A Southington man need some answers when he noticed signs of wear on his mattress shortly after its exchange guarantee had expired.
Michael Sutkus bought his $1,737 mattress from Jordan’s Furniture one year ago.
"Everything seemed fine," said Sutkus. "But after we’d been using it for a couple of months, it seemed like it was sagging. You couldn’t roll to the center because there’s this hump in the center."
He said he noticed the sagging three months after buying it, roughly one month past his 60-day exchange window.
"I wouldn’t expect to see a mattress that’s less than a year old look like that," Sutkus said.
Last May, Jordan’s Furniture had an independent inspector take measurements of the bed. The inspector determined it didn’t have a defect.
The company reached the same conclusion a few months later, when Sutkus reached out again.
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"We just didn’t feel like it was worth the money that we had spent," said Sutkus. "It wasn’t holding up."
Even though Jordan’s had offered a topper, Sutkus emphasized his concerns were about the mattress' durability, not comfort.
The company was willing to work with the customer outside of its policy and give Sutkus a 50 percent refund, but he said it was still an $850 loss.
"It just wasn’t going the way I thought it should go," said Sutkus.
Jordan’s Furniture then agreed to make an exception in this case, and offered to extend their 60-day "Sweet Dream" exchange window, which Sutkus wasn’t previously aware of.
Customers who ask about return or exchange information before purchasing may benefit in the long run. Additionally, those details are often available of the back of receipts for almost any purchase.
Customers who are not totally confident about keeping a product may want to negotiate the return and exchange policies, or consider shopping around.
Those policies should also include details regarding any additional fees or warranties.
In Sutkus’ case, he’ll have to pay $149 to restock the mattress.
"And I’m ok with that," said Sutkus. "I want to know that I’m spending the money and that it’s worth what I’m purchasing."