Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection is warning residents to watch out for scams by local mattress retailers this holiday season. Consumer advocates say the industry is rife with deceptive advertising that makes customers feel as though they are getting dirt-cheap prices — while they are being ripped off.
Deals are touted as available for a “limited time” — and retailers say they will beat the prices offered by their competitors — but advertisements don’t contain the trade names of the mattresses, county officials say. Without that information, it is nearly impossible for consumers to actually compare prices, they add.
|
Mattress complaints Past three years |
| Mattress Warehouse: 28 |
| Discount Mattress Frame: 8 |
| Mattress Depot Inc.: 3 |
| Casa Furniture and Bedding LLC: 2 |
| Macy’s: 2 |
| Mattress Discounters: 2 |
| Sleepy’s Rockville: 2 |
| Total: 47 |
| Source: Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection |
“Mattress manufacturers and retailers appear to have collaborated in creating a unique industry in which advertisements give the false impression that consumers can effectively compare prices on mattresses,” said Office of Consumer Protection Director Eric Friedman. “Car dealers do not use different names to sell vehicles made by the same manufacturer. The mattress industry would like consumers to believe that the market is competitive when, in fact, it is really anti-competitive.”
He recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, asking for an investigation of the industry.
During the past three years, the Office of Consumer Protection has received nearly 50 complaints about sales practices or warranty issues related to mattresses.
But local retailers dispute the characterization.
“I never realized it’s a problem; the biggest turnoff for a customer is to go into a store and buy something and not get what you expect,” said Clarence, manager of the Mattress Warehouse at 12212 Rockville Pike, who refused to give his last name because he wasn’t authorized to speak about the company.
County officials also say customers should be wary of purchasing used mattresses, particularly with the growing number of bed bug cases reported nationwide. Before 2008, state law prohibited the sale of used mattresses unless they were labeled as disinfected.
But used mattresses are no longer required to be disinfected prior to being sold.
