Terms and Conditions of Purchase

 

Your order – Important Customer Information                                            

Please find below information relating to the terms and conditions which are applicable when you enter into a contract with Tapi Carpets & Floors.  These will apply when an order has been placed even if only a deposit has been made within a store.  You should check the details of your order carefully including these terms and conditions and if you have any queries please raise these immediately with a sales representative. Please note that any revisions to your order may incur further costs. Your rights: it is our responsibility to supply you with goods and services which meet your consumer rights.  If you have any concerns that we have not met our legal obligations, please contact us via the “contact” page on our website.  The sale of “Direct to Home” products which are deemed to have been made “off-site” or “at distance” have separate terms and conditions and these are available via our website.  For information in relation to delivery or collection of “Direct to Home” products, when purchased on-premises, please refer to the separate section below. If you are unclear about your rights or require advice, you can contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Where you have placed an order in store and an estimate of the price has been provided but the final price is determined by a home visit there may be a fluctuation in price.  If the price, following the home visit, is lower than the estimate, your contract will reflect the lower price.  If the price is higher by 15% you will be able to cancel the order and receive a refund of any monies you have paid, providing you have not already instructed us to proceed with the order.

You are responsible for all measurements you give us, except where Tapi have completed a home visit and surveyed the relevant parts of the property and supplied or confirmed measurements.

  • Interest Free Credit

Subject to status and affordability. Terms and conditions apply. Tapi Carpets & Floors Ltd Firm Ref No. 706358. Registered Office: 1a Spur Road, Orpington, Kent, BR6 0PH. Registered No: 09247255 trading as Tapi Carpets is a credit broker for the purpose of introducing credit provided by the lender Novuna Personal Finance, a trading style of Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

  • Promotional Offers

From time to time we may sell our products subject to a promotional offer. Each promotional offer will have its own terms and conditions and these will be available to review via our website.  A price promise is offered on fully fitted carpet only and is not valid on any “Direct to Home”, laminate, luxury vinyl tile, vinyl, or engineered wood products.

  • Cancellation and refunds

This order is a legally binding contract even if you have only paid a deposit. Cancellation of an order is not normally accepted unless we are in breach of contract, in which case you have the right to cancel. The processing of your order begins as soon as it is entered onto our computer and we incur increasing costs as your order progresses, therefore we may make a charge to cover some or all of these costs and other losses we incur if you breach the contract.  If an order has been placed during a home visit and where no store visit has been made, the customer has the right to cancel their order for a period of 14 days from the order date.  Tapi reserves the right to release the customer’s order to the manufacturer only upon expiry of the 14 day period however, the customer can waive their ‘right to cancel’ during the 14 day ‘cooling off’ period should they wish to do so.  Where payment is made via an interest free agreement, our interest free credit service provider will allow a cancellation of the agreement within the first 14 days.

If a refund becomes necessary, it will be made to the person named on the sales confirmation or invoice, but credit/debit card refunds can only be made to the same account of the original card used at the time of purchase.

  • Delivery and Installation

Please check that the goods you received are the ones you ordered. Check they are for the correct colour, size, and options selected, and that they are examined for apparent faults or damage at the time of delivery and before installation. If on inspection you have any doubts please contact the store as soon as reasonably possible. If you are arranging for the installation via your own 3rd party fitting partner, please ensure sufficient time is allowed for both the inspection of the goods to take place as well as any acclimatisation needs, per the manufacturer’s instructions.

In all cases genuine complaints will be dealt with in good faith, but your rights may be adversely affected if you do not contact us as soon as possible. All delivery and fitting dates are estimates and are given in good faith. Exact arrival and completion times cannot be guaranteed due to the nature of the work.

  • What’s included in the Tapi Delivery and Care Package?  

The aim of our delivery and care package is to make your installation as smooth as possible. Within this package we include the delivery of your order, the removal and replacement of a reasonable amount of emptied furniture and the removal and disposal of off-cuts. In addition, we provide a complementary vacuum. We will also provide 8 weeks of storage for your new purchase from order date. Not included within this package is the uplift or disposal of your old flooring although these services can be purchased separately. Whilst we will move a reasonable amount of emptied furniture, we are unable to move items such as grand pianos or the like for obvious reasons as well as white goods. We will need to be made aware, at the time of purchase, if any items require more than one person to be moved safely.  The customer utilises the assistance of the fitting partner for the movement of furniture at their own risk and the fitting partner is not liable for any accidental damage which may occur during the movement of your furniture.

