to think that this isn’t just a quirk or living at the end house and is actually theft?

[BanKittenHeels]

We live at the end house on our road. It turns out our window cleaner has been using water from our back garden tap to wash the windows not only on our entire side of the road but also the houses on the road that backs onto our road. That’s 43 houses!
When confronted about this he told me “that’s a quirk of living at the end house”.

I mentioned it to a neighbour and she just laughed and said “It’s only a bit of water!”

AIBU to think, as we are on a water meter, this is actually theft?

Isn't life too short? It's pennies!

It's not though is it? It's pounds and pounds over six years.

Tap lock! And I'd probably sack him as well. That is cheeky AF!

@BanKittenHeels

Probably not "theft". The definition of theft is "dishonestly" "appropriates" "property" "belonging to another" "with the intention to permanently deprive". It would fail the first test.

It is certainly not correct however and I would suggest you speak plainly to him and require a contribution to your water bill to take account of the past!

it is theft to steal electricity so it must also be theft to steal water.

Also £6 a month over 6 years is £432.

@VeniVidiVoxi but he isn't just filling 2 bucket of water, he then attaches a hose to the tap.

The water company assumes that a certain percentage of what you draw through your tap also goes down their drain and charges you for that too.

If you are so giving of your own water supply, maybe attach a sign to the front of your own house offering your water for free to any window cleaner.

My own house has 13 windows, a set of french doors, a fully glazed door then 2 half glazed doors. Plus my front door with two glass panes. This is the reason I don't have a window cleaner, because of the cost. I do them myself (I have special hinges that allow me to clean the upstairs windows from inside.)

Isn't life too short? It's pennies
It's the principle of it. Ask and most people wouldn't care much. Take and its bloody cheeky.
I'm on a meter but the local window cleaner attaches his very very long hose to someone else tap (who isnt metered) and I think the neighbour gets a free window clean for his trouble.

I cant find it now but there was a pay dispute over 2p per hour or similar, would you think that just "pennies" too?

@DesLynamsMoustache

We do have water meters in Scotland. Might not be compulsory, and they aren’t in England either.

I am not originally from the UK and have never heard of a window or bin cleaner before I moved here. Can someone please tell me why you pay someone to clean your windows and bins? I've noticed a few people on my road have theirs cleaned and I can't see the difference between their 'cleaned' windows and mine which are not 'professionally' cleaned each month.

OP YANBU.

@noisehelp Because I can't be arsed doing it myself

@noisehelp the difference is that you were outside cleaning windows and the rest of us were at work/sat on sofas/doing literally anything. People pay professionals to clean their windows for the same reason we pay for anything else - because we don't want to do it.

Glad you found a solution OP, I think he's taking the piss

@GreyishDays Ah, I've never heard of it here!

Probably not "theft". The definition of theft is "dishonestly" "appropriates" "property" "belonging to another" "with the intention to permanently deprive". It would fail the first test.

Of course its theft! It certainly is if he did after you asking him not to. Glad to hear you're getting a lock and another cleaner. Blooming cheek!

I’d say yes that’s fine so long as my windows get done for free.

I'd be bloody fuming the cheeky git.

Get a tap lock and I'd also put a digilock on the garden gate as well - you can give the code to your new window cleaner but it stops anyone else from being able to wander in.

Noisehelp My upstairs windows open from the bottom outwards, so I can't clean them myself because I can't reach from the ground or the inside. My window cleaners have a long water fed pole to do them.

Changing the window cleaner is the way forwards, super cheeky!

That’s so cheeky. I cancelled our bin cleaners when I realised they had been filling up their water containers using my outside tap.

You can actual see a breakdown on a bill of your water usuage on the days he's cleaned the windows too OP.

Slightly OT but @VenusTiger would you mind posting how to do that, I'd really like to get my water bill down and knowing where it's going would be a massive help. Is there a central database somewhere?

I'd be fuming! Utter CF behaviour. You're paying him and then he's using the water you are also paying for to do another 30 odd houses!!
Your neighbours had better watch out as he'll be searching for another tap to attach his hose to.

How does he access it? I assume he’s taking it after he cleans your windows? Just tell him he’s not your window cleaner anymore and to stay out of your garden.
Thank goodness we don’t have water meters up here.

That's awful.

And it's obviously a hose not buckets, otherwise he'd be asking at individual houses, not trailing the length of the street back & forth to Op's!

Will you keep using him, Op?

I wouldn't.

And where did everyone else think that the water was coming from?

the cheeky git, yes it is theft, its the same as if he bypassed your electric meter and used your electric

“ And where did everyone else think that the water was coming from?”

Now you’ve said it, I don’t know where mum’s window cleaners get theirs. The outside tap is not accessible to them. They only do the front.

Like a pp, I wouldn’t bother with a regular window cleaner either. I think I hosed out mum’s bins last summer. Are we terrible? I’m in flats, the management company send bin cleaners round monthly.

"The outside tap is not accessible to them. They only do the front."

They must have a supply as there must be lots of people at work & no outside tap to access?

And where did everyone else think that the water was coming from?

I thought they had water in the back of their van 🙈

"I thought they had water in the back of their van"

Well yes-but in this case supplied by Op it would seem?