Avoid Dial-a-Bed and Sealy at all costs.

I purchased a Sealy Celebration Plush mattress and Grey Fluted Base from Dial-a-Bed in February.

Recently, I visited the Bellville branch and spoke to one of the salespeople about issues I was experiencing with my mattress. After comparing the mattress in-store to the one at home, the salesperson said that the mattress sounded compromised and I should send a complaint, along with pictures, to customer service.

After doing this, I was pawned off to Sealy Bravo Brands and made to repeat the process. No in-person inspection took place, which is absurd. You cannot accurately test the integrity of a product (especially an expensive one) by eyeballing it via a photo. The fact that this is how these companies operate is deplorable. I mentioned this to the rep on the phone, and they gave me a sob story about how they no longer carry out these inspections post-COVID, and if they do, it can take up to TWO MONTHS.

Firstly, this is a blatant lie — I know someone who had an in-person inspection that took place within a week. Secondly, even if that was true, that's not your customers' problem. If you can no longer carry out in-person inspections on defective items (expensive ones at that), you need to stop operating until it's possible to do so. And lastly, how can you expect your customers to wait two months for an in-person inspection? Do you realize how damaging sleeping on a compromised mattress and/or base is?

Instead, the "inspectors" looked at the pictures and deduced that my base was the problem, which is fine. However, I still maintain that my mattress is compromised. In fact, I asked my housemate to test the bed, and she agreed. This test was also done without the base being involved.

After Bravo Brands identified my base as the issue, they had to log a new complaint with Dial-a-Bed. I was asked to send more pictures of the base (this being the third time) so they could see what was wrong — this process made zero sense to me. Why are you forcing your customers to go through so much effort to sort out a defective item, especially one that is still under guarantee & warranty?

Currently, I'm awaiting the arrival of my new base. I have no idea when it's going to be delivered. I'm also having to sleep on the floor as my back has been destroyed — to the point where I'm seeing a physio — by the base and mattress.

I wanted to understand if this is common practice in this industry, so I asked a competitor about their return policy and process. The difference was night and day.

My experience shocked them. They could tell that Dial-a-Bed and Bravo Brands were trying to make my life as difficult as possible so I couldn't claim my defective items. Moreover, they found it strange that I was pawned off to the manufacturers and that no in-person inspection took place, especially considering that my items are still under guarantee and warranty.

For context, I've drawn a comparison to show that I'm not being an unreasonable customer. I'm simply highlighting this company's poor service and lack of accountability.

Dial-a-Bed has lost a customer, and I'll point anyone I know to their competitors.