Complain about a product or service

Sleepy's - Defective Merchandise

Sleepy's
• Consumer Complaints
--
• Inside the "Mattress Mafia"

Daniel of New York NY (12/10/03):
I originally went to Sleepy's because it was only a block from my house and I immediately asked for the firmest mattresses in the store because of a very bad back. The saleslady spent the next hour convincing me that despite my herniated disc, sciatica and scoliosis, I actually wanted and needed a much softer bed.

I finally succumbed and purchased an Aireloom Inspiration. The mattress was delivered but it was much softer than the bed in the store. They exchanged that one for a new one but it took three tries before they got it delivered when they said they would be here. My orthopoedic surgeon then said that I needed a harder bed, especially since the one that was recommended by Sleepy's was causing much pain. So I had them exchange (with the 60 day comfort guarantee) for an Aireloom Gibraltar.

First delivery attempt they brought the wrong size. The second delivery attempt they brought the wrong mattress. The third and fourth attempts they came when I wasn't at home even though I had waited the entire day at home during the specified window. The fifth attempt they brough the right size and type of mattress but again a defective one. Finally, they exchanged the defective Gibraltar for the firmest S&F. This time the box spring is torn up and damaged but they make me pay for it anyway or tell me I'll have to sleep on the floor.

Now I have the right mattress and size but the box spring is defective and I've lost many days with this nonsense at home missing work and school and I've had to sleep many weeks on a bed that has aggravated my back conditions.

Liza of Hackensack NJ (11/20/03):
We purchased a king-sized bed from Sleepy's approximately 1 yr ago and lo and behold, it sags. When I called Sleepy's to arrange for an exchange, I was told I would have to pay. In addition, the customer service "manager" would not allow me to talk to her supervisor, saying she had the final say. She was arrogant, rude and obnoxious.

I still have a saggy mattress and never ever, never ever, never ever want to deal with Sleepy's again. In addition, their delivery never comes on time, the don't deliver it when it is best for you, and they do not honor what they agreed upon.

Erlene of Stamford CT (10/19/03):
I purhased a mattress and box spring for my son. In the time of about 1 year, I kept hearing the box spring squeak. When I looked to investigate, I noticed the mattress was warped and the box spring cracked. I called customer service, set up a visit from a technician and set up an exchange. When the drivers arrived, it's as if he looked and purposely produced a stain. Stain? Sleepy's sold me defective merchandise and to get out of an exchange they produce stains. I am appalled.

I am a single parent and can't afford to just give anyone $300 to $400 for defective merchandise. Sleepy's, I always hear the slogan "A trusted name, someone you can trust" Well never again will I go to sleepy's for anything.

"S" of Brooklyn NY (9/25/03):
Nine years ago I purchased a mattress set from Sleepy's. Within a couple of months it was sagging. They initially said they would not replace it because there was a stain on the mattress. There was no stain. I filed papers with Small Claims Court. Sleepy's contacted me and wanted to settle out of court. They offered me an exchange for a mattress of my choice. This brings me to my current situation.

The mattress I then settled for has now begun to have problems and it is still under warranty. When I contacted Sleepy's they promptly arranged for an inspector to come. It was found that in fact the set was defective and they agreed to offer me a store credit for the original purchase price of the set, since they no longer carried that model. I went and picked out a set that was $860 above the $660 they were crediting me. I paid the difference and awaited delivery.

On September 23, I stayed home from work to wait for the delivery. When the driver came he went to remove the old mattress and immediately stated, "this is not a Sleepy's mattress" I replied that Sleepy's is where I got it. "I've never seen this before", he said. He immediately flipped over the mattress and said, "we can't take this, there's a stain on it". Neither I nor the person with me could see what this person was talking about. I have kept this mattress completely covered and there is no stain on it.

The driver left, leaving behind the old mattress and taking back with him the new one. When I called customer service, they kept repeating to me that there was a stain. This is an old story with this company. I insisted there was no stain and that their own inspector had come to see the mattress which is why they had agreed to the exchanged to begin with. I told them that I would allow another inspector to come and I was told that inspectors don't check for stains, the drivers do that.

I have contacted my credit card in order to dispute the recent charge. I will be going to Small Claims Court to address the warranty issue.

Anthony of Scarsdale NY (3/21/03):
We purchased a mattress from them in July of 2002. The purchase included a lifetime warranty that would replace the mattress if defective. In Feb 2003, the left side of the mattress caved in by more than 2 inches, creating an uncomfortable sleeping environment. I contacted Sleepy's on this. They told me an inspector would come out to review the claim. The inspector came to review the claim on Feb 16th, he told us there was damage and that they would put in the report that the claim was valid and that I should be able to get a new mattress, he even recommended to us several other manufacturors.

