps. The poor ones seem to make a handful of posts and then disapear... probably marked down as "a failed PR stunt".

 

I agree that the BensonsforBeds needs a chance, but they also need to provide assistance above and beyond that of a regular cagger IMHO. I hope I get pleasently surprised and they posts here and contacts louiserawlings01 and sorts this amicably and quickly. (but remember the old saying, "hope in your left hand and poop in your right, and see which one gets full 1st")

[louiserawlings01]

Well another week down and another turn of the bed yesterday and again dents either side. Thanx for all your input guys been reading with interest your views and experiences. I agree with Bensons that something that is new like a house needs time to adjust, but 3 months of adjusting and not getting a good nights sleep is just not on. While I feel the excitement in some of the seasoned respondents that an official rep of Bensons is taking time out of their busy day to find the time to speak to a forum, to tell you the truth, it does not impress me one little bit. I have officially sent an email direct to customer service with a copy of my forum complaint and to date had no response. I will not hold on to a customer service chargable phone line from my mobile while im out and about from 8am to 8pm monday to friday to sit and wait endlessly for someone from customer service to answer the phone, hence the reason for writing. The only correspondence i have had from Bensons is from this forum, so do i think myself lucky that they have contacted me on a forum? No I do not. I want direct contact from them not me to them, why the hell should I do all the running about, am I not the customer?

Within the first six months the onus is on the company to prove that the product is fit for purpose, and I understand that, that is why they are asking me to wait 3month. Is this reasonable? no I do not think it is, I am in pain now and very uncomfortable and hubby is getting really angry now. If after 3 months of turning a mattress it settles into a fantastic bed I will be the first on this forum letting everyone know that I now have a comfotable bed, would I then recommend the mattress? I think not, who in their right mind would buy a mattress knowing that it will take 3 months of unrest to get a good one.

 

Cant see this being Bensons Unique Selling Point

[locutus]

Writing is my preferred medium aswell. If you paid by credit / debit card you could contact the bank with a view to do a chargeback.

[platta]

Writing is always best, then you have a record which they can't deny.

 

Goodluck x

[louiserawlings01]

Well another week down and another turn of the bed yesterday and again dents either side. Thanx for all your input guys been reading with interest your views and experiences. I agree with Bensons that something that is new like a house needs time to adjust, but 3 months of adjusting and not getting a good nights sleep is just not on. While I feel the excitement in some of the seasoned respondents that an official rep of Bensons is taking time out of their busy day to find the time to speak to a forum, to tell you the truth, it does not impress me one little bit. I have officially sent an email direct to customer service with a copy of my forum complaint and to date had no response. I will not hold on to a customer service chargable phone line from my mobile while im out and about from 8am to 8pm monday to friday to sit and wait endlessly for someone from customer service to answer the phone, hence the reason for writing. The only correspondence i have had from Bensons is from this forum, so do i think myself lucky that they have contacted me on a forum? No I do not. I want direct contact from them not me to them, why the hell should I do all the running about, am I not the customer?

Within the first six months the onus is on the company to prove that the product is fit for purpose, and I understand that, that is why they are asking me to wait 3month. Is this reasonable? no I do not think it is, I am in pain now and very uncomfortable and hubby is getting really angry now. If after 3 months of turning a mattress it settles into a fantastic bed I will be the first on this forum letting everyone know that I now have a comfotable bed, would I then recommend the mattress? I think not, who in their right mind would buy a mattress knowing that it will take 3 months of unrest to get a good one.

 

Cant see this being Bensons Unique Selling Point

 

I have received a response from the customer service of BFB. They have asked if I could send photographs of the bed to them to enable them to start an investigation, they have not asked me to be patient and wait 3 months before complaining. I have sent taken photos of the bed when we got up at 7.30am then again before going back to bed at 10.30 and the dents are still there. I will keep you all informed of my progress.

[MARTIN3030]

Well its getting on for 4 weeks now since you reported this on here.

Why are they now only just requesting these photos to START an investigation ?

[locutus]

*cough*

they have not asked me to be patient and wait 3 months before complaining

it has been 3 months already tho right?

 

I think you have been very patient. I hope they now pull their fingers out and sort this swiftly.

 

Thanks for the update, keep them coming I hope the next one is you telling us this is all sorted.

[louiserawlings01]

Well its getting on for 4 weeks now since you reported this on here.

Why are they now only just requesting these photos to START an investigation ?

Was thinking that myself, but at least at the moment they are contacting me. Had an email asking if we were rotating the mattress weekly, could not believe my first letter of complaint was not read properly as it clearly stated we were rotating every week as required by the manufacturers quide. Today received a call and an email asking for the date on the fire lable to enable them to contact the manufacturer so at least we are not being ignored, just need to be more patient but its now wearing thin......