Cleaner charge problem...what would you think?

[achoocashew]

I asked on a local facebook page for a new cleaner as my previous had to stop due to sickness. Several people volunteered and recommended others and i contacted a lady, lets call her Tina. I wanted a good going over of my kitchen, inside and outside cupboards, cleaning tiles and scrubbing floor etc plus all the regular stuff.

This was the conversation we had on messenger:

T - Hi, I can help you, I have my own cleaning company, I’m fully insured and supply all the equipment ... I charge £20 an hour and there’s always two of us x

ME - Hi, thanks for messaging me. Were you talking about the one off clean or regular cleaning?
Can you supply references and are you dbs checked?

T - We can do both? Yes dbs checked and I can ask my old company for a reference as I don’t have any regular ones

M- I meant do you have other people you clean for who I could just have a quick chat with?

T -Yes sure I can give u a number for one ?

M -Great. And when could you do the deep clean? Two people for £20 ph? I'm not sure how long it would take tbh

T - So if we do 4 hours it would be £80 ( an example) I’ve just said to my customer u want a reference and he said you can call him now if you want to his name is Andrew and his no is ‭xxxxx, can do it for you on Friday?

M - Thanks. Friday is about the only day that isn't good for me! Could you do another day?
I have space on thursday at 1.15pm ? U have probably heard this so many times but we are very reliable, will do a brilliant job for you, I invoice at the end of each month so u can either pay, cash, cheque or into my business account.

M -That would be great, thank you. Would you want to pop round so you can see how long it might take or just see on Thursday?

I can pop round tomorrow ? etc etc arranging times.

She popped round a couple of days before, looked at the kitchen to see how small etc, looked at the other rooms . Tina and another lady arrived at 1.10pm today and left just after 3pm.

How much would you expect to pay?!!! She has popped the invoice through my door and i was a bit flummoxed! I'll get to the AIBU when i tell you what she asked for!

I'd argue.
In her message she said if we work for 4 hours it would be £80. doesn't say £80pp. I would only pay £40

£20 per hour per cleaner is extremely pricey. If I were you I would pay it, if you can afford it, but say that she wasn't clear and you didn't think she could mean £20 each as that is way over the going rate and you won't be using them again.

Ask for the going rate on your local fb page and pay the top end of that and explain this is a fair compromise due to miscommunication. From a legal point of view since she is the 'business' end, the wordings, if unclear (which they are), would be interpreted against her and in your favour.

What has she said exactly in her reply?

Does she have a fb page OP?

I would quote back at her So if we do 4 hours it would be £80 and say that means two hours is £40 and here is your £40, and then never have her back again. If she wants more, she can go to the small claims court and lose.

I would have expected £80 with what she said. I would always assume that an hourly rate is per person and that one person could take 4 hours, 2 people 2 hours etc.

It is very expensive though. Mine is £10.50 ppph and I pay £42 per time (they come fortnightly). It is usually 2 people and they're here for 2 hours. That's 4 hours overall.

I'd pay the £80 and chalk it up to experience.

2 people do 2 hours. Therefore it’s 4 hours worth of cleaning. Think of it as one coming in for 2 hours (£20) and then the other coming in for 2 hours (£20). That is £40 in my book!

But they didnt work 4 hours.If A came at 1 and left at 3.Then b came at 3 and left at 5.Thats four hours.
They only done 2 hours,so pay them that.

£80 makes perfect sense though they or “we” cleaned for four hours so it’s £80 as quoted. I do not understand the confusion.

Oh wait she said 20£ per hour. 4 hours worth of cleaning is £80. I can see it both ways!

I've got a few self-employed cleaner friends (South East) and most are charging £10 per hour or thereabouts.

Please bear with me but verbal reasoning is something I'm quite hot on...

"So if we do 4 hours it would be £80 ( an example)"

That is as clear as it gets. Ignore everything else and people trying to convince you that you can't read. You can and you are reading it right. For it to be double that she'd have had to say "it would be £80 each" or similar. Even if she meant something different it's tough luck, she gave you a quote in writing and has to swallow it.

Honestly, £20 per hour for one person for an hour is not right. Agency staff will cost more obviously, but the actual cleaners working for them only end up with about £8 per hour.
They short-changed you on time and are now trying to pull a con that probably works sometimes. This time it hasn't.

Explain to her that you even checked that it was £20 per hour for the two of them, not £20 EACH per hour for the two of them.

Pay her the £40 and then stop communicating. She is not going to take you to small claims for £40.

“I done 2 and Jill done 2”. She sounds illiterate too. Do you plan to use her services again? If not, I’d suggest meeting in the middle by paying her £60. Don’t just offer her that, I’d negotiate with her and probably end up at that figure.

Exactly , they worked for just under 2 hours. She never said the word each..she said i charge £20ph and there is always 2 of us.

I am now having a conversation trying to explain this...

There are ALWAYS two of us -£20 per hour. £40 per hour, I pay £10.

I'd stick to my guns. I'd pay £40 that's not on. £20 per person per hour is what she needed to quote -she didn't.

I want to say this, is it clear?

No, Tina, I don't want to be awkward, but you expressly say " I charge £20 an hour and there’s always two of us x" Nowhere did you say it is £20 per hour each. No cleaner charges £20ph. In your example you say if we work for 4 hours it will be £80. That means working for 4 hours of actual time. You worked for 2 hours so that is £40. I will pay you £40. Perhaps you should be a lot clearer as i would not have agreed to pay £80.

I read it that you would be paying £20 per hour too. £40 is extortionate. I pay £12 an hour. The cleaner always leaves early too and that annoys me. I'd not be happy about paying the £80!

That is as clear as it gets. Ignore everything else and people trying to convince you that you can't read. You can and you are reading it right.

This ^^ there is no way you are reading it incorrectly she gave you a quote in writing. I would say you will pay £40 as agreed and if she wants to take it further then let her get on with it, there's no way a court would rule in her favour. For a start they would laugh her out of the room for thinking £20 ph is cheaper than any other cleaner in the area. The odds are she's the most expensive cleaner for miles especially if she always brings a friend to help.

Yup, she was being misleading. Chalk this one up and never use them again

I charge £20 an hour and there’s always two of us< This means £20 per hour for both, they did 2 hours= £40 and that is with the goodwill as they didn't work the full 2 hours

Let us know what she says OP.
@Flyme21 is spot on

I see this as an honest miscommunication. In this case, I'm betting they need the money more than you, so I would pay it.

Can you check with Andrew who's number she gave you what he pays?

I can read it both ways but £20ph is very expensive. What are the going rates when she says she quotes cheaper