I called back the 800 cust service number to follow up on the claim one week later, and I was disturbed and upset to hear that the claim was being rejected because of a stain. I wanted an explanation from them on this because there was no stain on the mattress and the inspector never mentioned to us he saw a stain, but they would not go into anymore detail with me.

I then went to see the manager at the store I purchaed the mattress from on March 3rd,his name was Matthew, he told me they would set up another inspection for me but that his boss was out of town and that he would get back to me on wed march 5th to give me the date of the new inspection. I waited for a phone call back. He never called me back, so I called and left him a message 1 week later. Again I waited for a call back,and again I never got a call back from anybody at the store. I then called again on March 24. I spoke to a receptionist there who told me that my claim was being denied because the indentation in the mattress was not more than 2 inches deep.

I have paid more than $500 towards this mattress and I owe more than $2500 due on July 1 to pay off the balance. My back has been in pain sleeping on this defective mattress and has led me to sleep in another bed away from my wife and I am not happy about this.

Nakia of Brooklyn NY (11/6/02):
A mattress and boxspring with a warranty was purchased and it was determined defective. Sleepy's was suppose to exchange them but then stated the mattress had a stain on it so they would not exchange it. The stain has nothing to do with the fact the mattress is defective.

My back is killing me because the springs stick up and the mattress sinks in in the middle. I cannot afford to purchse a new mattress and boxspring at this time due to other financial obligations. I'm stressed out because this has been going on for almost three years.

Susan of Valley Cottage, NY (10/13/02):
We purchased a $2,000.00 set and to make a long story short, it started sagging after 6 months. Almost an entire year later, we received an exchange. This is because there was some juice stains from my son's sippy cup on the mattress. My complaint was that the juice stains were not even in the area of the sagging.

It took five, yes that's right, five NO SHOW delivery dates to finally get them here. I spent hours on hold with every different person who works in customer service becaure nobody knew anything about my last current call. Supervisors were useless. Sleepy's president even sent me an apology letter because it was so bad. He offered me 10% off any future purchase. What a joke, like I would ever deal with them again. I would rather sleep on the floor.

Samantha of Irvington NJ (6/3/02):
I purchased a futon and a bed on April 3, 02 and now I am having a problem with Sleepy's regarding the warranty. When I purchased the items, Joe did not explain to me that furniture bought off the floor was not warrantied. On the back of my futon, the boards are becoming detached from the crossboard. It seems to me that the boards were not long enough and they just started coming out of the connection, or they did not reenforce it enough.

It has been a month and a week since I purchased it and they are saying to me that because I bought it off the floor that I cannot get anything done to it. They will not fix it, nor will they exchange it. The reason I purchased the stuff off of the floor in the first place was because I would have had to put up the futon if I had bought it in a box and Joe told us that it was very hard to put up. Also, it had a few scratches on the arm rests and he suggested to my boyfriend that he would give the futon to us for $199 and that he could just sand down the arm rests and varnish it over, rather than paying the full price of $400 for it.

Zeeny of Queens Village NY (4/24/02):
I purchased a matress few years ago which had a warranty for 10 years and in Sept. 2000 I requested an inspection in order to get an exchange for my mattress due to the fact that the box spring became damaged and the mattress became lumpy. Sleepy's sent an inspector who passed my mattress and I was told by customer service that I will receive a store credit for $314.88 since they were unable to provide me with an exchange since they no longer manufactured the same mattress.

I was never told that they needed my old mattress back in order to use the store credit or that I had a time limit to use that store credit. I recently went to purchase a new mattress and tried to use that store credit but I was told that since it's been 2 yrs I have to have a reinspection on the same mattress. I complied and had another inspection done and now they are saying that they can't give me the store credit because my mattress became damaged due to product abuse.

Ann Marie of Fairfield CT (3/20/02):
I purchased a mattress, box spring, frame and headboard. It was delivered on time. I checked it over ... it seemed fine. My son came by later in the day checked it over, he said it looked fine. About two days later he was walking in the bedroom to ask me how I liked the bed and he noticed one side of the mattress was thicker than the other side ... obviously a factory defect. I called the store where I purchased it.

They were suppose to make the switch on February 16th between 1:30 and 5:30. When I arrived home ast 1:00 there was a message on my machine ... they can't find my street on their map. I called the 800 # in the hopes they could call them, and I in turn will tell them how to get to my house ... no answer. I waited until 5:00 and called the store. They called them on their cell phone and told them to call me. They did, and I directed them to my house.

