It was a lot of money to pay for a new bed — but Natalia MacKenzie of Toronto figured it would be worth it, if it meant she could get a good night’s rest.
“I had a stroke two years ago, I have health issues,” said MacKenzie, who paid almost $5,000 on an organic bed in July.
But she says almost immediately after the bed was delivered and installed, she couldn’t sleep properly.
“They’d say try a few more days, it still didn’t feel better,” MacKenzie said. “I’d wake up with sandy, swollen eyes and have heart palpitations and be nauseous.”
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She slept on the bed for a total of about three weeks, interspersed with overnights on her living room sofa and nights in a neighbour’s guest room.
She purchased the bed from Dormio Organic Beds in Toronto at a cost of $4,808. The company has a no refund policy.
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After hearing complaints about sleep issues, Dormio adjusted the bed and offered to make modifications. None satisfied MacKenzie, who complained that the latex in the bed was causing the reactions.
MacKenzie says she has a severe latex allergy, a condition verified by her physician in a letter shared with Global News.
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MacKenzie says she drew her condition to the attention of the Dormio sales representative who sold her the mattress. She says she was assured at the time that the mattress wouldn’t cause her any harm.
“They said there’s nothing to worry about, it’s organic, it’s natural,” she said.
But the company’s owner, John Aprile, says that never happened.
He told Global News that MacKenzie complained about other aspects of the bed but only recently raised the allergy issue. He also emailed several voice messages MacKenzie left at his store requesting her money back.
Aprile told Global News that he would take back the bed and issue a refund if the latest allergy was confirmed by her doctor.
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“We don’t want to sell anything to anybody that would hurt them– we’re in the health business, we sell healthy beds,” he said.
“From day one, my stance has always been: if there is a latex allergy involved here, I will take it back. I keep telling her this from day one.”
But when Global News drew Aprile’s attention to the medical letter substantiating the latex allergy, Aprile said he wanted to speak to the doctor first before going further. The doctor is away on vacation.
In a promotional video for Dormio, Aprile tells viewers they have nothing to worry about buying a Dormio bed.
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“We have no unhappy customers,” he says in the video. “Everybody that buys a Dormio mattress is thrilled to sleep on their bed.”
MacKenzie, for one, is not happy. She regrets the decision to buy the mattress.
“It turns out to be the worst decision I’ve ever made on any purchase.”
Kyle Edwards contributed to this report
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