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Not paying painter due to carpet stains?

181 replies

Reasonswhy · 22/10/2025 16:13

Starting off with - I’m the most under confident person in the world so any form of potential confrontation feels so hard for me, appreciate I may be making a mountain out of a molehill.
Had a painter out this week to paint 2 rooms. He said on Monday he woolr
get it done that day, but has taken 3 days as said he had other jobs chasing him and his apprentice off sick - fine, no big deal. He finished today while I was out, and I’ve come home to an ok job but it’s patchy still in places and the carpet in one room has a lot of paint on the carpet 😢I’ve attached pics of the smaller areas - for some reason the larger patches pics have been flagged as sensitive😂The areas are damp and slightly white so he’s clearly already put something on it to soak it up which isn’t worked.
I summoned up the courage to call him and he sounded defensive from the off, said he was coming back to finish the darker blue room which had been a “nightmare” as such a dark colour. I told him about the carpet and he said oh is just a dribble? And I said no, there are lots of areas and given they are damp I’m guessing you knew about it and put something down- I just need to know how to get the paint off. He said he’ll sort it over the coming days and rang off.
What do I do? He left an invoice for £680 including materials asking politely for it to be paid within 48 hours. I don’t want to pay it in case he doesn’t come back to fix it, and I don’t think the paint will come easily unless he has a magic solution. WWYD? Do I deduct something from the amount to cover carpet cleaning? If so what would be reasonable? Or will this cause a confrontation?

ugh. TIA

Not paying painter due to carpet stains?
Not paying painter due to carpet stains?
Not paying painter due to carpet stains?
OP posts:
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Monster6 · 22/10/2025 17:58

Cowboy. Any professional would ensure they didn’t damage your belongings. Do not pay. Keep detailed pics. Get carpet cleaned, offer to pay MINUS cost of carpet clean. Any reasonable person would suggest the same. (Ps. I hate it when trades are pass remarkable. It’s my choice ffs. Do t take the job if the colour is too difficult for you. So annoying.)

FamousSideeye · 22/10/2025 17:57

Wow, that’s bad. It looks like it’s two areas too.

I wouldn’t pay either.

How new are the carpets and how much were they? Do you have receipts?

I do a lot of painting and I’d always use a dust sheet with an inpervious backing or plastic sheeting especially with that colour.

BTW it’s a beautiful colour.

Justwingingit2005 · 22/10/2025 17:56

We had a decorator in, and he used some sort of sticky back plastic stuff. He then showed us the rooms he had done and asked if we were happy before he sent invoice

HothouseFlower · 22/10/2025 17:54

user1476613140 · 22/10/2025 17:51

Pay him half the amount. Then get him to resolve the matter.

Bad advice. Do not pay him half the amount. It could be deemed that you have accepted the job as finished. 340 quid and he's never seen again.

You will have no leverage to 'get him to resolve the matter'.

user1476613140 · 22/10/2025 17:51

Pay him half the amount. Then get him to resolve the matter.

HothouseFlower · 22/10/2025 17:50

And just for your reassurance OP: you are NOT making a mountain out of a molehill! Flowers

Confrontation is not pleasant but he is really in the wrong here.

Tassielassie · 22/10/2025 17:50

Nothing is ever paid until the job is finished and the carpet cleaned.
He sounds like a cowboy.

HothouseFlower · 22/10/2025 17:48

Do you have the paint tin at your home OP? Look on the tin to see what kind it is - water based or oil based? Just so you know. But don't attempt to clean it yourself.

Allseeingallknowing · 22/10/2025 17:47

Linenpickle · 22/10/2025 17:32

Are those areas with paint on the floor going to be covered up by furniture or for everyone to see?

Either way he has to sort it!

HothouseFlower · 22/10/2025 17:45

Do not pay anything at this point. Not even half or a third.

Do not have a go at the stains yourself. He could argue that you made them worse.

Do not say you will cover it with a piece of furniture.