  • Sub Floor Preparation

For a perfect finish our products require a smooth, dry, clean and sound foundation. Our home consultant or estimator will not be able to ascertain if your subfloor requires extra preparatory work if your existing flooring is in situ at the time of the inspection.  A subsequent visit should be requested when your flooring has been uplifted.  If we are arranging the installation of your flooring, our home consultant, estimator or the fitting partner may advise that some remedial work is needed such as smoothing compound or ply boarding before your new floor can be fitted.  These additional costs are to be met by the customer.  This may delay the original installation of your flooring whilst this work is undertaken.  Uneven floorboards and surfaces, if left uncorrected by the customer, can affect the appearance of your new flooring by being seen through to the surface.

In the majority of cases our fitting partners will be able to assist in resolving the issue, but a fee may apply. It may, on the rare occasion, be necessary to involve the services of a specialist contractor.  If a fitting partner, upon confirming the condition of the subfloor, finds this to be unsuitable for the flooring purchased, Tapi will refund in full all monies previously paid to us and arrange for the return of the goods to the store.

  • Fitting

Fitting is chargeable.  Where carpets are to be fitted in the hall and stairs an additional fee may be made to reflect the additional fitting work involved in these areas. These charges may be payable to the company or the contractor and are shown on your sales confirmation or invoice. The fees quoted are for the goods shown on the order only. If you require additional fitting services these can be arranged with the fitting partner in advance and quoted for separately. Please discuss these with the store staff prior to the fitting appointment E.g. Door easing, whipping (the process of stitching the edges of the carpet with a yarn edging to prevent these from fraying), waste removal and uplift.

Fitters undertake to carry out their work with reasonable skill and care, but on rare occasions home décor may be marked or scuffed during the fitting process. New paintwork and wallpaper are especially vulnerable and should be allowed to dry fully. A minimum of 72 hours is recommended and when high gloss paint has been used please allow 7 days. Neither we nor any fitting partner undertakes to carry out any redecoration, except where damage has been caused by that person’s negligence.  It is the responsibility of the customer to make the fitting partner aware of any known hazards or issues which may affect their ability to complete the installation.

Doors may need to be trimmed to allow sufficient clearance. This is not considered to be part of the fitting work unless this was specifically agreed in advance. Fitters may need to remove doors to facilitate fitting and where necessary, leave them ready for you or your appointed carpenter to carry out the trimming and rehanging at a later date.  Some doors, such as fire doors, may not be suitable for modification or need to be carried out by a door easing specialist.

  • Partial fitting

Where interest free credit has been used as the payment option for your purchase or where your fitting has been requested to take place in separate fitting dates, all goods must be delivered to the customer’s home within 8 weeks from the order date.  If the items are being stored for a period of time, carpet should not be folded but should be rolled, and smooth flooring should be kept flat and will need to be acclimatised in the appropriate room 48 hours prior to fitting.

  • Carpets

The samples we display in our stores are intended to give a general impression of the colour and pattern of the carpet. When fitted in a larger area some patterns and seemingly random blends of yarn can have an inherent striped effect, or additional patterns and colours which may not be obvious from the sample. Colours vary from batch to batch and exact matching between separate pieces (especially from multi-width rolls) cannot be guaranteed.

All carpets are cut at 10cm intervals with a minimum order length of 1 metre. All sizes are approximate and within a tolerance of plus or minus 1.25% in accordance with British Standard BS3655. If your room is close to the nominal width of the carpet, please allow for extra in case a join is required.

During transportation and storage, the pile may become flattened slightly and this will show as shaded bands across the pile or as a ‘pole mark’. These will disappear as the carpet settles in to its new environment and the pile is flexed through regular use and vacuum cleaning.  If the lines do not disappear within a three-week period, please contact the store.

