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Tricks Of The Trade

May 2021

Mattress Guarantees Compared; from Vispring to Silentnight

Are you aware of some of the shady tactics being used by leading bed retailers with their guarantees? Guarantees that may require you to follow stringent rules or pay yourself to return a faulty mattress?

Mattress guarantee tactics such as:

  • Not allowing you to exchange a mattress if you bought it online rather than a shop?
  • Not refunding you if you exchange for a cheaper model in their range?
  • Expecting you to pay charges for replacement packaging or unknown expensive delivery costs?
  • Only being able to exchange half of your mattress!?
  • After year one only receiving a fraction, 20%, of the bed’s retail value if defective?

Mattress guarantees being written by hand

Nearly all mattress manufacturers provide some form of guarantee (or the less popular warranty) on their products.  However, not all Guarantees are created equal. We’ve summarised three common mattress scenarios below, along with what would happen with various retailers. As always, it makes for eye-opening reading!

Mattress Guarantees Explained & Uncovered

We cover the three main questions about mattress guarantees and show you with examples of how different retailers from Silentnight to Visprings guarantees and warranties vary wildly.

  1. Exchanging a mattress if you don’t get on with it
  2. Raising a defect with your mattress
  3. Packaging required to send a mattress back

 

1. What if I need to exchange my bed as I’m not getting on with the one I ordered?

At John Ryan By Design our 60 Day Money Back Guarantee means you won’t be out of pocket if you decide to exchange or return your mattress. If you do find you need to exchange your John Ryan mattress the process is really simple.

  • Get in touch with us either by phone or email and we will provide advice on which alternative mattress may be better within our mattress range and then we can arrange an exchange.
  • If the model is more expensive than your original purchase you simply pay the difference.
  • If the model is cheaper than the one you have ordered once the new bed has been delivered we refund the difference.
  • We arrange your new mattress to be made and arrange a convenient switch-over date so you’re not left without a mattress.
  • There are no delivery costs or charges for the UK mainland for this.

Compared to Vi-Springs Comfort Promise

With a Vispring mattress if you want to exchange it you can only do so via their ‘Comfort Promise’ if you satisfy the following criteria:

  • Return it via the shop you bought it from such as Furniture Village, Vispring won’t directly accept returns themselves.
  • You can’t return mattresses bought directly online from Vispring which are exempt from returns
  • You are responsible for getting the mattress back to Vispring, if not Vispring reserve the right to charge their own delivery costs.
  • For a zip and link mattress, you can only exchange one side of the mattress, not both.
  • You can only return it for the same mattress model.

Compared to Dreams 40 Night Sleep Comfort Guarantee

With a mattress from Dreams you can exchange it under the following conditions:

  • Exchange is subject to £49 delivery fee.
  • If the mattress you exchange for is a lower value there is no refund on the difference.
  • You can’t exchange the Dreams Essentials mattress range or adjustable beds.

Compared to Bensons for Beds 40 Night Guarantee

  • If you wish to exchange you will be subject to a charge of 10% of the original bed value.
  • You are also subject to an unknown re-delivery charge to cover some of the costs.
  • If you exchange for a cheaper mattress model there is no refund on the difference (you also pay the 10% original bed value).

What should you do if you think your beds defective?

What terms must you adhere to?

2. What if I believe my mattress is defective?

At John Ryan, we pride ourselves on the level of expertise that goes into making out mattresses. If you believe your mattress has developed a defect then the process is really straightforward:

  • Please get in touch with us about the potential defect or issue.
  • We then arrange for an independent furniture inspector to come out at your convenience to test the mattress at our cost.
  • A detailed report is then provided on the findings from the independent expert.
  • If the bed is found to be defective we will then either repair or replace it.
  • We don’t use proportional warranties on defects.

Compared to Visprings Guarantee

  • Any guarantee claim should be made in writing to the supplying retailer (ie furniture Village or John Lewis) within one month of the defect becoming apparent, along with proof of purchase (original invoice or sales receipt).
  • You must have registered your product within 30 days of buying your mattress from Vispring.
  • You can’t contact Vispring directly unless the original seller has gone out of business.

Compared to Hastens Mattresses Guarantee

Hastens will only accommodate defective mattress claims if:

  • You bought their matching base which has bee used with the mattress. If you have purchased one of their mattresses without their base then even if defective they exclude you from their guarantee.

Compared to Rest Assured Proportional Warranty

Rest assured use a proportional warranty system for defects that starts from years 2 onwards. What this means is that is a defect is found after year 2 you only get a proportion of the retail price back on the mattress for an exchange.

  • 2 to 3 years – 60% of the current retail price
  • 3 to 4 years – 40% of the current retail price
  • 4 to 5 years – 20% of the current retail price

A note on warranties in general. At first glance, they may seem fair but consider this. You pay £1000 for a mattress. After 3 years the mattress has failed and been deemed defective. You are refunded £600. You now have to buy a replacement. Assuming prices haven’t gone up in the past 3 years (doubtful!) you now have to find another £400 to buy an equivalent. Basically you’re £400 out of pocket because the manufacturer couldn’t make a mattress that lasts – How fair does it seem now?

