Simmons Orthopedic Mattress - mattress sagging, warranty is worthless

# 23 for January 26, 2002

Complaints.com received the following e-message on January 25, 2002:

From: Email User

Simmons Orthopedic Mattress - mattress sagging, warranty is worthless

I purchased a Simmons "Orthopedic" level mattress with a 10 Year exchange warranty 3 years ago. The retail store I bought it from went out of business. I contacted Simmons 1 year ago when the mattress started to sag in the middle, and was uncomfortable. They used an outside "furniture inspection

company" to handle the complaint at the time, and it took 6 weeks to finally get someone in to inspect the mattress.

After another three weeks of calling the Simmons company to find the status of my claim and being told that they did not have the report yet, I finally got an answer from them. The verdict:

the mattress only had a 1/2" depression and it needs to be at least 1" before they would replace it. My wife and I struggled with the discomfort of the mattress until we could not take it anymore. We had to start seeing a chiropractor as a direct result of the poor quality of the mattress (this being their "better quality" & "supportive" one at $700). I contacted Simmons again in November.

The "customer service" person said that she would send me an inspection questionaire to fill out myself. After filling out this 4 PAGE form, drawing diagrams, taking measurements of the depressions, and taking and developing

photos as they require, I sent everything in to them. I received a "form letter" back from them today that states (quoted exactly from the letter) "Simmons offers a limited warranty....in assessing your claim, we found no structural failure...today's bedding products are more upholstered than they were...and body impressions will appear....therefore we are unable to offer a replacement". The mattress now has a HUGE "hole" in the middle that we SINK into (the depression is now over 1 1/2" deep!!) no matter which side we turn the mattress over to. They ended their letter with "if we can be of additional assistance in the future, feel free to contact us".....YEAH RIGHT!!!! Alot of good it will do!!! How about paying our chiroprator bills, and giving us a new mattress so we can stop sleeping on the floor!!! I am writing this letter of complaint in order to save someone else out there, the same heartache and backache we are going through. A warranty of ANY length is only good if the company will honor it!!!

Comment On This

Sealy is not any better. I paid $1,400 at the Room Store in Phoenix AZ and had thw same experience. I filed complaints with the BBB and while they investigated they did not perform. There doesn't appear to be a correlation between the price you pay for a mattress and the quality. I have read several articles that state the manufacturers just put different labels on the same mattress to prevent price comparisons and allow overcharging. In any event I guess it is a matter of luck if you get a good mattress and the new no flip type are the worst. They break down within months.