Abusive cleaner took pics of my home

[ChicExpert]

My lovely self employed cleaner went back to her own country. New cleaner started this week. House is tidy but dirty floor and surfaces, needs a good vacuum/mop/wiping up. We hire 4 hours a week for a deep clean of the downstairs(kitchen dining living room)/hallway and stairs. Standard 3 bed house in London with kitchen extension, takes me 2 hours to do but pay for 4 so the job gets done properly.

New cleaner came and in 4 hours couldn't clean what we asked which is just vacuum/mop and wipe down all surfaces. Had to ask her to clean individual window seals as she didn't and when she left I noticed the living room window seal wasnt cleaned. She broke my glass chopping board and didn't say anything and left chemicals in the oven which I told her not to clean. Last cleaner was able to wipe the skirting boards and didn't leave a spec of dirt in corners, this cleaner left many areas dirty.

I said nothing and thought I won't hire again. The company messaged me why I don't want to hire again and I said I wasn't happy with the clean nothing else.

I then get very abusive messages and pictures of my floor being dirty saying my house is disgusting. Didn't get to respond before I was blocked by the company.

AIBU? I feel completely violated and want to complain some how. She took photos of my home without permission.

Don't even know what to do now and feel uncomfortable using another cleaner. Husband says I'm over reacting :( am I?

FYI I've added a photo of my home before the cleaner came. Floors are clearly dirty but the kitchen is tidy/needs wipe down.

Behave 🤣

Apart from the fact that the op stated this 🤷🏼‍♀️

We don't actually know why the new cleaner did this, but I think it's safe to assume she did it so she could take a photo to send to her agency to show them how dirty the floor was - to which the agency's reply should have been "Well, clean it then, that's what you're getting paid for!" 😂

She should’ve specified that. She didn’t.
When someone says “abusive,” what are we supposed to think?
Surely no one thought “abuse of trust.” Ever.
Not in today’s world. Nosiree.
While it might’ve been appalling behaviour, it was most certainly an appalling choice of words.

"Surely no one thought “abuse of trust.” Ever."

You've written this in response to my post where I state that's exactly what I inferred from OP's initial detailed post? (Not just the headline.)

Abuse of trust is fundamental to the breakdown of all types of relationships, so I'm surprised it didn't even cross your mind. OP allowed a new cleaner - a total stranger - into her home, who immediately abused her trust by taking photo's of the inside of her home. I think that's an abuse of trust - you're free to think whatever you like about it.

You’re absolutely correct. I am.

@blueshoes awwww don't cringe. I'm not. You really don't need to.

I think there are many overly harsh responses here for the OP. Some properties are in a much worse state than this, counter tops and floors, etc, and especially professionals, can get a lot done in four hours.

Please..
It's not seal..or cill..
IT'S SILL!

Cill is perfectly acceptable, but sill is the more common spelling in the UK.
And OP corrected her original post days ago, saying that she meant "sill" and not "seal".

Ok I get it now. So she was trying to "frame" you and make it seem like your home was dirtier than it was. Cleaners are SUPPOSED to clean dirt. So yes....sweeping all the filth into one area and taking a picture is just plain unprofessional. Just hire a new cleaner. But I would also consider having family members pitch in with money for extra hours anyway. Your new baby is the priority as is your mental health and wellness. You won't have as much time to dedicate to picking up after other people. Establish rules and boundaries now and consider rehoming some of your pets.

Sorry I don’t get it. Are you saying she should clean before the cleaner comes? Yes it’s dirty - dirt happens, but that looks like nothing a sweep and a mop wouldn’t solve in 15 minutes and should not be too challenging for a professional cleaner. Should the cleaning company only go to clean houses?

OP I am sad to see the hate you are getting for the photo you provided showing your home before the clean. I am shocked at the nastiness to be honest - and I hope that you aren’t taking it all to heart.

A cleaner is there to clean… if you had a clean home and could manage yourself, there would be no need to hire a cleaner!

I don’t know how you complained.. but maybe that caused the issue with the company here? I would have approached it in the sense of ‘The clean wasn’t up to my expectations as I felt the floor was still dirty afterwards, and I would have liked the xyz done. My previous cleaner could manage it in 4 hours, but could you let me know if you feel longer is needed?’. If longer time is needed and you can’t manage to pay for that, perhaps negotiate things that aren’t compulsory but that would be an extra if the cleaner had time? (Like the seals)?

Then after negotiating hours / maybe things that couldn’t be accomplished, asking for a different cleaner to see if the next clean was better, and if not, advise it wasn’t for you and that you would not require their services anymore.

