[Mike Halliday]

A local local carpet cleaner shrunk this carpet last year at a customer who I quoted, they got a fitter in to try and stretch it, but they couldn't do it.

if it is 6 inches then I would not wait and immediately arrange for it to be replaced, you should arrange it and try and negotiate a trade discount with the shop. go into the shop in your smartest work clothes make a big deal how customer service is your number 1 priority so need this customer sorting out.....

.....then when you leave give him a handful of business card

[Stu.Clem]

You say 6" along the wall and not from it - i dont think this situation is as bad as you feel it is.  I had a similar one when i first started and got my mate in who is a fitter he told me  and the customer   that the carpet was fitted "net" ie cut to size of room without been folded over and tucked, what he termed the "movement"  he NEVER once called it shrinkage.  He re stretched the carpet onto the grippers and put a wider door bar in as steve advised - customer very happy with outcome.

Hope all goes well

Best wishes

Stu

[james roffey]

I was led to believe that wool carpets were difficult to shrink in that they absorb a lot of moisture unlike the Belgian Polyprop where it goes to the base very quick and shrinks
im confused

[John Kelly]

James you are talking about tufted carpets with a pile. The wool absorbs a lot of the moisture, preventing it running down into the backing. On Polyprop (plastic) carpets such as Belgian Wiltons the water goes straight down into the backing if you are not careful, which can cause shrinkage.
The carpet in question here is a flatweave. These are a completetly different kettle of fish as there is no pile as such to form a barrier. When you wet extract them the whole carpet becomes wet. If there are constituents in that carpet which are prone to shrinkage then you can have a problem. Unfortunately it isn't always possible to tell which ones are problematic.

[GlynE]

The client is now insisting on having the carpets replaced (She says that the 3 we cleaned have all shrunk) as they have the highest tourism accolade (They are a guest house) - because of the sizes & type of carpet , this will unfortunately cost around £2500!!! yikes - & they need to be ready for half term hols. She is getting in a carpet fitter herself, but we have also requested to send someone in ourselves to give a second opinion.....

[Mike Halliday]

how old are the carpets? remember, why should you pay for new carpets if the are not new, you should pay the value of the carpets not the replacement cost. sounds harsh but if you damaged their car would you buy them a new car even if the car was 10yrs old?

give it too your insurers to sort out, let them offer 30% of the replacement cost .

don't fork out £2500 yourself

[markpowell]

£2500, 
Get a builder to give you a quote to move the wall 6"..............simplez 
Mark

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Glyn

You need to take a advice from a more experienced CC near you.

As Miker says even if you have shrunk them you are only liable for their value , not original cost.

They may well stretch back, I would do nothing for a few more days , then get a fitter to inspect.

Cheers

Doug

[Dave_Lee]

Glyn,
How long is the room. The longer the room the more chance there is of it being stretched back. I had asimilar experience on an almost identical carpet a couple of years ago, and Ive been 30 years in this business. The room in my case was only around 15 feet long but it stretched back easily enough after a couple of days, however I also do carpet fitting. Its just a matter of progressive stretching. i.e. Starting with the knee kicker in the middle of the room and gently working towards the bar.
Best of luck.
Dave.

[HQCS (John Kastrian)]

Don't be too quick to fork out a lot of money,a pro carpet fitter will be able to advise if it is possible to rectify it.
What did the original fitter use to cut it,a kitchen knife,or maybe she got the local butcher to fit it.

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

The fact she said they were cleaned before tells me she's trying to set you up for replacement. No way can you clean a flatweave with HWE. So stick to your guns and don't let her take control. By law she has to let you rectify the problem first.
when this is over put it down to experience and try not to lose any sleep.

Regards Paul

[GlynE]

Thank you everyone, you have been so helpful.
With regards to room size. they measure about 12 x 12 & are fitted flush to the wall, not turned underneath. They appear to be relatively new carpets, although she did say she had to replace one last year & couldn't match it completely to all the others. We have arranged for a professional carpet fitter to go out, but unfortunately they can't get there until Friday & she is pressing us to get it sorted because of losing money if she has to turn guests away for the half term hols. Will probably speak to insurers on Monday as well to see what they say...
 I do like the idea of moving the wall 6" though Mark - anybody got a sledgehammer?
Seriously though, you have all been great...Thank you sooooo much. It's good to know that there is so much support & help out there.

