[Nigel Cole]

Crickey, I know you must feel gutted'
Let the Insurance take care of it and move forward, I know it's difficult!
I had a B/W shrink some months ago - all hell to pay at the time - but the carpet did settle back after 48hrs so no harm done - Customer wanted Insurance Details there and then, which I did supply but then found out that they only settle on a like for like basis and not new for old' - Geez, he was fuming!
In my case I was probably looking a payout from myself to cover the difference between what AXA would settle the claim with -v- the cost of a new carpet.
Like I sad, in my case it didn't go that far but I now make sure that it's stated on my T&C's that any claim is as per the Policy....... Question - Is it just my Insurance Treatment Risk Policy that covers it like for like (ie, the current value of the item) or do others offer a new for old settlement?
 

[garyj]

Wynne, carpet was tested and did a small room first as well. All was fine until it started drying, especially on the areas that had more traffic.
This will sound odd but.... when standing up and cleaning the carpet looked good, when we got to the stairs and were closer and had the upstairs hall at eye level you could see strands starting to ping up. After the job was finished the housekeeper walked around with us and it didn't look too bad at all. I had a call 2 or 3 days later and went and had a look and it was horrendous, a furry mess really

I think one of the reasons it acted like this was because of the way it is made and something to do with having a very flimsy backing. From what I understand each thread is inserted by hand and each thread is about an inch long, looks like one side of it has broken off and 'stood up'. Hopefully someone here who knows about carpet construction better than me can offer an explanation.

I do have some pictures but they're not very good as taken with phone camera and they also don't show the true extent of the damage ( trust you to want some trashed carpet porn  ).

Nigel, from what I gleamed from the Loss Adjuster during our meeting I don't think it is a case of 'new for old'! He asked how old the carpet was ( 5 years I think) and what sort of condition it was in as that would reflect what they would  pay if it is proven I'm at fault. From talking to the owners of the carpet I know they aren't interested in getting this type of carpet again (although they did try to have it put downstairs as well but couldn't as it was no longer available).

[jasonl]

I used to do inspections for insurers on carpet cleaners insurance claims for upholstery and carpet claims.

They usually try and settle on an indemnity basis , meaning they decide on a useful life of an item  ,,, say 10 years on a carpet , then if the item is already 5 years old they will pay out for 5 years worth of use = 50% of replacement cost.

[wynne jones]

Good luck with it, hope it works our OK Gary.

[Neil Williams]

Sorry to hear about that Gary, even with insurance I'd be gutted to have that on my mind for ever and a day.
I looked at the website you submitted and how on earth are you to tell there would be a potential problem ahead.
I've sent off for some of their samples to carry out some unofficial tests.

[Linds Russell]

Every carpet cleaner's nightmare.

Testing to the max and then terror. Looks like you have been handling it very professionally though.

I couldn't imagine working without insurance.

[derek west]

let us know how allied handle it, i'm with them via polished via hiscox.

[garyj]

Well, thanks for the comments so far, wasn't what I was expecting to be honest, especially with some of the dribble I've written over the years. ( And the dribble Sarah continues to write  ).

I am deeply moved and touched, it has bought a tear to my eye 

[Sarah Kirby]

Well, thanks for the comments so far, wasn't what I was expecting to be honest, especially with some of the dribble I've written over the years. (And the dribble Sarah continues to write ).

I am deeply moved and touched, it has bought a tear to my eye 

As I said previously, Im learning a lot from you, and dribbling writing dribble is something you're very good at!

[Jim_77]

get a room you two

[Jim_77]

Oh you have one!

[Ian Rochester]

This just goes to show the importance of not only have Public Liability Insurance but more importantly TREATMENT RISK INSURANCE.

PL will cover you for damage to a third parties property but NOT the item you are working on, as you are deemed to be a PROFESSIONAL and know what you are doing.

TREATMENT RISK gives you that extra cover to protect you against just such an eventuality as this. 

The insurance company will still want to know what training you have, what pre tests you did, what products and methodology you used and your reasoning as to why you used those products and cleaning methods.