Please don’t take the awful comments to heart about your home… at least you are getting help to get it clean x

I can't believe in 2024 some people are guilt shaming this woman for 'not cleaning enough'. She is within her rights to live in a pigsty if she feels like it. She cares about hygiene and that is why she is paying a cleaner, she just does not like to do it herself - what is wrong with that?! If this was a man nobody would be saying anything.

It is completely unprofessional for a worker to take photos of your house without permission, and the customer has total rights to say 'I didn't like how you did the job so I will not hire again'. It's not like she didn't pay them after doing the job, that would be wrong. Unprofessional company it's what it is, review it in Trust pilot.

Doesn’t take long for someone to appear with an unsolicited and nasty remark. You must be a lovely person, SwanRivers.

The number of people on here who think it's somehow morally inappropriate to pay someone else to sweep your floor....

You may think you are being kind to cleaners but if everyone thought this way there would be a lot less paid cleaning work available.

It is the same on cleaning threads as it is on aupair threads (when aupairs were still a thing pre-Brexit). Some posters seem to think that childcare and cleaning which are traditionally female domestic roles should not be outsourced by a rich woman to another (enslaved) woman. The outrage.

And they express their outrage by shaming the OP, her cleaning or parenting skills but hiding their real agenda, which may not even be apparent to them on a conscious level.

Many of the posters on this thread who shame the OP probably never used cleaners themselves because they are too self conscious to do so and probably could not afford it anyway. But comment they will. Hey ho.

That is literally what she is being paid to do. Clean. If she can’t handle that then she shouldn’t be doing this job. Yes your house if filthy but their job is not to judge but to clean. If OP has to worry about brushing the house before the cleaner what what’s the point of hiring her? Any chance that woman an acquaintance of the woman who runs the company? Did you take the pictures of after she left? May be complain to trading standards?

btw would recommend a Dyaon handheld hover. Literally takes 5 mins and the floors are spotless.

Everyone here squealing about the floor but the rest of the kitchen looks immaculate. The ‘filthy’ floor that everyone is so outraged about is just surface mess, not congealed grime. It would take less than two minutes to sweep up so the main error here was posting the pic online! Op, you were way too honest… nobody needed to have seen this 😂

you should see my mum’s house and she has a cleaner… she’s a terrible cleaner but my mum’s standards are low. She’s mostly glad for someone to come and iron/hoover. Mostly the surfaces in her house are so covered with objects/papers/random detritus that the cleaner can’t get near them to clean anyway. Somehow the arrangement seems to suit them both…

I think some PP are being a bit mean but there was a thread on MN recently which explains a lot - employing a cleaner to clean a pre clean and very tidy house in many cases.

They seem a really unprofessional and deeply unpleasant company from their response. Don’t let it (or judgey posters) upset you.

Can you ask around for word of mouth recommendations?

I think people are being quite mean about you having a dirty floor. That’s why you have a cleaner! My kitchen floor is always a mess due to my weaning toddler, my cleaner fixes it for me.

just hire another cleaner from another company and be clear upfront that a) you want a deep clean and b) exactly what you want done like skirtings, windows. Normal weekly cleans won’t do any of these so it’s fine she didn’t do them, you’ll have to notify them of what’s involved.

As someone who has been a professional cleaner for six years, I feel the urge to weigh in...

If I'd have turned up to a new property and seen floors like this I'd have thought 'wow, and this is why they need me!' Then I'd have been chuffed that I'd made such a difference after sorting it, that the client would think I was a fucking wizard.

Also, four hours to clean one floor of a three bed house?? It would be fucking immaculate.

Not being unreasonable OP, get yourself a cleaner who's not an AH.

Also, people who clean before the cleaner arrives... you guys make me howl 😂😂

I always clean the toilets… I don’t think anyone deserves to clean the toilet of a home with 4 boys 😂🤣

I am shocked by some of the responses on here. Some if you believe the OP should have cleaned her house before the cleaner arrived, I mean WTF? My daughter is a cleaner in a hospital, she cleans up after staff and patients. Should she make patients clean up their beds, and the toilets after themselves? Should she tell staff to pick up bandages and wrappings they’ve dropped on the floor? Should she make patients clean up their own vomit? No she can’t, she must do it - that’s what she’s paid to do! That’s why they employ cleaners in hospitals.
Sounds like this cleaner is pure lazy, spent their time taking photos of this persons house rather than doing the job the OP paid them to do. I’m wondering what other photos that so called cleaner took that weren’t shown to the agency. That is an invasion of privacy! I’m shocked the agency did not sack this pure lazy worker on the spot - and some of you on here defend this cleaner!!!!!
Words fail me here.
OP. I feel so sorry for how humiliated you were. By the way, your house is not that dirty, Don’t mind some of the opinions here - they don’t live in the real world.