[Jim_77]

She doesn't have to turn guests away because of this!  She's trying it on to put pressure on you.

Of course she wants a quick resolution to the problem but you have to be firm.  If you're unsure I'd recommend you have a word with your solicitor.  Even if they charge you for a consultation it'll be money well spent as you'll then be armed with all the legal necessities, should this problem arise again in the future. think of it as an investment.

As mentioned above, if there is a complain about the provision of goods or services, the customer is obliged to allow you reasonable opportunity to rectify the fault.  If she ploughs ahead and replaces the carpets at a cost of thousands, she could end up paying for it herself.  Remind her of that if she gets shirty with you

Good luck

[colin fitch]

 Its not unfortunate about your fitter[not getting there till friday]

its in your favour[i would leave the carpet alone  for 7-10 days by that time it will be fully relaxed ]   

dont let her bully you.

as already said use a wider nap lock for the door way.

if one of the rooms is larger than the other,that carpet could be cut and placed in the smaller room.

colin

[kinder clean]

Jims right, they do have to give you the opportunity to rectify the problem, and your not liable for the full replacement amount. As mentioned before she said they had been HWE before ? obviously not true, ask her by whom and when.

For the rest of us can you guys clarify - Are we saying this carpet is wool ? or Sisal ? or other ?  

Paul

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

Well Its not sisal and its not berber, Its like a low profile sisal with woven wool tufts, have a look at the flatweave classics on this page.

http://www.crucial-trading.com/en/Choose_A_Floorcovering.aspx

Have a look at affected carpet you will see underlying horizontal yarns.

So clean as sisal with Dry granules host/enviro-dry,    Or walk

[Len Gribble]

I ant saying nothing, as I’m not a carpet expert, know what I can, know what I cant! carpet look like rope

Len

[Neil Williams]

A smart solicitor should ask to see the receipt from the previous clean....it was HWE and it didn't shrink that time, you pre-spray this time and it shrunk :
As for the cost, if a carpet has a life span of 12 years then you should only be liable for the number of years left...of it's life span

[richie]

As already stated....DONT LET HER BULLY YOU.  You have the right to attempt re-stretch of the carpets.  She can still open as usual even with the carpets having shrinkage.  It may be a good idea to use tape to tape down & make safe the carpet at the door bar.  This will cover yourself & the owner of trip hazzard.  Its good that the fitter cant get there straight away.  Also again as stated you will NOT have to pay FULL replacement cost.   Ask the owner where & when she bought the carpets & if possible ask to see the reciept.  The fact that the property is used for business purposes means she WILL HAVE somewhere either reciepts or other means of eveidence as to when , where & how much the carpets cost her.  She says it was about £2500,  i bet that wasa for the carpets, underlay, gipper, door bars & fitting.  This all adds up to £2500 so you will probably find that the actual carpets where not anywhere near the £2500 that she has mentioned.  If this is the case then its not as bad as it sounds if replacement is required as you wont need to replace the gripper , underlay or doorbars. Then taking into account the % to be deducted due to age & wear of the carpets.

REMEMBER, DONT LET HER RUSH OR BULLY YOU.  IF THE CARPET DOES REQUIRE REPLACEMENT CUT A PIECE OFF AND TAKE IT TO A CARPET SHOP & GET A QUOTE.  IF ANY OF THE ROOMS THAT SHRUNK ARE SMALLER THAN 1 OF THE OTHERS THEN USE A SHRUNK CARPET & REFIT IT INTO THE SMALLER ROOM.

Richie.

[GlynE]

Thank you again everyone...We have just found out that the fitter who is due to go in is from the company who originally supplied & fitted carpets (Which were around £53 per sqm). We now have to reschedule him as she will be away then.... The worst part is that she is a member of the hierarchy on the Chamber of Commerce. We obviously want to be seen to be reconciling this in a proper & professional way  & we want to retain our reputation, but we also need to ensure that we do not compromise ourselves at the same time .. It is a bit of a balancing act