Sleepy’s: The bedbug column The Courant refused to publish about its prime advertiser
This was my column, as approved by my editor, that the Courant refused to publish about one of its biggest advertisers. It was scheduled to run on Aug. 2 but was held without an explanation. This was the first time in my 40 years at The Courant that an investigation by the attorney general was withheld from the public.
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says he has launched an investigation into consumer complaints that Sleepy’s sold mattresses or box springs that were used instead of new, and in one case infested with bedbugs.
Blumenthal said last month that he has up to 10 recent complaints against Sleepy’s, the largest mattress chain in the United States, with 74 stores in Connecticut.
A letter from Adam S. Blank, Sleepy’s general counsel and chief operating officer. Please click here.
A letter from Stern Environmental Group to Sleepy’s customer Jeff Maier. Please click here.
“We have received a number of complaints, up to 10, that mattresses maybe have been used, with groves and deep depressions,” Blumenthal said in an interview with me.
Prior to that interview I asked Blumenthal to check to see whether any other mattress retailers had complaints filed against them of giving customers used mattresses or of bed bug infestation.
“Sleepy’s was the only one” the attorney general replied.
Sleepy’s denies it has ever sold a used mattress and says its inspection and quality control process would make it impossible for someone to receive a product infested with bedbugs. It says there has never been a proven case of bedbug infestations caused by their merchandise.
Sleepy’s, with 700 stores nationwide, says that the number of complaints against it is tiny compared to the hundreds of thousands of mattresses the company sells each year. And almost all of the complaints were resolved.
Blumenthal’s investigation into Sleepy’s operations is the second in Connecticut since 2004 when the company paid a $4,000 fine to consumer protection.
Two years ago Sleepy’s, according to the Better Business Bureau, paid a $200,000 fine to New York City consumer officials as part of a settlement.
The BBB said that the company faced charges that it used “deceptive sales tactics, including exchanging defective mattresses with equally defective mattresses; charging additional delivery fees to consumers for exchanging damaged mattresses; failing to deliver items when scheduled and not properly informing or offering customers store credit or refund; and refusing to honor manufacturer warranties because of alleged stains.
Jeff Maier, a Norwalk small businessman, asked Blumenthal to investigate Sleepy’s last December because he and his wife had a ‘’severe’’ bedbug infestation that Maier said was the result of buying what appeared to be a used box spring from the Stamford Sleepy’s store.
One week after receiving the box spring, Maier said in a telephone interview, his wife began developing red spots, which Maier said came from bedbugs.
He said they hired the Stern Environmental Group of Secaucus, N.J. to investigate and to exterminate the bugs. The company – which specializes in ridding homes of bedbugs – dismantled the box spring and determined that it was the cause of the infestation, Maier said.
Stern Environmental Group’s report, made available to me, states that the “box spring … was the culprit. There were bedbugs inside and the box spring did not look like it was new.”
Maier said it took two months before all the bedbugs could be killed. (During that time, he told me, he and his wife had to stay in their bed because if they slept somewhere else the bedbugs would have moved with them.)
He said Sleepy’s attorneys offered a replacement box spring, but they denied that the bedbugs came from their merchandise.
Maier said he was suspicious when the delivery was made because the heavy plastic used to seal the box spring appeared to have been opened. He said one of the workers assured him that it was opened by them as they took it out of their truck.
Maier said there is no other explanation for the bedbug infestation. The couple had not slept anywhere else in the weeks prior to their purchase, Maier said, and their personal habits had not changed.
Adam S. Blank, Sleepy’s general counsel and chief operating officer, said last month Sleepy’s was unaware of Blumenthal’s investigation and said bedbugs do not originate in beds, but come from people.
If Sleepy’s had delivered a box spring to Maier that contained bedbugs, all the other merchandise on the truck would have also had bedbugs, he wrote in a five-page response to my questions.
“Sleepy’s does not now, has never, and will never, sell a used mattress. Any claim to the contrary we find to be defamatory,” wrote Blank.
The BBB report state that in the past three years, 633 complaints were filed against Sleepy’s 700 stores (no state-by-state breakdown available).
BBB statistics show that complaints grew yearly in the following areas: warranty issues, product issues, refund or exchange issues, selling practices and delivery issues.
“Complaints to the BBB have alleged failure to provide timely delivery; failure to honor warranties and guarantees; credit and billing disputes; and poor product quality. This firm has failed to eliminate the underlying cause of complaints brought to its attention by the Bureau,” the bureau reports on its web site.
Better Bedding, with nine stores in Connecticut and now in reorganization in Bankruptcy Court, has had four complaints with the BBB in the past three years and still has its top rating of A+.
In 2002 Sleepy’s paid a $4,000 fine to Connecticut consumer officials as part of a settlement into complaints the company delivered mattresses in the middle of night and delivered defective merchandise, and a complaint that used merchandise may have been sold as new. In all four cases, Sleepy’s did not admit to any wrongdoing, which is common in out-of-court settlements.
The report from Stern, Sleepy’s complete response, the 2002 Connecticut settlement details, and the BBB reports, as well as details of the four settlements will be published on this blog.
