Not paying painter due to carpet stains?

[Reasonswhy]

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

Yeah I wouldn't pay until you are happy with the job, including that the carpet is clean. If you have to pay for professional carpet cleaning, deduct that amount from the amount you pay him.

Not a penny should leave your account until the carpet is either cleaned and stain removed or/and new carpet paid for. If the stain won't come out it's a new carpet minus however old the carpet is.

If the carpet is a good quality wool carpet that should last 15 years. If the carpet is 5 years old he needs to give you 2/3 rds of the cost.

Don't do this because the stain may not come out.

It's obvious he was aware and had tried to remove it.
I'd be furious.
He'd get no money from me until my carpet was returned to it's former appearance, at his cost.
If the carpet can't be saved, he'd get nothing.

And wait until the carpet has been professionally cleaned before you pay him. Because even the professionals may not be able to get the stain out.

I'd give him a chance to fix it himself before hiring professional cleaners but would be extremely clear that it needs to be fixed tomorrow and you will not be paying his invoice until it is restored to its original condition. Should he be unable to fix it, you can tell him you will be deducting the cost of a professional clean from the fee (or he can pay for the clean before you release the funds). Do not pay a penny until the carpet is back to its previous condition.

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

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.

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 .

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.

Yes absolutely this 👆

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

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 .

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

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.

Exactly this @Reasonswhy

So how many patches of paint are there??

(I mean obviously one is too many)

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Either way he has to sort it!

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.

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