Fitted carpet complaint

Lovelyrita86

Hi guys.

Looking for some advice please before I get the run around from the company.
I had carpet fitted under a month ago. I paid £480 for 4 rooms in a small flat to be done. I didn't need any underlay or grippers as the previous tenant had left these behind. When I visited the shop and picked my carpet the salesperson advised me they don't employ fitters but could recommend self employed fitters who leave their cards in store and I would pay the fitter on the day (an extra £140)

The carpet was fitted and within days I noticed ripples in the carpet in almost every room. Then while hoovering, the carpet was lifting clean off the floor at the edges. I went back to the store to complain and they called the fitter and he arranged to come back to sort the issues. When he popped back to inspect the problems he said that the nails in the grippers must have been too short but said he wasn't making excuses and he would pop back the following week to correct.
In between that time I've noticed the carpet round my sofa and entrance to doorsis flat. Not just flat but looks matted and worn as though its been walked on for years! Not how I expect it to look after less than a month. It's so flat that when hoovering my Hoover slides over the top and won't properly grip to Hoover.

I've called the shop today who after some discussions and finding out I didn't purchase new underlay have said that my underlay is obviously poor because they've not had any other complaints from buyers of the same carpet. The manager of the store then advised I phone the fitter to ask him whether the underlay was in his words 'done'.

My question is. If this is the case and the underlay is poor quality, does the fault lie with me? I'm not a carpet expert by any means however would expect paying the money I've paid that if the underlay needed replacing that the shop would ask or the fitter would tell me before he fitted it.
Where do I go from here? Does the fitter have a responsibility or am I going to have to take this on the chin and live with an expensive, shabby looking carpet that's I've only had for one month?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks guys and girls x

kazwookie

Sounds like you need new underlay and grippers.

wealdroam

Lovelyrita86 wrote: »

Hi guys.

Looking for some advice please before I get the run around from the company.
I had carpet fitted under a month ago. I paid £480 for 4 rooms in a small flat to be done. I didn't need any underlay or grippers as the previous tenant had left these behind. When I visited the shop and picked my carpet the salesperson advised me they don't employ fitters but could recommend self employed fitters who leave their cards in store and I would pay the fitter on the day (an extra £140)

The carpet was fitted and within days I noticed ripples in the carpet in almost every room. Then while hoovering, the carpet was lifting clean off the floor at the edges. I went back to the store to complain and they called the fitter and he arranged to come back to sort the issues. When he popped back to inspect the problems he said that the nails in the grippers must have been too short but said he wasn't making excuses and he would pop back the following week to correct.
In between that time I've noticed the carpet round my sofa and entrance to doorsis flat. Not just flat but looks matted and worn as though its been walked on for years! Not how I expect it to look after less than a month. It's so flat that when hoovering my Hoover slides over the top and won't properly grip to Hoover.

I've called the shop today who after some discussions and finding out I didn't purchase new underlay have said that my underlay is obviously poor because they've not had any other complaints from buyers of the same carpet. The manager of the store then advised I phone the fitter to ask him whether the underlay was in his words 'done'.

My question is. If this is the case and the underlay is poor quality, does the fault lie with me? I'm not a carpet expert by any means however would expect paying the money I've paid that if the underlay needed replacing that the shop would ask or the fitter would tell me before he fitted it.
Where do I go from here? Does the fitter have a responsibility or am I going to have to take this on the chin and live with an expensive, shabby looking carpet that's I've only had for one month?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks guys and girls x

How old is the underlay?

Lovelyrita86

Underlay is 4 years old. I'm just annoyed because if I knew the underlay was past its use by date I'd have obviously bought new stuff. Now I'm faced with having to lift all the carpets to replace underlay around a flat full of furniture (carpet was fitted before we moved in) not to mention that the carpet is already looking ruined so regardless whether I replace the underlay I'll still be left with a carpet that looks old and used.
Now wishing I'd went to a company that does everything from measuring to fitting. I could cry ��

Lovelyrita86

And is the responsibility all mine if I'm paying experts to do a job? Surely if the underlay was in such bad condition that it's ruined my carpet then the fitter should have told me? Also the fitter was recommended by the shop so could I not argue that?

kazwookie

I would guess you asked him to lay the capret and that is what he did.

