Not paying painter due to carpet stains?

Also do NOT try & clean it yourself because if you do he will say that’s what made the stain stick, and resist your claim for new carpets (if that’s how it pans out) on that basis.

Oh god don’t pay anything until it is cleaned & dry & all removed! Not one penny!

If he comes to your house tomorrow, cleans carpet as best he can & sorts out dodgy patches in paint, & then demands payment, tell him you need to WAIT until paint and carpet are dry to assess whether stains removed & paint now ok (this is true). This will get him out of the house.

If (unlikely) the problems are completely dealt with, when paint & carpet are dry, pay him less the £100 deduction.

If either carpet or paint (or both) are not completely sorted out, when dry, message him to say you have given him a chance to rectify, he’s failed, and you now need to get professionals in - and that he will be responsible for cost.

Deduct the cost of any remedial paint work from what is owed, PLUS deduct the cost of a professional carpet clean and (if necessary) the new carpets.

If you have to get new carpets, your total cost (carpet cleaner, new carpets, remedial paint work) will exceed his invoice. Then you can either make a claim against him in the small claims court, or wait for him to make a claim in the small claims court against you for his invoice, and then make a counter claim against him.

This man is a cowboy & clearly exploiting you because you’re on your own. What a complete shit. No professional would do that.

Carpet cleaner here. Emulsion comes off pretty easily. I once woke up in the night to find an almost full paint pot overturned on my landing and had it all off, you'd never know it happened.

You might expect a couple of drips from a painter but that's gone way beyond the realms of normal. He needs to clean it with actual carpet cleaning products and stop treating your floor like it's a paintbrush. Get a professional in and when you're happy with the walls and the floor offer him the choice of deducting it from the bill or going through his insurance. He's going to choose taking it off the bill.

The bathroom will definitely clean off and l imagine the blue paint is water based as it's for walls and your carpets look decent quality which these days do withstand a lot of cleaning, some even claim you can spill bleach on them and won't damage, though wouldn't like to test that. It's not good but wait and see how he gets on, might be surprised. I used to have my own cleaning business and there was little l couldn't get out of anything including paint..

I've had similar except a painter extensively scratched up the glass of our very expensive (about £7k) sash windows, very badly, and it was impossible to repair them. We didn't pay him. I felt bad, but the scratches are very noticeable. Windows were replaced new in 2017 so really wasn't happy.

Bear in mind the cost of everything has gone up so these carpets bought and fitted now would be MUCH more expensive than they were last year so don’t base your replacement cost on that

Sorry OP, I've only read the first page, and all of your posts, but can I ask how you found this guy? Was he recommended? Did you check his work at other houses? Did you check that he actually has insurance? I ask all this, as no professional painter and decorator would make that amount of mess. If he or a professional carpet cleaner can't get out the paint and stains, then if he has insurance tell him you want to claim on that, and if he doesn't then I suggest you try claiming on your own house insurance, it may or may not be covered depending on whether you have 'accidental damage' cover. Failing that, check whether your home insurance includes 'Legal Cover', if it does then call them, they usually have a 24 hours helpline where you can get free advice. Alternatively you could take him to the 'Small Claims Court'.

Whatever you have to do, I hope you'll come back and let us know how things work out, and if he gets stroppy with you, just tell him to leave until he's ready to talk to you as the valued customer you should be, but DO NOT under any circumstance, agree to any sort of settlement with him, ie, the £100 discount, until the whole situation is resolved to your satisfaction.

Don't pay him anything until your carpets look like they did before he arrived. If he cannot/ will not make them right, take him to small claims court to claim the cost of the carpet.

Tell him you will pay once it’s finished and the carpet has either been cleaned or replaced

And absolutely terrible behaviour to not pre warn you about the carpet marks before you saw them. Instead just leaves an invoice and hopes for the best🤦‍♀️

Omg I'm shocked that people are suggesting you pay 1/2 or 2/3 of the bill!!!??? He knows he messed up at this point, so he'll be thrilled with half the pay and you'll never hear from him again. As someone who just got new carpets.... those photos hurt!! 😭 I'm so sorry he was not respectful to your property. He needs to replace the carpets as I doubt the paint will come out. Hopefully he has insurance to help him with this.

I hope I’m wrong but I don’t think it’ll come out. I’ve got a dark teal living + dining room and a muted blue spare room, all water based emulsion, and they stain easily. My overalls, roller sleeves and clothes are all proof!

DO NOT pay 2/3 of the bill!! If he’s not insured, you’ve absolutely fuck all chance of getting reimbursed for your carpets. I’d not pay a penny for now!

Just ask him what his process is to sort out expensive mistakes - is it covered by his insurance or should you hold back the payment and he recoups his payment on his insurance?

Tell him the cost of the carpet install. Be matter of fact, put the ball in his court “how do you typically resolve issues like this”. If he asks for payment simply say “I’d like to agree a way forward to resolve this mistake before I pay”.

I'd be concerned that he doesn't have insurance based on his carelessness and his attempts to pretend he 'hadn't realised'.

A professional carpet cleaner may be able to sort it (at the decorator's expense). Years ago I had a brand new cream carpet fitted in a new home. A friend came to visit with their young child. It was chaos because I had boxes everywhere. The young child found a lipstick and decorated the carpet, hiding under a blanket (so we were unaware). I tried a few things to get it out and none worked. It just looked terrible. So I claimed on the insurance and the insurers asked to try a carpet cleaner first before replacing. They came and within an hour it was perfect. It was quite incredible.

I think whipping means the edging/stitching on the side of a runner or rug

Pay 2/3 of the bill and say you'll pay the rest when he has sorted out the carpet stains and you think that will require a professional carpet cleaning company. Be professional, firm and brief about it. Professional carpet cleaners are quite good - especially if it is emulsion paint but dark on light is tricky - good luck. He has been sloppy - one spillage is a mishap, several is carelessness.

Wow this guy is really crap! Does he even know what he’s doing?!

The best painter we’ve ever had was one who even hoovered up after himself, I’ve never known a tradesperson to be so clean as he was.

I would ask for his insurance details at best you need a professional cleaning company to come in and try and save them but if not you need new, his insurance or he should cover that surely? I’m so sorry for you I would be so upset x

He’s very very slapdash. It makes me wonder whether he’s even done painting before.

I would show him the carpet costs and ask him to invoke his insurance. (Which he blatantly doesn’t have).

Don’t pay him anything

You are providing him with an opportunity to make good tomorrow

If, as you expect, he fails then wait until he is off your property and then tell him that you are disputing the invoice and the cost of replacement / cleaning should be deducted.

Looking at the carpet invoice you posted, I think you will still be out of pocket / he will owe you money

You can claim this from him (if he has insurance then they will handle the claim for him and payout … but that’s a big if)

Wow! The painter is very careless and unprofessional. You will probably need to get the carpet professionally cleaned and deduct the cost from what the painter is asking.

If you clean the sink and bath be sure to keep the photos as evidence

As @ButtonMoonLoon said, you need to inspect the stain removal in natural bright daylight. Not artificial light.

nothing to do with the invoice but I spilt paint on my cream and grey carpets when I painted a few weeks ago and I got it off with baby oil. Like just off before my very eyes!