Carpet Rip Off - Acutal carpet lower quality than sample

the_opposite

Hi all,

I need some advice regarding some carpet I have just had installed.

I bought it from a local shop which has the carpet manufactured. I checked the samples in store and settled on a 50oz carpet. They gave me a sample (cut from a roll in store) to take home which I was happy with.

The carpet arrived and I had it fitted. On arrival I held the sample to the carpet and it looked the same (colour and thickness) so I didn't see any immediate problem.

Now that it has been fitted I ran my fingers through it and immediately noticed the carpet is not a dense as the sample. With the sample it is quite difficult to feel the backing when you poke your fingers into it, which is what I liked about it. With the actual carpet they have delivered, it is much easier to feel the backing, so it is clearly not as dense as the sample.

Also, the backing on the actual carpet is much stiffer than the sample.

Obviously I am not happy with this. One might expect colour variation between the sample and the actual carpet but not an obvious difference in quality.

I cut a price from an offcut the same size as the sample to weigh it to see if it is lighter. It isn't (not that I have highly accurate scales), but I suspect this is because of the stiffer backing.

Doing a blind 'feel test' it is very easy to identify the sample and the lesser quality actual carpet, as confirmed by several people.

So my question is what rights do I have in this situation and how do I go about getting the shop to compensate me or to replace the carpet with one of the same quality as the sample?

I thought I would ask on here before I approach the shop about this.

Thanks for any help.

ontrack

The only way to tell is by sending the sample for analysis, Try the woolsafe organisation but you will have to pay for a test on the sample.
Alternatively if you know who the manufacturer is (unlikely to be the shop) they will have reps who can inspect and advise, but your first action re a complaint really will be to take it up with the retailer

the_opposite

Thanks for your reply. Yes the retailer don't make the carpet themselves - they told me they have it made from them by a manufacturer.

I've just noticed there is some text on the back of the receipt which states amongst other things that the sample might not match the carpet exactly, so I can see them trying to use this as an excuse for providing lower quality carpet.

However, I will approach them and see what they say. I'll also call this Woolsafe organisation and see how much they would charge to inspect the carpet.

The fitter told me he has seen this before when the sample is better than the actual carpet so maybe this isn't the first time this has occurred.