An update, 4/17! I got a phone call from Sleepy’s today and spoke with someone. They say they are sending out a check that covers most of what I paid in interest. I’ll update again when it is received.

In October of 2010, I purchased a bed from Sleepy’s. I signed up for their store credit card, made payments regularly. From what I remember, it was either all paid off or close to it when, in March of 2009, I made a warranty call because of a saggy mattress. They came, reviewed, granted me a warranty replacement, and away I went. My initial purchase was $1749.87.

When I went to the store, they told me that I had purchased a mattress that was part of a promotion. That mattress had since been discontinued so they could give me a credit, but because I was getting a new mattress and not a mattress/box spring combo, I was not eligible for the promotional price of a new mattress and would have to pay more to get the modern equivalent. The “more” that I had to pay was $1000.01… to replace a defective item that they sold me that I did not break myself. I was young and more agreeable so I didn’t argue it and put it on my Sleepy’s card. It’s been a long time, so I don’t exactly remember what happened, but I remember it being 0% interest. I was signed up for automatic payments so I didn’t look at the paper statements, I just knew it would get paid down over time so I wasn’t worried.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from GE Capital, who are in charge of the Sleepy’s card. Their system was undergoing maintenance so my automatic payment would not go through. I logged into the account to make a manual payment and noticed that my balance, three years later, was still $671.05. I looked a little further and discovered that I had been paying 26.99% interest. My repurchase went under a promotional period that expired after two years. When that happened, I got hit with the back interest and it’s been going ever since. I called GE, they told me to call Sleepy’s; I called Sleepy’s, they had me wait for two weeks and then said that there’s nothing they could do. My only options at this point were to continue paying 26.99% interest or to pay it off.

I just gave GE $671.05 from my savings. My initial purchase was $1749.87, I paid them $659.90, I just paid $657.05 — $3066.82 in total, or nearly TWICE the cost of my initial purchase. The bank would say that you need to be more careful and it’s my own fault and a part of me agrees, but the fact that this is allowed to happen is very upsetting. I feel exploited, I can’t believe this.