Terms & Conditions

Ara Carpets & Floors is a trading name of Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd.

Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd have made every effort to ensure that the information and content of our websites are accurate and up to date. We cannot be held liable for any errors, omissions or changes in price. All products are subject to availability. All images on the website are for illustration purposes only and are intended to give a general guide of how the product may look. The actual product may differ slightly to that in the illustration.

Orders
All orders must be paid for in full before they will be dispatched by us or ordered from the manufacturer.

1.1 Delivery Information
Website Orders
All orders are processed and shipped in the order that they are received. Standard delivery time is 3 to 5 working days. Delivery times may increase around holidays and peak shipping seasons. Carriers deliver to the curb side immediately adjacent to their vehicle on both standard and pallet delivery services. It may be necessary for you to assist or move a product into your home. This is the case especially if you live in a block of flats, as carriers will only deliver to the ground floor entrance to the block. If you have alternative delivery requirements, please contact us prior to dispatch of your order. Be sure to include a phone number in case the carrier needs to notify you of something in relation to your arranged delivery. If you need your order to be shipped to an alternative address to the billing address, please specify during the checkout process when the option is available. Although we will make every effort to amend mistaken delivery addresses after the order has been placed, we cannot be held responsible for late deliveries if the incorrect address has been specified in the checkout by the customer. If the parcel must then be forwarded to a new address, we reserve the right to charge re-delivery / forwarding fees for this service if necessary and also reserve the right to deduct any such fees from any refund given should the order be subsequently cancelled.

Store Orders
Orders placed via a Home Consultation or Sales Office Order. Delivery times are usually within 5 working days. If we have arranged the fitting service, then goods may be left with us, or delivered prior to fitting depending on the customers preference.

1.2 Royal Mail Parcels – Website Orders
Items small enough for delivery with Royal Mail are usually delivered by 1st Class post, but please allow up to 5 working days. Samples are delivered by Royal Mail. If your chosen samples are out of stock, we will send all available samples to you and omit the unavailable samples from your request. We would always recommend you request a free sample before you purchase your item. As any cut to size items are bespoke in nature and product images on our websites may vary, it is essential that you see and feel the samples before making your purchase. All of our bespoke items carry a returned ‘cutting fee’ once cut, so please wait until your samples arrive before making your buying decision. Once the order has been paid for, the cutting process begins. At this point, your order will may be liable on cancellation / amendment for any bespoke cutting fees due as per the bespoke cutting fee section of our Terms & Conditions.

1.3 Delivery
How are your items delivered?

Website Orders:
Laminate flooring is delivered on a curb-side Pallet delivery, via courier as standard. All other items are delivered on a curb-side 1-man service as standard. Samples are delivered via Royal Mail.

Pricing on each delivery service may vary due to the size and nature of your order, as well as the care required for your delivery. Shipping charges will be added as required in the checkout and any additional surcharges due to your delivery location will also be added at this point prior to completing your order. As Laminate Flooring is fragile in nature, we take particular care in delivering this to you on a custom built pallet. As this is a premium courier service, delivery on Laminate Flooring is usually higher than other items. Return orders are at the cost and courier arrangement by the customer. Our 1-man service is completed by a 3rd Party Courier where on some heavy items the driver may often require assistance with your order. If this isn’t suitable or you have any special delivery requirements please get in touch with us. In cases where the driver is willing to help you move your items into your home, we cannot be held liable for any scuffs or small scale damage to property. In cases where a driver is willing to help move items up sets of stairs, there may be areas where the items may need to be bent to manoeuvre them around corners – we cannot be held liable for such bends if this is required to complete delivery and is explicitly requested by the customer.

Store Orders –
May be delivered by the above methods, or by Store staff, or 3rd party fitters. Returns and cancellations are not generally accepted as they do not fall under The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000

1.4 Offshore / Remote Locations
Please note we do not currently deliver to most offshore or remote locations, including Channel Islands, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, Scottish Islands and Northern Ireland. We reserve the right to cancel any order that is to be delivered in any of these locations. If delivery is available, we will usually add an additional surcharge for this service. Please note: collections from these locations in the event of an order cancellation are also subject to additional charges which will be chargeable prior to delivery or deductible from any associated refunds on cancellation / order amendment.

