# Regulatory Compliance Category > Consumer Protection Act Forum >  I think I think I may just be getting a new bed!

## BusNavig8

We bought a Simmons Bed in 2007,from Dial-A-Bed and were told that it had a 15 year guarantee. We did not get any cards or wording or anything with it We bought all the kids beds the same day as well - Sealy's and got no paperwork there either.

Didnt think anythink of it as we believed we had bought a good make and had a good guarantee and after all beds are a long lasting commodity. No!

This year we started having that sinking feeling...

So I got on my phone, searched for Simmons and emailed them to say the bed was faulty and could they get back to me. (Sunday)

They phoned me the following Monday and ask me for my address and proof of purchase which I gave them, they then rranged to do an inspection towards the end of the month. I agreed. The end of the month came and went. I emailed them again to follow up. They then tell me that I lied to them and I lived in Mozambique and I didnt live in SA. I mean I think that I know where I live. I might be 5 km from the border but I have never been there! They might capture blondes and use them as slaves. Scary! People here go accross the border for lunch and come back alive but my luck is not so hot. So back to the point  - I asked them to look on Google maps as see where our house was, the mattress was in there! I also asked them if they knew where the Kruger National Park was, I lived in the same province as them too. That didnt work either so they did a telephone inspection, but didnt bother to tell me they were doing one, they just started asclking me all these questions about the bed. I realised what was going on and became the blonde! I mean I didnt know what the warranty said and I wasnt going to prejudice myself.

So then she says she will email me the quote, I say what quote, she says the quote for the repairs. I ask for the warranty wording as well.  I decide to wait for the email. 

They ONLY wanted a MERE R5700 plus R2280 for transport of the bed! No gaan die poppe dans. My husband put his head on the desk and closed his eyes and said "man, they dont know what they just did!"

I get on the phone to Dial-A-Bed" where I bought the bed and tell them that because they were negligent in not disclosing the wording of the warranty and giving me an opportunity of deciding whether I wanted to accept same or not and not putting me in possession of same I was holding them liable for the bed.

I then phoned the MD of Simmons and told them that they were co-respondents for not receiving a Dial-A-Bed completed Warranty Card from Us and that the Warranty connditions are unfair and unreasonable and that I was going to challenge them.

I lodge a complaint at NCA

We get a call from Simmons to say they will replace the bed. I am happy. Except they dont. They send an defamitory email to Dial-A-Bed and we force the manager to email it to us. So now we have Plan B

Months go by - Simmons wont budge. They reduce the offer to R3400 - I dont budge. 

They Respond to NCA - NCA asks if I am happy - I say no - they refer the matter to conciliation - I know I will win - I have too much in my favour and I can argue a case.

But in between these events - I email them to say that I am referring this matter to the Small Claims Court as the things they have contended in correspondence has been aimed to defame me in the right thinking members of society, made me look unreasonable and just to embarrass and anger me.

The Small Claims court handles claims up to R8000 and respondents have to personally appear without representation. Then I get my husband to call their lawyer and ask them for their "domicilium et executandi" for legal processes. They assume its for me - power of assumption.

This year we get an offer to replace the bed free of transport costs. I havent stayed legal proceedings until I get my bed though. When trust is broken it cant always be fixed.

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## Blurock

Good for you. Nail them!

People get misled by the guarantees and warranties on products, especially beds. It has become such a cut throat business that anything goes.

As I was explained by a salesman, the guarantee only covers defective materials or workmanship. If you have a 10, 15 or 20 year guarantee, you will be refunded pro rata if there are any defects. The guarantee does not mean your bed will be replaced after 10 years!

Caveat Emptor! :Detective:

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## BusNavig8

The warranty wording says repair or replacement and is tabulated according to the years you have had the bed and then it includes the guarantee period (in my case 3 years)

It is then linked to the SRP. Whose SRP - I have clients at quite a few retail bed stores and phoned around for some quotes - the SRP's on the closest current bed went from 16kto 20K.
In terms of the CPA, this needs to be in simple english that is understandable - Some people are not familiar with the term SRP and also with the way in which the table would work.

Why must I pay a repair cost linked to an SRP, that is unreasonable and needs to be challenged.

Then they state that they will replace the bed but if there is another warrantly claim then it will not be replaced again. I will not accept this either as I dont know the history of the bed I am getting or latent defects. They cannot pick and choose which terms they will and will not abide by and enforce all the terms on the warranty on the consumer.

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## BusNavig8

Your Quote reminds me that I was once asked by SARS for receipts for a client for the parking meters where I had made a nominal claim of R570 for the year. I looked at her incrediously and said "you're kidding right?"  :Smile:

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## MikeG

Did you get your bed - seems that am going through the same unfortunate process

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## adrianh

@BusNavig8 - You rock!

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## BusNavig8

> Did you get your bed - seems that am going through the same unfortunate process


I was promised the replacement bed in 2 weeks the 2 weeks turned into 6. But what they didn't know was that I didn't trust them and I had not stopped the CPA conciliation process - which works exactly like the CCMA by the way. So they got the notifications to attend the hearing. Then the call centre sent me an email from the brand manager with a history of the entire INTERNAL correspondence on it. It was them that I realised they were not even scared or bothered by the CPA. What scared them the most was me telling them I was going to haul them to the Small Claims Court. They were running around looking for the summons. In any event they replaced the mattress with a R16k one. 6 days prior to conciliation. The second one creaks worse than grandma on my side and Nic has so much Hip and back pain! So we give it a month to settle in and off we go back to Dial A Bed in Nelspruit. The manager handled it very well and calls the brand manager who refuses to talk to me because I am 'unreasonable'. So she talks to my hubby. She starts shouting at him. Wrong decision. To cut a long story short. I tell the manager after the call that I'm not going back to the CPA I'm going to 'take my little body straight to the court and for a mere R120 have the sheriff deliver a summons to them and let's handle this one in court' a week later we ate told they are refunding us our money. So I think sometimes it's better to go the small claims court route, it's probably faster - the limit is R12K and costs R120 for the summons to be served. It won't even get that far either because they are so scared of the process.

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## BusNavig8

> @BusNavig8 - You rock!


Then you don't want to see me roll *wink*

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