Is this message very rude? I think it is

[septemberismyfavouritemonth]

In June we had a new window cleaner clean our windows inside and out and discussed more regular window cleaning every few months.

The window cleaner messaged to say he will come this week, I asked how much for outside only and he sent me the quote - £30. I felt like this was quite alot for outside windows (2 bed terrace house) so asked around and found £20 was about average with some paying less but £20 being an average amount that I'd be ok to pay.

I messaged back to say I thought it was alot and could he do for £20, no worries if not but £30 was too much for us right now so we would leave it.

He messaged back to say we had an agreement on price and frequency and that he thought I would keep my word, he then said 'I work hard to be reliable to all my clients and I expect the same from you'

I was pretty shocked, I appreciate he feels we had a verbal contract but he doesn't know my circumstances and I feel I asked a reasonable question, I do feel that he was over charging. As we had inside and outside last time I didn't recall discussing outside only cost even if I did I wanted to check and confirm so I could have the money ready.

Is his response rude or am I in the wrong here? I felt like I was being reprimanded by someone I've met once. Obviously now worried because he knows where I live and I hate confrontation!

He was rude & trying to bully you - as well as trying to rip you off!

I was feeling ok about my price until I read all the low prices on here! Mine (now) uses the long reach brush (which has saved some blushes) 4 windows & a skylight are £11 per month. They're reliable & nice blokes though, so I'll continue to use them.

As for how long they take It's hard to say as they do the fronts of a few places, then the backs, but I'd say, no more than 5-10 minutes actually cleaning my windows (but that's not the driving or set up time etc) and the owner is paying all the costs of staff (he rarely does them himself anymore)

It is rude.

“We didn’t have a contract and frankly I find your implication that we did rather pushy. I’m going to leave it there. Thanks for your time.”

I pay £10 to my very reliable window cleaner for a house with glass in front and back doors, both with glass in them, kitchen, living room, bathroom and four bedrooms. In fact, three years ago he asked for £7 on his first visit, and we gave him £10, as we thought that was fair, and I'm considering upping it now.

He was rude. I’d reply something like ‘We didn’t discuss the price for outdoor-only cleaning, so there was no agreement in place. £30 is significantly more than the going rate in this area, as I’m sure you’re aware. I was not expecting the price to be so high. We won’t be doing any further business with you, OP’ And then block him from your phone/email, and forget about him! Even if he subsequently agreed to drop the price I’d not do business with someone that rude.

Where do you live I get my 2 bed terraces with three floors done for £7! So that's really expensive. I think you should have asked how much for just outside if you were verbally agreeing something with him. But his reply was rude. You don't owe anyone your buisness. And he's just made damn sure you never get him back for sporadic cleaning.

Bloody hell thats expensive i pay £15 a month for

11 windows - most are medium to large
Two French doors
One bi fold door six panels
Front door windows

I don't think his message was rude at all. He felt you had an agreement and he was making the point he is reliable so expects his customers to be.
Obviously because you struggle with confrontation, you're alert to any hint of it but lots of people are direct especially when it comes to contracts and billing. It's to ensure there can be no confusion going forward. Oftentimes 'being polite' can actually be 'being woolly about the details' and it's impossible to work that way.

I’ve got 16 windows, 3 sets of french doors, 9 Velux, front door plus garage window and door and I pay £30, so your guy is taking the piss.

£8 for a 3 bedroom terrace with the windows cleaned by a big brush. I'd be happy to pay double if it was by hand. Definitely not £30!

We have a 4 bed bungalow & pay £17.

That is a huge amount. We have 27 windows -including French windows and velux- and pay £30 for an outside clean every other month.

Ring him and remind him that "a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on."

Then search locally for a window cleaner that uses tap water.

One of our local window cleaners would probably have responded in a similar fashion - he’s lost a lot of customers through his behaviour as he seems to feels that an invitation to quote for a service equals a contract and can be way too pushy generally. .

I have a 2 bedroom terrace and it is £4.50 every two weeks.

You are being quoted far too much irrespective of the attitude.
I have my windows cleaned every month for £25. I have 4 glass doors and 23 windows, all of which ar e made if separate wooden panels so really awkward to clean. The window cleaners come in a team and blitz the place. Almost every house nearby now has them done by them at the same time now.
Try to find a window cleaner already in your area then thry can just add your house kn when they are already nearby.thry ate more likely to do it. I find if they are going out of their way to you on a one off they either charge more or are unreliable.

Where are you? I pay £10.50 for 2 doors and 10 windows. £30 is extortionate.

That's what over-chargers do - try to bully people to feeling they gave to pay over the odds for something.The "agreement" is all in his mind, it's obviously not an agreement because there is no agreement on price

Yes, it sounds to me like a pared-down version of the tactics used by these companies selling mobility aids and products targeted at the elderly - the sort you see a lot on Watchdog/Rogue Traders. They deliberately avoid telling you what they know is a very high price and then insist on taking up hours of your time to wear you down. If you say no after that, they accuse you of wasting their time and not honouring what they assumed was already their deal in the bag, because you initially expressed some faint interest.

Good companies will tell you the price upfront (and not one that miraculously drops from outrageous to merely extortionate following a random call to their manager) and leave it with you. They're often already busy enough anyway, as their many impressed clients keep on recommending them to their friends and family.

Window cleaning seems to be one of those trades that attracts a lot of ne'er do wells and rip-off merchants, as it's an easy job to claim to have done and/or to do half-heartedly. It's terribly unfair on those ones who do take pride in doing a careful, thorough job and charge a fair price for their work.

We pay £1 per window!

We pay £5 every month for a 4 bed and Conservatory.

“We did not have an agreement. I asked you to quote for the outside only. You quoted £30 and I am not willing to pay that price. I Therefore do not want you to clean my wIndows. Kind regards...”

I think it’s important you make it clear that you do not want to engage him, otherwise he sounds like the kind of person who might show up, do them, then intimidate you into paying.

Maybe I have misunderstood the OP but I thought she said that he had done inside and out in June and had been booked to come back in August and it wasn't until he messaged to say he was coming back this week that she asked him to quote for outside only instead. If I am right then I don't think it's unreasonable for him to have thought that the agreement was that he would come on a regular basis to do windows inside and out.

But at the end of the day if it's not working for OP then it's not working for her, there's just not much point being offended when you move the goalposts at the last minute and the other person doesn't hide that it is frustrating for them.

We pay £13 for a 4 bed detached with conservatory (North West).
Just say no thanks. Don’t engage further.

That's a fortune. We pay £7 for a 5 bedroom house!

Currently I have 294764 windows. Ds shattered one playing football.

The window cleaner is expecting to pick each piece up and clean it by hand before fitting it back into the window...
I won't pay him.
The window cleaner is also known as ds.