ALERT: Mattress Warranty Stain Scam Uncovered

mattressYou’ve owned your spring-constructed mattress for a few years and it is beginning to sag.   “No worries,” you think to yourself.  You are comforted by the 20-year warranty that came with the mattress — but don’t be so sure.   There’s a dirty little secret out clause dwelling within those mind-bending 20- or 25-year warranties like blood sucking bed bugs. If there’s a stain the size of a dust mite anywhere on the mattress, you’re out of luck.  A mattress warranty  covers structural defects but not long-term comfort. That impressive warranty may be worth less than the paper upon which it is printed.

We’ve documented this irritating mattress policy for Simmons, Serta and Sealy, but appears most of the mattress companies in this country have been taking advantage of consumers for years… ignoring their valid complaints of defective beds. The companies use such excuses as, “there is a small stain on the bed and that voids the warranty, it makes it unsanitary for us to take the bed back”.   It turns out that the warranty is more of an illusory selling tool for a lot of stores.  If there’s a structural defect  (usually considered a sag of 1.5 inches or more) a dime-size water stain could ruin everything.

Here’s the really galling part:   If the bed is defective and since it is used, it is Federal law that a used bed CANNOT be re-sold if it is taken back as a defective bed. This is little more than a ploy that the mattress companies use to get out from honoring the warranties on their beds to consumers.    An even more nightmarish part of this scam is that the manufacturers will charge you $50 or more just to hire an “inspector” who will search for any possible stain, blemish or discoloration that the manufacturer’s use to void their commitment to replace the mattress.   That’s right — you pay for someone who serves the manufacturer, not your own interests.

If you have purchased a bed that you now believe is a defective bed, whether it be a Simmons, Serta, Sealy, or other brand and you have been given bogus reasons by the manufacturer NOT to honor the warranty, don’t take it lying down.   Let us know and let’s see if we can change this sleep-disturbing policy.   In the meantime, if you haven’t yet purchased a protective mattress cover for your spring mattress, you may want to consider it.  You’ll probably sleep better knowing that you’ve not given the manufacturer and easy out of its warranty commitment.

20 thoughts on “ALERT: Mattress Warranty Stain Scam Uncovered”

  1. Hi I had bought a 2000$ memory foam bed and after 1 year there are huge lumps in it the inspector said it was the worst they’d ever seen and said we shouldn’t have a problem getting it replaced at all and now they’re saying the 5 year warranty we had is void over some super light stains can you help us!?

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  2. Hello, we’ve purchased our Sealy mattress about a year and a half ago. We had a baby and have let the baby sleep in the middle for about that time. The sides of our 1500 dollar spring Infused mattress has seemed to have almost collapsed sleeping near the edges of the mattress and because our 1 year old daughter pee’d on it when washing the protective cover, our warranty is now voided and we are waking up with severe back and neck aches. I am 190lbs and my wife weighs less. Please help us get a good night sleep again. We cannot afford another mattress this soon.

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  3. Not even a year ago a fire started in our bedroom from an electrical strip cause our bed and carpet to catch on fire! So we went to Mattress Firm not even a year Later the side of our mattress fell out and we have a warranty but we were told that sense the mattress has a stain they won’t replace it! Which is completely ridiculous! I’ve had to sleep on a bed my entire life none of which have done this ever especially after having it less than a year and still have to pay on a mattress which was obviously made crappy/cheap and is already broke is ridiculous.. it’s like they are trying to steal peoples money!

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  4. Bought a Simmons BeautyRest Ashway 2 years ago in February. It has major sagging issues that cause awful back, shoulder and neck pain. Contacted them and because my dog got mud on the bed and it was literally a tiny spot they declined my warranty. Bummer for me I paid close to 700 bucks and just paid 900 on a brand new mattress will never buy from again. They cant resell the mattress anyways so does it matter.

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  5. I just bought a mattress and box spring from High Point sofa factory in Florence, South Carolina using their “Acceptance Now” payment plan. I was told that I was required to buy a mattress protector from them under that program. Immediately I smelled a rip off coming. I said “Really? Now tell me how much it costs. You see my concern is that you are about to charge me an exorbitant price for something I can buy elsewhere for less.” I was assured that wasn’t the case. I went along with it only because I didn’t have time to shop elsewhere. They charged me 149.00 for the mattress protector. I later found out I could buy the exact same product for approximately 40.00 to 52.00 max. Even Mattress Firm advertised the same thing for 52.00. Talk about a scam! Done forever with High Point Sofa Factory!!! 😠👎

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  6. We bought a U.V. Flashlight (“Black Light”) after we got a letter for a replacement mattress. They TRIED to say there was a stain in the photos we sent in, and the warranty was void. We complained via the Better Business Bureau and got a phone call from the mattress manufacturer. We told them to circle the stain in the photo and send it to us so we could take another photo showing there was no stain. The person on the phone said they didn’t see any stains, and gave us the warranty replacement letter.
    The U.V. Flashlight shows many little dots of something, not sure which. No big stains like urine would leave. We’re removing the “invisible” stains with 50% white vinegar. It takes some time for the vinegar to work, but it seems to be working.
    If you are going to try to get a mattress replaced, I highly recommend getting a U.V. Flashlight from Amazon or ? and make sure you won’t get caught out by the mattress manufacturer.

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  7. I purchased a Simmons pillow top in 2016 and even had a mattress protector on it from day one and somehow in the center there was a small stain and the inspector voided the warranty this was purchased through value city furniture in huntington wv

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  8. I had the same issues with Simmons Beautyrest. My mattress started sagging after 7 yrs of a 10 year warranty. They inspected it for free, but refused to honor the warranty as there were a couple minor stains on the edge of the mattress. Though no one fair-warned me when I purchased the mattress, I had a mattress protector on it 99% of the time. I even upgraded to a waterproof dust mite proof one. They could have not wasted my time waiting for the to reply to my claim by asking the question in the first place, whether there were any stains or not. It’s bad enough they have this bogus stipulation. It’s another to waste your time verses ask a simple question!