1.5 Delivery Times and Delivery Delays –
Website orders –
The 3rd Party Courier responsible for delivery, will try where possible to deliver on the time and date selected by the customer. In the event that special instructions are given by telephone or e-mail during or after the order has been placed, please be aware that ARA Solutions Flooring will not entertain any claim for compensation because of a late delivery, which is due to a third party carrier and is out of our control. Special instructions are a non-guaranteed request and are carried out at the carrier’s discretion. Any claims of this nature should be taken up directly with the carrier.

Store Orders – Delivery days and times are given in god faith but are not the essence of the contract. We cannot be held responsible for any monetary losses incurred due to a delayed delivery or fitting. Store deliveries may take place by a 3rd party courier or fitter, or a Staff member.


1.6 Carpet Cutting
Orders placed for flooring cut from different rolls / pieces can differ slightly in their colour variation. If you require more than 1 cut for a single room, please inform us upon placing your order and we will make every effort to ensure cuts are taken from the same roll where possible. This is not a guaranteed service and we cannot be held responsible for slight colour variation which occurs as a result of cuts being taken from different rolls.

1.7 Roll Sizing
The width of your flooring will always be specified during the selection process, however on rare occasions the manufacturer’s size may vary by a margin of up to approximately +/- 1%. We would always advise customers to take this into account when deciding on the measurements to purchase. We would always advise that if in doubt, buy slightly more than required rather than being disappointed if your order is slightly shorter than required. We cannot be held responsible for orders which are too short or too long within these standard manufacturing tolerances.

1.8 Cancellation & Refusal
When you place an order, you are offering to buy the product(s) from us and we will send you an order acknowledgement. However, your order will only be accepted by us once your product(s) have been delivered to you. Until then we can decline to supply the goods – we will try to ensure that this never happens but we do, however, reserve the right not to fulfil your order for any reason if, for example, we have made an error on the price or similar or we simply can’t get hold of the item you need. In the event of these circumstances we will refund you any price you’ve paid to us. Please note that we reserve the right not to accept an order for any reason and we won’t be liable to you or anyone else in these circumstances.

1.9 Warranties
Carpet Wear Warranties
Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd warrants that with the proper care and maintenance, the pile of your carpet during the specified product wear warranty time period (specified on the product page) will not wear by more than 10% by weight from normal foot traffic. This warranty covers only abrasive wear resulting in the loss of fibre.
Wear is defined as:
Abrasive fibre loss and not changes in appearance.

This warranty does not cover general deterioration due to wear and tear (such as shading or crushed fibres) or damage from: tea spills, cuts, pilling, shedding, matting, crushing, burns, pets, improper cleaning, improper installation or defective construction.

Carpet Stain Warranties
Manufacturer stain warranties up to 20 years long – this means we guarantee that our carpets will resist stains by food and drinks when recommended carpet care and cleaning procedures are used during the specified timeframe.

Vinyl Wear Warranties
Within the wear warranty period, ARA Flooring Solutions guarantees against any hidden defect that may adversely affect the life of the product. The vinyl must be protected against the risk of piercing caused by furniture or objects with pointed legs, feet or sharp edges. The use of plastic or felt protection devices is recommended. The wear warranty does not cover any stain damage due to the application of chemicals or the use of cleaning methods that are not recommended in our vinyl cleaning guide or where there is evidence of heavy soiling, abuse or neglect. The vinyl wear warranty excludes: damage due to abnormal use, damage due to the use of the floor in an outside/external location, the absence of standard protection methods for the floor covering (eg. doormats, sealed access doors etc.) where necessary, damage resulting from poor fitting or poor preparation of the underlying surface or damage caused by sharp or slicing material.

General Warranty Information
To ensure that your warranty remains valid, it is important that:

  • Any spillages receive immediate attention using clean water and a recommended cleaner
  • Regular care and routine maintenance is carried out using good quality products and machinery
  • Hot water extraction either alone or in combination with cleaning by a professional carpet cleaning is carried out every 24 months
  • You keep receipts of proof for the purchase of any professional carpet cleaning
  • Your carpet is fitted in a suitable area and on a solid floor (adhering to British Standards 5325)

Warranties are only applicable for the original purchaser, and a receipt of purchase must be provided. Any damage, made intentionally, occuring during the fitting or which has occured due to negligence, malice, removal fire, water damage and similar events will void the warranty. Similarly, spots which have appeared following the use of an unsuitable chemical product or improper cleaning method, are not covered by the warranty. If your flooring must be replaced, ARA Flooring Solutions will deliver, to the exclusion of other demands, and equivalent carpet chosen from the ARA Flooring Solutions range for the defective surfaces. Other costs incurred during the replacement of the new flooring will not be covered. In the event of a disagreement, an independent expert will be appointed to inspect the flooring on site. Statutory rights are not affected.

