It does not cost £30 to clean three windows surely?

[EachandEveryone]

Admittedly it’s a first floor flat and three dash windows. Last time he came it was £15 and I gave him £20 for £10 mins work. He’s the only one that will do it so he’s got me over a barrel. I asked him if he would do the Paynes and he said that will be £30. He’s on his way. There’s two of them,

£15 for 9 windows (one of which is the entire breadth of our living room) and a set of patio doors. And I think that's on the expensive end...

Whereabouts in London are you and what sort of height? Why aren’t the others who use pole systems willing or able to do your flat?

Is your window cleaner using a ladder or going outside from your flat and standing on the sills?

I have paid £15-£30 outside London depending on the house one had a lot of windows. However, my central London flat with fewer windows costs £50-£90 (actually the latter as the one who did it for £50 has gone AWOL). Partly central London prices but also it can’t be done with poles or ladders.
(Luckily it only needs doing a couple of times a year)

There is not much you can do. Either pay it or have dirty windows.

If he’s the “only one” then he’s not overcharging, he’s making the most of having no competition and a captive market. He’s told you his rates and you have the option to agree, refuse or attempt to haggle him down.

If you can’t find an alternative provider then what other people pay doesn’t seem particularly relevant.

£13 for 9 big windows, 1 small window, patio doors and glass in front and back doors. He does it with ladders and a bucket. North West

London, recently increased from £10 to £15 but that’s still very fair (windows at the side front and back, 3 doors, patio bi-fold, 2 bay windows and 7 smaller ones- an unusual amount for a 3 bed semi!)

OP I got my upstairs windows cleaned and guttering cleaned out front and back for £50. You need to negotiate.

I pay £8 for 8 windows and a bit of glass in the door

Hmm I wouldn't travel to someone's house and clean 1st floor windows from inside / or on ladders (van, equipment, insurance) for less than £30.
As someone said, if he is on a round doing neighbours the same day, it should be cheaper. Perhaps get together with your neighbours?

I'd have thought it's the getting to you and getting up the ladder that's the cost. We pay £19 for all of our detached house, but he does loads of houses in the street so I guess it's worthwhile. Also at least 3 window cleaners operating in our village.

My windows at school haven't been cleaned in at least 5 years. I'm told its £8k to do the school so it doesn't happen.

£6 here in Glasgow for my 3 bed semi including the glass windows on my back and front doors and window sills. He does almost the entire street though.

Do any of your neighbours have a regular window cleaner that you could try instead?

I pay £6 for 3 windows (one of them a sash) not in London tho.

I kept an eye out for my neighbours window cleaner and asked him if he could do mine on the same day to make it more convenient for him - ie they don't come out especially for me.

£30 seems a lot for 3 windows, even with London prices.

*and they use a pole, not ladders.

I guess it depends if theyve got specialist equipment. The fact you tipped them so much at the beginning means they’ve probably earmarked you as a bit of a mask g and priced subsequent jobs accordingly. Just tell them you are no longer interested and get some other companies to quote.

We pay £15, front door, french doors x9 windows.

*bit of a mug

£6 for 3 bed semi not London but big city

£12 here - 3 bed semi. Used to be a tenner but we had a porch added so costs a bit extra now. 8 windows plus the porch. Traditional window cleaner with ladders and rags, team of three.

We're 6 miles south of Oxford.

I inherited a window slacker cleaner when I got this house.

He cleaned the windows prior to me moving in here and the previous owner left his money in an envelope which I handed over to him.

It's a large detached house.
There are lots of windows including two sets of patio doors at the back. I paid £10 - he asked for £9, so I thought the extra would be goodwill.
Then I found he did not clean the two sets of dormer bedrooms due to the sloping of the roof.
Fair enough except he did clean the neighbouring house dormer bedroom windows and climbed onto their sloping roof like a little monkey because I saw him do it from our facing bedroom window which he refused to clean
He also did not clean the bathroom window because there was a problem with his back/arm ladder.

I always made him a cuppa and changed his water.

If I was not there he would miss windows out
If I was there he would miss windows out.

Over time he missed more windows than he cleaned

The last time he came I was at a loss as to which window he had cleaned that day, but I knew he had been as there was a card saying he had and a request for £10.

I left a note out the following fortnight with £9 and thanking him for cleaning my windows and letting him know I could no longer afford the bastard, but thanks very much for all his hard work.

He got the message.

Months later I saw him in a pub at the bar. He saw me and legged it :)

London. Costs a tenner for two upstairs windows, one large bay and the front door glass. Cleaning the frames/sills happens everytime - it's not just the glass. He's also been known to slosh some water into the wheelie bin if he's noticed it smells a bit (for free) and water the windowboxes. When he does the rear windows (2 upstairs, 1 downstairs, one fully glass door), that's another tenner.

At thirty quid a pop, it would work out cheaper to invest in something to be able to wash them yourself from downstairs.

I'm in a first floor flat and bought a Karcher window vac and an extension pole. Does the job great.

@Anordinarymum

I inherited a window slacker cleaner when I got this house.

He cleaned the windows prior to me moving in here and the previous owner left his money in an envelope which I handed over to him.

It's a large detached house.
There are lots of windows including two sets of patio doors at the back. I paid £10 - he asked for £9, so I thought the extra would be goodwill.
Then I found he did not clean the two sets of dormer bedrooms due to the sloping of the roof.
Fair enough except he did clean the neighbouring house dormer bedroom windows and climbed onto their sloping roof like a little monkey because I saw him do it from our facing bedroom window which he refused to clean
He also did not clean the bathroom window because there was a problem with his back/arm ladder.

I always made him a cuppa and changed his water.

If I was not there he would miss windows out
If I was there he would miss windows out.

Over time he missed more windows than he cleaned

The last time he came I was at a loss as to which window he had cleaned that day, but I knew he had been as there was a card saying he had and a request for £10.

I left a note out the following fortnight with £9 and thanking him for cleaning my windows and letting him know I could no longer afford the bastard, but thanks very much for all his hard work.

He got the message.

Months later I saw him in a pub at the bar. He saw me and legged it :)

Made me laugh! He was a proper ' sinbad'

I used to clean windows in Kent, and the first that that crossed my mind is that he didn't want the job, so priced it accordingly.
Pricing is dependent on the time it takes to get to and complete a job, so doing a load of places on one road will be cheaper per property. We used the pole system for uppers, and a blade and scrim for downs and doors (the latter tend to leak more). With the pole system you need transport, and parking can often be a problem.
I did know cleaners in London, where they can be very territorial! As others have mentioned the usual approach there is for the cleaner to turn up whenever it's your streets turn and as a consequence the price will be lower. Driving across town & finding somewhere to park for one job can be a PITA, and when you consider travelling time £30 may not be so bad.

He was on his way to another job. Hes very popular on my local facebook. He cant use a pole even if he had one as the people downstairs complain it gets on to their windows. No one on my street has a window cleaner. And i mean no one. Its a busy street with an underground station. Lockdown has made it easier for him to come.

I'd rather have dirty windows than pay £40 to get a few cleaned.

Put the money towards equipment so you can do it yourself.