Window cleaner payment

kat74

I have window cleaners who come once a month to clean 4 downstairs windows (2 front, 2 back) and the french doors, plus 3 upstairs windows (1 front, 1 back).
There are usually 2 of them, they do the cleaning and put a ticket through the door to say they've been, and later that evening a collector comes for the money (£7).

Now, I'm working from home today, and just watched them clean the top 2 panels of the living room window, and nothing else, before putting the ticket through the door and leaving!
I was in the living room, and I have quite dark voile blinds so they couldn't see me in the room.

I hate confrontation - it really scares me - but I don't want to pay for this! Nor do I want them to 'clean' my windows again.

Is it fair to tell the collector I will not pay anything?
(I don't think the collector is one of the cleaners)

Or should I pay a % of £7 to reflect what they have done?

I know it's only a few £, but they've really annoyed me and I want to plan what I will say so that I don't wimp out when the collector comes round!

Any advice?

tesuhoha

I would pay their bill and then just say you no longer require their services. If they ask why just say something vague about being hit by the financial climate.

ailuro2

I did this, complained a couple of times because the young boys he was using to clean the windows weren't doing them all - after I complained twice they never came back, but didn't tell us either.

we clean our own windows now, they're not done as well but at least they are done!

patchwork_cat

£7 for that many windows! I would find another window cleaner and negotiate a better price.

Gillyx

Our window cleaner doesn't even have a strict time scale, just appears when he feels like it and then we don't see him for a few months.

To make matters worse, my grandparents live next door and normally pay for our cleaning aswell as there own, my gran has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimers and I'm pretty sure at times before he's taken payment from her and then from us, so recently told him not to bother doing ours any more.

noapron

Window cleaners. We stopped having them years ago. Somebody spotted them climbing over our high side gate, and not ringing the bell so I could let them in. Strangely, they never asked if they could have some clean water, and once I got a look in their bucket, and it was empty with a filthy cloth in it Then there was the day, I found them 'cleaning' the windows in the rain. But the absolute last straw was when the 'father' of the lads who cleaned, telling me the price had gone up and then carried on to say, he had to earn a lot to pay for the hol he was going on at the Easter! Once brand new double glazing was installed, we decided we could do without their filthy gritty cloths! Other window cleaners have tried to start up, but never lasted long. I think it may be quite a competitive business.

Any

I know you hate confontation, but I think the boss should know!! Telling the boss is not confrontation as such (unless you make it so with a "tone"), it is just letting him know.

Or if you really really don't want to talk about it with anyone I would just pay up this £7 and tell them to stop doing the house. I wouldn't say anything else. Just that.

Jomo

It'd depend for me. If there was plenty of competition I'd just pay up and switch. If not then I'd probably explain the issue and hope that they'd apologise with a promise of improvement.

Abbafan1972

We stopped having a window cleaner ages ago. Got rid of him because we were sick of having our windows "cleaned" with a filthy cloth.

He used to charge £3.50 but I suspect it's a lot more now.

He was supposed to come once a month, but most of the time it was 3 weeks as I used to write it on the calendar when he came.

I suspect he just turned up when he got short of money.

Suzanne_Louise

I'd pay but say that you don't want their services anymore.

I used to have a window cleaner who'd clean the windows then turn up at around 6pm that night for payment. I'd usually just got in from work, and often didn't have the cash in my purse and he wouldn't accept a cheque.

One time, I was actually on the toilet when he was hammering on the front door, and when I didn't answer, he started hammering on the back door!

Similarly, he'd call at 9pm on a night when I'd either had or was actually in my bath. As a woman living on my own, I didn't answer the door after 8pm, but he just used to ring the doorbell and bang on the door for ages.

I paid him and asked him to stop cleaning my windows.

sassyblue

kat bless you, if you've decided you do NOT want them back l'd still ring the boss and tell him why..... when he asks what he can do for you start by saying 'l've got a problem actually...' that way it gives him time to realise you've got a complaint and it'll make him less likely to feel 'threatened' and come back with something cheeky.

If he is cheeky after that then he doesn't deserve to have customers and you've done the right thing.

£7 or not they're blooming robbers!