Complaint Review: 1StopBedrooms - Brooklyn New York

On July 3, 2022, I placed an online order at 1StopBedrooms.com for bedroom furniture. The order, identified as Order # xxxxx, consisted of: 1 Holverson Brown Milk Crate Queen Sleigh Bed, 2 Holverson Brown Milk Crate Nightstands, 1 Holverson Brown Milk Crate Dresser, 1 Holverson Brown Milk Crate Mirror, and 1 Grand Isle Plush White Queen Mattress for a total including tax of $3,347.23.

On July 11, 2022, I received the mattress and noticed that the name was different from what I had ordered. As is clearly shown on the order, the mattress paid for was the “Grand Isle Plush White Queen Mattress,” but the item delivered was a “Mt. Dana Ltd. Plush” mattress. As discussed below, through prior research I knew the Mt. Dana to be a lower quality mattress.

I was quite upset that I had been sent a lower quality item that I had not ordered, or that a substitution had been made without my approval. I left a message about the problem using the message link in the order email. That message read:

I received a mattress as part of my order today, and it is not what I ordered. I ordered a mattress as part of a bedroom set, and the mattress was specified as "Grand Isle Plush White Queen Mattress," retail price $824, sale price with the set $503. What I received was a Mt. Dana Ltd. Plush queen mattress, retail price $659.

The price difference indicates what I was sent is approximately 25% less quality and durability. What I was sent is not what I ordered. I had looked at other mattresses at your web site and others, including the Mt. Dana, and I decided to go with the "recommended" Grand Isle Plush White Queen Mattress in part because it seemed like a good mattress for the price. Had you advertised the Mt. Dana that I received, I would have selected something [else] here or elsewhere.

At this point, I have a 170 pound paperweight in my bedroom. Please let me know how you are going to address this issue. I do not want a $500 mattress that I have to replace in a few years. I consider this unapproved substitution at least unprofessional and possibly illegal bait and switch.

If you cannot address this issue, I want my entire order canceled and I will be happy to pursue redress through the Better Business Bureau and the attorney general consumer fraud division.

Attached is a photo of the label of the item I received.

I had conducted quite a bit of research prior to ordering and had only ordered the Grand Isle mattress at 1StopBedrooms because various information I could find indicated to me that the Grand Isle series mattress was probably slightly better than some of the other choices available by this dealer.

Part of the decision was based on the link to the Grand Isle mattress that was in my cart before checkout (and consequently is also linked in the order) showed a “regular price” of $824. On the other hand, the Mt. Dana mattress shows a “regular price” of $659. I double-checked these prices and my prior research before filing the above complaint.

It is difficult to assess mattresses online, but right or wrong, I took several things in consideration before ordering the mattress I did. Current reviews show some mattresses in the Ashley Chime collection are priced similar to the Mt. Dana, while those in the Ashley Sleep collection are priced similar to the Grand Isle mattress, and the Sleep collection mattresses are described at one location as better because they “feature greater amounts of foam, coils, and fabrics than Chime” (https://www.us-mattress.com/ashley-sleep-mattress-review.html).

Although I could not find many reviews specifically for the Grand Isle, I did find several for the Mt. Dana mattress. Reviews at Amazon included a significant number of one-star ratings. There was a rating of 5 out of 10 for a mattress review “comfort scale” at one review site (https://www.us-mattress.com/ashley-sierra-sleep-mount-dana-limited-plush-mattress-review.html). 

At 1StopBedrooms, the Grand Isle mattress was listed as “recommended” for the bed frame I was ordering, and it seemed to be a fair price based on the research I was able to do, so I ordered that. Had the “recommended” mattress been the Mt. Dana, I definitely would not have ordered that mattress. I would have chosen something else either at 1StopBedrooms or a different vendor.

The initial complaint as worded above was assigned case number xxxxxxx, as per email response to me received July 11, 2022, at 8:14pm. I received a number of phone calls from 1StepBedrooms on July 12, 2022 that I could not answer. No message was left on my voice mail.

On July 13, 2022, I received a call from a person identified as “Jon M.” who first told me that the mattress I received was the same as the mattress I ordered. As part of his argument, he said I should look at the web site, but I knew the images and descriptions are too general to distinguish the quality of the inner materials. Because I had done the aforementioned research, I knew this statement was false, and I adamantly stated that his claim that these are the same was not true. Or, if these are the exact same mattress, then 1StopBedrooms is engaging in deceptive advertising. Even if these are the same mattress, I should have been sent what I ordered.

The representative identified as “Jon M.” next stated that the Mt. Dana is priced lower because it is a store brand. This also is not true. Store brands do not carry the manufacturer branding. On the 1StopBedrooms web site, both these mattresses are branded as Ashley, and there are numerous hits for Ashley Mt. Dana mattresses in a general Internet search.

The representative identified as “Jon M.” mentioned that it might be possible to “work out some sort of exchange or something,” not that the company would replace the item they sent me with the item I ordered at no cost to me, which would have been the appropriate response from “Jon M.” Due to these statements providing a clear indication that “Jon M.” was not willing to engage in a good faith response to my complaint, I ended the call and responded by email that I wanted the entire order canceled and noted that I would be filing complaints with consumer protection groups.

I subsequently submitted a request to cancel the entire order, and that request was confirmed by an automated email of July 13, 2022, at 10:05am. That request was assigned case number 2274536. Although the confirmation email stated that someone would be in contact about the request within 48 hours, no one has contacted me about this request.

I did receive another email on July 14, 2022, time stamped 1:57pm, from the representative identified as “Jon M.” stating “[t]he fact that you paid $100 less for the exact same mattress does not bode well for your allegations.” I am not quite sure what that means, but I’m taking it that it is saying I should just be happy with what they sent me, regardless of whether or not it was the item I ordered.

The email also stated that they would not cancel my order that they have failed to fulfill without charging “return and restocking fees.” The representative also claims to have offered a “free exchange of the mattress,” but no such an offer was ever made, only as stated above the vague and dismissive claim that it might be possible to “work out some sort of exchange or something.”

Because 1StopBedrooms has engaged in unprofessional and perhaps illegal bait-and-switch tactics, and because their representative has shown no indication the company is willing to engage in a good faith effort to correct the problem, I am requesting that all applicable fines or other actions attempting to hold businesses accountable for such fraudulent activities be pursued (I understand BBB does not do this).

Because 1StopBedrooms has shown that they have no hesitation about acting in bad faith, and have given absolutely no indication that they are willing to properly fill the part of my order that consists of just the mattress, I feel there is little reason to expect that they will appropriately fulfill the other part of the order. As the remainder of the order has not even been scheduled for delivery yet, I am requesting that this order be canceled and that I be fully refunded.

Only if 1StopBedrooms provides the appropriate mattress I ordered at no additional cost to me would I consider accepting the rest of the order, and at that time it will only be with the condition that any substitution or item damage will result in a complete refund of the entire order at no cost to me.