£243 cleaning bill!

currynchips

Still haven't got our deposit back, or the remains of it I should say. They finally listed the problems today, which were the fridge freezer and cooker needed cleaning, and there were sweet wrappers, a couple of carrier bags, an empty cardboard box and some dust left around the flat after we left. Now I can accept £50 for the cooker, but where the hell does the other £190 come from!!!!

movilogo

Get some quotes from local cleaners and ask them why they have not used the cheapest cleaners.

moodydonkey

Do you accept that these thing needed cleaning, if so why didn't you?
Having said that my LL is a clean freak and what I think is clean she probably doesn't lol
At the end of the day you leave things pristine. Live and learn i think maybe.

sooz

Haven't seen your other thread about this (only one about your new place)

Did you have & sign an inventory at the beginning?

Have you just had this money take off, or is the the first quote? You can request others (though not certain you can demand the cheapest is used as suggested)

When did you move out? If very recently, have you been offered a chance to clean & remove the rubbish?

SquatNow

sooz wrote: »

Haven't seen your other thread about this (only one about your new place)

Did you have & sign an inventory at the beginning?

Have you just had this money take off, or is the the first quote? You can request others (though not certain you can demand the cheapest is used as suggested)

When did you move out? If very recently, have you been offered a chance to clean & remove the rubbish?

Agreed, we need more information, especially, WHEN DID YOUR TENNANCY START.

Also, did you leave by choice or did the LL ask you to leave? Have new tennants moved in?

fatpig_2

£243! Who cleaned it? The primeminister?

currynchips

First of all, if we knew the cleaning bill would be such then we would have definitely done it ourselves.
We had been in the flat for 2 years, leaving for pastures new shortly. Were given the option of an extra 12 months, but declined.

Do you accept that these thing needed cleaning, if so why didn't you?
Thinking about it, yes, the cooker and fridge freezer probably did. We made a mistake here and as you say, leave things pristine, we'll live and try to learn from this mistake.

When did you move out? If very recently, have you been offered a chance to clean & remove the rubbish?
We left on July 28. We were not offered the chance to remove or clean anything.

Did you have & sign an inventory at the beginning?
This was not done, I did ask about it before we signed however they did not come forward with anything.
The money has been taken off what we will receive back from our deposit.

The start of the tenancy was Sept 06.

And yes, despite the cooker and fridge needed some cleaning, £243 does feel like they've had Kim and Aggie in there.

SquatNow

No signed inventory = no deductions.

No negotiation, they give you your full deposit back or you go to court.

Make this clear to them and your deposit will appear in full in quick time.

sooz

£150 is not unreasonable for a professional flat clean. This is not yours normal weekly cleaning lady at £5+ per hour. They clean all the bits others don't reach, like the tops of cupboards, windows in and out, the back of furniture, the doorframes, lightswitches, skirting boards etc. £50 for a professional oven steam clean is about right for a single oven.

As you are now looking for a new property, you know for next time to clean all these bits, or you will have to argue about such charges.

However, if they did not get a signed inventory before you moved in, it is very difficult for them to prove that what state the place was in when you moved in.

Were you send any quotes before the work was done, or are they now saying they have done the work & it cost this much?

I'd go with a letter before action, & then small claims court for your money back

currynchips

Were you send any quotes before the work was done, or are they now saying they have done the work & it cost this much?

The latter. They have charged and deducted from deposit.
What will the small claims court cost me in terms of time and money up front?

We have photos of what it looked like when we moved in, taken by us not them. Especially of the jungle of a garden, however our photos are fairly general, ie 1 per room.

I'm prepared to take this a lot further, as long as I can persuade the OH to do so too.

tbs624

sooz wrote: »

£.....This is not yours normal weekly cleaning lady at £5+ per hour. .......

Blimey Sooz, can you get a normal weekly cleaner for a fiver per hour near you?