Completely off topic. Small claims court. legal advice.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Have been in a similar situation over a fitted wardrobe years ago. The whole point of going with that particular supplier was their reputation installation wise. However the team that did it didn’t seem great, and once done presented an invoice for the balance (the installation) from a different company. At the time, there didn’t seem much alternative but to pay.

Then the sliding doors started jamming after tracks buckled/moved, and ended up going through the same rigmarole. The small claims court decided that while I had paid the sub contractor, I had been put in a situation where with the work done before I found out they weren’t the original contractor, I hadn’t had much choice. And that I had commissioned the main contractor to do the work, supply the furniture and fittings etc and that the duty of care was with them. I “won” my case, (and did hear later that the original contractor had then taken the subby to court!  )

[DonPeffers]

If you receive communications from either contractor marked "Without Prejudice" it means they are NOT admitting liability in that communication.

Thanks to Blatman and to Dave for feedback on their experiences which indicates the shop/retailer you first contacted will be the one to chase.

Good luck.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Yep, the minute someone starts wielding the without prejudice expression you know at best they know the system, and at worst, they have form.

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

I have nothing in writing from the retailer, (they don't reply to my letters) all the texts and phone calls have come from the sub contractor.

right from the word go I have held the retailer responsible, all my letters have been addressed to them.

Even the manufacturer addressed everything to the retailer, so I'm quite confident that they should be named on the summons.

[Michael Whitworth]

Hi Paul,

A friend of mine had a similar issue with flooring, he posted a you tube vid to highlight it.

They eventually went to mediation and settled out of court.

[DonPeffers]

From Dave's post it seems he had something in writing from the main contractor in his case.

Supporting your view that the shop/retailer is the main contractor and responsible, is that they (the shop) did after pressure from the flooring manufacturer arrange an inspection report which they wouldn't have done if they weren't involved.

I assume that the subcontractor who did the work is NOT on the flooring manufacturers GOLD partner list.

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

Correct.

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

Success, well sort of.....

I went down the small claims court route, there you have two options.

1: Take them to court and argue it out with them, if they turn up.

2: Online, fill in a form giving all your evidence, timeline, letters, photos etc, then they decide whether it needs a hearing or they can deal with it without a hearing, this is the cheapest option, £70 up front, this is what i chose, that was four weeks ago.

I claimed a full refund of £795 plus £500 to cover the cost of returning my floor to its original condition, then i could start again.

I heard nothing until yesterday when a cheque for £795 landed on the doormat, no letter, nothing just the cheque, from the retailer not the subby. i suppose they were told to refund me what i had spent and forget about it, and that's what i intend to do 

The floor looks fine and if i didn't tell you about it you wouldn't know until you sat down for dinner and felt like you were on a rocking chair.

So in summary i've got a £795 floor for £70, i think i can live with that for now. 

I hope the cheque doesn't bounce 

[TAFKARM]

I’m confused… if it was bad enough for you to take them to small claims, why aren’t you going to remedy it?

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

24 minutes ago, RussH said:

I’m confused… if it was bad enough for you to take them to small claims, why aren’t you going to remedy it?

I know exactly what's involved in lifting this floor and the "levelling" compound, I've spoken to a few floor layers and none of them will give me price for the job, they say they will do it on a day rate, that means they don't want to do the job and will milk it. I'm not going to lift it, I wasn't prepared to be ripped off with a top quality price for a sub standard job. People like them shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. I worked in the high quality finishing trade all of my working life, I've seen all the chancers that "play the game" and had to put right the mess they leave behind. That floor was worth 70 quid and no more and the courts agreed with me!

[bigals]

In short you still have a duff floor that's going to be more costly to relay 2nd time round than if the work was never done . So your being rather generous but having a free floor for a few years helps compensate 

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

Eggsackery

what I really wanted was him to come back and put his work right, but that was never going to happen, I hate chancers with a vengeance,

 if they can't do a proper job they should get out, in effect he's done two days work for nowt and i got an uneven floor that looks good until you sit on a chair!

[Kit Car Electronics]

I'm dying to see this floor, now, Paul!

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

1 hour ago, Kit Car Electronics said:

I'm dying to see this floor, now, Paul!

Ok pics later just got to pick the grandkids up......

[DonPeffers]

Well done for pursuing this and a good result.

Seems you might need to level the chairs rather than the floor, for the time being.