Don’t Get Sprung By Rogue Mattress Sellers
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is warning residents not to get sprung by rogue mattress and bed sellers after receiving reports that residents are being stopped in the streets and visited at their homes by those selling mattresses from the backs of vans.
Officers have issued the information following a series of reports from residents who were concerned about the particularly aggressive manner in which the salespeople are trying to sell the mattresses.
This is of particular concern should an elderly or vulnerable resident be approached or visited at their home by the sellers. It has been reported the men are knocking on doors and windows and even entering people’s gardens to get their attention and try to get them to buy a bed or mattress they don’t want.
Complaints received by Trading Standards point towards these sellers being Rogue Traders who:
- Only take cash,
- Give horrendously over-inflated prices of the original “RRP” to show the ‘fantastic one off saving’ you would be making
- Make false claims that they are memory foam or orthopaedic mattresses, and
- Sell beds that are of an extremely poor quality and liable to become faulty once they are out of the sealed bag
Very rarely will you be given the correct paperwork giving you the information that allows you to cancel and tells you how to cancel. More often than not if contact details are given, they are usually false addresses or telephone numbers that can be hidden behind denying you the right to make a claim when things go wrong.
Trading Standards ask that you help us combat these Rogues and if stopped by one report this straight away, taking a note of any registration numbers, vehicle details, descriptions, contact details and any paperwork that is provided and report this immediately to Trading Standards on 01443 425001
If you feel threatened or intimidated by any of these sellers, then contact 999 or 101 in order to report this to the Police.
DON’T GIVE ANY MONEY OVER – think about why you would need to buy a mattress from someone selling off the street as if it is too good to be true, then it usually is…just like any other scam.
AND REMEMBER – it is your doorstep, your money and your decision – if your door is knocked and they ignore a request to go away and they come back, they are committing an offence – REPORT IT to Trading Standards immediately on 01443 425001.
