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Original poster

To ask the fitters to stop fitting my floor today

485 replies

Ncfgjdo · 25/04/2023 05:54

So this situation is absolutely ridiculous and I am perfectly aware that my pregnancy hormones are clouding my judgement here and I'm in an incredibly fortunate position, but I could really be doing with some urgent WWYD advice as I am so stressed over this. I am 33 weeks pregnant and have moved into a complete renovation project (not ideal I realise!). The last few weeks since I got the keys I've had to make a lot of quick (expensive) decisions re the design of the house to allow me to get in to it before the baby's born. I'd thought that would be really fun and exciting, but I'm actually really starting to feel pretty stressed over the whole thing and no longer trust my own judgement. I'm becoming quite teary and doubting every decision I make. One of the major outlays has been flooring. It accounts for a significant lump sum of the budget and the fitters started work yesterday and will complete today. As soon as I saw the flooring down it looked completely different from I had thought it would from when I saw it in the shop. I did immediately mention this to the fitters but they assured me it was the correct one. I'm not blaming anyone else here but me, as I do appreciate flooring looks different in natural/ artificial light etc but I immediately hated it. It really looks nothing like I thought it would. They are about halfway done. Should I call the shop and ask them to stop and at least try to salvage some of the unused packets of flooring? (It's herringbone design and there's a LOT of it as the floor space is massive) or should I let them finish and suck it up and not lose thousands of £?) I'm so angry at myself for making the wrong choice and of course I'm not suggesting that I don't pay for the flooring or wiggle out of fitting fees etc. I also realise this is causing me way more distress than it should- my hormones are all over the place.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
27
GoodChat · 25/04/2023 08:57

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 08:56

If it says the particular brand on the order then that is what they should provide. If they need to provide a substitute as the other is discontinued then they should discuss this with the customer first and pass on any saving.

But Ravello isn't a brand. It's a range of flooring not an actual brand. It doesn't exist. It's literally just renamed Kronotex.

Which retails for half the price

Catspyjamas17 · 25/04/2023 08:57

CaroleSinger · 25/04/2023 07:08

I guess this is what is meant by the term 1st world problems?

I guess this is a great example of a really unhelpful comment.

TitoMojito · 25/04/2023 08:58

It does look quite different - but honestly I like it! It's a nice colour and I don’t think it looks too grey.

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 08:58

You can buy identical kronotex branded flooring for half the price of what OP has paid for Ravello

I know and I said that it's shit that she unwittingly paid more than she needed to but it seems that it's legal to rename products and sell them under the new name and indeed very common.

Catspyjamas17 · 25/04/2023 08:59

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 08:56

If it says the particular brand on the order then that is what they should provide. If they need to provide a substitute as the other is discontinued then they should discuss this with the customer first and pass on any saving.

But Ravello isn't a brand. It's a range of flooring not an actual brand. It doesn't exist. It's literally just renamed Kronotex.

Splitting hairs. They should provide the flooring ordered. If what is provided is cheaper than what she paid for she should be refunded the difference. Anything else is shafting the customer.

Jellifulfruit · 25/04/2023 09:00

I’d personally just suck it up, due to the waste of finances. You might learn to love the new floor? 😬

Catspyjamas17 · 25/04/2023 09:01

It won't waste finances to get the difference refunded, it will put money in her pocket.

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 09:01

Which retails for half the price

I know but the point is that it isn't a cheaper brand. It's the same product. The Ravello does not exist so they can't give her that as people keep suggesting and it appears to be legal to do what they have done. They do not have to price match.

Catspyjamas17 · 25/04/2023 09:01

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 09:01

Which retails for half the price

I know but the point is that it isn't a cheaper brand. It's the same product. The Ravello does not exist so they can't give her that as people keep suggesting and it appears to be legal to do what they have done. They do not have to price match.

It's not legal. HTH.

Doagooddeed · 25/04/2023 09:02

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 08:42

If what this shop did is legal, then then lets look out for people ordering a Tesla and getting an MG.

It's not the same thing though because they're both actual brands and manufacturers in their own right. In the OP's scenario there was no actual Tesla for sale, just an MG and and another MG with a fancy name. It is shit though that she could have paid less for the same product elsewhere though.

Its very similar.

OP ordered a product and paid for it, a cheaper & different product turned up but she is expected to pay exactly the same & its a differnt colour too!

Flooring varies greatly in quality.

We don't know the flooring is exactly the same but in different packaging.

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 09:02

According to the thread on MSE it seems to be.

Whinge · 25/04/2023 09:02

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 08:58

You can buy identical kronotex branded flooring for half the price of what OP has paid for Ravello

I know and I said that it's shit that she unwittingly paid more than she needed to but it seems that it's legal to rename products and sell them under the new name and indeed very common.

