AIBU to think my cleaner is too expensive?

[BoldAmberCat]

I have a new cleaner. She charges £75 for a fortnightly clean. I have a 4 bedroom house. Before she started, I asked her how long she would be at the house for each time. She said it would, “take as long as it takes”. The first week she stayed for two and a quarter hours. When she came for the second time she only stayed one hour. I feel ripped off. Is this ok or not? Thank you

I get 4 hours for this amount. She usually even puts on a laundry during this time and does the kitchen, bathroom thoroughly, changes bedsheets, vacuums, dusts etc

I pay £20 an hour and she’s very good and efficient but it’s a general clean for two hours and doesn’t allow for everything. There is no way she could clean a four bed in an hour and she is ripping you off charging £75 for one hour.

Yes she’s expensive

I pay £35 for two hours.

She is taking the piss. When she stayed for one hour did she get through a list of tasks? Hoovering / dusting / bathrooms/ kitchen?

I’d expect around 4-5 hours for £75.

My cleaner is £30 for a 2-hour fortnightly clean of a 3-bedroom house with a main bathroom, ensuite, downstairs WC, kitchen, living room and hallway/stairs/landing. You’re definitely being ripped off!

My cleaner is £21 an hour, she comes weekly for 3 hours. Ideally I’d like her for 4 hours but she doesn’t have the time available although says I’m first in line for when she has a 4 hour gap come up.
£75 fortnightly doesn’t sound unreasonable but if you’re not satisfied with what you’re getting for that you need to let her know.
I’m happy with £63 a week because she leaves my house looking and feeling lovely - not all those little jobs (dusting skirting boards etc) are done weekly of course because she doesn’t have long enough but the kitchen and bathrooms are sparkling and the other rooms are immaculate to a casual observer.

She is a CF and is ripping you off big time - get rid and find another cleaner!

That's appalling?! No of course it's not right she should charge £75 for one hour? Most charge £15-20.

I only saw the headline of £75 4 bedroom house and I was all ready to defend the hardworking cleaners… the I read the rest! If she was working solo and got it done in 2.5 hours then she was doing it super fast(not impossible) but 1 hour would be physically impossible to do a 4 bedroom house. If she’s been with you for a while and had her weetabix one morning then I can well believe being able to get the clean done quicker and far more efficiently as she will have gotten a routine perfected and kept your home maintained. Time to part ways I think… not all cleaners are made equal and it sounds like you’re actually willing to pay the right money for the right hard working person … best wishes!

She is a total chancer. Get rid.

I pay £15ph for a 5 bed, 4 bathroom house over 3 floors. Cleaner does 3 hours per week and that just about does the job. And I’m in an urban area! You’re being ripped off, £75 for a couple of hours is a joke.

Of course this isn’t reasonable !! The set up you agreed to ‘as long as it takes’ and the charge.
Most cleaners agree an hourly rate and the number of hours. You then agree a list of things to be done in that time and I also have a few things that are ‘If you have time…’
If you find someone new, agree upfront the number of hours each week and the hourly rate. I pay £17 an hour but that is private. Via an agency would be more. But also depends on where you live. For a 4-bed house I think at least 3 hours is needed and depends on number of bathrooms too.

Medium sized 3-bed house here, and a couple of bathrooms alone can take an hour if I'm doing a proper clean. Add kitchens, bedrooms etc to that, it would all take a good 3-4 hours.

Yeah we also had a cleaner charge £75 and stayed less than 2 hours, safe to say we didn’t bring her back 😂

Thinking about my own house, only 3 bedrooms admittedly, it would take a good four hours to clean it from top to bottom and that wouldn’t include bed stripping etc. She is taking the piss OP!

What was she getting done in 1 hour? No way can you clean a 4 bed in that time

That’s too much. I pay £35 for 2 hours in London. That’s enough for a basic clean of 4 bed house… vacuum, mop, bathrooms, bit of dusting. House is very tidy anyway.

£75 would be a reasonable price if she were staying for three to four hours, but if she isn't, then she's taking the piss.

Text her OP. Polite but firm.

Hello

Whilst I was originally happy to pay a flat fee and be guided by your expertise on time required to clean, there is no world in which £75 for one hour represents value or promised outcome. I am giving notice as of now.

Surely you would discuss the hourly rate before employing her and also what you expected her to do in that time?

You can hardly expect her to work through your list and then t ell you it's taken her 8 hours at £25 an hour (or whatever fee she decides on.)

But she’s doing the whole house in one hour so that’s £75 an hour! There’s no way the house can be spotless!!
@BoldAmberCat I have a 4 bed, 4 bathroom house that I have cleaned once a fortnight and I have a team of 3 people who do 2 hours each so that totals 6 hours and it’s a good clean that couldn’t be done in less time. I often don’t have the 4th bedroom done as my daughter is away so only after visitors. So there’s just no way she could even hoover the entire house in an hour let alone clean the bathrooms, dust, mop the floors etc. The only possible way to resolve this is to leave a proper list of every job you need doing and say to her I imagine this will take 4 hours. I pay mine £18 an hour but they work really hard for that and are definitely worth it. I’d want 4 hours cleaning for £75. So I’d say that’s what you expect and if she says no then bye bye!!

Why did you not set out your terms beforehand?

Is this your first cleaner?

1h for a 4-bedroom house? She is taking the piss, that's how long my cleaner takes for a one-bedroom

Wowwww! I haven’t read all the comments but that is a lot!!

I have a 2 bed flat and it takes a couple of hours for a thorough clean so a 4 bed house has to be at least 4 hours?