Wrong (lesser quality) carpet fitted

jonallwright

So we moved into a new build and ordered the same carpet in 2 different colours for the bedrooms and landing stairs. A couple of days before fitting we were contacted and told that it would be delayed as one of them was out of stock, We went to cancel the order and miraculously it was back in stock and fitted as per our original order.
Fast forward 6 months and there is noticeable difference between the grey and the malt carpet, the malt was wearing and becoming compacted. We contacted customer service and their representative has been out and agrees that the carpets differ in quality.
So we are waiting for customer services to call back but where do we stand? 
We want the right carpet but to do that we would have to remove all the furniture including fitted wardrobes from the rooms and it would be a massive faff and would be a good day of work for me. 
I can see 3 options:

1. replace the carpet with what should have been there in the first place - though what is to stop them from putting another poor-quality product in
2. give us a discount on our original purchase price - but we wanted the good quality carpet
3. give us a full refund 

anybody got any thoughts so we know where we stand before customer services come back to us

la531983

I moved into a new build and the carpeting in the house was thrown in as a freebie. Is this the case here? 

Mr.Generous

Or get them to carpet upto the built in robes, the quality of carpet under them won't be an issue.

born_again

Which area is each fitted in?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

jonallwright said:

1. replace the carpet with what should have been there in the first place - though what is to stop them from putting another poor-quality product in
2. give us a discount on our original purchase price - but we wanted the good quality carpet
3. give us a full refund 

All 3 options are viable really.

1) In the first instance you have the right to a replacement (or repair which doesn't apply in this instance). 

2) If you didn't want the upheaval of having the correct carpet fitted, you'd be entitled to a price reduction (as they can't repair and a replacement would cause significant inconvenience), that price reduction would be the difference in cost between what was ordered and what was supplied. Hopefully with a bit of negotiation you could come to an agreeable figure.

3) Alternatively you can reject but go back to having the upheaval, if it's longer than 6 months since delivery they are permitted make a deduction from the refund for use but you'd hope they wouldn't out of goodwill to cover the inconvenience  

TELLIT01

Why would you have to remove fitted wardrobes?  Carpet is normally cut around them.

You will only be likely to get a full refund if they remove the carpet.  That would leave you with bare floors which I don't think you want.  Negotiating a discount may be a good option but only if you wouldn't regret keeping poorer quality carpet.

jonallwright

born_again said:

Which area is each fitted in?

the naff stuff is in the 2 bedrooms, so to have it re-laid I will have to remove the wardrobes

Alderbank

It's not clear to me who you actually bought the carpets from and what were the details of your contract to purchase.
These details are important when considering your consumer rights.

Did you buy them as a self-contained purchase for your new home from a local carpet shop? Or as @la531983 suggests were they supplied by the builder? Many features such as floor coverings, tiles, integrated white goods, fitted furniture, fencing, garden landscaping can be bought or upgraded from the builder. These are often sourced and fitted by third parties and the contracts are agreed many months before the actual installation so precise descriptions can be quite generic.
With my new house the descriptions included lots of phrases like 'or similar specification'. How are your carpets actually described? 

You say customer service's representative has been out and agrees that the carpets differ in quality. What if it turns out that the malt carpet is the intended sort and the better carpet is the mistake?   

jonallwright

the carpets were bought from SCS, 

the malt is the inferior one, the dyson test proves it - on the grey I have to change the floor setting to 'hard floor'  otherwise I cant move it, on the malt it glides across on the 'deep pile' setting

born_again

jonallwright said:

the carpets were bought from SCS, 

the malt is the inferior one, the dyson test proves it - on the grey I have to change the floor setting to 'hard floor'  otherwise I cant move it, on the malt it glides across on the 'deep pile' setting

Hard floor is the lowest setting for the brush bar & deep pile the highest. 
So I would expect it to glide over compacted malt carpet... Have you go this the wrong way round?

Are these 2 carpets the same type of pile?

Given you mention fitted wardrobes. I take it these were fitted after carpet. So are you walking over the same small bit of carpet all the time, thus leading to compaction. What is the carpet like under bed?

Aylesbury_Duck

jonallwright said:

born_again said:

Which area is each fitted in?

the naff stuff is in the 2 bedrooms, so to have it re-laid I will have to remove the wardrobes

Why?  Surely they'd just remove it up to the wardrobes and fit the new carpet up to the wardrobes?  If you're bothered about the carpet in the wardrobe being  slightly different specification, then ask them to replace the carpet inside the wardrobes as well.  There's no need for fitted wardrobes to be removed.