[IL] Can a company add new fees to a warranty claim after approving a replacement?

IL Consumer Protection

Legal Eagle

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Thank you for chatting with me on this. The short answer is that the mattress company cannot retroactively add new warranty terms to an agreement you entered into years ago, and that $250 removal fee they are now requiring is not enforceable against you under your original contract. (810 ILCS 5/2-102) Illinois law also gives you stronger protections than most states when it comes to warranty claims and implied merchantability. You have real legal options here without spending a dollar on an attorney. That’s the short answer.

Here is the long answer: A product must be fit for its ordinary purpose at the time of sale, and a mattress that fails within five years of a ten-year warranty almost certainly does not meet that standard. When a company approves a warranty claim and then tries to condition the remedy on new fees that were never part of your original contract, they are modifying the contract unilaterally, which Illinois courts do not allow. The fact that other BBB customers received full or partial refunds matters, because it shows that the company does have discretion to issue refunds and has exercised it before. If they offer a replacement mattress that is not equivalent to what you purchased, that is also a breach of warranty. Illinois also prohibits unfair or deceptive acts and practices under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and adding undisclosed fees retroactively to an approved warranty claim fits that description.

Here is what you can do legally, step by step:

Write a formal demand letter to the company and send it to their legal or customer service department in writing, by email, with read receipt if possible. State that your original warranty did not include a $250 removal fee, that you do not consent to any retroactive modification of your warranty terms, and that you are requesting a full refund. (815 ILCS 505/10c)
You can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.
A complaint with the FTC can also be filed.
If the mattress company still refuses after your demand letter and agency complaints, you can file in Illinois small claims court for the cost of the mattress. Small claims in Illinois handles disputes up to $10,000, no attorney required, and the company's pattern of BBB resolutions suggests they settle these claims rather than litigate them. (735 ILCS 5/2-101)

Bonus tip: When you file with the Illinois AG and the FTC, attach screenshots of those BBB resolutions showing other customers received refunds. Regulators treat documented patterns of inconsistent treatment as a stronger indicator of deceptive practices than a single complaint. It also puts the company on notice that you have done your homework.

Does that help clarify things? I want to make sure I didn’t leave anything out.

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I contacted a mattress company about a faulty mattress that failed to serve as a functional bed before the 10-year warranty period. When they approved my warranty claim, they added on an additional $200 fee for transportation that was not part of the original warranty agreement when I purchased the mattress. I would like to receive a full refund instead of a replacement mattress because I don’t trust their product to work for more than a few years, and then I will be trapped in a perpetual cycle of having to pay them $200 in order to enforce the warranty terms.

Lexi, Chatbot

I understand how frustrating it can be to deal with warranty issues, especially when unexpected fees are involved. Have you already communicated your request for a full refund to the company?

Yes, they denied it and told me to have my lawyer contact them. I don’t have a lawyer.

Lexi, Chatbot

What specific terms of the warranty agreement do you believe support your claim for a full refund instead of a replacement?

Their warranty language is illegal. They allow for no other recourse besides getting a new mattress, and as of 2025 they are retroactively forcing everyone who purchased a mattress to pay up to $300 for transportation fees that were never outlined in the original warranty.

They no longer make my mattress model because they know it was faulty. They claim their replacement model is equivalent, but the company has not earned my trust given that my mattress failed five years into a 10-year warranty.

Consumer law protections in states like Illinois say that sellers must sell merchantable products. This mattress is not a merchantable product. Something is seriously wrong with the design, and the mattresses have a long-recognized pattern from online reviews of failing within a few years.

I don’t think I, as a consumer, should be forced to risk my health any further testing a mattress that has already failed me and caused pain and sleep disturbances.

Lexi, Chatbot

Is there anything else the Consumer Protection Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they’ll be able to help with your warranty dispute.

The mattress company agreed with me after looking at photos of my mattress that it qualified for warranty replacement. The offer they made me was to take a free mattress and continue using my original warranty, or pay extra money to “upgrade” my mattress and be subject to a completely new warranty. There was no other option.

In addition, they insisted that no matter which option I chose, I would have to use their preferred removal service and pay that service $250, terms which are absent from the warranty that existed at the time of my purchase and are new terms added to their warranty language as of 2025.

I have requested that they allow me to use a local removal service that offered to remove my faulty mattress for $119, but they denied this request.

What I am worried about is if they are allowed to force me to take a new mattress, how many times will I need to pay $250 for transportation and removal costs? On the Better Business Bureau you will see reports of customers forced to repeat this process multiple times because the company refuses to offer a refund.

Legal Eagle

Hello, I'm Legal Eagle. I'm an attorney who works in your area of law and I'll help you sort this out today. I've read what you shared, so let's go over what's happening and what your best next steps look like. Have you had any further communication with the mattress company since they denied your refund request?

No.

Legal Eagle

Could you let me know which state you're located in? This will help me understand which consumer protection laws might apply to your situation.

Illinois.

Legal Eagle

Thanks for sharing that. Have you kept a record of all your communications with them, including any emails or letters regarding the warranty claim?

Yes.

Legal Eagle

Ok! Did you need to tell me anything else? If not, I can start with answering your question.

I have seen on the Better Business Bureau website that several customers were able to receive full or partial refunds from Purple. I am unsure how they accomplished this, but you can see that in the resolution they received refunds. So it's not like the company never does this.

Legal Eagle

No problem! I’ll certainly address that. Anything else you'd like to add you think is relevant before I answer?

No. You may answer.

Legal Eagle

Here is what you can do legally, step by step:

Write a formal demand letter to the company and send it to their legal or customer service department in writing, by email, with read receipt if possible. State that your original warranty did not include a $250 removal fee, that you do not consent to any retroactive modification of your warranty terms, and that you are requesting a full refund. (815 ILCS 505/10c)
You can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.
A complaint with the FTC can also be filed.
If the mattress company still refuses after your demand letter and agency complaints, you can file in Illinois small claims court for the cost of the mattress. Small claims in Illinois handles disputes up to $10,000, no attorney required, and the company's pattern of BBB resolutions suggests they settle these claims rather than litigate them. (735 ILCS 5/2-101)

Does that help clarify things? I want to make sure I didn’t leave anything out.

Yes, this helps a lot. What advice do you have on drafting the letter?

Legal Eagle

I'm glad I could help clarify things for you! When drafting your letter, be clear and concise. State the facts, reference your original warranty terms, and express your request for a refund firmly but politely. Try contractscounsel.com. It's a site where you have the chance to post a job for free, then lawyers will bid on the jobs and you get to choose which lawyer and negotiate the price for the job as well to do this kind of work, usually for a flat fee.

Another thing is that the mattress company doesn’t make it easy to find their warranty terms or changes they’ve made to those terms online. I was able to find a copy of the warranty from a few years after my purchase, but I don’t know if I still have the paper warranty I received with the mattress. I have been looking through my files to locate it, but I have been unable to find the original warranty.

Legal Eagle

I understand how frustrating it can be when warranty terms aren't easily accessible. If you can't find the original document, try reaching out to them directly to request a copy of the warranty terms that were in effect at the time of your purchase. They should be able to provide this information. I hope I was able to help resolve your issue! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

I don't have any additional questions. Thank you.

Legal Eagle

I hope I was able to help resolve your issue! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Legal Eagle

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