Bensons For Beds - Chester Avis 

We had a fantastic experience at Bensons for Beds in Chester, particularly thanks to Barry, who was incredibly helpful, friendly and informative throughout.

He took the time to talk us through the different furniture and mattress options, providing plenty of useful information while allowing us the time and space to make our own decisions. There was absolutely no pressure to buy, which was really refreshing and made the whole experience much more enjoyable.

It was lovely to be able to make considered, unrushed decisions knowing we had all the information we needed.

A real credit to the store. Thank you, Barry, for making the experience such a positive one!

I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Bensons for Beds. I spent approximately £600 on a single Slumberland Orthopaedic Support Luxe mattress, expecting a quality product and decent after-sales support. Unfortunately, I've received neither.

The problem with the mattress

The mattress was delivered in November 2025 and was perfectly fine initially. However, around May 2026, approximately six months later, it developed a very strong chemical/pharmacy-like smell coming from the entire underside.

This is not a case of a normal new-mattress smell. The smell appeared months after purchase and became so strong that it filled the entire bedroom.

What's particularly frustrating is that the mattress has had extremely little use. It is in my daughter's bedroom, and she has only slept on it a handful of times. We have had a waterproof mattress protector on it since day one. The mattress looks practically brand new, with no stains, damage or visible signs of wear.

For £600, I expected considerably better quality.

The inspection – 16 October 2026

I contacted Bensons on 19 September 2026 to report the problem and request an inspection under the guarantee.

After waiting almost a month, an assessor from Emmiera finally visited on 16 October.

He acknowledged that there was a smell coming from the underside of the mattress, but his conclusion was that it wasn't a manufacturing fault and that he didn't consider the smell concerning.

He also commented that he noticed a different smell when entering the bedroom. However, we open the windows every day, and I strongly disagree with the implication that the room was responsible. The smell was coming from the mattress itself, and it was spreading throughout the entire room.

I even made it clear that I disagreed with his assessment and recorded this on his report.

Absolutely frustrating customer service

The customer service experience has been just as disappointing as the product itself.

Here is the timeline:

- **19 September:** First contacted Bensons to report the issue.
- **24 September:** Finally received a response, five days later, referring me to Emmiera.
- **16 October:** Emmiera assessor finally attended, almost four weeks after my initial complaint.
- **16 October:** I emailed Bensons requesting a full refund or replacement.
- **22 October:** I had to chase them because nobody had responded.
- **25 October:** Instead of addressing the complaint, they asked me to provide my personal details to access my account.
- **26 October:** I provided everything requested and resent my original complaint.
- **28 October:** Still no response, so I had to chase them again.
- **29 October:** Finally received their decision: claim rejected, no refund or replacement.

That's 40 days just to get a final rejection.

This is not an isolated problem with one email either. Their responses are consistently slow, often taking around a week. Emails seem to get missed, meaning I have to repeat myself and resend information that I've already provided. It shouldn't be this difficult to get a company to deal with a legitimate product complaint.

The eight-year guarantee – what is the point?

The particular Slumberland mattress I purchased is advertised with an eight-year manufacturer's guarantee. Bensons also advertises guarantees as a reason to buy with confidence.

Yet, despite acknowledging that the mattress has developed an unusual smell, they have refused to take responsibility or offer a reasonable solution.

I previously purchased a Sealy Augusta Ortho mattress from Bensons in 2015. That positive experience gave me confidence in the brand, which is why I trusted them enough to spend another £600. I am now extremely disappointed with how little they seem to value returning customers.

I understand that an independent assessor has to make a professional judgement, but simply deciding that a persistent chemical smell is 'not concerning' doesn't make the problem disappear. We are still left with a practically unused mattress that we cannot comfortably use.

My conclusion

I would not recommend Bensons for Beds based on this experience.

A £600 mattress should not develop a persistent chemical smell after just six months of very light use. And when something goes wrong, a customer should not have to spend six weeks chasing emails, repeating information and waiting for an inspection, only to be dismissed.

I've completely lost confidence in Bensons for Beds.

Lesson learnt: Never again. I'll be buying elsewhere in future and paying for larger purchases by credit card, so I have the additional protection of Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act where applicable.

The staff were brilliant fery helpful and they were very good at making sure that we understood what was going on and explained the importance of getting the right matres and they were fery understanding about my personal limitations will recommend to everyone I now

The salesperson,Barry,really showed his expertise in our choice of mattress.

Quick install, very courteous and happy delivery guys. Took away all the wrapping

From the beginning of experience in the store to the bed being delivered it was excellent

Stephen, excellent Salesperson. Store looked good walking in the door. My only issue is delivery. I was told 3 weeks but then there is less than one day a week I can choose so, with charity voluntary work commitments it means it'll be 6 weeks before my new mattress arrives.

Mattress selection and purchase experience was excellent. Delivery date/time was met with plenty of updates.

Ordering off the website was easy straight away I had confirmation of order and delivery details I was contacted on the day with a earlier time slot all good

Stephen top sales man Chester branch

The lady took time to help us to choose the right item showing us a selection of different options

Amazing quality made up with my new tv bed ! Thanks Dave

Purchase of 4ft bed and matress

Personal service was very pleasant and extremely helpful.
All my queries were answered.

Dave the manager was great- very knowledgeable- explained what we needed and he was able to show us exactly what we needed.

The store staff were very helpful. The delivery team were late due to traffic issues but did an efficient job when they arrived.
The new mattresses are wonderful - we both slept well.
It was great to have our old mattress recycled, too.

Sales manager very helpful

Staff were good and the product is very good

Great point of sale assistance. With so many bases, mattresses and headboards to chose from the guidance and advice from the member of staff was invaluable.
When our delivery arrived the mattress was missing from the order. This was extremely annoying, but the local manager was excellent and resolved the issue within a week. On both occassions the delivery teams were great. Careful and respectful of our property.