Returning a mattress in the UK: your actual rights, in plain English

Mattress returns are where a lot of consumer-law myths live: "you can't return a mattress once it's been slept on", "no returns on hygiene grounds", "the 100-night trial is your only right". Here is what the law actually says when you buy a mattress online or by phone, and what an honest seller's terms should look like.

This is a plain-English summary of the general position, not legal advice; the Citizens Advice consumer service and the regulations themselves are the authorities.

Two different rights

Unwanted (you changed your mind): the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Applies to distance sales: online, phone, mail order.

Faulty (it is not as described, not of satisfactory quality, or not fit for purpose): the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Applies however you bought it, including in a shop.

Keep them separate in your head, because sellers sometimes answer a faulty-goods complaint with their change-of-mind terms.

Changing your mind: the 14-day right

Buying at a distance, you can cancel for any reason within 14 days of the day you receive the mattress. You then have another 14 days to send it back, and the seller must refund within 14 days of getting it back (or of you proving you sent it).

What the seller can do:

• Ask you to pay the cost of returning it, if they told you that before you bought. For a mattress this is usually a collection charge, and it can be substantial; it must be stated up front.
• Deduct for diminished value if you have handled it beyond what you would in a shop. Lying on it to test it is what you would do in a shop. Sleeping on it for ten nights without a protector arguably is not. The deduction has to reflect the actual loss of value, not be a penalty.
• Refuse the right entirely for bespoke items: a mattress made to your specification, such as a non-standard size or a split-tension build, is exempt, and the seller should say so before you order.

What the seller cannot do: refuse a change-of-mind return on a standard mattress because it has been unwrapped or slept on. They can deduct; they cannot refuse.

The hygiene argument

The regulations exempt "sealed goods not suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons if unsealed after delivery". Some sellers apply this to mattresses. The general view of consumer bodies is that it is meant for things like earrings and cosmetics, and that a mattress you have unwrapped and tried, with a protector on it, is not automatically unreturnable. Sellers who lean on it heavily are on thin ground, and a deduction for use is their proper remedy, not a blanket refusal. If a seller's terms say "no returns on mattresses", that is a reason to buy elsewhere.

Faulty goods

If the mattress arrives damaged, is short of its stated depth, develops a dip within months, or is not what was described (different filling, different firmness, different size), the Consumer Rights Act applies:

• Within 30 days of delivery you can reject it for a full refund.
• After 30 days, the seller gets one chance to repair or replace; if that fails, you can get a refund (which may be reduced for use after the first six months).
• In the first six months, a fault is presumed to have been there at delivery unless the seller proves otherwise. After six months, you may need to show it.
• Return costs for faulty goods are the seller's, not yours.

A compression set, a spring failure, a dip of more than the guarantee's stated depth with a suitable base: these are faults, not comfort preferences.

What a "trial" adds

A 100-night trial is a contractual extra on top of the law, not a replacement for it. It usually lets you return an unwanted mattress after the 14 days, sometimes free, sometimes for a fee, and its cost is built into the price of every mattress the seller sells. Read the terms: some require a protector, some exclude certain sizes, most send the returned mattress to charity or recycling. See what a 100-night trial really costs.

What honest terms look like

• The 14-day right stated plainly, with the collection fee shown before you pay.
• A clear statement of what is exempt (bespoke sizes and tensions) before you order those.
• A separate, plain explanation of faulty-goods rights and the guarantee.
• Any comfort swap or trial described as what it is: extra.
• No "same condition as received" clause, which is unenforceable for a mattress you were entitled to try.

How we do it

Chapter gives the 14-day right on every standard order, with the £49 collection fee shown on the product page before you buy and a deduction only for handling beyond trying it. Split tension and custom sizes are made to your specification and exempt, and the page says so. On top of the law: a 30-night swap, a Soft Top topper first, then one swap within the range. Faults are the ten-year guarantee's job. It is all on the delivery and returns page.

The short version

• Unwanted: 14 days from delivery to cancel; seller can charge stated collection and deduct for use, not refuse.
• Bespoke sizes and tensions are exempt; the seller must say so first.
• Faulty: 30 days to reject; then repair or replace; first six months presumed faulty from delivery.
• A trial is extra, paid for in the price.