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  9. Ivan smith company didn’t honor our warranty because of a stain and only had it 5 years, supposed to have a 10 year warranty, ha….I’ll not be fooled again!!!

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  10. Aireloom is about to get an earful. I had my mattress encased and it still got stained. In the meantime, I’m the one who’s been waking up in pain every day for too long.

    Sit N Sleep (don’t judge me — I was busy!) sold me on a foam mattress saying one of the advantages is that it’s easier to replace them under warranty. This presumably means they fail more often.

    The stain didn’t cause the defect. They’d be horrible people if they tried to sell this mattress to anyone else.

    I am hopping mad and ready to fight this, in small claims if necessary, but first on the phone preferably calmly and nicely.

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  11. Hi,

    I bought a Sealy mattress from Sears in 2012. The mattress has been sagging for a while which caused me neck and back pains. Undergoing treatment for pains due bad quality mattress. Sears denied my claim even though mattress sagging is over 3.5″ due to some stains. What can I do about it?

    KK

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  12. I bought my mattress a little over a year ago and it has severe indentation, I called and they denied my claim because of stains.

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  13. The same story here. Bought a Sealy mettress at Ashley. It started sagging few months later and they don’t want to replace since it has a stain.

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  14. I work in the mattress industry and I have come across this situation to many time to count. A customer is having an issue with their mattress, we send out an inspector(we do not charge, that is a SCAM), and we find out that the mattress was not protected and it is covered in stains. The customer is obviously upset, but when I ask why they didn’t protect their mattress with a Mattress Protector, they say they didn’t think it was necessary or that they were never offered one. Most Mattress Protector Companies have a Stain guarantee(if the Protector was purchased with the mattress), that states that if anything gets through the protector and stains the mattress they will come out and clean the mattress back to factory standards or replace the mattress. This all comes with a cost of around $40-90 for 10 Years of coverage, depending on size of mattress. Now if you work out a deal with the mattress sales associate for a free protector, you will still have the comfort of being protected but the stain guarantee goes away. One story I will share is of a guest who bought a $4000 Organic Mattress with a 10 Year Warranty. At 8 years they called in and said that their mattress was sagging on the side(customer did weigh around 400lbs). We went out to find that mattress was covered in sweat and what looked to be urine stains. Now if this mattress had a small stain we would have looked the other way and took care of the warranty in house, but with it being completely covered we were unable to process a warranty for the customer. The customer did state that he refused the mattress protector that was $75 and we wished that he had purchased it…that would have saved his mattress, protected the warranty and this customer would not have been out $4000. Be SMART when purchasing long term product.

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    • Bull I bought the protect cover there was still a stain made by sweat and the mattress company denied claim & cover company said SWEAT was not covered by their product …..seriously that is the most common stain …I was NEVER told that was a deal dreaker… total bull now I have a crappy $2000 mattress and no one will keep those word and replace it after 4years with a 10 year warranty buyer be aware they are all scam artists

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  15. We bought a mattress from Ashley Furniture for almost two grand and not even a year later it was not working and the boxspring broke, but the wont cover it because we have stains from in between washing of the coverlet we used on it when my daughter peed the bed…its crazy. Now we got a $2,000 mattress in the garage collecting dust because we cant use it. They should have explained that when we bought the mattress not when we tried to get it covered under the warranty.

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  16. I bought a Sealy mattress at The Brick in Canada. This was top of the line $2400 and it had a stated a 10 year warranty. After 5 it started to sag and not support; after 2 more it got really bad so that we called to activate the warranty claim. Inspector came and agreed that it was sagging and had many other defects and said I will hear back from the Brick on the claim. At time of purchase we were told to also purchase their mattress cover for $100 to preserve the warranty and so no stains occur, which we did. however, even with this cover body moisture still passes through, When you look at the mattress, you can see no visual stains but when the inspector comes, they have a special light that they shine on it that show these invisible stains. I surmise that something (chemical or who knows what) is put into the mattress fabric to pick up the slightest amount of moisture to make it stain in order for it to void the warranty. This whole mattress warranty is a scam and I will never purchase any Sealy mattress or purchase anything from the Brick or its related companies again. Be warned.

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  17. Sealy had this inspection guy say they wouldn’t honor the defective mattress that is sagging cause of a stain, but they admitted that the mattress was defective. I live in Canada. What shall I do about this?

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  18. Hi Michael,

    I build my own mattresses so I can control dust mites. You can’t vacuum inside a spring mattress.

    My designs are also best for customizing to exactly how I want my body to be supported. I choose between different types, densities, and firmnesses of foam layers, the number of layers, and thicknesses of each layer.

    When the layers get old, they can be replaced, but usually just the upper layer or two needs it.

    All new material outgas, so I keep the layers thin and air them out before using them. Vacuuming speeds up the outgassing.

    I vacuum the bed every week to keep dust mite populations down. Mostly, I’m keeping their food scarce.

    I use old towels underneath to firm up areas I want more support in. Sags are great for giving more support at the edges. Nurit won’t let me “fix” her side! I have too much sag on my side, so I use some towels.

    I wouldn’t consider using anything that would limit vapor flow – like plastic or a solid platform bed. That’s just asking for mold where the vapor condenses. I use unpainted wooden slats.

    …and, by the way, these vastly superior beds are cheaper than the ones you can buy in the stores.

    Let me know if you’d like more information about building beds.

    ~Rick

    Reply

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