Incorrect piece of flooring supplied and laid

Quiet_penguin

Thanks everyone.  Tricky one.  Consensus seems to be that we would expect the fitter to correct this but I don't think that's going to happen (unless we take some kind of action...but don't want to do that and not even sure how we would go about it).  Currently he's asking for a fee (albeit at a discount) to come and pull the floor up and replace. The fitter does not seem to think he can get up just one plank so it's going to need to be removed from the wall to the point of the offending plank (hence 4 boxes).  I'm so furious about it - we've been out of our house for an age because of a lengthy insurance claim, and now this.  I think the flooring company should at least supply us with one box free of charge but I guess we'll have to see how they respond to that suggestion, they're not budging so far.  They're blaming the fitter for not noticing which I think is a bit of a cop out but the consensus on here seems to feel they have a point.  I guess we fight as much as we can and then suck up the cost from there. 

Quiet_penguin

Thanks everyone - so the consensus is that I should claim from the fitter here and not the flooring company?  I am a bit at a loss - I don't think anybody is going to give easily.  The fitter is currently saying he'll offer a small discount but still wants £240 to come back and lift/refit...then we would also have to cover the cost of the new boxes of floor.  I'm inclined to think that of course we'll need to have this piece of floor replaced but it looks like I'm going to be about £700 out of pocket currently.  Any advice on how I go about minimizing that? 

Money_Grabber13579

I’d take the view that the shop, rather than the fitter, is to blame. I’m not really sure how the fitter hasn’t performed his job with due care and skill - he was asked to fit the floor that was provided and that is actually what he did. The fact that the supplied flooring looks ridiculous is nothing to do with him. Yes, he probably should have noticed before fitting but I’m not sure that is something which could reasonably be expected when the contract is for fitting only.

Quiet_penguin

Thanks - yes - I rather agree with you I think...was interested to read others feeling differently.  I will try with the flooring company...let's see what they say (not a lot at the moment it has to be said!)

eskbanker

I don't think it's a case of ascribing blame to one or the other - it does seem like the flooring company made a small error (that they should correct) but that the fitter expanded it into a much larger error, which will cost significant money to rectify.  That doesn't mean that either party is liable for the whole cost or conversely that either should escape any liability.... 

bluelad1927

It's hard to believe  the fitter didn't see that. More like he wanted to get the job finished and thought he could use the 'not my fault I wasn't supplied with correct materials'line

I nearly got caught with a tiler last year but fortunately was around to avoid what would have been a similar situation

Alderbank

The advice often given on these pages is to use one company to both supply and fit, because issues like this are so hard to resolve.

The fitter will probably claim that his contract was to fit the planks provided by the OP, which he has done.
The supplier may accept that one pack or one plank did not conform to contract but will state that his liability is limited to replacing or refunding the faulty item.
He will almost certainly point to his T&Cs saying that:

• the colour and appearance of the planks is only approximate, and
• before fixing, the planks should all be laid out and randomised and that the overall appearance should be deemed acceptable.

km1500

you may well be able to use wood stain to match the rogue plank to the rest ?

pinkshoes

It's a tricky one.

You employed an independent floor fitter to fit the floor. He did as he was instructed to a good standard.

Anyone with half a brain would have queried the odd coloured plank which is clearly wrong but he didn't. Not very professional at all but essentially he did what he was employed to do - fit the floor that you supplied.

The floor company should supply another plank. They are not responsible for replacing the floor.

I think the best thing to do is stain the odd coloured plank.

I would also post the photo as a review of the floor fitters work showing his mistake and how he was unwilling to correct it. An experienced fitter never would have used that plank.

Quiet_penguin

Thanks all for taking the time to comment. I don't think staining will work - and may well make it stand out worse than the issue now if we were to get it wrong. The grain is different in the rogue plank too.  I think we'll just have to suck it up and pay for the flooring and time to fix the issue and, yes, in future it looks like going with supply and fit from the same company will be the only way to go.  Of course, that would put companies like the one I purchased from out of business but there we are.  I get that mistakes happen but I am slightly resentful that I need to reward their mistake by purchasing more of the said item...I will try to get them to replace at least one box free of charge.