I directed one of them to the bedroom and a few minutes later he called me into the room and told me he could not take the mattress because there was a hole in the mattress and the stuffing was coming out. The hole was on the side that laid on the box spring. He also said there was an ink spot, I couldn't even see it with my glasses on. We exchanged words and he said something in Spanish to his assistant. The assistant left my house and went out to the truck. In the meantime, he gave me the phone to talk to his supervisor.

While on the phone with his supervisor he walked out of my house, got in the truck and drove away. My son and I inspected that mattress, there were no holes or ink spots on it. I know that driver went in my bedroom and made the hole in that mattress and pulled the stuffing out. I have tried writing and calling ... no response. I am in still in shock that someone would come in my house and destroy a piece of merchandise that I paid for. I've tried to talk to the people where I bought the mattress and they don't even want to talk to me.

Helen of West Keansburg, NJ (2/26/02):
Approx. 3 yrs ago I purchased an inexpensive mattress for my daughter. No boxspring was needed as her mattress was going on top of a loft bed. The mattress came with a 3/7 yr exchange warrantee. I called for inspection on the mattress as it was sagging, lumpy and not holding form. The inspector said this was definately a defective mattress and he would submit his report. It took several weeks for the clerks at Sleepys to data input the inspectors recommendation, into the system, so that I can have a credit waiting at any store for me.

I spoke to their customer service department in L.I. many, many times. I documented most of my conversations along with names and dates and contents of the conversation. A guy name Steve finally got out of his chair, found the inspection report sitting in an "in-box" and keyed in my credit. They told me that a credit of $135.00 is in the system and that I can make any purchase I want. My goal was to apply that credit to an upgraded mattress and box spring set. Let me add at this time that I have made over $3000.00 in mattress and futon purchases at Sleepys in Brooklyn and on Staten Island, which I have all the receipts.

On November 29th, 2001, on my way to close on a house, I stopped at a Sleepys on Route 36 in Hazlet to buy a new set and have it delivered on the day we move in. The sales clerk Iris helped me to select a good long-lasting set. SHe found the credit "in the system" but told me that I would be responsible for redelivery charges and disposal fees of the old mattress amounting to $95.00. She also said that because this was a credit, I would not be entitled to the advertised sale price for the set and that I would have to pay the full price for the set.

The set on sale, I believe to be approx $389/on sale. I told her that no one in customer service ever told me about the conditions of the credit, even though I have spoken to the supervisor in customer service named Jamie and Steve. I told them I would be upgrading and they said it was not a problem. Needless to say I never purchased the set, leaving frustrated after bantering back & forth about the meager $135.00 credit. My daughter continues to sleep on this mattress without a box spring, on the floor.

Victoria of Woodside, NY (1/28/02):
We were promised two Twin Spring Air Diamond Mattresses from the begininng of the month of January. Nick was the inspector that approved the mattresses so we can have an equal exchange. According to the drivers the mattress's were not under warranty. The mattresses were purchased at the Sleepy store on Northen Blvd. in Long Island City, Queens New York. The mattresses have 5/15 warranty. One of the mattresses has a hole in it and my daughter got cut by one of the springs. Both of the mattresses are buckling in.

Judith of Woodbury, NY (1/11/02):
I ordered an "Achiever" Queen Firm Mattress set delivered on 12/29/01. The mattress was defective in that there seemed to be coils missing so there was a depression in part of the mattress. I called and they sent another mattress on 1/6 which was also defective in the same way. They delivered a 3rd mattress on 1/8 and I was promised that they would check it out before it left the warehouse.

When it was delivered, both the drivers and I saw that it had the same defect. Practically impossible getting a supervisor to check into the situation but I finally did (Patrice W) and she said they couldn't send out any more mattresses and would send an inspector out as soon as possible. I'm told that will be 11 days from now on 1/22/02 and I called and protested that it was too long a period. All I want at this point is for them to pick up their bedding and refund my money. They tell me they do not issue refunds.

I have not been able to use my bedroom since 12/29 and am using a spare bedroom with a very uncomfortable bed.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Follow us on Twitter.

Terms of Use Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use

Advertisements on this site are placed and controlled by outside advertising networks. ConsumerAffairs.com does not evaluate or endorse the products and services advertised. See the FAQ for more information.

Company Response Welcome If complaints about your company appear on our site, we welcome your response. Please see the Response Form for more information.

For more information, see the FAQ and privacy policy. The information on this Web site is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for competent legal advice.  ConsumerAffairs.com Inc. makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information herein provided and assumes no liability for any damages or loss arising from the use thereof. 

Copyright © 2010 ConsumerAffairs.com Inc.  All Rights Reserved.    The contents of this site may not be republished, reprinted, rewritten or recirculated without written permission.