Wrong carpet underlay fitted

motownick

Hi,

I’d love to get your thoughts on my dilemma (especially anybody that works in the carpet industry).

I recently ordered carpets and underlay for my house from a local carpet shop. I negotiated with the manager to bring the price down from their initial quote to £1500 and to supply and fit 11mm underlay rather than the 8mm they quoted me. I went into the shop to pay and the manager asked for half the money up front and the rest on completion, so I paid £750. After payment I asked for a written confirmation of exactly what I ordered, but he was busy and frazzled and said it would be posted out to me. I decided to not make a fuss as I’d paid on my credit card and the fitting was over a week away. I received an invoice through the post a few days later, but it was wrong – it stated the original quoted price, which was more than the £1500 we settled on and specified the underlay as being 8mm rather than the 11mm we agreed on. I emailed them explaining the mistakes and didn’t get a response. I then rang the shop up and I was told a correct invoice had been posted out already. The next day I received a correct invoice.

I had arranged for the fitting to be done in 2 stages. On the day of the first fitting, I cleared my front room and back bedroom of furniture and removed the old carpet and underlay – I agreed to do this to keep costs down. The fitters came in and as they bought in the underlay, I asked what thickness it was. One of the fitter replied “that’s 11 or 12 mm, why what did you order?” I said 11mm and he said perfect. Again, I trusted his word (maybe I’m too trusting) however after they left, I found a small piece of underlay left over and measured it to find that it was only 8mm in depth! Obviously I am very unhappy about this. The shop have left me a message because they want to arrange a day to finish the job (the stairs, landing and front bedroom are left to do) so they can get the remaining money. I have not yet told them about the mistake or arranged a date for the 2nd fitting because I’m trying to decide what I want/am owed. What do you think I should ask them to do?

I could tell them to remove the incorrect underlay, replace it with 11mm underlay and then refit my carpets. However, I really don’t fancy moving all my furniture around again (could I ask them to take care of this now?) and would lifting and then refitting my carpet cause any damage?

Should I ensure the correct underlay is used on the remaining rooms and ask for a discount for the wrong underlay being used? If so, how much should I ask for?

Or something else???

As you can tell I am not happy with the shop, I found they were great at customer service right up until the moment I paid!

Thanks,

Nick

Kernel_Sanders

motownick wrote: »

I have not yet told them about the mistake

You really think it was a mistake? One might be, but they have made two, both in their favour.
They have been trying it on.

motownick

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

You really think it was a mistake? One might be, but they have made two, both in their favour.
They have been trying it on.

It does seem unlikely, however I can't prove it wasn't a mistake and I don't think it will be helpful for me to make accusations that they can refute. I plan to stick to the facts when I contact them i.e. they have not supplied and installed what was agreed. My question is what should I ask them to do to make amends?

Hintza

Whew.....luckily I bought my underlay online myself (at less than they quoted me for the 11mm)

sunshinetours

Either insist they replace at their cost (if you really want the 11mm) or give you back the difference in cost between 11mm and 8mm underlay.
Pay them nothing else until its resolved to your satisfaction either

Just be 100% sure you have measured it correct

Innys

I would pay them nothing more until they do the work in line with their invoice.

The fact you have an invoice with the correct details on it strengthens your hand enormously.

If it is the case that the underlay fitted is only 8mm you can insist that they replace it at their cost and, personally, that's what I would do. After all, you were prepared to pay the extra for the 11mm, why should you have to accept any less than that, even if they adjust the price?

Lesson for the future - buy underlay, gripperrods and door bars online. It won't make the carpet suppliers happy, but this isn't a popularity contest.

macman

Remember that it's the underlay, grippers and door bars where they make all the profit.

BaconandEggs

Hintza wrote: »

Whew.....luckily I bought my underlay online myself (at less than they quoted me for the 11mm)

This is not a useful comment. In fact - it stands out to me as being a bit weird - a bit "I"'m alright jack".

To the OP. I can understand your concern.

It appears you have 2 options:
a) move furniture and have 11mm underlay refitted. This is probably possible with the existing carpet recently fitted.
b) keep the 8mm underlay but negotiate a reduction on what you have agreed to pay.

In either case ensure that the underlay to the other area is 11mm.

The decision will come down to:
Inconvenience of moving furniture vs. how happy you are with keeping the 8mm compared to the 11mm.

motownick

Thanks for your responses, which i've found helpful. I have decided to email the shop today, explain the situation and ask them what they intend to do. The reason I'm going to do this is I'm not sure what solution actually suits me best and I want to see what they suggest. I will post the outcome here in case anyone is interested.

As for buying the underlay online - I did consider this, but when the shop agreed to come down to the price i was willing to pay, I was happy to not have the hassle of taking a day off to await the delivery of the underlay and have to cut and fit it myself. I've got no problem with the shop making a profit, I just expect them to do as they have committed to.

adamzetec

Will the carpet be affected moving from 8mm to 11mm carpet?

I'm having my carpet fitted in a couple of week and I'm going for a 10mm underlay which is better than the standard one they offered me. I'll make sure I check this myself as well.

sunshinetours

motownick wrote: »

Thanks for your responses, which i've found helpful. I have decided to email the shop today, explain the situation and ask them what they intend to do. The reason I'm going to do this is I'm not sure what solution actually suits me best and I want to see what they suggest. I will post the outcome here in case anyone is interested.

As for buying the underlay online - I did consider this, but when the shop agreed to come down to the price i was willing to pay, I was happy to not have the hassle of taking a day off to await the delivery of the underlay and have to cut and fit it myself. I've got no problem with the shop making a profit, I just expect them to do as they have committed to.

I would call or personally go in there if local - email is easily ignored

For future reference buy the underlay separate with rods etc and get your own local fitter - they will fit and cut the uinderlay as well as the carpet for a fixed price