Much as they may appear to want to help you out, they will also want to minimise the claim against themselves.

I would advise everyone to take out this insurance if you don't already have it and to make sure you have everything in place to cover a claim against yourself.

Gary/Sarah - Well handled and I hope it all sorts itself out for you.

[Adam P]

is there anything different that could have been done to test for this?

good to hear polished insurance is recommended as they're who i'm with too, iirc they advertise on this forum.

[Mike Halliday]

.  The insurance company will still want to know what training you have, what pre tests you did, what products and methodology you used and your reasoning as to why you used those products and cleaning methods.

 

I've heard this said before but on my only claim ( indicator dye on a suite) i just reported it over the phone and that was the last i heard of it, the never asked about any training, chemical or tests

has anyone had a claim were they requested these details?

[Sarah Kirby]

I would say it is a very difficult carpet to detect and even though we have had this problem I couldn't say 100% that we would recognise another Jacaranda if we saw one. I do believe though the backing is flimsy but not sure if that is unique to this make. Hopefully when we get a bit further down the line with the claim we will be able to post anything else that would be helpful so nobody else has to go through the same thing. Will keep you posted.

[Sarah Kirby]

.  The insurance company will still want to know what training you have, what pre tests you did, what products and methodology you used and your reasoning as to why you used those products and cleaning methods.

 

I've heard this said before but on my only claim ( indicator dye on a suite) i just reported it over the phone and that was the last i heard of it, the never asked about any training, chemical or tests

has anyone had a claim were they requested these details?

Mike, the loss adjuster came to see us and basically wanted details of everything we had done, usual proceedures etc..... I dont remember him asking for qualification or training certificates. I believe he asked all the relevant questions you would expect to form part of his report.

[Mike Halliday]

this is from the CCDO forum:

Someone has given me some information that Garyj has or is having problems with a Jacaranda carpet. Can someone give him my number as I clean these all the time and might be able to sort out his problem. That or sort it out for his insurance company.
I dont know what the problem is so cant comment. They are a pain to clean but at £2 a square foot to clean it is worth all the aggrevation to do so.

Best, Dave................

07947 620 495
07946 431 816

dave is an american carpet cleaner based in Bristol ( i think)  who is very knowledgeably about 'expensive' carpets

[garyj]

Yes he did ask what training we had, he was here near on an hour and wanted to know near on every thing.

I think I would recognise one if I came across it again, it is a very thick and dense carpet and looks as sturdy as anything, it doesn't look like anything could go wrong with it. The biggest clue would be in the price, not many people have carpet that costs over £150 per sq m. This company also do rugs.

Ian Rochester's post is right. It was the treatment risk that I told Sarah not to get. Like most people on here I've cleaned carpets for near on 10 years without a problem and thought 'what could go wrong?'. My thinking was that if I did damage a carpet I could pay for new one for what the treatment policy cost. As he points out, there is a BIG difference between Public Liability and Treatment Risk, in this case I was lucky as Sarah got the T/Risk even though I said we didn't need it.

Green Clean, I suppose it could be argued that I could have tested an area and waited for it to have dried completely before cleaning the rest of the house. While I wish I had done that it just isn't practical in the real world. We were at the house for 6 hours and it wasn't until the last half hour I even noticed a problem.
 
Also we test in an inconspicuous area so therefore an area that is out of sight and not ever walked on, in other words, the cleanest and strongest part of the carpet! The damage was most noticeable where there had been traffic. The stairss were pretty horrible and again in hindsight were damaged before we started. Due to a problem with the machine at this point hardly any moisture at all went on the stairs and what did go on there was cold. My first thought when I saw the carpet was it was pile burst but the cold water  clean proves it wasn't this.  

Ahhh thanks very much for that Mike. Will give him a shout.

[wynne jones]

Speak to this Dave guy although the damage has been done he will be able to advise on dealing with insurers and how to mitigate damage claims.

He will also wrap your knuckles for using agitation.