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 would have clarified this before as her wording in the message is unclear. And (to me) £10 sounds cheap for a self employed person and £20 sounds too much for a cleaner.

I also think she's done this on purpose and would be inclined to refuse to pay the full amount. As a business it is her job to make the terms clear.

I would have assumed NOTHING and would have double and triple checked. Where I live £10 an hour would be more odd than £20 and hour. Most independent cleaners charge around £12.50 and £15 an hour and deep cleans are usually more. There is also a big difference between proper cleaning company hourly rates and less commercial cleaners.

I don’t think she was deliberately trying to rip you off. How about offering £50 or £60 and seeing what happens.

Can you not check with the person she gave you as a reference to see what he lays to see if she genuinely charges £20 each per hour?

Sorry, i meant to say the wording looks *deliberately unclear. You asked for clarification and she sidestepped - it wasn't clear at all.

£20 ph pp is ridiculous. She wasn't clear, I'd have said £40total based on her message. Just need to repeat it back to her and pay £40.

I actually agree with the previous poster why would she even mention the £20 if she then states never comes alone if she wasn't trying to deceive you??

More if you saw a top marked at £20 and took it to the till and they told you it was actually £40, would you offer them £30? Or would you argue to toss?

ive said this.....

I am happy to pay you £40, that is what i expected to pay. Thank you for understanding my point of view. I think it would be good if you said £20 per person per hour in the future to other people. Then it cannot be misunderstood. I will pay this this evening instead of the end of the month as on your invoice. I think also it might be best if we just stick to this as a one off clean and not now have a weekly clean.

@Flyme21

While I completely agree that they way this cleaner has representing her pricing structure is wrong - she needs to be clearer, your comment that £10 per hour is more than most is wrong. You make it seems like she will be wanting much more than someone else in a full time minimum wage job, but that is not necessarily true.

When you work for yourself, you are only paid for the hours you spend actually making something or physically doing tour trade. No one is paying for the hours you spend doing admin, advertising, buying and maintaining equipment, travelling to jobs.

I'm an independent jeweller and I charge £30 an hour. Say I work about 60 hours a week - I will not be earning £1800 a week. Of that 60 hours, say I spend 40 hours physically making jewellery - those are the only hours I get paid for. The other hours are spent on admin, advertising and all the rest of it. So I only earn £1200 a week. Which works out as a working amount of £20 per hour.

So when you hear £10 per hour, it's not actually £10 for every hour they work. Those hours need to want enough to also pay for all the work that needs to be done outside of the hours spent earning the money. Running a business takes a he'll of a lot of work, and when you hire someone, you are paying for their business - not just the 1 hour they physically spend in your house.

Placemarking (absolutely shamelessly!!)

*earn not want

And sorry for the other typos

Wow OP, I think you’re even being fleeced at £40. I live in quite an expensive part of the country and even here the top of the range cleaning company only charges £12 hour. I have a cleaner who does 3 hours a week for £30 for me.

^^ I’d argue like fuck then flounce out declaring I’d never shop there again. And I never would either

I think you're right OP. She agreed it was 2 people FOR £20 per hour not 2 people @£20 per hour. To me 2 people for £20 per hour means just that - you get 2 people working and you pay the company £20 per hour.

Sorry, that was to sharron

Oh and fwiw op you’re right she was being a chancer

I agree that it's worth no more than £40 - but be careful. Did she have your keys, at any point that they could have been copied?
We had a thieving cleaner. She was decanting perfume/moisturisers/expensive make-up. It was blatant, and ridiculous.
We changed the locks before we fired her, just to be careful. We did not confront her, or accuse her. We told her we were doing DIY short term (true),and therefore did not need a cleaner for a while.
The bitch came back to attempt entry, and keyed my husband's car - down the entire passenger side.
This happened on the day she would have normally cleaned. Naice area. No car damage previously, or since.
Wish we'd had CCTV.

She obviously charges £20 per cleaner per hour. Perhaps she did not make that clear or you misunderstood/assumed it was £20 per hour.

I would acknowledge there has been a misunderstanding and say to her:

" I'll pay you the £80 as and chalk it up to experience OR i'll pay you X and we can begin a regular arrangement"

At the end of the day she must see sense and realise that repeat business is more valuable.

I havent read the whole thread, but you are 2 *15 mins short so at £20 per person per hour that is £10 to immediately be deducted. That short changing on time is why I sacked my cleaning company a long time ago. They were a national franchise who refused to quote rates By the time i sacked them they were effectively charging £20 per person per hour. AND shortchanging on time.

I love your final sentence OP. Off you fuck, dressed up in pretty frills 😁

Basically , yes! She was a nice lady, but I just cannot afford that.

If it was obvious cherish123 then there wouldn't be any confusion. OP is quite right to pay £40 as that is what was quoted originally

Spot on response OP

more fool her

I pay our gardeners £20 per hour to sort out the outside - their is 2 of them (a couple) and it’s always been clear

I pay my cleaner £13 per hour (South East) and she is bloody brilliant and been cleaning for me for 8 years (EIGHT YEARS!!?)

Unless your person has created a whole new kitchen in that 1hr 45mins they can fuck the fuck right off

She’s definitely taking the piss. I’ve had a carry out with my window company saying I owed £26pound and attached the invoice of non payments he has now “let me off “as a gesture of good will after I attached screenshot of online bank payments the CF! I couldn’t even be bothered to reply. Stand firm.