Carpets - laid incorrectly

on_my_oe

We booked carpets and wood floors to be laid in the home we recently purchased.

When we visited the showroom, we explained that there were 'saddleboards' in the door ways, and we wanted these removed so the floor coverings could flow from room to room. "No problem" we were told.

Their fitting team manager was due out to measure and confirm the room sizes, and missed the appointment, having taken it upon himself to reschedule it to suit him but without letting anyone know (despite my phone messages to confirm which went unreturned). He again confirmed the saddle boards were to be removed.

Wood guy arrived, and did the floors, removed the saddle boards as requested, and left. The carpet layer got lost, I had to meet him at a local store so he could follow me home. I confirmed he understood the job, then went shopping; I arrived back ten minutes early, and he bolted before I even got inside the house. I then see he's left the saddle boards in place, spoiling the look of the carpet.

I rang the store, and they've suggested leaving it 'as is' or putting saddle boards back in with the wood floors so it looks cohesive throughout the home. We are not happy with either suggestion, as we paid for carpets to be fitted in the way we asked, and the fitter was supplied by the store. We paid €3,000 for the carpets and wood floors, which is a large sum of money for us.

What can we do?

emeldc

I suppose you should get what you asked for, but unless your rooms are very small you will probably have to have a 'join' somewhere. If it happens to be where there is a lot of traffic it will cause problems a few years down the line. You're also going to have a huge gap between the carpet and the bottom of the doors without the boards. Add to that the constant wear and tear in the doorways ......... so you can see why I wouldn't be a fan, but as I said, if you asked for it you should have got it.
Did they explain any of this to you?

L1011

Get the saddleboards refitted (at their cost) *and* a partial refund is what I'd probably settle for as they're going to do their damndest to avoid replacing all the carpet. However, they haven't provided what they were paid for if you do want to fight it. Its too much for the small claims court to be possible though.

on_my_oe

The saddle boards are from bedrooms (x3) to the landing.

They had given us these options
1) retain saddle boards upstairs, and add in downstairs to remain cohesive
2) remove upstairs saddle boards and have 4/5 inches patch worked in, with the likelihood the carpets will need replacing in a couple of years due to the join.

They haven't yet carpeted the landing, as the carpet didn't arrive in time (different colour), as the measuring wasn't done as scheduled.

We weren't given any instructions, we hovered the floors in preparation and that's pretty much it. We assumed after three separate discussions, everything was organised.

I'm of the opinion their screw up, their cost, and as it's only the bedrooms that are the issue, any county court claim would be under the €2,000 limit (we guess the bedrooms are about €1,500 worth)

Ken.

Have you paid them in full yet? If you haven't you have more sway.

antoinolachtnai

Very technical legal issue in relation to what the lawyers call 'restitution'. You are looking to have the work done again the way it was originally specified. It is very likely that you would not be entitled to this level of restitution. Rather, it is possible you would be given an amount to compensate you for the difference in value between what was delivered and what ought to have been delivered. This might be only 100 or 200 euros, or even less.

I am not a lawyer and I do not know the technical answer on this. But you need more advice, which would obviously be expensive.

The way 'big' projects deal with this issue is by having layers of project managers and approvers and sign-offs at various stages to make sure specs are followed as closely as possible. They could also have some sort of clause in the contract, which would require the spec to be followed exactly and discounts/payments that arise if anything is wrong. Even that legal approach ('liquidated damages') has problems and has had a run through the higher UK courts over the last few years.

Taking it away from the legal aspect, I wouldn't be worried about being coherent between the upstairs and downstairs. If you previously had saddle boards, I would say it might be easiest to leave it this way now. You might be able to paint them to make them blend in better with the carpets.

slimjimmc

Consumer law entitles the consumer to many rights but it also recognises that it has to be fair to the seller/service provider too. As a result the consumer's right to a remedy can be severely reduced in cases where the defect is minor or where the remedy imposes a disproportionate cost on the seller. Bear this in mind if you're considering the Small Clams Court. Imo, expect a repair and/or discount but don't expect to have the bedroom carpets replaced because of a saddle board.

If the bedrooms are a typical rectangular shape they may be able to lift and pull the carpet closer to the door. The patch would then be at the opposite wall and not subject to constant wear and tear.