Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: adrian connolly on March 07, 2016, 03:08:35 pm
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Hi guys i have managed to shrink a wool carpet about 1 inch from 1 wall and it also has left a sour smell. This is the first time anything has gone wrong. Its was in a house that the owner is not living there at the moment but he is there doing building work there every day. After i had finished the carpet i said to him the heating must be on and windows open until the carpet has dried He called me after 1 week to tell me of the problems and i ask him had he followed my instructions he said the heating was on an hour hear and there (my guess it wasnt on at all) but nobody had been in the room so the windows were not opened at all. I was careful not to overwet the carpet and was left slightly damp when i left. of cource he wants a new carpet and all that Just wondering were i stand on this and your views on this.
Many thanks
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What was the backing?
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its a woven backing
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are you sure it was wool and not polypropylene?
was its patterned or plain?
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Dont worry about it simler thing happened to me I paid the local carpet fitter to re fit it he might need a power stretcher.
if you have no insurance your best just paying for the carpet and selling the old on
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it was a tall thick wool pile no pattern i thought it was wool but i could be wrong i spose.
Neil - i had a fitter out he couldnt move it but he didnt have a power stretcher and i am insured but the excess is £500
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Adrian, I don't know of any plain wool woven backed carpets with a long pile on the market. However if it is a woven wool carpet, your going to be looking £40m2 upwards to replace, so the £500 excess maybe your cheaper option :(
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This is probably the closet I can think of to what you have described, although not plain, they do have a heather finish
http://www.axminster-carpets.co.uk/carpets-rugs/plains/woven-heather-plains/
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im just hoping i have got it wrong lol and that its not wool. would it make no difference that there was no heating on and its cold at the minute not letting the carpet dry. Does that work in my favor or am i clutching at straws?
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I think your clutching at straws, the customer is always going to say he followed your instructions. Did you ask the customer before you started what type of carpet it was? Did you perform any checks i.e. burn test. You may need to write a letter of apology to maintain your reputation and take it on the chin.
Good luck
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Have you checked to make sure the gripper rods are NOT just glued down, and are screwed down into the floorboards/concrete?
If they have only been glued down, you can argue that they have not been fitted correctly?!
What machine did you use and what psi?
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you only need to replace to the value of the carpet before it was cleaned,,,,,not pay for a new carpet of same quality.
Lee G
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Hi Lee
How do you determine the value of the carpet? Is there a depreciation percentage you take off for each year it's been fitted?
I don't think I would be happy if someone (and I'm not saying you did anything wrong Adrian) shrunk my Axminster carpet, and then told me they were only going to replace it with a inferior carpet due to its depreciation over the years ???
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yes there is a depreciation over the years somethink like 30% 1st year then 10% every year after,,,ypu only replace the current value of the damaged item ...not with the value when new,,,,if you crash a 10yr old car you don't get a brandnew one of your insurance.
lee G
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Have you checked to make sure the gripper rods are NOT just glued down, and are screwed down into the floorboards/concrete?
If they have only been glued down, you can argue that they have not been fitted correctly?!
What machine did you use and what psi?
Darren, sorry bud, but can't agree with you on that one.
There are quite a few instances where sticking the gripper is the only correct way. The main occasion is a concrete floor with underfloor heating. I know of a few occasions when fitters have not noticed the fact there was no rad in the room and then proceeded to stick a ring shank straight through a pipe in the underfloor heating.
And sometimes it is just impossible to get a pin in the floor, either the concrete is to tough or its starts cracking.
If the carpet were to shrink and pull the gripper up that had only been glued to the floor, you maybe able to argue that it should have been double banked (assuming it hadn't been double banked) but I'm not sure how stronger argument that would be.
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yes there is a depreciation over the years somethink like 30% 1st year then 10% every year after,,,ypu only replace the current value of the damaged item ...not with the value when new,,,,if you crash a 10yr old car you don't get a brandnew one of your insurance.
lee G
Lee, I would say cars are some what different to carpets, and I don't mean that sarcastically, but from the point a car has a reg plate that tells you it's age and a trade book that tells you it's current value. How do you begin to determine how old the carpet is?
I do a lot of work for the main insurance companies and loss adjusters, and they always ask me to replace goods to the same value of the current flooring when new.
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the carpet is 15 years old
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15 years old! Tell him to get a new one the tight git.
Post a pic.
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claiming on your house insurance is different than claiming for damage to items being worked on.You compensate to the item value, prior to item being damaged, not to the value of the item when new.
Lee G
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it was a tall thick wool pile no pattern i thought it was wool but i could be wrong i spose.
Neil - i had a fitter out he couldnt move it but he didnt have a power stretcher and i am insured but the excess is £500
you can get a plain wool woven carpet, if it is that it will be really expensive, they're really hard to shrink normally need a flood to do this, did the carpet fitter try really hard to get it back am sure if two of yous had kickers you would get it sorted ,
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claiming on your house insurance is different than claiming for damage to items being worked on.You compensate to the item value, prior to item being damaged, not to the value of the item when new.
Lee G
Thanks for clarifying Lee, as that type of insurance claim isn't something I'm familiar with. Normally it's policy holder that's damaged carpet or tradesman that have been working on the house have damaged flooring, and then it's always been old for new replacement.
If Adrian was to make a claim in this example, would his insurance company send out a loss adjuster to value the carpet in its current condition, before it was cleaned and then give Adrian the opportunity to replace the goods himself with goods to that value if it worked out less then his excess?
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People come across problems like this from time to time with dodgy carpets or poor fitting or even God forbid poor cleaning/ drying practices.
I have a couple of great carpet fitters that I use, if they could not correct it for me then it would be a replacement of a similar carpet ( at cost price to me)
Get your self some good local contacts in the trade as every now and again you will need them.
And from time to time they will need you too ;)
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I would go for a top notch carpet fitter, If that fails it will be a new carpet regardless of age You may be able to negotiate with the customer, but be aware the customer will probably want like for like. Do whatever it takes but keep your reputation intact.
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The idea that putting things right will protect your reputation is not right in my opinion, you will always be the company that ruined thier carpet whether you replace it or not.
And thats what they will tell thier friends, they will say " he ruined our carpet and had to replace it" not because your are so professional but because you are crap.
Once you make a c0ck up your reputation has gone you can put things right but don't think for a moment you have repaired your good reputation with that customer..... They only remember the mistake you made
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The idea that putting things right will protect your reputation is not right in my opinion, you will always be the company that ruined thier carpet whether you replace it or not.
And thats what they will tell thier friends, they will say " he ruined our carpet and had to replace it" not because your are so professional but because you are crap.
Once you make a c0ck up your reputation has gone you can put things right but don't think for a moment you have repaired your good reputation with that customer..... They only remember the mistake you made
Not sure that's really the best stance to take, if you make a mistake hold your hands up before the customer notices it if possible and sort the issue professionally. That has always been my theory which has worked for me from the carpet fitting and retailing side. I could name a few customers where I have made a mistake, held my hands up, and they have come back to me time and time again and refered me to their friends because of the honest, good old fashioned customer service they received, even when I cocked their job up the first time round!!
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The idea that putting things right will protect your reputation is not right in my opinion, you will always be the company that ruined thier carpet whether you replace it or not.
And thats what they will tell thier friends, they will say " he ruined our carpet and had to replace it" not because your are so professional but because you are crap.
Once you make a c0ck up your reputation has gone you can put things right but don't think for a moment you have repaired your good reputation with that customer..... They only remember the mistake you made
A certain number of customers would of course hold hold your view but to say that all would is clearly not the case as many would testify to.