Clarke's Carpet Care

Review: Carpet technician said he could not complete the job because he did not "know how". Left carpet partially cleaned in living room (1/2 side) and streaked in dining and walking areas to bedroom & kitchen; carpet in bathroom left excessively wet and with brown wicking (which needs to be repaired by a specialist--taking out carpet & treating and reinstalling). He refused to give a refund because he said it cost him money to drive to the home and bring his equipment inside. When confronted with an estimation of the damage incurred on bathroom floors, he said he wanted us to take him to court to settle.Desired Settlement: Today, a simple refund of $296 to me. Although, to get another cleaner to repair the damage will cost at least $350 and he could pay the specialist directly. The longer this issue waits, the longer the carpet remains damaged and may necessitate removal and replacements which would cost much more ($1,000 or more). The type of carpet is natural fiber and must be cleaned slowly--which we told the business up front and were willing to pay for extra time. If we take him to court, it will cost more.

Business

Response:

Business states that carpets can only be cleaned to a certain point. Business has done this for 20+ years. The carpet is very old and the brown spots were their prior to arrival. Business cleaned it to the best of their ability based on 20+ years of experience in satisfying customers. The amount of labor provided to the consumer was more than adequate for the amount charged for the services. The reason business did not continue job was due to the process the consumer requested. They specifically asked to have the carpet cleaned in two separate sessions. Consumer blocked access to areas that needed to be cleaned during the first session and asked business to come back at a later time to complete the job. When business returned to finish the job, consumer informed him that they were not satisfied with the work. Business let them know that the work that was done was to the best of his abilities. He let them know that he would not be able to meet their needs and was willing to negotiate a refund. Consumer refused, letting him know that he deserved the compensation for his time. At this point business does not believe consumer is entitled to a refund anymore as the offer no longer stands and the work performed justified the charges.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: we did not understand the extent of the damages done to the carpet at the time of the business refusal to refund our money. After a professional evaluation, we understand what had occurred to the carpets and how much it would cost to fix the problem. We have paid over $500 to another carpet cleaner to remedy the situation. We are not seeking full payment for this but simply a reimbursement of what we paid him to damage our carpets. His time was not "worth it". When the other members of the house returned to see the problem, the business was contacted by phone requesting a refund which was refused by the business. We told the business we would have the carpets evaluated and give him a bill for the damages (unknown at the time) if he would not refund our money. We have since learned that our carpets were "cellulosic" due to excessive water left in the carpets and use of incorrect PH balance in the cleaning solutions. I can submit the other business contacts to the Revdex.com if proof is needed. The business asked us to sue them, we would prefer not to resort to that option as it would cost all parties more.

Consumer

Response:

We contacted a second local professional, [redacted], to fix the problem in the most prominent areas (since we had a huge party scheduled at the home in a few days--which was the original reason for the cleaning). They have had to make several visits to the home but only charged us for one so far. The wicking on the edges of the bathroom carpets is not completely gone and some spots remain in areas where we did not contract the second company to work as we did not have funds. We contacted a third professional specialists with natural fiber carpets (from out of the area and made an onsite evaluation) and he agreed with [redacted] that the first carpet cleaner did a careless, quick job. The specialist told us that these type of carpets take time to clean and cannot be rushed as well as use of correct PH balance and making sure carpets are as dry as possible when done. While he was onsite, the specialist cleaned one of the "spots" the first cleaner said were "permanent and could not be cleaned". The specialist said it would be no problem to clean the rug (he said it was not "too old" as natural fiber carpets last a long time) and that he could easily get rid of spots and wicking (although he might have to remove the bathroom carpets and reinstall them during the process to get brown wicking on edges to go away). His estimate to fix the job completely was $700 as it would take all day. We do not have enough money to completely fix the problem at this time due to the fact we have already paid TWO companies (a total of over $700) to try to fix the problems created by the first company. We are saving up money to have them cleaned properly by the wool carpet specialist in the future. This is why we seek compensation. Attached are receipts from first and second companies. FYI:The second receipt includes an added 150 square feet (downstairs) that we needed cleaned that the original cleaner was not contracted to do. If Revdex.com needs the name of the third company, we would be happy to disclose that as well. We do not have a written estimate but can easily get one if needed.