Who's accountable

thebullsback

We are interested in having a media wall designed and supplied by a company .
However they do not do the installation themselves but provide a outside tradesperson to install their products .
They make it clear that they take payment only for goods supplied and the instillation fee is paid separately to the person fitting the goods .
My question is if things go wrong with the installation side who is ultimately responsible for any problems that may arise is it the company who not only supply the goods but in a roundabout way give me details of a person to fit their goods or is it the person who fitted the goods that I pursue?

PHK

I'm going to give you two answers.

1 You could either pursue the design company for giving bad advice or you could pursue the installation company for doing a bad job. The choice is yours. 

2 Do your research beforehand. Get references from both companies and see examples of their work. 

Mark_d

Your contract for the installation is with the person you you pay for fitting your media wall.  I don't think you'd get anywhere trying to pursue the the company that referred you to this fitter.

This situation is fairly common when buying carpets.  The carpet fitter is often independent of the carpet fitter.

ArbitraryRandom

I'm going to say it depends on the contract/terms of sale, which should set out liability. A key point might be if you could choose a different fitter (you say 'they provide'). 

But on the face of it, if you pay two separate payments to two different accounts/people, then each is liable for their portion of the job - you are hiring each directly and the company simply introduced you to the fitter. 

If you pay one amount to the company, and the payment is separated at a later date, then I would suggest that's the person/entity you have the rights against - they pay the fitter as a sub-contractor. 

I would personally check with the company what the situation is - and ask if there's a disagreement between the company and the fitter (one blames poor installation and the other claims it was a faulty product) how that's resolved? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

As above this is common with carpets, the company building the media wall is likely just introducing you to a fitter. 

In terms of liability, the company making the media wall is responsible for it being as described, of satisfactory quality, etc.

The installer is responsible for fitting to a good finish and ensuring they don't damage the media wall, or anything else, during fitting. 

If the company making the media wall is delivering themselves risk passes when it's in your possession so they are liable for damage in transit, if the installer is collecting from the company and transporting to you then it's likely they are person named by you and risk is transit would sit with the installer. 

When you form a contract with a trader they have to give you a lot of information, including their trading name and address. A lot of people probably don't do these things but I would be looking to have the installers name and address and see a copy of their insurance. 

If you don't have this and the installer drills through a cable, sends a hammer flying across the room through a widow, scratches your floor, etc, etc you are going to be stuck if the installer simply disappears. 

Chances are everything will fine as he company probably don't want the bad rep from an installer causing a customer grief but personally I'd prefer to cover myself.

born_again

thebullsback said:

We are interested in having a media wall designed and supplied by a company .
However they do not do the installation themselves but provide a outside tradesperson to install their products .
They make it clear that they take payment only for goods supplied and the instillation fee is paid separately to the person fitting the goods .
My question is if things go wrong with the installation side who is ultimately responsible for any problems that may arise is it the company who not only supply the goods but in a roundabout way give me details of a person to fit their goods or is it the person who fitted the goods that I pursue?

Is this for a business or home use?

I would be looking for a company to supply & fit.  keep it all nice & simple.

eskbanker

Mark_d said:

This situation is fairly common when buying carpets.  The carpet fitter is often independent of the carpet fitter.

Does the carpet fitter blame the carpet fitter if it all goes pear-shaped?

Grumpy_chap

Is it an option for the fitter to provide a "supply and install" quote?
That would put the liability all with one company, but may cost more.