To change the locks

[suckmasterburstingfoam]

We've just arranged with an agency to have a cleaner once a week. Never had a cleaner before, very exciting. He came yesterday for the first time. He was half an hour late, his manner didn't inspire me with confidence, and he spent much of the first hour on the phone. Nonetheless I took a deep breath, left my keys with him and went out as planned.

When I got back, after the time he should have finished and left, he was still there and there was also a second person in the house. The second person was cleaning, he wasn't. They both left quickly after that, with my keys.

I was alarmed that he had let someone unknown into my home and figured he must have subcontracted the work to her for less money. I contacted the agency and called a locksmith, seeing as someone I didn't trust (and who wouldn't be coming back next week) now had the keys to my house.

After discussion with the agency, it transpired the second person wasn't a subcontractor but another agency cleaner who had come to check up on him because she suspected he was doing a crap job. He was indeed doing a crap job and she had raced around redoing his work. The agency have been very apologetic and have agreed to fetch the keys off the crap cleaner later today.

I haven't cancelled the locksmith so far. It'll be about £200 plus the cost of getting extra keys cut and they're due to come this afternoon. Last night I was convinced we should still change them, but now I can't sleep I'm wondering whether we're wasting a lot of money.

DH is probably less trusting of strangers in our home than I am, but he also quite rightly points out, what if the next cleaner is crap too? Do we get the locks changed again next week?

WWYD? AIBU to change the locks?

Definitely change the locks, you've no idea if he's copied them or not. Small price to pay for piece of mind.

Change your locks and try to find a cleaner you can get personal recommendations for - preferably from friends or family.

Change the locks and see if the agency will pay the cost. Have they offered you an alternative cleaner? They don't sound like a very good agency if they sent someone to a first time client who they were so concerned about thay they had someone ready to check up on them.

Assuming you get the keys back, I think changing the locks is a bit over the top. Being a rubbish cleaner doesn't mean he is going to enter your property unauthorised.

You can change the locks yourself easily and cheaply, there is no need for a locksmith.

If you want the locks changed, you can change them yourself for less money.

Personally, I wouldn’t bother. This guy is a lazy cheap arse - there’s no way he got around to cutting your keys in 24hours. If he was a professional, motivated to get into peoples houses he would have tried harder at his actual job.

I would get the locks changed for peace of mind, try and do them yourself, there are plenty of videos online and it seems easy enough.

If not then get a locksmith but don't spend £200 that seems extortionate to me, ring round and find someone cheaper. I once had to call someone out at the weekend and he charged £100 and I thought that was expensive.

It depends whether the agency have the keys back from him or not. If they have the keys and say they’ll send someone different then I probably wouldn’t to be honest.

Is it a Yale lock? They cost around £20-25 and are easy to fit yourself.

Thanks all. I do agree with the assessment that he's a lazy arse, not a burglar. But if the agency take him off some/all jobs, my concern is more that he might be a lazy arse with a grudge and time on his hands (and access to my house). Probably he wouldn't do anything, but like several of you say, it's a matter of peace of mind.

Totally agree that changing locks is something I could in principle do myself, and that would be much cheaper. But I have a list as long as my arm of increasingly urgent jobs that I don't have time to tackle. That's why we need a cleaner in the first place.

We've decided to go ahead with a locksmith just to get it out of the way. I'm going to stick with the same agency for another try - I have a recommendation for a cleaner they occasionally work with, and I've asked them to see if he's available. Fingers crossed!