Please note: Over time, traffic and general soiling of your flooring will cause a change in appearance and therefore will not be covered by the warranty.

Flooring Characteristics
Different flooring types can have inherent characteristics that can affect their appearance. Customer’s are responsible for completing their own research for pros and cons of different flooring types.

Pile reversal/shading. – Pile reversal is a phenomenon that can appear in any cut pile carpet. It’s occurrence is random and its causes are largely unexplained. A cut pile carpet that is shaded will show areas lighter and darker than the surrounding cut pile. Despite extensive research and development of methods and techniques to minimise the occurrence of pile reversal, the characteristic is not predictable. Consumers should consider the possibility it may occur when buying a cut pile carpet.

Delivery
2.1 The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
Website Orders –
You have a right to cancel your order (prior to shipment, see cancellation terms below) for any item purchased on this website, for a full refund. However, if an order has already been shipped and has left our possession, we will require you to pay the associated costs of returning the item to us before we will refund the purchase. If it has arrived with the customer, it is then the customers responsibility to arrange and pay for shipping it back to us.

For orders placed online, with no face-to face sales contact, You have 14 statutory working days starting from the working day after you have received your order, to request a cancellation and return of a product to us. You have 14 days to return it to us after informing us of your desire to return it. A full refund will be issued once we have returned the goods and inspected them to ensure they have been returned in an undamaged, resalable condition. Please note that exceptions apply where the product has been bespoke cut. Cancellations may be refused under certain conditions, or a re-stocking fee charged. All returned products must be unused and in the original packing. If the product has been used (fitting / attempted fitting) or you do not have the packaging, this will be deemed as acceptance of goods and we will accept or decline the return at our discretion.

Store and Home Select orders, where a face-to-face sales interaction has occurred at the request of the customer, do not have any cancellation rights once an order has been placed. Cancellations and refunds are at the discretion of ‘Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd’.

2.2 Order Cancellations and Refused Deliveries – Website Orders
You may cancel your order for a full refund prior to your order being shipped. If you cancel your order after it has been shipped, you are responsible for any and all freight charges incurred by Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd. Any unpaid freight charges will be deducted from your refund (see ‘Distance Selling Regulations’ above). If you refuse to accept delivery of your order for any other reason than the product being damaged in transit, you are liable for all outward and return freight charges incurred by your refusal. If it is found that any of the larger products upon delivery will not fit through any doors or stairwells and the product is subsequently returned or refused, you are responsible for all outward and return carriage costs. Please be aware that bespoke items also carry a minimum Bespoke Cutting Fee. We would therefore recommend that you ensure the product will fit and can be transported to its ground floor point of delivery easily. We include product weights and dimensions on our website where available, and if you are unsure about anything you must call us before placing the order.

2.3 Restricted Access and Delivery Terms
Due to the size of some delivery vehicles, any carriers delivering on our behalf must be informed of any restrictions regarding access for the delivering vehicles. This includes (but is not limited to); steps, any overhanging/low trees/shrubs, steep driveways, narrow lanes, tight bends or any other restrictions that may make it difficult for the delivering vehicle to gain access to the point of delivery. Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd will not accept any claims for compensation arising from non/failed/refused delivery of any item where the carriers were not made aware of any points of issue regarding access restrictions. In the event that the item is refused/cancelled due to these restrictions, the customer will be liable for all carriage charges. Due to health & safety regulations, upstairs deliveries are at the carrier’s discretion and are not guaranteed. This includes (but is not limited to) steps that are immediately outside the premises, which couriers are required to climb in order to gain access to the property. Delivery time scales are approximate; often it can be quicker than stated. However, if delivery takes longer than the time stated we will not entertain any claims for compensation. The delivery guides are rough estimates and the time scales are often out of our control. We will endeavour to notify you if delivery is going to take longer than originally expected and all timed delivery charges will be refunded either partially or in full at our discretion should the delivery arrive considerably later than booked.

2.4 Damage in Transit / Shortages
If the parcel(s) you receive have any damage on the exterior packaging you must check the contents and list the damage on the driver’s delivery note, if the words ‘goods delivered in good condition’ are on the delivery form next to your signature they need to be crossed out also. If you are at all worried about the goods being damaged, you must sign for the goods as ‘Damaged’ on receipt. Any damage must be reported as soon as the customer notices it and no later than 30 days of signing for the goods. If someone else is signing on your behalf they must be made aware of the above. This does not affect your statutory rights and in the event of the goods being faulty, they will be repaired or replaced.

