Have I any rights at all?

[peedoff]

A man approached me in a white transit with a logo on implying he was from a bed company. He spun me some story about why he had one last mattress and asked if I wanted it at a discounted rate so he didn't have to go back to Sunderland with it. He told me it was a double sided memory foam/orthopaedic mattress and top of the range. He showed me the label on the mattress which did indeed say all this and had the name of the company, nightsleep.co.uk. A quick look at ipod and indeed website existed. He offered it to me for £200 which I accepted. He told me it was his son's company and any problems to contact them.

I contacted the website which had no contact address/phone number only email to tell them I wanted a refund as not memory foam and gave off an awful smell. They, despite sounding the same as the seller,said they knew nothing about this and to take it up with seller. They got aggressive and basically have ignored any further emails.

The website is advertising the same mattress I have and is definitely from there. It is not memory foam so this is false advertising. I have found the company's address and would like to issue a small claims against them. Bearing in mind they are misleading people, would I be able to get any money back from them as it was made by them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[Tony Davenport]

Sounds like you may have fallen for the old "white van" trick. Many have so don't worry. People steal vans with goods and then proceed to drive around and sell the contents as quickly as they can … for cash, naturally. The story is always the same too - doing a delivery and had some left over, or just done some exhibition and there's one left over.

If you have bought stolen goods then you have no rights. Before getting on to the company in question again I would telephone the local police and find out if the company have reported a stolen van to them. If not, and you've explained the situation to the company in question, and they have not come back with "Ah! Must have come from our stolen van!" then maybe what the guy was saying is true. If he was a genuine representative of the company then yes, you have rights. The rights are that you are entitled to a refund or replacement (your decision which) as the goods are not "fit for purpose" under the Sale of Goods Act. Sadly I suspect this is the former case though.

 

[peedoff]

Hi thanks for the reply.I did report it to police but they said unless there has been a report of anything stolen then there is nothing they can do. I think the website is dodgy and the man who sold me the mattress certainly was connected to them. This happened in Kent and he had a Geordie accent, whoever phoned me from the website also had a Geordie accent. I have no way of proving it and no paperwork but nothing to suggest it is stolen either. Can I go straight to the manufacturer and claim a refund even if they deny any connection to the man? After all, they made it and placed the label on stating what it is (this label matches the website). I am going to send a letter tomorrow giving them 2 weeks to refund my money otherwise I will go through small claims.I will do this to cause them hassle if nothing else!

 

[caramay]

Hi,
New to the forum.
I picked up your thread, Peedoff when I did a search for "Nightsleep".
I cannot help your particular problem, but just thought that I would let you know that I live in Wellington in Shropshire and was stopped in the street yesterday by one of these vans and asked if I needed a mattress.
When I said no the chap just replied thanks and drove off.
However, I noticed that he was in my Close today talking to a neighbour. but I don't think that they took the bait.
This was what prompted me to do the search.
I think that the moral of this that if you check their website, there does not appear to be a contact address.

It does appear however that they are operating far and wide.

Best of luck
Ian

 

[bmartin]

I too bought one of these mattresses. No problems with it yet but I did wonder about them. Like others a sign written van pulled up outside my sisters house in Glasgow, said the company was closing down and could she use a cheap mattress. She was able to name her price £140 and they gave her a business card. I was reassured that they were genuine as I looked at their website and contacted the number on the card and had one delivered. I don't think there is anything wrong with mine and the price on the website for an identical mattress is £699. However it all seems a bit odd. What is this company up to?

 

[NaomiMarkettiers]

Hi 'peedoff'

I am working on a PR campaign regarding these re-covered mattresses and would love to speak with you about your experience.

Please could you DM me to let me know if you are interested and then I can send through some more information?

In the meantime, if anyone else has direct experience of buying a re-covered mattress, please do the same, it would be greatly appreciated.

Very best

 

[Woodpecker]

Naomi I would like to contact you privately about the mattress scam. How can I get in touch with you?