Compared to Harrison Spinks Mattress Guarantee

Harrison Spinks has recently rebranded from Harrisons and have spent a fortune redeveloping their brand. Unfortunately, they don’t see to give any real guarantee details or terms on their new site. They do state that each mattress has a 5-year guarantee but that you need to:

  • Register the bed with them
  • Contact the retailer you bought it from to invoke the guarantee.

We have a copy of their previous guarantee, back when they were Harrisons, as a benchmark which used to use a proportional warranty system see below. We’re not certain whether they still use this as we can’t find access to their specific terms of the guarantee.

  • It is with the retailer that the purchaser’s contract of sale exists. In the unlikely event that a problem should arise, you should contact the retailer within one month of the problem occurring. The retailer will establish the nature of the alleged complaint and an appropriate course of action.
  • After the guarantee period, there is a ‘usual charge’ applied for defects with Harrison Spinks beds. On one of their 2-year guarantees, for example, the charge from year 3 onwards incurred was a tenth for every year over the guarantee so in year 3 you would pay 10%, year 4 20% etc until the end of the warranty.

Compared to Silent Nights Mattress Guarantee

Silentnight offer either a 3 or 5-year guarantee. They have recently changed their terms and conditions between mattresses bought from Silentnight Before April 2nd 2019 and after. Previously they used a proportional warranty system with delivery costs as an additional charge. The newer guarantee seems to be more streamlined but there is no clear mention of a proportional warranty or delivery charges. For both guarantees, you need to contact the retailer directly in most instances. We summarise them below.

Silent Night Mattress Guarantees have a cut off date dependant on when you purchased your bed.

Mattresses bought from Silentnight After April 2nd 2019:

  • In the first year of purchase, you need to contact your retailer to deal with your claim. Some retailers may offer longer than a one year guarantee, so always check with them first. If you purchased directly from Silentnight then get in touch directly with them.
  • Contact the retailer you purchased from to register your claim. If you are contacting a retailer other than ourselves please follow their instructions.
  • If you need to contact Silentnight directly then you need to log a claim on their website silentnight.co.uk/guarantee.
  • Upon receipt of they then send you a confirmation email their customer services team log your claim and confirm any next steps.
  • Proof of purchase and photographs need to be uploaded

Mattresses bought from Silentnight before April 2nd 2019:

  • Defective mattresses need to be raised within the guarantee period of usually 5 years.
  • Customers must raise this directly with the retailer they bought it from.
  • There’s a proportional warranty after a year where even if found defective Silentnight will give the following amounts for a replacement mattress.
    • 2 to 3 years 40% of the current retail price
    • 3 to 4 years 60% of the current retail price
    • 4 to 5 years 80% of the current retail price

 

3. Do I need to keep the original packaging to return my mattress?

At John Ryan, we send out complimentary packaging to ensure that products can be neatly bagged up for return. However, other mattress retailers have very specific requirements for keeping original packaging if you need to return, exchange or send back a defective mattress.

Tempur Mattress Guarantee Return Instructions

Returning a Tempur mattress is relatively straightforward. Though you are expected to pay a £72 collection charge plus an additional £25 for packaging to be sent out. They will only take delivery of a returned mattress in original or replacement packaging.

  • Should you wish, we can provide you with suitable packaging, which can be ordered from us at a cost of £25 +VAT when you call us to arrange collection.
  • If you wish to return a larger product and require us to collect the product, a minimum charge of £72 (£60 plus VAT)

Are you struggling when looking for a new mattress? We’re not surprised there are so many models out there and it can be almost impossible to compare them easily. Until now! Check out our new Mattress Comparison tool here to easily compare mattress brands, models and specifications in one place. Saving you time and money!

Sources for Guarantees

Please check before relying on the above information that the guarantee and warranties have not been altered or updated from the following retailers. Please inform us if you’re a retailer and the guarantees you’ve listed have changed and you want this article to reflect that. These Guarantees were last checked in Aug 2019 and may have been updated since.

https://www.bensonsforbeds.co.uk/40-night-comfort-guarantee

https://support.dreams.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/205720401-Sleep-Comfort-Guarantee

https://www.vispring.com/en-uk/terms-conditions/

https://uk.tempur.com/terms-and-conditions.html

https://www.silentnight.co.uk/guarantee

https://www.rest-assured.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/

Mattress Guarantee Summary

There’s a lot to be said about the confusing and detailed hoops you have to jump through if you need to exchange an unsuitable bed or raise a defect with your mattress. We can’t stress enough how the Guarantee or Warranty terms needs to be factored into your buying decision. What’s worrying is that even when spending thousands on a known brand you can end up in a position where you’re stuck with that purchase if it is not suitable.

That great ‘deal’ you found on a known retailers mattress may lead to you losing 60% of the mattresses value after the first year if it is found to be defective leaving you out of pocket. We would love to hear your thoughts on bed guarantees. Have you been stung or struggled with your current mattress manufacturer? Let us know!

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