Bensons Beds at Meadowhall Retail Paark in Sheffield - Last Saturday evening (13 March 2004) I took my elderly (85) into Bensons Beds at Meadowhall Retail Paark in Sheffield to look at beds

Bensons Beds at Meadowhall Retail Paark in Sheffield - Last Saturday evening (13 March 2004) I took my elderly (85) into Bensons Beds at Meadowhall Retail Paark in Sheffield to look at beds

Bensons Beds

Last Saturday evening (13 March 2004) I took my elderly (85) into Bensons Beds at Meadowhall Retail Paark in Sheffield to look at beds. She was not sure whether she wanted a 4’ size of 4’6 and generally wanted some good advice. Please bear in mind that she is 4’10” tall, weighs 9st and has had a replacement hip and a replacement knee. The salesman was like a leech, and we were followed around the shop by another customers’ children – who kept talking to him whilst he was supposed to be helping us. We saw one bed – a Sealy Posturepaedic which my mother felt was too hard. I pointed out that it was obviously a firm bed from the name, but he said that no, it was not a firm bed, that was just the Sealy label. She then tried another bed, a Slumberland Bronze, but with no label showing. This was an Ortholux but he said that it was medium firm and certainly not a hard bed. When I said to my mother that we would go home and I would bring her out again the following week, because she was very tired, the chap behind the desk said “It’s too late,. The bed is already ordered”. We were so taken aback that we did not respond as quickly as we should.

Before this, Mum was debating whether to pay by credit card or take out interest free credit, so he shoved a form in front of us to be filled in. I felt like saying he could keep his bed, but I did not want to upset my mother – little did I know that she was furious and did not know how to react. He did not, at any time, point out to us that the agreement was non-cancellable. Neither of the two men in the shop offered any help regarding disposal of the old bed, just told her to ring the council and get them to take it. Because we forgot to make sure that the delivery drivers would take the bed upstairs and put it up for my parents, I tried to telephone the store at 5.10pm, but there was no answer so they must have shut up shop and gone home early. The next day I rang another Bensons Beds shop in Sheffield and asked if we could switch the sale to their branch, where we have had super service in the past and the lady was as helpful as she could be under the circumstances. She said that they had had loads of complaints about that particular shop, and she was sure that Customer Services would be able to sort things out for my mother. Customer Services – Customer Torture would b e more like it. I spoke to the Head of Customer Services who said that it was myt mother’s fault if she had chosen the wrong bed – that they were there for customers to try and it was up to the customer. She also said that we could not switch the sale to the preferred branch and if we had any problems would have to go back to these two awful, bullying men.

I asked for the name of the MD but when I tried to ring and get through to him or the Sales Director I was just put back to Customer Services. I then rang and asked for the Regional Manager (by name) and was again put through to customer services. I rang the loan company and they were very apologetic but said that if my mother had signed the form then it was a legally binding document and the money would be paid to Bensons if if she cancelled the bed purchase – heads they win, tails you lose. I then decided to try a different tack with customer services and, after waiting “for an available operator” for 15 minutes, I was answered by a man this time. When I said that I found their Customer Service Department to have been very unhelpful so far, he told me I was being rude and offensive, and that we would have to go back to the store where we had ordered the bed whether we like it or not. No matter how many times I said that we did not want to deal with those two people again, he said that it was out problem and even if it was the wrong bed Mum would just have to put up with it. In the end, I just said “!tank you” and put the phone down. I shall try once more, tomorrow, by going into the helpful store and see if they can help adjust the order to a more suitable bed, but ma not optimistic. Even though we have bought several beds from Bensons over the years, and been quite satisfied with the service received (always from the City Centre store, I hasten to add), we will never purchase anything from there again. At least Allders let you try the bed for six weeks after delivery, and my mother is bitterly regretting not buying her bed from there. You will gather that we will never ever recommend Bensons to anyone ever again.

Helen W

Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer