Bristol mattress firm forced to change selling practices following investigation

A Bristol mattress company has agreed to change its selling practises following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The investigation into Simba Sleep  raised concerns that the mattress company may have misled customers about price reductions and put unfair pressure on them to make quick purchases.

In December last year, the CMA opened an investigation into Simba Sleep, setting out its concerns and asked the firm to address them.

The company has now signed formal commitments known as undertakings.

It has committed to action, including:

• Genuine discount claims: Simba Sleep will ensure any ‘was’ price is genuine – in other words, that they actually sell a sufficient volume of the product at that price before using it as a ‘was’ price.
• Countdown clocks: Simba Sleep will ensure that any countdown clocks used on its websites are clear; specify prominently which products they apply to; and do not give consumers a false impression that they must act quickly – or that when the clock ends the product will revert to the ‘was’ price – if this is not the case.

This investigation into Simba Sleep is part of the CMA’s ongoing programme of consumer enforcement work focused on ‘Online Choice Architecture’ which is aimed at tackling potentially harmful online selling practices.

The CMA previously notified Emma Group, another mattress company, that unless it commits to making changes to its practices the CMA will launch court action.

Last month, the CMA secured a total of over £4 million in refunds for Wowcher customers who were signed up to Wowcher’s ‘VIP membership’ via a pre-ticked box, which risked customers being signed up without their full understanding. The refunds will be provided in the form of credit, with the option to convert to cash.

Hayley Fletcher, interim senior director of consumer rotection at the CMA, said:  “With increasing living costs adding pressure to household budgets, more of us are looking for bargains online when shopping for home essentials and expensive purchases like a mattress.

“Companies that use potentially unfair tactics to sell products – including misleading countdown clocks and false pricing claims – risk pressuring customers into making purchases in haste and could be getting an unfair advantage over fair-dealing firms.

“This agreement means a better shopping experience for Simba Sleep customers – but it’s now time for other traders in the mattress sector to take note and ensure their practices comply with consumer law.”

To ensure Simba is complying with the commitments it signed, it must report to the CMA within the next 6 months.