Swindon mum anxious after fitter left sharp nails on carpet

Shannon Harte said the 'botched' job in her home resulted in nails being left scattered on the door as well as having her doors left off their hinges.

She employed Mark Wheeler of M.L Carpets to furnish her Park North house in the summer of 2020 but was left anxious following the completion.

The 25-year-old then pregnant mother complained that furniture and doors were left out of place and the offcuts were left dumped on the new carpet alongside other shape materials.

Shannon told the Advertiser of her experience following the recent report of another botched job by Mr Wheeler in which alleged racist abuse was used.

A section of sharp carpet gripper as well as offcuts were left at Shannon's home. (Image: Shannon Harte)

The family moved into the house in 2019 and wanted to upgrade their interior decor so paid Mr Wheeler £870 for his services.

“I was in a mad rush to get the carpet fitted as my youngest child was due and he said he could do it within the time frame,” she said.

“He came back a couple of weeks later to fit the carpet and he only laid the living room and my bedroom but his colleague laid my daughter’s bedroom and the hallway.

“The colleague took the offcuts with him and did a good job but this wasn’t the same for Mark.”

Shannon, who was 36 weeks pregnant at the time, soon realised that getting the job done correctly was going to be far from straightforward.

“Mark promised that he would move the furniture back in after finishing the job as my partner was working in London at the time and due to the Covid risk, he was staying over there to protect us,” she said.

The door had been taken off but was not reattached. (Image: Shannon Harte)

“He never moved the furniture back in and he also took down my living room door but refused to put it back up. I couldn’t do it myself because I was heavily pregnant.

“I felt stressed and very anxious as the door could fall on my child and hurt her. In the end, my stepdad put the door back on the hinges.”

This was not the end of the problems though as Mark also left a pile of offcuts which contained sharp objects.

“He suggested my child could play in it and I felt anxious about that idea so I picked up the mess and we soon realised the carpet gripper was left in there,” said Shannon.

“Nails had also been left in the pile on the carpet so I felt very scared as they could cause a major injury to me or my daughter.

“He said I had to discard this myself which he should have taken."

A sharp nail was also left at the site which caused Shannon to worry for her and her four-year-old daughter's safety. (Image: Shannon Harte)

Shannon has since left Swindon to move to Reading but recalled how the experience had a negative impact on her mental health.

“I felt nervous for a long time after as I never knew if there was a nail laying there,” she said.

“My bed was also moved and it was a solid oak bed and I, heavily pregnant, and my mum, who suffers from fibromyalgia, had to move the bed.

“When he was laying the carpet in the living room he had a phone call from another customer and he was shouting and swearing in my living room when my child was in the other room and could hear it all.

Shannon was unhappy with the quality of the carpet job done in her Swindon home. (Image: Shannon Harte)

The Adver approached Mr Wheeler for comment.

“Offcuts are their carpet and their rubbish and I don’t take their rubbish,” he said.

“It’s their rubbish and that’s not being horrible, that’s the way it goes.

“If I put the doors back on it’ll bring the carpet back up as there is not enough room. I’m not a carpenter.”