Pitfalls lie in mattress purchases

Pitfalls lie in mattress purchases My column earlier this month about buying a mattress really riled up some of you. So we decided to let you vent and we'll provide some lessons.

Mattress sellers weighed in, too. Representatives from Leo Burke Furniture, mattress manufacturer and wholesaler Custom Comfort by Winn and even a writer from trade publication Furniture Today said consumers should buy quality mattresses from trustworthy stores staffed with qualified sales associates.

One reader gushed that her Select Comfort mattress is "probably the best on the market."

But others of you had dreadful experiences buying a mattress.

Lafon Thomas of New Kent County said she bought one from the Mattress Warehouse in The Shops at White Oak Village in eastern Henrico County. First one set, then a second, arrived damaged and soiled, which she and the driver observed and reported on the spot.

The driver left behind the second damaged set. Thomas said it has been sitting in her hallway since July 4. She said the store later refused to exchange it and would not refund her money -- more than $1,000.

She called the Better Business Bureau, the store manager, its owners and her credit-card company.

Rory Jenkins, a manager at the Mattress Warehouse, said every customer signs off on the store's "no-refund" policy at the register.

He said the chain is willing to exchange the mattress set again. But Thomas wants a refund. She no longer wishes to deal with the company. She said she was not told of a no-refund policy and the print on the receipt is too small and illegible to know what it says.

The matter is at the Office of Consumer Affairs in Richmond.

The lesson for consumers: Always ask about the return policy and details of that policy before making a purchase.

. . .

Another reader, Sandy Creed of Chesterfield County, said her husband took his mother to a mattress store in August. "My mother-in-law tried several mattresses and found one she hopes will last the rest of her life."

After the sale, the promised next-day delivery was unavailable. Because the old mattress had a stain, the deliveryman would not remove it. When the Creeds went back to the store to see if they could switch to a low-rise box spring, they got a no.

That's when they noticed the mattress was reduced to half price. They unsuccessfully tried to get a rebate from the store manager and then the district manager, who did not return their calls. They have filed a dispute through their credit-card company.

The lesson for consumers: If you don't like the delivery terms, you can opt out of the transaction, Better Business Bureau CEO Tom Gallagher said.

If it wasn't stipulated that there couldn't be any stains on the old mattress, the customer should be entitled to a refund of that part of the transaction, he said. The price that the consumer agreed to pay is what stands.

. . .

Reader Mark Lindsey in Richmond's Church Hill said he bought a memory-foam mattress from Haynes Furniture about five years ago and now, "my sofa is more comfortable than our $2,000 bed."

The mattress is slowly disintegrating, which he said the chain didn't dispute. But he said the retailer refused to provide a new one because the mattress was "unsanitary."

This month, he said Haynes sent him a registered letter and offered him a store credit. Haynes customer-service director Marie Schultz confirmed that, but declined to provide further details.

Lindsey, though, decided to shop elsewhere. He bought one from The Original Mattress Factory, where he could see miniature models of mattresses and cutaways of competitors' mattresses to compare.

Lesson: If you buy a mattress, you and the company are bound by terms of the warranty, Gallagher said. Ask exactly what will void the warranty.

Contact Iris Taylor at (804) 649-6349 or . Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RTDIrisTaylor.