Latex Mattress: Plushbeds 9" Botanical Bliss

[CDFinch]

If you read my other post from earlier this week, I ran into a problem with this mattress. We purchased it in October 2012, paid $2,200 for it after it was all said and done, and put it in the master bedroom. It felt great, slept great, was not hot at all, yada yada yada.

Fast forward 6 months…

The mattress started to develop a sag/permanent indention on my side. I am not a big person at 5’8" and 180 lbs. Yes I workout, but 180 is 180 regardless if it is muscle or fat. Anyway…

Although I noticed it, I ignored it because we were beyond our 100 day sleep trial.

Fast forward to last week…

I emailed their customer service dept. and got a reply back the same day. I went over the issue that the sag/indention is now causing uncomfortable sleep, etc etc etc, and she said she would forward my issue to her manager, and they would get back with me tomorrow. Tomorrow came and went. So did the next day and the day after. I tried replying back via email and phone calls, but could never get anyone via either. Finally, this morning (and 10 days later), a manager calls me up and starts giving me the usual apology speech…something about new girl, training, etc. Whatever…at least they got back in touch with me.

So apparently I am supposed to strip the layers of latex from the cover and put them on the carpet. I am to then take pictures of them, showing any sags, indentions, weak areas, etc. If any are found, they want a ruler laid across them and another ruler showing the depth. Ok, np. But if they come back with some crap about how it has to be 1.5" and I am only at 1" and they won’t do anything…on a mattress that is less than 2 years old…it won’t be pretty.

I will let you all know it goes, and how their customer service treats me with a warranty issue. Hopefully I can write a positive review about them… :whistle:

[phoenix]

Hi CDFinch,

Thanks for sharing your experience and feedback … I appreciate it.

[quote]If you read my other post from earlier this week, I ran into a problem with this mattress. We purchased it in October 2012, paid $2,200 for it after it was all said and done, and put it in the master bedroom. It felt great, slept great, was not hot at all, yada yada yada.

Fast forward 6 months…

The mattress started to develop a sag/permanent indention on my side. I am not a big person at 5’8" and 180 lbs. Yes I workout, but 180 is 180 regardless if it is muscle or fat.[/quote]

I did read your earlier post (and replied to it).

So apparently I am supposed to strip the layers of latex from the cover and put them on the carpet. I am to then take pictures of them, showing any sags, indentions, weak areas, etc. If any are found, they want a ruler laid across them and another ruler showing the depth. Ok, np. But if they come back with some crap about how it has to be 1.5" and I am only at 1" and they won’t do anything…on a mattress that is less than 2 years old…it won’t be pretty.

Unfortunately this is a fairly “standard” warranty criteria in the industry because warranties only cover defects in a mattress or the materials and a mattress is only considered defective if there are visible impressions in the mattress that are deeper than the warranty exclusion (see post #174 here). Most defects in materials will tend to become apparent early in the life of a mattress.

I also wouldn’t use a ruler which is shorter (and may misrepresent the depth of the impression because the ends of a shorter ruler may be resting inside the impression rather than on top of the “normal” surface that isn’t compressed) but something longer such as a yardstick or a broom handle that rests on the uncompressed surface.

Having said that … there are many latex mattresses that have exclusions that are less than the 1.5" of the Plushbeds warranty (sometimes .75" to 1") but these are normally mattresses that don’t have a quilted cover. In mattresses that have a quilted cover the exclusion is usually greater to take into account that the quilting will also impress to some degree (and this is normal) but with these the impressions are usually measured with the cover not as independent layers without the cover. Some manufacturers will ask you to measure independent layers and will approve a warranty claim if any of the layers have a visible impression that is more than 1/2". In most cases it’s the comfort layers that would be the weak link of a mattress.

All warranties exclude the loss of comfort and support that is the result of foam softening (or “virtual” impressions that are only noticeable with weight on the mattress) unless there is also a visible impression that is deeper than the exclusion.

I will let you all know it goes, and how their customer service treats me with a warranty issue. Hopefully I can write a positive review about them… :whistle:

Thanks again for your feedback and I’m certainly interested in finding out about the outcome of your claim.

Phoenix

[CDFinch]

Yeah I am familiar with the usual warranty requirements, including the “no stain” which is nearly impossible, even with a medical grade mattress protector. It’s how they get out of warranties, and thus not losing any $$$. Meanwhile, to heck with the consumer! “We got his $X amount, so we’re good!”

They boast of having excellent customer service, truly care about their customers/clients, and do NOT like negative reviews on their website.

The issue with latex (and maybe even memory foam) is that it might spring back to shape so that a visible inspection does not show anything, or an inspection with something light (ruler, broomstick, etc) does not show anything. However, once you put your body weight on it, the defect becomes apparent (as you feel it under you)…but how do you prove this?

We’ll see how it goes…

[phoenix]

Hi CDFinch,

The issue with latex (and maybe even memory foam) is that it might spring back to shape so that a visible inspection does not show anything, or an inspection with something light (ruler, broomstick, etc) does not show anything. However, once you put your body weight on it, the defect becomes apparent (as you feel it under you)…but how do you prove this?

Unfortunately even if you could prove this (loss of firmness vs loss of height) it’s not covered by a warranty anyway.

They boast of having excellent customer service, truly care about their customers/clients, and do NOT like negative reviews on their website.

A big part of the benefit of a warranty is the responsiveness of the manufacturer and while all manufacturers will deny a claim that is clearly not covered by their warranty … there are also many manufacturers that will give their customers the benefit of the doubt when you are in the “grey area” of warranty coverage.

The only “good news” in all of this when you have a component mattress is that it’s probably only one layer that needs replacing and not the whole mattress.

Phoenix