2.5 Delivery Arrangements
If you advise us that the order can be left with a neighbour or delivered to an alternative address, the person signing on your behalf must be made aware of our terms above regarding damage in transit and shortages. As carriers and delivery drivers are not under our control, we cannot be held responsible for their actions when delivering and if you encounter any problems they must be taken up directly with the carrier. You can also opt for the order to be left in a ‘secure location’ but only provided that a signed discretionary note is left for the courier to take as proof of delivery. If the order is then left in this location by the delivery driver, and is subsequently stolen, ARA Flooring Solutions or the carrier cannot be held responsible for following your instructions. We will always endeavour to deliver at a convenient time for you, but we cannot be held responsible for any delays caused due to events that are out of our control.

2.6 Problems With Your Order
As damages can occur in transit and issues can arise to prevent the delivery that are out of our control, we cannot accept any liability for time or financial loss as a result of, for example but not limited to; advanced fitter booking, employment holiday etc. These provisions made are by your choice and at your discretion, but do not affect your statutory rights. We would also advise all customers to check their order in full prior to arranging any additional services or aforementioned costs, as we cannot be held liable for additional costs incurred. If your order is found to be incorrect on delivery or inspection, we will however arrange for a replacement item or refund for any incorrect items at no additional cost to you where possible.

2.7 Store Orders and Home Consultation orders.
In instances where samples of the ordered products have been seen prior to purchase and a ‘face to face’ sales interaction has taken place between our representative and the customer (in-store, or a customer requested, booked home consultation, etc) subsequent orders placed do not fall under ‘Distance selling rules’. Your normal Statutory rights apply. Cancellations are at the discretion of Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd. Any accepted cancellation of an order by uswill be credited back to the customer by way of ‘credit note’. Cancellation charges will also be made.

Fitting Terms

Ara Floor Store is a trading name of Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd.

Where fitting is offered, we act as agents for local, self-employed floor fitters. We act as an introducer to the 3rd party fitter, and make all the necessary arrangements on your behalf. All fitters have been assessed by us to ensure sure that they provide a high level service. Fitting works are guaranteed for 12 months. Please note that it is not uncommon for a fitter to need to return, sometimes weeks after fitting, to complete remedial work, such as re-stretching a carpet that often initially stretch due to the carpet acclimatising to your room.

In the unlikely event that any dispute arises between the customer and the fitter, we will always endeavour to assist the situation to a timely, and agreeable outcome. Each fitter is responsible and liable for their standard of work. Fitters possess at least £1million public liability insurance and we can supply a copy of their public liability certificate to customers upon request.

Installation costs.
Payment is made directly to the self employed 3rd party fitter.
Orders made online and in-store with Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd and its subsidiary brands, will have the fitting cost shown on your invoice for your reference. You must pay this fee directly to the self-employed fitter that we have organised on your behalf.

The fitting fee should be made in Cash (unless prior arrangements are made with the fitter) upon immediate completion of works. The 3rd party fitter is responsible for providing the consumer a receipt for installation costs.

In occasional circumstances (such as an insurance order), the fitting service can directly be made with, and paid to Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd. In these circumstances, there will be a 15% service charge added to the fitting fee to cover our extra associated costs. In this scenario, the fitting contract is with ARA Flooring Solutions, with the fitters working as sub-contractors for ARA Flooring Solutions.

Privacy
3rd party Fitters will be provided with a copy of your order. This will include  customer information to fulfil their service, such as name, address and telephone number. Neither Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd nor the 3rd party fitters have access or record of payment information details. Card payments to ‘Ara Flooring Solutions Ltd’ are securely processed.

Preparing you room & Waste clearance.
Fitting prices are based on fitting to an area that has already been removed of old floorcovering and the room having been emptied (2 or 3 pieces of furniture such as couch and chair can be worked around). Fitters will leave any fitting waste in an orderly fashion for you to dispose of. Unfortunately, fitters are unable to take away any wastage from the fitting as they do not hold a ‘Waste carrier license’.

Add-on fitting services. 
Extra works such as hardboarding the floor or emptying a room of furniture are subject to extra costs and should be discussed and ordered with us prior to the work commencing. If, on the scheduled fitting day, extra work is found to be needed, that has not previously discussed, , the fitter will try and accommodate where possible. However, due to their scheduled workload for that day, and the fact that all fitters do not all offer the same ‘add-on’ services, you may experience a delay in your fitting.