Carpet ruined but no address for business

Dk1989

I found a man who cleans carpets on Facebook. Had five star reviews, thousands of followers and six years experience. Messaged him and he stated on there that he had insurance. He had two pages one with his name and the other was the business name. After the carpet and sofa was cleaned (I just needed them freshened up) I paid him via bank transfer but the surname was different than the one on his Facebook page. Four days went by and he had to come back because the carpet and sofa were still wet and smelt so bad. He said there was a crack on the pipe so wasn’t suctioning properly and he redone it. 24 hours after that it still was wet and the smell was even worse. He came back a few days later after having met with his solicitor he says and the machine was getting serviced and needed pipes replaced. He came back and sanitised it said no more shampoo and suctioned it. And yet again it’s still wet three days later and the smell of my house is horrific. The carpet has turned brown and has water marks. He’s now been ignoring my messages for three days. I can’t find his business name registered and either can consumerline in Northern Ireland. They said in order for me to do anything I need his address but I can’t find it anywhere. What can I do. He’s caused £2500 worth of damage 😭

pmduk

I'm sorry, I suspect you may need to consider it a life lesson to not trust Facebook sellers. There's often a reason people want to be paid via bank transfer, and it's only beneficial to them. Professional traders have bank accounts and pay taxes.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6684146/carpet-ruined-but-no-address-for-business

what are the "two pages"? Sounds like terms and if it has a personal name on it then it sounds like he is a sole trader and the business name is simply a trading style. There is no registry of sole traders nor trading styles so not finding something isnt a surprise.

Did the name on the bank account match the name in the terms? If not, did you question this at the time? There is no legal requirement for a business to have monies paid to it, and its not uncommon in certain circumstances for small companies to ask you to pay the monies to their suppliers instead but its normally worth a conversation and can be a warning flag if not a full on red flag.

In E&W the terms should have identified his address, another warning flag if it didnt, but cant say how the rules on stationary applies in Northern Ireland.

Dk1989

I suppose I trusted that he was a professional. Especially with having a 100% recommended rating. He has his own page called Michael holmes which I contacted him on where he had some advertisements. He also had another page called Gleam n clean. I didn’t pay him until the work had just been completed and he was already away. The details came up as Michael herald which I know is his actual name as I’ve found him on Facebook. I’ve never had an issue like this before but basically I’ve been told I have to find an address or there is nothing that can be done

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82144922#Comment_82144922

and which name was on the "two pages"?

user1977

You could try using a tracing agent to see if they can find a real name and address for him.

flaneurs_lobster

I found a man who cleans carpets on Facebook.

That's as far as you need to read to know that it doesn't go well…..

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82144893#Comment_82144893

OP may mean two Facebook pages. One as Michael Holmes and one as Glean and Clean. .

Aylesbury_Duck

I often see adverts for roofers on facebook. Similar MO - professional photos, local guy, great reviews, etc. Then you realise you see the same advert for the same "local guy" in an entirely different location in another part of the country because you're linked to another town/area's facebook page. Just a front for a cowboy.

Ms_Chocaholic

There's a postcode here and if you click on the profile on this page it shows more info that may help https://maintenanceni.com/carpet-cleaners

Grumpy_chap

I wonder whether, practically, the best thing the OP can do is to hire a carpet cleaner from a local retailer (I think our local Sainsbury's and Tesco's both offer them) and use that juts to power-vacuum everything dry. It might start to make things better.

Recovering losses from the trader seems remote.