The operator of two online mattress firms has agreed to resolve consumer complaints about shipping delays and failure to honor return policies. The settlement closes an investigation by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
Frank Grillo, the operator of Affordable Mattress Direct and Quality Sleep systems, will pay $2,500 in civil penalties. In addition, refunds totaling $14,000 will be issued to 14 consumers, according to Spitzer’s office.
Fifty-two consumers filed complaints with Spitzer’s office and the Better Business bureau over the past year. According to Spitzer’s office, the firms engaged in deceptive practices and false advertising while violating the state’s mail order statute.
The state claims that the firms:
*Routinely violated the state’s 30-day delivery law. Some consumers didn’t receive their mattresses for over two months.
*Failed to delivered promised promotional items like free pillows.
*Failed to honor their 90-night sleep trial, which was backed by a 30-day refund policy. Consumers were informed that they would have to pay the cost of returning their mattress.
In addition, Affordable Mattress Direct stated on its Web site (www.affordablemattress.com), that it had been voted the No. 1 site by Americas’s Best, Spitzer’s office alleged.
In fact, Americasbest.com is a vanity web site that lists sites based on fees, according to Spitzer’s office.
“It is important to hold online retailers to the policies and offers they tout on their Web sites,” Spitzer said in a statement.
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