Carpet is a soft, luxurious product and flattening of the pile will occur. Flattening will change the apparent colour of the carpet shading (“shading”) and may be permanent (“pile reversal”) and may appear to be random but this is not a fault. Areas where foot traffic twist and turns are especially prone to changes in appearance. High traffic areas such as in front of chairs, beside the bed and in doorways are relevant examples of where the deterioration of appearance may occur. 

All carpets benefit from the use of good quality underlay. Re-using existing underlay may result in abnormal flattening of the pile. Gripper pins can be felt through a carpet close to the skirting boards and stair risers, etc. This is normal but as part of the fitting process, and if requested to do so, the fitter can flatten the pins.  However, this will affect whether or not the gripper can be re-used. We recommend the use of vacuum cleaners with rotating brushes on cut pile carpets and suction only for loop pile carpets.  Deeper pile saxony carpets will require additional vacuuming.  For further information please consult our floor care guide.

  • Vinyls

Areas over 12 square metres, unless stated otherwise, should be fully stuck down using a suitable adhesive. Your vinyl floor covering should not be laid on top of existing vinyl flooring, laminate or tiles unless stated it is permissible to do so.  For areas under 12 sqm, a perimeter stick on two adjacent sides will suffice.

All vinyl flooring is cut at 10cm intervals with a minimum order length of 1 metre. All sizes are approximate and within a tolerance of plus or minus 1.25% in accordance with British Standard BS3655. If your room is close to the nominal width of the vinyl please allow extra material.  If you require the installation of your vinyl flooring below non-integrated appliances, please ensure these are removed from the room prior to the fitters arrival.  For further information please consult our floor care guide.

  • Laminate Flooring, Luxury Vinyl Tile, Engineered Wood and Direct to Home products

Our in-store samples show only a small part of the overall design as this will have been taken from a larger piece. There may be a significant variation in the colour and design of your floor due to the random nature which occurs with wood and other natural materials, from which the design has been taken.  We believe this enhances the natural look and overall appearance of our floors.

The supplier’s fitting and maintenance instructions should be carefully followed to prevent swelling of the joints or other expansion problems.  Laminate and engineered wood flooring will be affected by moisture; wet mopping will likely damage the flooring beyond repair.   For further information please consult our floor care guide.

Whilst many of the products we sell are available to purchase in square metres, our luxury vinyl tile and laminate flooring are purchased by the box. When estimating appropriate floor coverage for your installation approximately 5% (rounded up to the nearest box) will need to be added to your order to allow for colour matching between boxes and wastage during fitting. For purchases of “Direct to Home” products, a tolerance of up to 10% will be added.  If a subsequent order is placed, we cannot promise this will be supplied from the same batch as that previously supplied.  If you have a surplus box or more after fitting, we would suggest these be stored on a flat dry surface for future use.  These are often useful to be kept should an accident occur enabling you to swap a couple of planks or tiles. Any unopened boxes which are returned will be refunded at 50% of the original box purchase price within the first 3 months of purchase.

It is the policy of Tapi Carpets & Floors Ltd to change the name of all products to ensure each has a unique name within our product ranges.  Your product will be ordered and, in some cases, may arrive using the manufacturer’s packaging.  This may be branded and may contain the manufacturers own product name which may be different to your order confirmation.  This method of amending product names is a standard industry practice.

  • Product Guarantees

We are responsible for ensuring that the goods we supply are of satisfactory quality, conform to the sample and are fit for the purpose for which they are sold. Certain products have additional guarantees provided by us or the manufacturer. Where they are provided by the manufacturer, we accept no responsibility for these additional warranties or guarantees. All manufacturers’ wear guarantees do not relate to the appearance of the product but are specifically in relation to being ‘threadbare’.  The appearance of your flooring may deteriorate or vary depending upon your usage, demands and aftercare.  Any damage which has occurred due to negligence, malice, removal, fire, water damage and similar events will void the warranty. Similarly, damage or marks which have appeared following the use of an unsuitable chemical product or improper cleaning method, are not covered by the warranty.