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- Ct AG says Sleepy’s failed to provide him with answers to all his questions, Sleepy’s threatens to sue Watchdog for publishing Attorney General’s allegations
- Buying a mattress? Consumer Reports finally weighs in – guess which largest retailer came in last
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144 Responses for “Sleepy’s: The bedbug column The Courant refused to publish about its prime advertiser”
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delivery truck driver/handler can be making some extra bucks on the side selling the new items to their friends and delivering a returned/old item as new. beware, it may not be a corporate problem, but rather a problem of poorly paid delivery employees.
I guess this is a call for consumers to be more discriminating. Just because they are a big mattress store does not mean they sell the best mattresses. The mattress you are buying should be delivered in their best condition–that means the plastic wrap is still intact. As to that, why would the deliverers open the plastic wrap anyway? Clearly, Sleepy’s has a responsibility to their every user.
While their answer that they didn’t cause the problem could be true or false Sleepy’s response is inaccurate. New mattresses are shipped in plastic bags and one would assume if they shipped a used one it too would be in a sealed plastic bag also. Therefor the bugs could have been trapped in their own bag until opened. In their defense If they were shipping large quantities of used bedding their warehouse would likely become infested because bed bugs don’t just live in beds but in any dusty area even in some cases outside. If there were used bedding in the warehouse that was still not wrapped it would also infect the warehouse and there has been no report of that yet.
I was a store manager for Sleepy’s for over two years at various stores in CT. The outlet mattresses were often times used and everyone knew it. If a customer wasn’t pleased with a mattress they sometimes would exchange them and then those would come back to the stores as outlet.
I don’t think the new mattresses were used but the outlet ones definitely were.
To the Former Employee… Store Manager.. at Sleepys.. will you please contact me. I would greatly appreciate it. todaysta@optonline.net Thanks.
It’s not necessarily true that you get bed bugs from people, not mattresses. Bed bugs can live up to 18 months without a food source, so they can live in mattresses and even empty apartments just waiting patiently for a host to come along. So be careful of where you buy mattresses and if they come wrapped in plastic – keep it on forever!
If not, either buy encasements or to save money, buy a roll of sheeting plastic and lots of duct tape and wrap them up yourself.
Dr Don is wrong in that there is no problem with companies removing old bedding as long as they are delivering new bedding that is factory wrapped to customers.
The bedbug problem is due to bedding stores that offer comfort guarantees and then resell that bedding to unsuspecting customers. I would never buy from a company that offers comfort guarantees which vendors do not take back! The other problem is stores that reburbish bedding which is taking used bedding, recovering, and selling as if it is new. I am in the industry and very well aware of the bedbug issues and its causes.
I just ordered a mattress from Sleepy’s. I am canceling it tomorrow. I had a very long conersation with someone the other night and told that I was disgusted to learn that my new mattress would be put on a truck with old mattresses. IT SHOULD BE THE LAW that old mattresses are picked up in a different truck after the new mattress is delivered. This is disgusting. I will order a mattress cover/pad to soften the mattress I have and buy new pillows and call it a day.
Most stores even large reputable department stores like Macy’s Bloomingdale and Sears haul away on the same truck. They all offer the comfort guarantee. Maybe congress needs to step in???
Thank you!
P.S. I got a deal I will NEVER get again….and I don’t care…bedbugs are not worth it! Disgusting!
In answer to Jeanns’ question….Call any mattress company and ask if they remove the old mattress. If they say yes…even for a fee…there’s a higher chance you will get bed bugs. One of the main reason people are buying new mattresses these days is to get rid of the bugs. So once the old bed bug ridden mattress is on the truck the critters will move into the truck or other mattresses. The only place I found in NYC is Longs Mattress on 79th Street in Manhattan. They do NOT remove old mattresses. Even then…purchase a bed bug proof mattress & box spring cover…which may eliminate the need for a new mattress entirely.
Urgent! Thanks for a very ‘timely’ article, especially since we’ve now found bed bugs in our sofa sleeper, and two other mattresses. Does ‘anyone’ know if there are ‘reputable’ places to buy mattresses, couches, sleepers, etc. from and not get stuck like this? We don’t have the money for a bug service to get rid of these pests, and need to find another alternative is possible. Thanks.
Jeanne, DO NOT start buying new furniture! You need to get rid of bedbugs first. I had this problem 2 years ago and changing furniture did not help. I used to find bedbugs under picture frames, under the carpet, inside electric wall sockets! If you buy new furniture, they will get to it as well.
I managed to find a spray can in Home Depot that worked well against bedbugs. It was not in the regular pesticide section though. You will have to search a little harder. It is purple and gray can called ‘Sprayaway – Good Night Sleep’. It will take some time. You will probably spend a month or two of spraying contaminated places every few days. Note keep looking for black dots on your walls and furniture. Those will show you where the bedbugs are or where they walk. There is a lot of documentation online about this. I will repeat though, buying new furniture will not solve your problem with bedbugs! Good luck
[...] His explanation was backed up partially by a report from Stern that states that it inspected the box spring in November. A copy of that report as well as my original column on this issue (which contributed to my being fired by The Courant) can be seen here. [...]
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