Did you ask him if the underlay was any good.?

Lovelyrita86

No I didn't think the underlay looked worn or ruinedbso didn't think to ask. I saw grippers and underlay and that's what I told the store was already there. I just assumed if there was such an issue with the underlay the fitter would have mentioned it. I know I would if I thought it would cause such a problem. I'm not even sure the underlay is the cause of the carpet looking like rubbish (the fitter hasn't been back yet) or if it a just a rubbish carpet and the store are trying to pass the buck.
I just wanted to check if I'm wasting my time trying to argue with the company or if I'm better just taking it as a lesson learned and paying another company to come and rip up the carpet and lay new underlay causing me to be out of pocket.

[Deleted User]

Depending on the quality of the underlay, I'd expect it to be ok. If there's signs of it being powdery its probably older than you were told and needs replacing.

Without seeing the room, no one on here can comment on what the problem actually is. Unfortunately, its going to be a long road to prove the carpet is the problem if it is.

I'd be getting the carpet fitter back, if he/she says there is a problem with grippers or underlay, I'd be asking them to demonstrate this to me. However, grippers are SO inexpensive (£4.96 for a pack of 8 in Wickes, similiar price in Wilko) its not a problem to replace them, some people recommend this should be done with every carpet installation,

I'm afraid it always pays to know what you are doing..,I'm a control freak so would make sure I had at least a rough idea what a carpet fitter needed to do his/her job. Otherwise things like this can happen. Google is a very useful tool, as is YouTube.

I'm lucky, I couldn't afford to have carpets laid so I did the research and did it myself and it was done properly. Sometimes its good to be cheap lol! £20 for a kicker, £10 for grippers, £30 for underlay (good quality) quite a few hours work, two flights of stairs and 2 long hallways were carpeted!

Lovelyrita86

Thanks for your reply. I've tried to take pics to show the condition but the colour of the carpet makes it difficult to see on camera. Also the flat is a new build only 4 years old with only one tenant before myself so the underlay is relatively new.
I'm going to call the fitter today and see what he thinks. I'm just gutted. It took me a long time to save for the carpet and it should last me years. The state it looks already I'll be lucky if I get a year out of it. I understand the fitter only fits carpet but I still think if the underlay or grippers were an issue then he should have said. I worked as a shoe repairer for a few years and I wouldn't take someone's money for a new sole and heel if I knew the shoes were beyond repair and the repair wouldn't last.
I've already came to the conclusion I'm going go be stuck with this carpet. I was just hoping I'd have some comeback to the store or the fitter =(

Fosterdog

The first thing you need to do is find out why the carpet has gone the way it has, there could be many reasons.

Poor quality carpet, poor underlay, non hard wearing carpet in a high footfall area, heavy furniture, not fitted correctly

Obviously some of the reasons could be the fitters fault, some could be the shop's fault and others are the fault of neither.

Although you say the underlay can't be more than four years old, do you know that the previous tenant used new underlay? People do take carpet and underlay with them when they move, not always but it does happen. It may also be a spot that the previous tenant had heavy footfall, heavy furniture, had spilled something there, all would affect how good the underlay would be now.

You also have to consider the cost and quality of the carpet, £480 for four rooms unless they are tiny is very cheap carpet, good quality would cost that for one room, the entrance and in front of the sofa are usually high traffic areas and you'd need a good quality hard wearing carpet to last any time in those areas.

I made the same mistake in my last house, I used existing underlay and bought cheap carpet and it just didn't last anywhere near as long as it could have, the bedroom one was fine and one reception room not so bad but the main reception room which also came off the front door the carpet was worn and looked awful within a year and I replaced it with a harder wearing one and new underlay after 18 months

Lovelyrita86

Thanks. The living room is a good size although the living room and two bedrooms are small. On the receipt they've written size 40 x 13. All rooms had the same carpet.

The previous tenant was the only tenant from the flats being built 4 years ago so the underlay has had one previous owner. I'm here myself with a 2 year old and a newborn and I never wear my shoes indoors.

Even if it was a cheap carpet I wouldn't expect it to wear down this quickly in under a month. Nearly £500 on flooring is a lot for me but to get the best out of the carpet had I known I'd need to replace the underlay I'd have obviously done so. ,,=(