Am I being unreasonable increasing my cleaning rates to £17.50 an hour?

[Chattychoo]

I am a cleaner , I am half semployed half self employed. I charge £15 an hour(north west) , some I provide cleaning products some they provide.
I last increased my rates 3 years ago but now employ my daughter a few hours a week.
I have a few clients I travel to (20 mile round trip) and due to inflation, fuel and general increased prices thought it was time for a price increase.
i have googled and tried to find what the general prices people charge and I don't want to overcharge anyone.
i have sent a couple of clients that I travel to an email raising to £17.50 an hour but it's not going down well. I haven't heard off one but the other has questioned it . I stated costs have risen and did mention fuel which I probably shouldn't have.
Ive been asked to re consider as it's now coming back down but all my other costs have gone up, insurance , minimum wage even cost of washing my cloths , even my rent so now I don't know how to reply , I feel I'm overcharging and wish I'd never mentioned it!

Er I do clean my own bog. I can't afford a cleaner. However, I do see that it's not a luxury to some. It can be a necessity. I used to have a colleague who suffered from an autoimmune illness and she had to have a cleaner otherwise she didn't have enough left in the tank to work and look after her kids.
My grandparents in their last few years had a cleaner which supported them to remain in their own home.

It's not as simple as basically saying it's a luxury so charge luxury prices.

No but it means that there comes a point where I can’t offer her as many hours

So go in with a reduced offer of £16.50 or £17

I have just picked up on your reply to me at 12.57 and haven't read further.
I’m in the NW where gardeners charge double your increased rate. Yes, you read that right. They’re in hot demand and difficult to find a slot with. Do I pay it? Yes, for the half an hour I was lucky to get every fortnight.
I’ve had cleaners who began well then massively cut corners. So disappointing and frustrating. Keeping you on for years implies you’re good. Make people value you otherwise leave them to struggle to find someone to replace you.
If people can exploit you by paying less some will. The solicitor tried it on and left you with two weeks’ worth of cleaning for one payment. She halved your pay because you asked for an increase. That’s mean and greedy. Walk away OP.
Your trustworthiness, skills, time, reliability and loyalty are worth so much to so many. You should value yourself.

This is a valid point on both sides. It comes down to how highly people value the cleaning being done for them, I suppose. How much they value their own time, freed up.

My cleaner does an amazing job in 2 to 2 1/2 hours; it takes me all weekend, doing bits here and there, not to a high standard, it just gets undone quickly. That's worth much more than the minimum wage to me.

If you can't pay you can't pay, I've waited years and years to be able to have help in the house, it's worth more than holidays to me as I'm not that fussed about holidays, but I want more time on weekends to spend with my family. This is especially important to me after menopause as I definitely have less energy than when I was younger, and getting someone to clean is basically a half day I get back.

My gardener charges a lot more and he's the first to admit he doesn't really know much about plants! More of a weeding/lawn mowing service.

I think your mistake was saying what the raise was covering, you should have been a bit more generic. They don’t have to use you and can end the arrangement if they want. Is £17.50 a typical hourly price in your area? If so, they may have a shock if they sack you and go elsewhere 😂

I actually just said rising costs , I presumed I must have mentioned fuel but I didn't... I now would feel I need to explain that I haven't rose prices in 3 years, col , rising business costs , fuel etc to justify a price rise.

Google thinks £15 to £25 is probably the general price in my area , I have a friend who charges £18.
Whoever cleans would probably have to travel some distance but they would probably be able to get a cleaner closer than me.

My misunderstanding. Still, you deserve a raise. Products cost more and it’s been three years.

I pay £20ph in north west - satellite town of Manchester. She provides her own materials and equipment. Last one we had charged the same.

I pay £22 per hour plus VAT and it’s worth every penny. If you lose clients, you will find new ones so really don’t worry. No one celebrates an increase but you’re not pricing yourself out of the market by any stretch.

I provide my own cleaning products at £15 although this client does provide their own I just use my own cloths.

If you are self employed then travel costs, materials and other similar expenses are tax deductable so you should be including those on your self asessment to pass back to the tax man. Similarly use of your car and mileage. All this is explained on the HMCR website. You will have to raise your prices to some extent but you cant load it all onto the consumer or you will lose your customers.

Hi sorry I hadn't read my email I sent before starting this post and as fuel was mentioned as the reason I just presumed that's what I'd used as my reason for the rise. I have read it since and I'd just stated rising costs ... should have wrote my reply to you a bit better as i realise it sounded a bit rude .

You will have to raise your prices to some extent but you cant load it all onto the consumer or you will lose your customers.
It depends if there's a demand for cleaners in her area. OP may lose the customers who are complaining, but if she gains others in their place it won't be a problem. Many people pay their cleaner more than her increased rate after all.
And driving a round trip of twenty miles for a two hour clean means that she's actually spending three hours for two hours' pay. Clients nearer to her home would be beneficial.

Its not the customers fault that she is driving 20 miles.

I let go out our cleaner when their hourly rate surpassed my own. I understand self employment and leave and tax and travel costs and insurance etc but for me, when it costs more than I earn I can’t justify it any more. FWIW I’m fairly senior in a public sector organisation. It was just a cost benefit ratio thing in the end.

It’s your choice but the reality is some clients will leave or resent. £2.50 jump is WAY too much at time, it’s a 16% jump. No one gets that for the same job in an annual salary increase. Better to increase by 50p annually.

I've just put my rates up to £20 hour from £18. Town in Northamptonshire.
I've also moved further away from my clients,which I know isn't their fault but apart from one farm six miles away,I've added a five pound charge.
I've been with all my clients for over five years and they say they'd be lost without me.
For the three hour cleans,I am now doing 2 or 2.5 so the price they pay isn't much difference.
The farm half an hour away I've out down for longer hours but once a fortnight,they seem happy with this.

So they are paying £25 a hour, including car charge?

So does the client pay an extra £15 or is that included in the cost?

It is £15 a hour the products are included in the cost. A couple do prefer me to use their products and In the past I'd charge less for that but i found I'd end up using mine as they'd run out so I just decided £15 across the board was easier and less confusing

Seems fair. You pay a lot more than that for a cleaner in my area!

They're now paying £20 an hour plus £5 for car charge. £45 for a 2hr clean / £65 for a three as they're a good 25 mins away.
My furthest client has just confirmed she us happy with £7 car charge and a fortnightly 4hr clean,I stead of weekly doing 3

I also take my own hoover,mop and all cleaning products