What happens if you puncture a water pipe?

If the carpet fitter put a nail from the gripper straight through a water pipe, then the pipe must have been less than an inch from the floor surface. I'm pretty sure that there is a British standard depth for piping and for that matter also wiring to go under the floor boarding to prevent this type of occurrence. I would suggest that the blame lies solely with the cowboy that installed your water pipes.

Wholly unprofessional response from the carpet fitter. Every good tradesperson is insured for this type of incident. He/she should have admitted responsibility immediately and worked with the customer to find an authorised plumber asap. You are there to improve someone's home not wreck it. I find too many 'professionals' are too quick to blame someone else for their own mistakes. My advice is to employ the best not the cheapest.

Well as a carpet fitter with far many years of skill that I care to remember going back to the 1960's, as I was taught to sew body carpets by hand (27 inches wide) to those whom don't know what I am talking about and then only by ring & pin that was how fitting carpets was done then, though gripper was invented many years ago, it was not meant for wilton or axminster carpets, just tufted carpets. Fitting Lino was done by making paper templates too. As for installing pipes under floors, this has gone on for years, there was no set standard even if there is one now! so it could have been installed a long time ago the pipe. I have fitted carpets in doorways and with all Axminster/ Wilton carpets we put a 1" hem on them and then used blue tack nails, then changed to 1" pins to fasten them down if the customer did not want a door plate and some times we hit a pipe, we never called the pipe fitter a cowboy, he may have been restricted in where the pipe could go when installing such. I am sure this person who wrote such comment is a very competent fitter and my comments is not about his skill which seems excellent. I believe it is unfair to disparage anyone who has no right of responce when they are called a cowboy, as someone responded be professional, skilled carpet fitting and laying hard floors is a dying skill with floor coverings being made to accommodate those whom lack in certain skills, lets be professional in not only how we treat our customers but in how we communicate about other trades too.

Sounds like an insurance job, especially if there has been other damage. They will chase whoever they believe to be responsible. The carpet fitter should also have insurance specifically for this type of thing