Bensons for Beds (again)

[steve barber]

Hello -

 

I signed up to the forum today - I came across it on the web while searching Bensons for Beds Reviews.

 

Im not the first person to say I wished I had done some reasearch beforehand, however hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

purchased a Airflow 5000 Plus Mattresses early May this year and it was delivered at the end of May.

 

It did not come with any sort of paperwork or guarantee;

it was purchased on line and neither the order confirmation or invoice had anything relating to Product Care or Warranty.

 

Last week while turning the matress we noticed a massive bulge in the side of the matress on one side.

 

Before I go any further its worthwhile saying that it came without any care intrsuctions,

only a small circular card with the 'flame retardent' icon.

 

Ive read in a couple of places that Bensons advocate that the matress is turned every week (utter nonense?)

and that is takes three months for it to be 'settled' (more utter nonsense?)

 

Spoke to Bensons today and

Becky at Customer Services, while being helpful, wouldnt accept that the bed was faulty

and said that they would need to have the bed 'independently' assessed

and said they would arrange somebody from FIRA to come and asses the bed.

 

I explaind that I had read reports that when this had happened to other consumers

the decision did not go in their (the consumers favour)

and offered to pay for FIRA to come and assess the bed myself but Becky declined my offer.

 

I was put on hold and she came back to me with the name of another company (cant remember as this all happened earlier at work)

 

when I looked them up they were an insurance company. I

did offer to send photographs but Becky said this wasnt acceptable.

 

To conclude,

I have taken a day off work next week to facilitate the assessment of out new bed

- I want to be optimisitic however there's a part of me thats very doubtful I will get a replacement or refund or repair

- this is based on other reviews and forums Ive looked at over the past few days.

 

Can anyone provide any suggestions what I would do next if the assessment goes against me?

 

As mentioned above,

the matress is 5 weeks old from new,

has been used for its intended purpose

- to sleep on, and neither myself or my partner are obese or overweight.

ANY feedback would be REALLY appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Steve

Edited July 2, 2014 by steve barber

[Bazooka Boo]

Hi & Welcome..

 

As you have found B4B are the very worst at everything including their customer care!

 

Stay OFF the phone, you need to keep everything in writing, or in person.

 

Get onto your local Trading Standards and report this sorry outfit for their abysmal service.

Have a read of SOGA also, keep a diary of events also, and photograph the mattress, these clowns need closing down.

[BankFodder]

Please can you tell is the value of the bed.

 

You are covered by the Sale of Goods Act and that means that any goods which you buy must be of satisfactory quality and this means that they must match up to the expectations of a reasonable consumer for a reasonable period of time given all the circumstances such as price description – blah blah blah.

 

I think that you are doing the right thing but also take photographs. Also keep copious notes of any phone conversations you have and ideally you should be recording them in fact you should never speak to any company on the telephone without recording your calls – ever.

 

What make it is the mattress? Is it Bensons own brand? I think you should research the Benson site thoroughly and see what claims they make for their mattresses. It is inconceivable that they don't see glowing things about it and the durability of the product.

 

If this is a branded item then also you should be up to find other claims from manufacturers.

 

It would be very helpful if you could get an independent assessment from one or two other mattress suppliers. Of course Bensons will say that they are prejudiced against Benson products but I think that if you took the assessments plus the very obvious fact that you have a mattress there that is not even lasting for five weeks – I think it would take very little to convince a judge that there is a problem. Add to that the other things you find about Bensons over the Internet and it's probably all you need.

 

I would collect all the evidence together as quickly as possible and then write Bensons a clear letter rejecting the mattress. Say that it is not fit for the purpose and you want a complete refund. Tell Bensons that if you don't get the refund within 14 days – and the mattresses collected from you that you will begin proceedings in the County Court and without any further notice.

 

Don't make this threat unless you are prepared to go through with it. Don't bluff.

 

Bringing small claims in the County Court is very straightforward. There is lots of information on this forum and you could even buy a book. It will all stand you in good stead when you've done it once you will have confidence to do it again and again and you won't take any more rubbish from any suppliers ever.

[steve barber]

Thanks for the welcome Bazoooka - Woooah...thats very good advice. I was going to put something in writing to them today and your comment has made me rethink - I will get on to this tomorow. Im a but reluctant to get heavy handed from the off - is it worth going with the process and waiting for the asessor next week, or should I just demand a refund due to the matress being faulty which it clearly is? Bensons policy is not law so, as far as Im aware I dont have to abide by them, especially when something becomes so faulty in sucha short amount of time? I have degenerative issues with my neck and back so want to get this sorted as soon as possible. If I get trading standars involved I would need t contact the offices nearest Bensons HQ wouldnt I?

[steve barber]

Hi there Bankfodda - thanks for the reply - it was £599.99 and was not purchased in a sale or other discount offer.

 

Its an Airflow 5000 Plus Mattress.

 

Ive had one experience with Small Claims a few years back with Avis (car rentals) who tried their luck charging me £30 to send a letter - they lost and the whole process was very simple.

Ive already looked at the Furniture Ombudsman website and it appears I can get an independent assessment for £125.

 

Thanks

 

Steve

Edited July 2, 2014 by steve barber

[BankFodder]

Well it would be the best idea to get an independent assessment but of course if the assessment went against you then you would definitely lose £125. If the assessment went for you then you would get your assessment money back once you won the claim.

 

Frankly with a bed only five weeks old I can scarcely imagine that you would need an assessment that that's a decision that you will have to make.

 

If they won't take the mattress back they want to take to litigation then I would also suggest getting a new mattress elsewhere storing your defective one and making a daily storage charge of say – 50p.

 

Of course you would write to Bensons in advance and tell them that this is what you will be doing and that you will be charging the 50p storage and adding it to your claim.

 

It is very important to make sure that everything is clear and that you disclose everything to Bensons so later on in a court case they can't say that they didn't know and that it's unfair. You have to show that you gave them every opportunity.