  • Introduction to Fitter

Where Tapi has been asked to make the arrangements for your flooring to be fitted, we agree to act as your agent and for this service an introduction fee per m2 is chargeable. This includes: introduction to a flooring fitting specialist and arranging the installation of your purchase under a separate contractual agreement between you and them. It also includes monitoring fitting standards, arranging a pre-cut service to aid an efficient and speedy ‘at home installation’, and on the rare occasion of a complaint being raised regarding the fitting, Tapi will manage the complaint between yourself and the fitting partner.

We retain full responsibility for the products Tapi supplies and will act as intermediary between you and the deliverer/ installer should any liability arise from delivery and installation where Tapi made the introduction to the fitter.

  • “Direct to Home” Delivery and Collection

A selection of our products are available for “Direct to Home” delivery which is fulfilled via our 3rd party logistics partner.Should you purchase any of these products the following terms, in addition to the above, will apply.

Standard delivery times quoted can only be used as a guide and provided at the time of order.  Your order confirmation is subject to sufficient stock being available by the manufacturer at the time your order is placed by us. Delivery times may increase around holidays and peak shipping periods. Our 3rd party carrier will endeavour to deliver your goods over the threshold of your property when social distancing rules apply.  When social distancing rules do not apply, goods will be delivered to a downstairs room of choice.

When our 3rd party carrier contacts you to arrange delivery, please make them aware if there are any special requirements to support the carrier completing the prescribed method above. If you have alternative delivery requirements, please contact us prior to dispatch of your order. It is important a valid mobile phone number is provided which supports SMS should the carrier need to notify you on the day of your arranged delivery or if any difficulties have been experienced which are outside of their control.

Some of the products ordered may be fragile in nature and whilst care will be taken to ensure these goods arrive in good condition, this may be completed using a palletised delivery.  Tapi Carpets & Floors Ltd nor the 3rd party carrier will be responsible for the disposal nor any costs incurred in the removal of such items provided to protect your goods during transit.

Our carrier will make every effort to deliver on the date requested by the customer, however, Tapi cannot be held liable for late delivery if this is caused by circumstances outside of our control.

Where a delivery fails due to non-attendance of the customer or the receiver being absent, notification will be sent and you will be contacted to attempt re-delivery.  Goods will not be left in an area which is unattended and will be returned to the 3rd party courier’s premises until a new delivery date has been confirmed.  We must be informed at the time of order of any restrictions which may exist to access or difficulties which may affect the successful completion of the delivery of your flooring.  This will help us prevent delays and costs for aborted deliveries.

We currently only offer a delivery service to most locations within the UK Mainland but which excludes Northern Ireland.  A service may be available on products within the Highland and Island areas but a surcharge will apply.  Details are available on request. 

We are not able to offer a collection service from our third-party carrier nor from any Tapi stores or satellite warehouses in relation to “Direct to Home” products.

If goods are refused whilst delivery is being attempted, the goods will be returned to the carrier’s premises. We will get in touch with you to ascertain the reason for refusal and whether a subsequent delivery date can be agreed upon. We reserve the right to apply a surcharge for a second delivery attempt and will request all costs are settled in advance of any agreed delivery dates. It is the customers responsibility to ensure they are available to take delivery of the goods at the specified time.

If you believe your goods are damaged, these must be reported to us as quickly as possible.  If these are noted at the time of delivery, this should be pointed out to the delivery driver and they should be asked to make a note of this and take pictorial evidence to confirm this.  If you will not be present at the time of the delivery, please ensure the person accepting the goods on your behalf is aware of this requirement.  This does not affect your statutory rights and in the event of the goods being faulty, these will be replaced.  If report of the fault is received within 14 days of receipt to the customer and the fault is accepted, a refund or replacement will be offered.

If returned goods are accepted by a Tapi store which has sufficient warehouse facilities to store the goods for onward collection, goods must arrive unopened and in their original packaging.  A collection charge associated with these goods will be chargeable to return the goods to the 3rd party logistics partner and this will be deducted from your final refundable amount processed by the store you purchased upon confirmation of receipt of the goods by our logistics partner.

If you wish to change a delivery date or arrange for collection of the goods following our agreement to accept their return, please contact our Customer Services team on 03330 150 501 who will liaise with our 3rd party logistics partner and the store.  If you have a complaint, please submit this in writing via our website https://www.tapi.co.uk/contact-us where the matter will be investigated.