Siena Mattresses on Amazon

UPDATE 7/17/24: According to Amazon, the consumer who was originally denied a full refund has accepted a gift card from Amazon to make up for the remaining refund amount. Our original ad alert follows.

Experts recommend we spend about a third of our lives sleeping so picking the right mattress seems like a pretty important decision. And how better to figure out the best mattress for your needs than by buying one with a six-month trial period?

Enter Siena mattresses sold on Amazon, which are advertised with a 180-night trial and free returns.

Unfortunately, according to a TINA.org reader who purchased two Siena twin XL mattresses from Amazon, his trial and return experience was not as simple as the listing (above) made it sound.

We ordered two twin XL mattresses from Amazon to try, fully believing they would stand by their return policy. When these did not perform as promised, we returned them within the trial period. However, Amazon only refunded $492.94 of the $604.54 that we paid.

In other words, the consumer was out over $100 just for placing what seemed like a risk-free order. When he contacted Amazon customer service, he received this frustrating – and confusing – answer:

The item was returned after 30 days and we withheld a restocking fee.

What happened to the 180-night trial with free returns?

TINA.org took a closer look and found a dizzying array of contradictory information regarding the ability to try and return Siena mattresses sold on Amazon.

• As shown above, the product listing boldly states “180 Night Trial” with more than one indication for “FREE Returns.” (For those who want to dig a little deeper, Siena’s own website even reiterates these claims, stating, “Make sure it’s right for you, with half a year to decide.”)
• However, clicking on “FREE returns” on the Amazon listing provides a link to a page that says free returns can be made for any reason if the product is in “new and unused condition.” (What happened to the ability to try the product before returning?)
• Then, below the “Add to Cart” button, hovering over small print next to “Returns” results in a pop-up that states, “Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 100 days of receipt.” (What happened to the 180 nights?)
• Next, clicking on “Read full return policy” at the bottom of the pop-up leads to Amazon’s general return policies. There, at the top, Amazon states that, “Amazon.com and most sellers on Amazon.com offer returns for items within 30 days of receipt of shipment” (the same time period cited by the Amazon customer service rep who communicated with our reader). But one of the stated exceptions to this general policy is for … drum roll, please … mattresses, and that exception allows for returns “for any reason within 100 days of receipt,” of both opened and unopened (Is your head hurting yet?)
• Finally, clicking on a link for “Refunds” on the general return policies page leads to a page that explains that consumers will only receive an 80 percent refund (the approximate amount our reader received back from Amazon) for items returned in their “original condition past the return window.” (Are you ready to explode? We are.)

Amazon responds (sort of)

In response to a TINA.org request for comment, an Amazon spokesperson requested the consumer’s contact information but did not respond to questions about why Amazon didn’t honor the 180-night trial or the contradictory and confusing information regarding returns on the Amazon listing and policy pages.

After providing Amazon with the consumer’s contact information (with the consumer’s permission), the consumer forwarded an email he received from Amazon’s “Executive Relations” team, which the message described as “the highest level of Customer Service within Amazon.” It was not the response he wanted.

I’m sorry to hear about the problem you’ve had with your refund. On this occasion, we can’t refund the restocking fee because the item arrived in an unsellable condition. Unsellable items are damaged, missing parts, not in the original condition, or have obvious signs of use for reasons not due to an Amazon.com or seller error.

Amazon’s latest response led the consumer to ponder: If the mattress was in an unsellable condition, why wasn’t this mentioned before as a reason why he wasn’t eligible for a full refund and why did Amazon provide even a partial refund? TINA.org asked Amazon the same. Check back for updates.

The bottom line

As part of its efforts to prevent this kind of situation, the FTC has stated, “What the headline giveth, the footnote cannot taketh away.” In other words, marketers can’t advertise a 180-night trial in the headline and then say “just kidding” in the fine print. And that is precisely what happened here (in an extra confusing way).

Before you order a product from Amazon, make sure you’re comfortable with the applicable return and/or refund policy. You might also want to read some consumer reviews regarding the product you’re interested in. According to some complaints, returns directly with Siena aren’t a dream, either.

Siena did not respond to TINA.org’s request for comment.

Find more of our coverage on trial offers here.