Do not put up with a patchy wall.

Get a quote for professional cleaning and a quote for a new carpet.

CoffeeCantata · 22/10/2025 17:44

I’ve had this experience with bad tradesmen…they come in to do one job and trash another!

Grrr…it’s a massive bugbear of mine. A big part of their training should be: your place of work will be someone else’s precious home and you need to understand the implications of that. Not all of them get this.

ComfortFoodCafe · 22/10/2025 17:43

I wouldnt pay if he cant get the paint out of the carpet, thats proper stained!

Irenesortof · 22/10/2025 17:43

Say you'll pay him when he has made good the damage he did to your carpet and anything else that got spoilt. If it's really 'a few dribbles' it shouldn't take him too long. Don't pay before he's either done that or given you a reduction in price, or he'll do nothing.

PeachySmile2 · 22/10/2025 17:42

Do not pay a penny until he has finished panting both rooms fully to a good standard and the paint has come out of the carpet. If you need to get the carpet professionally cleaned, deduct it from his invoice. If he doesn’t like it he can take you to small claims court so make sure you take pics of everything.

diddl · 22/10/2025 17:41

So how many patches of paint are there??

(I mean obviously one is too many)

Ohnobackagain · 22/10/2025 17:41

Starlight7080 · 22/10/2025 17:24

I would just reply with i will pay once the job is finished properly and the carpet cleaned. Keep it simple and straight to the point .

Exactly this @Reasonswhy

skyeisthelimit · 22/10/2025 17:40

He needs to fix this at his own cost. Do not pay him until he sorts it out and has also painted the wall properly..

He should, as a self employed person, have Public Liability Insurance, which would cover this sort of thing.

Comeonbabylightmyfire · 22/10/2025 17:39

The jobs not complete so I would argue that the 48 hours haven’t yet started. I would tell him that.

somedogsdo · 22/10/2025 17:37

I would have expected him to masking tape a plastic dust sheet all round and then cover in sheets to catch drips. I am definitely not a painting professional but that’s what I do even if it’s a hard floor and white walls. If it was blue paint/light grey carpet combo you have there I would triple cover! If it’s emulsion it should slide off with water or a little white spirit but it looks like he’s rubbed it in which I’m guessing will be harder to remove now.
definitely don’t pay until sorted. Or you could maybe pay half and leave half until you’re satisfied .

Linenpickle · 22/10/2025 17:32

Are those areas with paint on the floor going to be covered up by furniture or for everyone to see?

GAJLY · 22/10/2025 17:28

Tessasanderson · 22/10/2025 16:37

I will pay you the minute i have dry carpets without paint stains on them and my blue wall is finished to my satisfaction.

The second he has done this you should pay him.

Anything else is unprofessional by him.

Yes absolutely this 👆

Nandina · 22/10/2025 17:24

He should have professional insurance if the damage to the carpet exceeds the cost of the invoice. Start with a professional steam clean and see if that works.

Starlight7080 · 22/10/2025 17:24

I would just reply with i will pay once the job is finished properly and the carpet cleaned. Keep it simple and straight to the point .

No5ChalksRoad · 22/10/2025 17:22

I (by no means a professional) just did quite a bit of painting in my house, and never spilled anything to that extent; maybe a drop here and there which landed on the protective paper.

I'm afraid that paint may never come out. You could be looking at replacing the carpeting.

As an aside, though, to those dismissing the painter's complaint about the dark colour - yes, he was wrong to complain after accepting the job - but dark colours are not "easier" than light ones. The mistakes show up much more starkly on dark walls.

caringcarer · 22/10/2025 17:21

Tessasanderson · 22/10/2025 16:37

I will pay you the minute i have dry carpets without paint stains on them and my blue wall is finished to my satisfaction.

The second he has done this you should pay him.

Anything else is unprofessional by him.

This. If the paint on the wall is emulsion it should just wash out with a bit of washing up liquid and warm water.