I agree it's shit for the OP but as shown on the MSE thread it's unfortunately a common occurrence, and while OP can complain about the difference in price the product is exactly the same. The company may offer a partial refund, but it doesn't look like they have to do this.

Catspyjamas17 · 25/04/2023 09:03

MSE is generally helpful but not always right.

tonyele · 25/04/2023 09:03

Hi OP
I'm an electrician and work on quite a few hi end refurbs, it really isn't un-common for a customer to say "oh god, I hate it" and we start again.
Those of us who build for a living take that in our stride, its not a problem, it can come out, be done again.
Of course you would have to punt out for the labour thus far (probably including today as they won't be able to re-book at late notice) and any materials that have been un-packed/fitted.
But do double check that its the right product, if its not, it will be on the supplier to cough up.
Lighting colour has a huge effect on what things look like too.

mainsfed · 25/04/2023 09:03

You are perfectly entitled to ask them to prove they are fitting what you ordered.

Pr1mr0se · 25/04/2023 09:03

Maybe once you have furniture and blinds/ curtains up it will look a bit different?

Catspyjamas17 · 25/04/2023 09:03

the product is exactly the same

No it isn't. The quality is different.

Doagooddeed · 25/04/2023 09:05

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 09:02

According to the thread on MSE it seems to be.

Well there you go, the MSE forum is gospel.

I'm very pleased that Rolex i bought in Bangkok is exactly the same as the ones sold in Fraser's in the High st.

They look exactly the same and Sarah on FB said they are.

i ve quoted the SoG act, what they done is not legal.

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 09:06

I don't know if it's the exact colour she chose but it is the same product(Just under a different name). She should definitely double check the colour but personally I've never found a flooring or paint colour that looks exactly like the sample. The lighting and surrounding colours and fact that you have a large area of it instead of a sample will always make it look different from the little bit you see in store.

TreadLightly3 · 25/04/2023 09:06

@Ncfgjdo you're not being hormonal, those floors are not the same. If it’s not the same brand it’s not the same. Plus they don’t look very similar. We had our LVT floors laid by Tapi and it was a nightmare. So many cock ups with the ordering process, crappy fitters who did an awful job and made promises about things “settling in” that were blatant bullshit. I could go on. Took almost a year to resolve and involved all floors being relaid on top of the first cock up. Stand your ground - get your complaint in now so you can pursue it to get the right floor laid at some point in the future - at their cost not yours!!

ChateauMargaux · 25/04/2023 09:07

I would want to see the Ravello Balstaff sample beside the Kronotex Silver sample from the boxes in your house before they placed another piece of wood on your floor and would absolutely be asking them to stop until they can explain why they have used a different product to the one you asked for.

ClaraThePigeon · 25/04/2023 09:08

the product is exactly the same

No it isn't. The quality is different.

The quality is the same. Ravello does not exist. It is the name of a range not a product in its own right. It is Kronotex in another guise.

tonyele · 25/04/2023 09:08

mainsfed · 25/04/2023 09:03

You are perfectly entitled to ask them to prove they are fitting what you ordered.

Depends what they quoted for, if I quoted for say 3000K 5.5W LED downlighters, I could use and brand in that spec., if I quoted for 3000K 5.5W Collingwood LED downlighters, then I use collingwood.

However, with flooring, I think there is a reasonable expectation that the product you see a sample of in the shop is the product that gets fitted.

Eattheeel · 25/04/2023 09:08

The re-branding of a supplier's product to sell it for more money is widespread and totally legal. As others have noted, Carpetright does it, Dreams does it, John Lewis does it. I first noticed this when ordering a kitchen. Went to a high-end 'handmade' kitchen studio, was looking through the colour samples and saw a tiny sticker had been left on the back of one with the supplier name (Multiwood). So went home and googled, identified the colour and discovered you could buy Multiwood kitchens from one of the discount online kitchen direct companies. Saved over £2000 on our (supply only) kitchen.

Now whenever buying anything for the home, I always make sure I have researched down to the supplier of the product, to check whether it is cheaper elsewhere. It isn't always - Carpetright sell a carpet made by Associated Weavers, rebranded something completely different, which is cheaper than buying the same carpet from a stockist selling it under the Associated Weavers brand. But I always check! Sometimes they might change the brandname, but keep the colour name the same, so colour names are always worth a google.

TreadLightly3 · 25/04/2023 09:08

ChateauMargaux · 25/04/2023 09:07

I would want to see the Ravello Balstaff sample beside the Kronotex Silver sample from the boxes in your house before they placed another piece of wood on your floor and would absolutely be asking them to stop until they can explain why they have used a different product to the one you asked for.

Good idea - go into the store today with a sample of the one being laid and compare it to what you ordered in the shop