Aggressive carpet fitter?!

AGA

Hi I'm looking for advice on what action I should take against an abusive carpet fitter.
So few weeks back I ordered carpets and flooring from a reputable company to be supplied and fitted throughout my 3 bedroom house.
I only needed carpets fitting as a family member can fit the flooring.
Anyway, 2weeks ago I was rang by the company to tell me the material was in-store for me to collect, and carpets would be brought along with the fitter. There's been issues with the beading that was ordered and it's currently still not in stock, and has held up plumbers and joiners from completing my bathroom and kitchen install. However, I was able to arrange the carpet fitting for today (Friday)..
Carpet fitter arrived and my partner went to let him in as the house is empty. The carpet fitter got on with the work. He called me 10mins before he was due to be finished and after dealing with a fussy 2 year old who didn't want to get dressed, I managed to get up to see him out.
When I went in u was pleasantly surprised at how well the carpet was laid in my hall, and stairs, and as we continued to go upstairs I caught a glimpse of my bedroom carpet which was the complete wrong colour (this of course wasn't the fitters fault, and I remained calm as these things are easily rectified, we all make mistakes)
However, he started being very aggressive toward me and demanded that I paid the fitting charge, which was unexpected as both myself and my partner were under the impression it was all part of the cost.
And because it was unexpected, I didn't have the £200 cash on me. So I offered a bank transfer and he sharply refused and proceeded to tell me he was lifting the carpet, my dad was present and I was on the phone to my partner as I was panicking about the payment. He also had removed my bedroom doors, and when I asked about it, he again was very rude and abrupt and told me to get a joiner to trim it. And due to the attitude of the fitter I rang the store. Who were completely shocked by the behaviour of the contractor.
I explained I didn't have a bank card to withdraw the money, as I was waiting for a new one, and if it was made clearer about the fitting cost being seperate then I'd of course been organised with the funds.
So the carpet fitter left and slammed my door.
I spoke to the store manager who said to come back and change the colour and she'd get someone else to install it. But i was really shocked and shook up by the attitude and behaviour of the fitter.

Do you know what action I can take as I'm not accepting being spoke to like this? I've not yet paid him yet as he slammed the door and gone to his van and drove off.

The carpet colour was an issue with the company, and the fitting cost was debatably mine and the company's fault, but there was no need for the fitter to be so mean and nasty.

Can anyone give me advice please.

Bermonia

You can complain... as he is no doubt a self-employed contractor not much will come of other than perhaps the company will no longer utilise his services - beyond that I very much doubt there is anything more to be said, you certainly don’t have any ‘rights’ in the matter.

tacpot12

The carpet fitter may have just been having a bad day; it's a bit rotten having done a job and then not getting paid for it.

The carpet fitter could, and should have checked that you had his money when he arrived. As you did not, you could have called the store, found out about the error and arranged a method of payment while he was still working.

But you are not obliged to pay in cash unless you agreed with the fitter that you would pay him in cash, and you did not, so a bank transfer done on the day should have been acceptable. He would normally be able to check that the payment had arrived via his smartphone.

As has been stated before, you don't have any consumer rights to be treated in a civil manner. Even your legal rights only extend to not being harrassed (repeatedly threatened by someone), so you just need to complain to the store, who will take whatever action they want to (or none). You might ask the store to pass on the fact that you felt threatened in your own home and you did not appreciate it. The fitter may send back an apology via the store.

Angus_Og

AGA wrote: »

Can anyone give me advice please.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Pay the man, forget it and get on with your life.

AGA

To he honest, I think it was just his attitude in general. He was just very cheeky spoken from the onset.
And yes, no one is entitled to do a job without being paid, and I was genuinely embarrassed that I was none the wiser he had to be paid on day.
It's an easy mistake to make when your renovating a whole house to maybe over see it. But it's easy fixed, I could've transferred and that would be the end of it. The store told me that it's in their contract, if customer cant pay cash they must accept alternative payment method.
Which he refused, and made me feel like a really bad person.
I was having a bad day too with my son being a typical 2 year old, but no way would I treat anyone the way he did me. Especially over a misunderstanding that's easy fixed. I'm appalled.

AndyMc.....

AGA wrote: »

To he honest, I think it was just his attitude in general. He was just very cheeky spoken from the onset.
And yes, no one is entitled to do a job without being paid, and I was genuinely embarrassed that I was none the wiser he had to be paid on day.
It's an easy mistake to make when your renovating a whole house to maybe over see it. But it's easy fixed, I could've transferred and that would be the end of it. The store told me that it's in their contract, if customer cant pay cash they must accept alternative payment method.
Which he refused, and made me feel like a really bad person.
I was having a bad day too with my son being a typical 2 year old, but no way would I treat anyone the way he did me. Especially over a misunderstanding that's easy fixed. I'm appalled.

How would you feel if you'd done a day's work and weren't paid?

He's entitled to be paid and as for the doors not fitting and needing trimming. That's another expense you have coming.

pinkshoes

What did the shop's invoice say?

The shop should be grovelling here as it was entirely their fault for not making it clear that the fitting price is separate and paid to the fitter on the day.

They should have told you that the fitter needed paying cash and how much.

That was absolutely no excuse for the fitter's aggression though. I sincerely hope the shop do not give him any more work.

warby68

Whilst he might have been rude, from his perspective you were probably quite annoying in keeping him waiting, ordering the wrong carpet and generally not seeming to have a clue how things were supposed to work. Clearly he wanted cash and not money in his bank (could be many reasons for that but most of them usually mean he'd be very disgruntled if said cash didn't appear and your no card excuse will have sounded flaky)

No excuse for rudeness but unfortunately not much redress either and your complaint (and possibly his) is mainly with the carpet supplier and what you can extract from them for the poor communication/service.

When I've ordered carpets like this (only once and never again), the made it abundantly clear that you have to pay the fitter separately along with a long list of requirements such as clearing the room etc first. They may well say they told you and you forgot and if its on the order form, it really is down to you.

If he's a good fitter, he'll probably still get work from them - that is the reality unfortunately.

DoaM

warby68 wrote: »

ordering the wrong carpet

Whilst it could be inferred from the OP that the wrong colour was the OP's fault, I'm not sure you can be so categorical about it.

warby68

DoaM wrote: »

Whilst it could be inferred from the OP that the wrong colour was the OP's fault, I'm not sure you can be so categorical about it.

I'm not, I'm suggesting how the fitter probably saw things - that if OP and/or the shop got that bit wrong, they are probably to blame for the other bits too.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Every carpet, laminate and vynal I have had fitted, I was responsible for paying the fitter.