payment amount in dispute, can they send in debt agency?

sasha_108

I have recently had a carpet cleaned in a property we rent. We agreed a price on the phone and the work was carried out. When the carpets dried, there was a mark from the carpet cleaner pipe on our landing, we were told it would disapeer when the carpet was vacuumed when it was dry.

It didn't.

We called the company back and they said the mark should never have been there as if the house was done in the right order, then a hot water pipe should never have been sat on a wet carpet. They said they would have to get the hot water cleaner in agin, and it would lift.

The same man came back again, but when I checked the carpet it wasn't wet and the marks were still there. I called them and they said he had performed a chemical treatment, and thats why it was dry. They came out again and this time it was the franchise owner that didi it.

Yet again chemicals were used and I watched this time. He used a very harsh brush on my carpet and some chemicals. When he finished the pile was all raised. He said he had reset the pile, let it dry the vacuum and the marks would be gone. Yet again they weren't.

They then said they would bring the hot water cleaner in again (which is what they were supposed to do the first time) but I had to wait as it was booked up all week. By this time we had a new tenent in the property.

The carpet was done again and although the marks are still vaguley there, it is a vast improvment.

The carpet does look okay, but I am sure 4 cleans, 2 of which were chemical would have damaged the life of the carpet. The first man himself said to prolong the life you shouldn't have them cleaned too often.

I am asking for a reduction in the £200 bill, as I think it was unfair we had to have someone out 4 times, and my tennent had wet carpets for 2 days. The franchise manager is refusing a reduction, and says if I'm still not happy, then he will come out again. I have told him this is not what I want, and the carpet cannot take much more! I also feel this would be very unfair on my tenent again.

He seems to be missing the point, he never returned my phone call from 21st December, never apologised, and now I have 7 days to pay (well 4 now) or it will be refered to a debt collection agency. Can he do this? I would also be charged a further £30 for this. Can he do this as I am disputing paying the full amount, not refusing to pay? I don't know what to do now, I have even complained to the actual company, as it is a franchise, but they won't help, and say it is up to him.

Sorry this so long, but please help!

Clare

stugib

On what basis are you claiming he isn't entitled to the full amount? (just trying to understand what angle you're going for).

IANAL, but you agreed to pay him £200 to clean the carpets, and that's probably as much as you can hold him to - if you're not satisfied with the result you can claim he hasn't fulfilled his part of the contract, but he is offering to fix anything you're not happy with, and there may be T&Cs you've signed up to to cover if hard stains can't be removed.

It's very difficult to claim compensation for inconvenience (otherwise everyone would be claiming for their phone calls and time chasing a delayed order, or taking a day off work to wait for Sky engineers that don't show up etc), especially when the contract is otherwise being fulfilled. If you can prove a measurable financial loss then it may be easier but not paying is generally the worst option (i.e. you can always sue him separately for any financial losses)

I think there are procedures that will stop/delay debt collectors if the amount is disputed, but don't know any detail about that, and I think you'd have to have a stronger *legal* claim other than you don't think he's earned what you agreed to pay (e.g. it's more meant for cases where you insist you've made a part-payment but the collector has no record of it).


Stuart

sasha_108

Thanks for your reply, The marks were not actually there to start with, but were there as a result of the company cleaning the carpet. The reason I am not willing to pay the £200 is...Yes mistakes happen, but it should have been rectified at the first attemp. They said on the phone the truckmount cleaner would have to be used as the pile had been damaged, so why try and get away with pooring chemicals on the carpet? I believe this is because the truckmount costs so much to run, and as they only have one, it is very busy, so I suppose they thought it would get the job sorted quicker.

This wouldn't bother me but after the chemicals didn't work once, why try again? They should have then tried something else, not the same again!

Clare

stugib

Aha, sorry I missed that in your first post. So in the course of them doing the job you were paying them for, they caused damage to your property because of their admitted negligence in doing the job in the wrong order?

Now you've got your angle!

IMHO you've now got a stronger case because you've suffered a financial loss. I would concentrate on the cost of repairing the damage, not your inconvenience because that's easier to quantify. If they're not able to repair the damage they've caused and get it back to the state they found it in, I would threaten to sue for the cost of a replacement carpet, or the cost of paying another carpet company to come in and do the job properly, especially if your suspicions are right about them having an expensive machine they'd rather reserve for new customers.

But I'm probably getting a bit out of my depth now in advising you what to do next! Think we're into contracts and negligence rather than consumer protection. Possible next steps:
- contact Consumer Direct for advice if you're an individual [i.e. not acting as a letting company] (esp. if debt collectors are starting to get involved),
- start a small claim against them for the cost of a new carpet/repair (can you get any independent second opinions on if it's repairable after what they've tried/how much to repair if they contest it?),
- don't let them think they've settled the matter or that you're happy with their attempts, even if you end up paying the current amount (if you have to write a letter saying you're paying for now but the matter isn't closed and you're pursuing your loss through the courts).

Sorry I can't be more help in how to handle the immediate debt collection agency demands. Suggest uk.legal.moderated newsgroup (use Google Groups) - some more knowledgeable people than me in there.

Good luck!

Stuart