PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The Attorney General's Office is taking a closer look at complaints against Mattress One.
The Local 10 News "Call Christina" hotline received four back-to-back calls from viewers about the company.
Viewer Kelly Benson of Miami Lakes was the first to call in after going into Mattress One to buy a new pillow top mattress. Benson's issues with the company started at delivery.
"We are now six months later and I still do not have a mattress," said Benson.
"The mattress keeps going down, you sit on there you feel like your falling out of it. It keeps moving when you sit on it," said another viewer, Mary Roca. After receiving her mattress late at night, she discovered the mattress was causing her back pain and later she determined it was broken.
A third viewer, Frank Boynton, also reached out to Call Christina after he purchased a mattress and it was never delivered.
"It's ridiculous," said Boynton, "It's not the way to do business."
A fourth Local 10 viewer called to complain about a delivery issue.
These calls came to Call Christina after the customers filed complaints with Mattress One and never heard back.
"I send them all kinds of pictures, I send them the receipt, and then after that, that was it," said Roca. "I never hear from them again. I'm waiting and waiting."
A district manager did work with the Call Christina team to resolve each viewer's complaint.
Prompted by the back-to-back calls, Local 10 News Investigative Reporter Christina Vazquez began digging into complaints filed on a local, state, and federal level.
In the past three years, 69 complaints against Mattress One were filed in Miami-Dade County, The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Federal Trade Commission.
Another 86 complaints were filed with the Better Business Bureau against Mattress One, Inc.
Sixty-five percent of those complaints the BBB listed as "Unanswered- the business failed to respond to the dispute."
BBB says in seven cases, Mattress One did respond to the dispute, "but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it."
The Florida Attorney General's Office tells Local 10 News it has received at least 100 complaints about Mattress One since 2008.
According to state records, the owner of Mattress One, Inc. is Mohanad Salem.
Over the phone, Salem said he could only address complaints in the Miami-Dade County area since his company, Mattress One, Inc. owns stores in South Florida and relatives own other stores in other markets of the state under different LLCs.
Consumer advocates said that is irrelevant from a consumer's prospective given that all complaints are filed under the brand name "Mattress One" and all stores share the same website, customer service phone number, and customer service email.
Salem said he would be working to address any unresolved complaints.
"We are investigating all complaints related to this company," said Office of the Attorney General Director of Media Relations Whitney Ray, "Regardless of whether other family members may own some of the stores."
Operations Manager Amin Ebrahimi, spoke to Local 10 News briefly.
"I'm just here to let you know that if you know of any customer complaint that I don't know about, I'd love to take care of them," Ebrahimi said.
The Call Christina team reached out to Nova Southeastern University Law School Professor and former Washington State Attorney General Michael Flynn, who specialized in Antitrust and Consumer Protection Laws.
WEB EXTRA: Attorney Michael Flynn on warranties
"The only way you attract and keep consumers and get them to purchase is if in fact you're running a company that is consumer friendly. If it's not, people will know about it," said Flynn.
Those who reached out to Local 10 News did receive a resolution to their Mattress One problems courtesy of a district manager. Kelly Benson received her mattress, Mary Roca received a new box spring, and Frank Boynton received a refund. A fourth viewer received a refund of more than $2,000.
"If there is some kind of warranty involved, you must read the fine print," said Flynn.
Companies are not required to offer any kind of warranty protection. This leaves the customer in a position to receive what they are offered.
Flynn said warranties are very specific and customers need to read the warranty carefully.
Follow Christina Vazquez on Twitter @CallChristinaTV
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