Consumer Watchdog: Elderly tricked into sales

Nancy Durst was lured into buying a $3000 mattress. Photo / Sharron Bennett

There's no such thing as a free lunch - or dinner, in the case of pensioner Nancy Durst.

The 75-year-old attended an information seminar and dinner hosted by sales company Wenatex and, before the night was over, signed a purchase agreement for a $3000 king-single mattress - bed not included.

Durst was one of many elderly people lured into spending thousands on Wenatex's bedding in the hope it would cure their back pain.

Last week the company was fined $69,935 and was found guilty on 34 breaches of the Fair Trading and Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Acts.

Durst, who has long suffered from spinal stenosis, says the company has taken advantage of her and other vulnerable older people. "I would have done anything to get rid of my back pain," she says. "It was an emotional thing. You clutch at straws when you suffer pain that affects your sleep."

She paid $1000 deposit on the night of the dinner.

"He was the ultimate sales person. He was as slick as an oil can and very pushy.

"I told him about my back problems and he told me this was just what I needed to take the pain away.

"According to him it was a miracle material that astronauts used."

But when the mattress arrived, Durst says it was uncomfortable and aggravated her pain. "It was half as thick as a normal mattress; I could feel every slate in the bed."

"I realised how stupid I'd been. I spoke to my neighbour [who had also bought one] and she agreed she wanted to cancel it."

It took nine months of calls to Wenatex's Sydney office before the company reluctantly agreed to give her a refund.

The court upheld the Commerce Commission's finding that Wenatex breached the Fair Trading Act and misled customers about their right to change their mind about a purchase that was made in a high-pressure sales situation, such as an invitational seminar.

The Door to Door Sales Act allows a seven-day "cooling off" period during which a consumer can cancel a contract and get a full refund.

The investigation also showed that Wenatex further misled customers by telling those who attempted to cancel their contracts that they would lose the money already paid.

Durst is still out of pocket from a $700 pick-up fee, which she is trying to get back.

"So many people wouldn't have the energy to fight them," she says.

She now has a mattress from Hunters Furniture and describes it as "absolute heaven".

Wenatex did not return calls.