Buying a bed? Don’t be caught napping, says Consumerwatch’s Wendy Knowler
Do your homework - on the bed and the retailer - before you commit.
Never has it been more important to do your research on a company before doing
business with it.
Check how they handle complaints on HelloPeter, on Twitter, if they have an account, and do a general Google search for complaints.
Had Cookie done that before buying a bed from The Bed King in Chatsworth, she may have decided to choose another bed retailer.
If she had Googled the store name she would have found a Public Service
Announcement posted by The Bed King of Cape Town, warning:
If you are in KwaZulu-Natal and looking to find a Bed King in Durban, then please note that the following stores are not authorized Bed King Dealers & they are using our trademark name illegally: Bed King Springfield, Bed King Phoenix, Bed King Tongaat or Bed King Verulam, Bed King Pietermaritzburg, Bed King Chatsworth We’ve received messages from unhappy customers mistaking us for them. We’d just like to provide clarity to our customers that we are in no way associated with the above-mentioned stores. Please be aware that any items sold at any one of these unauthorized Bed King Durban and Bed King Pietermaritzburg stores are NOT covered by our product warranty or Bed King returns policy.
So Cookie bought an R7000 bed - not a well-known brand - from the Bed King in Chatsworth, and it proved to be faulty - it squeaked very loudly - so she complained and it was replaced with one that did exactly the same thing.
Take a listen to that squeaky bed and find out what happened when Wendy tried to engage with the company, HERE
I’ve received quite a few MSC-related complaints due to canceled cruises, and we should acknowledge that it’s been an extremely traumatic time for cruise companies, dealing with refund demands and trying to accommodate passengers on other cruises which could also end up having to be canceled.
Natalie Bergstrom raised a question that I hadn’t contemplated before:
Her family booked the 2020 Christmas cruise - Durban to Mozambique - the last family cruise before their daughter turned 18 during the course of 2021, at which time they’d have to pay full rate - a fare difference of more than R5000 in their case.
Natalie’s question: “The deposit we paid will now be given as a voucher for a cruise the following season by which time my daughter will be 18 - why should we have to pay an adult rate when we decide to cruise again when the postponement was not of our making?
Take to listen to find how the cruise company responded to that….
Contact Wendy
Get in touch with Wendy via her website or her Facebook page. Please note that Wendy is not able to personally respond to every email she receives. If she is able to take up your case, she will contact you directly. Here are other avenues for you to consider.
Listen to more podcasts from Wendy Knowler in the Consumerwatch channel below:
Main image courtesy of iStock