Cleaner filming my house

[mommyandmore]

Hi, what would you do in this situation. I have been using a cleaner for a few months now. She doesn’t speak great English but through broken exchanges told me she is setting up a cake business. She showed me her instagram and I told her I’d follow her. Anyway, tonight I’ve seen that she posted a video recording the bags of clothes I’m sorting in my babies room!?! It’s in a different language so I don’t know what she’s saying but she pans across to the bags and then to a basket of laundry on top of the drawers. you can also hear my baby crying in the background. I’m disappointed as she asked to connect to WiFi today so she could be in contact with her daughter but now I’ve seen she’s doing this. I feel it’s a breach of privacy, respect and trust. My question is how would you address this?
im gutted because I live remotely and it’s taken a while to find a cleaner who does a decent job. Back to the drawing board I think!
let me know your thoughts please before I address this with her.
thanks!

Video her instagram and video.
Does she work for a company - change the locks.

She sounds creepy...

Are there comments? I’d be translating those too.

I don’t think I could get worked up about this. She wasn’t being unkind about you and your house. Maybe that’s just how she stays in contact with her family and friends. If she does a good job, I’d swerve the awkward convo and just pretend I hadn’t noticed.

This is a terrible thing she has done. As always though, I think honesty is not the best policy - you have nothing to gain by telling her why you are terminating her services. Fact is, you do not want her to be in your home again, and I for one wouldn't want a backlash or her leaving under a cloud, not after being so involved in your lives. Just make an excuse and get rid.

On another note, when I have met so many people who struggle to communicate with cleaners who were born in the UK, how on earth do you manage when they don't speak the language?

I presume you are paying her to clean whilst she is spending her time recording content. If she's doing a good job I would give her another chance and tell her not to record in your house.

If you like her and she does a good job, why not explain kindly that you’ve not given permission to film in your house? Problem is, most people assume this is ok now (I had a tradesperson filming his work in my house, which included a comment about me not getting some of the work done sooner. I only found out months later when a friend recognised my house on his website!) so she may have done this in all innocence. If you have a contract with the business she works for, ask for that clause to be included?

I'm not sure she was being kind with those comments. Might be worth checking any similar videos too.

My first thought with the translation was 'look at these snobby rich people throwing away such nice clothes, how wasteful' kind of tone.

Not sure there would be as much market for someone just pointing to someone elses clothes and saying they look nice, where's the story there?

Terrible behaviour anyway but yes pp is correct, why is she filming your house when she's supposed to be cleaning? Did she leave on time that visit?

If you’ve seen posts filmed in other people’s homes it’s not really a leap of imagination to think that she would do the same in yours.

Explain it's not appropriate to film in someone else's house. It may not be so unacceptable where she comes from. If she's a good cleaner and difficult to replace I would see if you can sort it out. Of course if she was being rude in the video that would be another thing. Write it out in English then google translate so she can't misunderstand and a very final never again or else.

Or just sack her.

The problem is people are filming everything they do these days!

Not just 'insta' moments where they're eating at a special place, fancy food, something novel, which is understandable but everyday things like a coffee and a piece of cake.

Also people from different countries sometimes have different boundaries about what constitutes privacy. I recently went to a new hairdresser having seen some of her work online where she'd filmed clients hair from the back, no faces. She did a great job and I'll continue to go to her but she set up her mobile and starting filming the back and side of my head to show off my lovely new hairdo, without checking it was OK to do so!

The fact that your cleaner knew you would follow her on Instagram shows she wasn't trying to be sneaky.

Just as with my post about a hairdresser, I suspect the OP thought as I did that permission was sought for the previous filmings!

I agree on that - I think she is totally in the wrong but she wasn’t being unkind or planing on robbing you etc

Gross invasion of privacy even if she is just posting before/after images of her services - she needed your permission.

I would send her a pre-legal letter (or whatever it is called) requiring she remove all posts that feature your home or you will be pursuing legal action. Apparently it is illegal - though I’m not sure how accurate Google AI is or how actionable a solicitor would find it, but it may scare her enough to do as you ask.

Fair point

However other people who might consider robbing OP can view the contents of the house…

ETA - people are often burgled when away on holiday because their cleaners and gardeners mentioned over a pint in the pub that their client in XXX Road is away this week in the same breath as they comment on the new BMW or 100inch tv screen

Oh my goodness, this is so bad! I would tell her that her services are no longer needed, and definitely explain why.

Also, I’m not sure that her ‘commentary’ on the video is actually that nice? Isn’t she implying that you’re getting rid of perfectly good baby clothes and that’s bad? Maybe I read it wrong.

In any case, I would be livid and would no longer work with her.

I wish I could afford a cleaner, but when I hear stories like this, I’m actually rather glad that I don’t have one.

This is absolutely outrageous and you need to find your anger OP. It is more than just “rude”. It is a total invasion of privacy and a breach of the trust you placed in her in your home. I would be sacking her either way immediate effect, telling her in no uncertain terms why and also telling her to remove the post from Instagram immediately. If she did not then I would comment on it that she took video in your home without permission.

I guarantee the comments weren't 'nice'. It's along the lines of 'look at these spoilt rich people, can you believe they are so wasteful, can you believe they have so much money, they have so many possessions, they can throw or give them away'.

When people see you that way, they'll usually think you're so well off, you won't mind if anything goes missing. Hell, you've got so much, you won't even notice.

I swear, we naive westerners often have no idea how the rest of the world sees us. It usually ain't flattering!

Go on her instagram an comment in her language 'Paid to clean but instead spends the time filming items selected to go to help less fortunate children.'

I appreciate it’s shit - I think I was feeling kind earlier -

So I messaged and told her I’d seen it and do take it down immediately also that she did not have consent nor permission to film anything in my home. She replied and said she’d taken it down and it was just talking about the clothes but sorry for any discomfort. Then went on to say in all her years cleaning this has never happened…more likely never been caught

She’s still a cow!