Carpetright part 2

The below is a selection of communication between myself and Carpetrights head of consumer affairs.

Mr Makesthe-Rightnoises had previously offered us compensation of £30 which I refused and the below communications began.

I'll keep this thread updated as it unfolds,

Names have been edited for the purposes of privacy but there have been no edits made to the emails themselves.
___________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Bunny Chow,

Thank you for your emails regarding the amount of carpet we supplied you to fulfil your order and the quantity of offcuts that have been left over. As you were clearly anxious to see something done about this quickly Mr Makesthe-Rightnoises referred the matter to me in Mr Awol's absence and I have enquired further.

I understand that you have now been given a copy of the estimate and I have now received and studied the same. In my view the way the carpet has been planned is correct, but because the width of the carpet is 4 metres there is a fair amount of wastage – the figure is actually approximately 35% - and this is unavoidable. Whilst this wastage is, on the estimate, spread across the various pieces in practice a fitter will have started from one side of the carpet leaving the waste as larger pieces rather than lots of smaller ones.

However to reduce the amount of carpet would mean that the quality of the finished job would be compromised.

I have noted your comments about the behaviour of Mr Smarmy. He has been spoken to and apologises for any offence he may have caused. The offer made by Mr Makesthe-Rightnoises was as a gesture of goodwill and under the circumstances and was just over 20% of the price of the carpet, which was the item you were querying.

I look forward to receiving your acceptance of this goodwill offer so that the refund can be processed as quickly as possible.

Yours sincerely Dick Woof
Head of Consumer Affairs
The information contained in this message and any attachments is confidential, may be privileged, and is intended for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you, the reader of this message, are not the intended recipient, you are expressly prohibited from disclosing any of the information contained in this message and/or any attachment.

Carpetright plc operates an anti-virus programme. We would advise however that you carry out your own virus checks before opening any attachment as we cannot accept liability for any damage sustained as a result of software viruses unless such damage is caused by our negligence.

For more information on Carpetright plc please visit our website at http://www.carpetright.co.uk/
Carpetright plc – a company registered in England under number 2294875.
Registered office : Carpetright plc, Harris House, Purfleet Bypass, Purfleet, Essex RM19 1TT.

___________________________________________________________________

Good Morning Mr Dick Woof,

I apologise that you appear to have misunderstood the motivation behind our complaint completely.

Our dissatisfaction stems from the fact that at no point during the ordering process was it explained to us that as we were carpeting stairs rather than a room, we would require so much excess carpet, and that when we queried this after the fact we were treated appallingly by the management of your branch.

Had it been explained to us that there was such a high level of waste involved (35% according to your email), we could have made an informed decision and either gone ahead, sought out a source of carpet that came in a narrower width or even an offcut that would have met our needs.

There has been a fundamental lack of service to us as customers and Mr Makesthe-Rightnoise's gesture of goodwill as you have called it in no way compensates us for the treatment we experienced at the hands of Mr Smarmy or the delayed responses from Mr Makesthe-Rightnoises, nor does it make up for the 35% of extra carpet we were unwittingly conned into purchasing.

Now that I have put my complaint more clearly I look forward to hearing from you with a more thought out response.

Yours sincerely

Mr Bunny Chow

___________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Bunny Chow

Thanks for your reply.

I’m sorry that we did not make things clear enough for you, but as all carpets come in 4 metre widths (the only alternative is 5 metres) it would not have been possible to reduce the wastage for you by finding a narrower carpet and the deal we gave you was better than the deal available on many offcuts/remnants so you really have got good value and have not been conned.

Under the circumstances I will ask Mr Makesthe-Rightnoises to process the refund to bring this matter to a close and I am sorry for the disappointment you feel.

Yours sincerely
Dick Woof
Head of Consumer Affairs

___________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Dick Woof,

I find the below (above on this blog but you get the idea) response insulting to my inteligence and perhaps you should have put some thought into it as suggested in my previous email.

30 seconds research on google found me several UK manufacturers including, Abindon Carpets who supply carpets in 1m, 2m, 3m, 4m and 5m widths Creation Ossfloor offer carpets in 2m, 3m, 4m and 5m widths, Bond Worth Carpets offer carpets in 0.69m, 0.91m, 2.73m, 3.66m and 4.57m widths.

I'm sure that further research could easily reveal plenty more options.

We could also as we considered have forgone carpet and refinished the hardwood stairs that are underneath the carpet, but instead we placed our faith in your dishonest organisation.

Please can you put some thought into your response this time and let me know what steps you plan to put in place to ensure this level of dishonesty does not continue.

Please can you also give me the contact details of your manager.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Bunny Chow

___________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Bunny Chow,

Thank you for your response. 

I am sorry that you feel we are being dishonest. The narrower width carpets are supplied for contract purposes and are priced at a premium to include the wastage costs.

If you would like to find a retailer who can provide you with a bona fide quote for a scheme based on a narrower width carpet that is lower than the price you have paid I will be pleased to review your file again.

Your file was referred to me as the Head of Consumer Affairs because I have the final say on matters relating to customers and customer service.

If you are unhappy with my response please take advice from Trading Standards who are independent and impartial and who would consider whether or not to prosecute this company under criminal legislation if they felt we had misled you or had otherwise breached our duties as responsible retailers.

Yours sincerely
Dick Woof
Head of Consumer Affairs

___________________________________________________________________

During this communication the local store has also been in touch with Mrs Bunny Chow to attempt to process the originally offered compensation of £30. Mrs Bunny Chow refused to give them her credit card details over the telephone and also explained that we have declined the compensation as so far offered.

___________________________________________________________________

Thank you Mr Dick Woof.

It's nice to see you keep with your charter of consumer responsibilities posted on your carpetright.plc.uk website to provide excellent customer service.  We have seen no evidence of this in our dealings with you.

I will be taking this matter forward with Trading Standards.

In the interim as you have refused to pass me the details of your manager, I have copied this communication in to the publically listed board of directors of your organisation.

Perhaps one of them will be more willing to explain your implied policy of deliberately misleading your customers into purchasing 35% more carpet than they actually require.

Regards

Mr Bunny Chow

___________________________________________________________________

We'll see where this one ends up

TTFN

Mr Bunny Chow