To think this isn’t 3 hours of work?

[WWYDwiththisone]

We had a cleaner come to our new house purchase the other day to do a deep clean. Two of them came, charging £23 an hour each.

They were supposed to arrive at 2. They didn’t arrive until 3:25pm because they were ‘late’ from another cleaning job. They said they would stay until the work was done, yet told DH they needed to leave at 4:50 as they hadn’t eaten all day. They said they’d come back the following day but I told them we needed it that day really so we’d have to do it between myself, my mum and my sister

They did almost 1.5hrs of work each, 3 hours combined.

In that time; they cleaned an IKEA Pax wardrobe unit in one of the bedrooms, cleaned the walls in the bathroom, the bathroom sink and the bath. That is it. They left the toilet, they didn’t get round to the kitchen, or skirting boards, or vacuuming, or mopping.

They have now invoiced for £69.

I don’t see how it would take 2 people 1.5hrs to do the above. I’m pretty sure I could do it in 45 minutes.

AIBU to think that’s extremely bad value? What would you compromise if so?

I wouldn't be paying the anything. You contracted them for a deep clean, they didn't complete a deep clean.

They haven't fulfilled the contract so don't get paid.

Would you not be worried about them holding a grudge as PP has mentioned? It has crossed my mind

Not really, the chances of them actually turning up and vandalising my house are miniscule.

How so?

You can't not pay them anything.

You really should speak to them first and state how confused you were that what you agreed upon wasn't done. See what they say, they might offer to knock some money off.

And like I said in my message, you've said they were in attendance for the hours they are asking payment for.

It may seem like nothing but a detail, however, it is very, very important that the difference between paying for time and paying for an outcome is fully appreciated.

No way is that 3 hours work! Totally taking the mickey and with all the messing about with timings.
Maybe offer an hour's pay between them as a good will gesture but no more!
My cleaner is amazing, cleans a good sized 3 bed every week really thoroughly, so know what they can achieve!

Because most people aren't interested in getting a criminal record.

If you have two people than the 3hr are split, so the clean should have been done in 1.5hr.

But, they definitely didn't do a lot and I would definitely raise it with the company, especially the lateness.

We had a regular cleaning company and booked them for a deep clean after some building works. We paid £300 for it, it was dirty so I was more than prepared to pay for it.

When we came home (they had keys) we found they basically just did a normal clean instead of a deep one and when we complained they just said "it was dirtier than normal" so they couldn't have finished.

We paid the normal fee, got our key back and sacked them. Luckily all was done by email so I had proof of what I asked them to do and made plenty of pictures.

I’d pay them an hour each if I’m honest, tell them why and leave a review. I’d also be worried about the comeback if you didn’t pay them anything .

I guess I am more cynical than you. If I don't know anything about someone, I always act on the side of caution. But we're all different. I do get paranoid about annoying someone if they know where I live, or if they're cooking me a meal etc.

Having re:read the OP's messages, there is a lack of clarity on both sides. I've worked in the cleaning industry for a very long time, and no cleaning company who really knows what they are doing should be claiming to stay until the work is done AND charge an hourly rate. It's one or the other - you pay for the time or you pay for the "job".

And the OP should have put a cap on it at the time of booking. For what it's worth, it's a good job they were late, because if they hadn't been and had stayed until the work was done, this post could now be along the lines of "they did all the work, but have charged me for six hours".

If it were me, I'd just be glad it's all over.

But then you wouldn't worry about comeback from paying less than they asked, or by leaving a poor review? I really need to strengthen up I think.

Really surprised by the pps who think that just being in attendance means you have to pay their hourly rate. If they sat in the kitchen for 3 hours eating biscuits do you still pay them?? It’s an implied term of the contract that they do a reasonable job…. Maybe they couldn’t do all you listed but is it reasonable what they have done? Doesn’t sound like it so I think you lower the payment to reflect that.

Pay the £69 and move on, it's really not worth the potential agro imo

It's not me thinking it, it's how it would be defined in law. It is my job to know this.

While sitting down doing nothing would be a lot easier to argue against, the fact that work was carried out makes it very, very hard to complain about, given that the nature of the work is so subjective, and the price charged for it (compared to what you'd pay a builder or mechanic etc.) is much lower.

no i give em half that and tell them why but should have complained at the time really

They did 3 man hours between them at £23 an hour so technically it was a full £69 owed, if you're unhappy with the work done I'd message them and ask how it took them so long to do so little and you require an updated invoice which reflects the standard of work.

Did they leave their bank details for you to BACS the payment over?

By them suggesting they come back the next day I'd have took that as they knew what little work they had achieved and were pulling a fast one.

There are many people that advertise for cleaners locally and most state must be a singular cleaner, no agencies or family/friend recommendations.

It’s unlikely they would take you to court for £69. Pay them what you think they earnt and explain why your not paying the full amount.

@Crumpleton By them suggesting they come back the next day I'd have took that as they knew what little work they had achieved and were pulling a fast one.

That is one possibility. A more generous take would be mine, and that is it lack of experience. Cleaning businesses start up & close down all the time. The fact these people didn't agree to a set amount of time OR an agreed task list, as opposed to both, smacks of lack of experience, based on my time in the industry.

Gosh, I'm pleased I do my own cleaning!! I didn't think I would ever say that.

😅

I agree. If you pay them for one hour each you have the aggravation and bad feeling to save just £23?!

Pay them and forget them.

Contact them, tell them what you are willing to pay and that u won't be paying further. They wound take u to court for £69. And that you will be leaving an honest negative review of their skills and their management. Cheeky cows.

You should have agreed what they’d get done in a time frame rather than just paying per hour. I’d just pay and chalk it up to experience unfortunately

My cleaner is here for 3 hours each week and does my 5 bedroom, three bathroom house including a wipe down of kitchen cupboards, cleans all toilets and showers, does a really thorough dust, skirting boards, vacuum and mop, and a large, glass bifold door. It is easier to keep on top of cleaning rather than going into an unclean house to do a one off clean. But I would have expected your cleaners to do a lot more in the time they were there.