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Cleaning company taking me to court
Comments
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In that case as the keys were left with someone for them to gain access and they did the job IMO you owe them the whole amount. But it is only my opinion
Thats only based on the hourly rate having to be for more than one cleaner otherwise no one would choose the £285 option as one cleaner would have to work more than 22 hours in a day
The whole sum being what?
The amount op and they agreed? Or the amount they are retrospectively charging without authorisation?
Letting them in is hardly acceptance of material changes to the contract0 -
The whole sum being what?
The amount op and they agreed? Or the amount they are retrospectively charging without authorisation?
Letting them in is hardly acceptance of material changes to the contract
The whole sum requested
What were the material changes (apart from the day)
They quoted an hourly rate, it is not clear wether they said per hour, per cleaner or not but i think common sense would say it has to be.
The Op accepted an hourly rate so why was it not authorised, there wasnt a fixed amount agreed0 -
The whole sum requested
What were the material changes (apart from the day)
They quoted an hourly rate, it is not clear wether they said per hour, per cleaner or not but i think common sense would say it has to be.
The Op accepted an hourly rate so why was it not authorised, there wasnt a fixed amount agreed
Even if the £12 an hour (and not £12 per hour per cleaner) wasnt potentially misleading, they didnt instruct the OP that 2 cleaners would be attending.
By their own admission, they sent 1 cleaner as contracted and that cleaner took it upon themselves to come back the next day with an additional cleaner - this was the excuse they gave of why the service wasnt carried out on the agreed day/date.
Regardless what way you cut it, they havent provided what was agreed.You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride0 -
The whole sum requested
What were the material changes (apart from the day)
They quoted an hourly rate, it is not clear wether they said per hour, per cleaner or not but i think common sense would say it has to be.
The Op accepted an hourly rate so why was it not authorised, there wasnt a fixed amount agreed
Are you reading this thread?
The material changes being the bill being quadrupled...
Op agreed an hourly rate based on an estimate of 6 hours. So if it took 7-8 hours then probably fair enough. But claiming for nearly triple the hours are a very material change....
And that's ignoring their breach of contract0 -
The whole sum requested
What were the material changes (apart from the day)
They quoted an hourly rate, it is not clear wether they said per hour, per cleaner or not but i think common sense would say it has to be.
The Op accepted an hourly rate so why was it not authorised, there wasnt a fixed amount agreed
So where do you draw the line?
Could they claim they came back day after day, and bill for hundreds of hours?
Could they claim they sent 10 cleaners and OP has to pay for those?
The fact is, they unilaterally decided to change the contract. OP didn't agree and wouldn't have agreed had they been asked. As such OP should only be paying what was originally decided.0 -
I don't see how it could possibly take 18 hours to clean a flat, particularly for somebody who cleans for a living. What sort of mess did you leave the place in?
People take advantage...cleaning is a profitable business if you target the right markets...
March outs, where military leave their digs...notoriously they are quite clean anyway...but they wipe the window linings with baby wipes that kind of thing and charge you £100's.
So a person who has a clean house would happily pay £500+ to have their clean house, cleaned to end of tenancy standards.
As it is cheaper than travelling back to clean when furniture is out and failing the baby wipe tests. Some Estate agents can be just as bad and cleaners take advantage of the fact people are busy. Doesn't mean they are dirty, just prime for mugging.0 -
ThumbRemote wrote: »So where do you draw the line?
Could they claim they came back day after day, and bill for hundreds of hours?
Could they claim they sent 10 cleaners and OP has to pay for those?
The fact is, they unilaterally decided to change the contract. OP didn't agree and wouldn't have agreed had they been asked. As such OP should only be paying what was originally decided.
No they couldnt come back day after day as they said they could do it in a day, they also couldnt send 10 cleaners as that would be unrealistic.
but it is realistic to send 2 cleaners and for them to take a day.
If it went to court the OP may only end up paying the 6 hours for 1 cleaner.
You say the OP should only pay what was originally decided but we havent seen the correspondence from the company to the OP, so we dont know what was originally decided.
IF it does indeed say it we think it will take one cleaner 6 hours at £12.50 an hour then the OP should stand their ground.
Maybe I have it wrong I did say in my initial post about owing the whole amount that it was just my opinion.0 -
No they couldnt come back day after day as they said they could do it in a day, they also couldnt send 10 cleaners as that would be unrealistic.
but it is realistic to send 2 cleaners and for them to take a day.
If it went to court the OP may only end up paying the 6 hours for 1 cleaner.
You say the OP should only pay what was originally decided but we havent seen the correspondence from the company to the OP, so we dont know what was originally decided.
IF it does indeed say it we think it will take one cleaner 6 hours at £12.50 an hour then the OP should stand their ground.
Maybe I have it wrong I did say in my initial post about owing the whole amount that it was just my opinion.
OP said in an earlier post that earlier correspondence with them only makes reference to £12 an hour and its only later they said £12 per hour per cleaner. If they were sending more than one they would/should have said £24 per hout or made it clear from the start that 2 would be attending.
The problem with that is they had never informed him there would be 2 cleaners.
In order for a contract to remain balanced/fair (and thus enforceable), each party can only be bound by the obligations they agreed to accept at the time of entering into the contract.
And remember, they admit 1 cleaner was sent originally who decided she would need another cleaner. So evidently the contract was for 1 cleaner and not 2. Doesnt matter whether its "reasonable" that 2 cleaners may be required to clean a house.You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride0 -
Why is it unrealistic to send 10 cleaners? you assume a lot of thingsNo they couldnt come back day after day as they said they could do it in a day, they also couldnt send 10 cleaners as that would be unrealistic.
but it is realistic to send 2 cleaners and for them to take a day.
If it went to court the OP may only end up paying the 6 hours for 1 cleaner.
You say the OP should only pay what was originally decided but we havent seen the correspondence from the company to the OP, so we dont know what was originally decided.
IF it does indeed say it we think it will take one cleaner 6 hours at £12.50 an hour then the OP should stand their ground.
Maybe I have it wrong I did say in my initial post about owing the whole amount that it was just my opinion.0 -
So they are NOT taking you to court - they are THREATENING to take you to court. (Different things).
WRITE back to them to dispute their claim, that they did not appear on the Saturday at all (and you have evidence to prove this - you were there and the estate agent confirms no keys were requested for the Saturday), that there was no contract for the Sunday, that any contract (for the Saturday) was on the basis of one cleaner. You have no intention of paying their invoice as there was no contract.
If they wish to pursue the claim via the courts you will defend it fully.
That would be my suggestion - but only if you are prepared to follow through.
What was the general condition of the property? On what basis are you assuming it would take one person 6 hours?
I am totally agree. Recently, I was in the same situation. I book a cleaner from a company, taking place in Wimbledon, where I live. He should take care of the property I rented. But nobody shows! After a week I found a letter in my mailbox – the cleaning company “ask” me to pay my bill. What bill? After a long discussion with them, I found they want to take me to court... A friend of mine, who is a lower, gave me the advice to stop answer their mails and phone calls. They did't have legal rights to sue me.
I'm pretty sure you are in the same situation!!! Don't be afraid! They can't touch you.0
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