To echo Mikeylondon, DON'T EVER BOOK FASTKLEAN!!! I booked them for a 3 hour regular clean as my weekly cleaner was on holiday (NOT a 'spring clean' as stated below), gave basic typed instructions as to what needed to be done (he didn't read English) and then gave him verbal instructions on what needed to be done in each room (he didn't SPEAK English either) and then left the cleaner to it for 2 hrs and 45 minutes. When I returned he had cleaned the kitchen, the bathroom, the understairs loo and the reception room but had not hoovered or mopped anywhere. The bedrooms and hallways etc remained untouched. So essentially he managed three rooms in three hours. He then proceeded to do a cursory hoover and mopped my oiled oak floor without ever wringing out the mop so it was absolutely sodden (very damaging) and scraped my Vileda wood floor mop along the oak so it left a permanent railroad track effect. The cleaner denies doing the damage. He also dripped what I think must have been something incredibly toxic like neat bleach across the oak floor and that has left permanent damage. He denies this as well. I have complained verbally and thoroughly and been treated like an insane person I must be lying and despite sending a woman around to have a look at the damage she 'can't tell when it was caused or who caused it' and short of producing cctv footage of it happening they say I don't have a leg to stand on. So never mind employing a company with public liability insurance because if you don't VIDEO them damaging or, say, stealing your property then you can't prove anything unless the cleaner fesses up (um unlikely). We have started the process of taking the company to small claims court where I have no doubt we'll be able to claim the money we're owed to sort out beautiful floor. I should add that I paid 46 pounds (half of this was refunded but the half I paid in cash will never be seen again I'm sure) for the privilege of those three rooms being cleaned AND my floor being damaged. Oh, and to be spoken to like I'm an idiot crazy person who is just trying to rip them off by demanding compensation for damage I'VE done to my own home (apparently it would take two cleaners five hours at a cost of 130 pounds to clean my three bed, one bath terraced house). So you can read it for yourself, here is the follow up email they sent to me (I have yet to reply telling them I'll see them in court shortly):
Dear Jenn, I write to you in regards to the One Off 'Spring' cleaning service that took place at XXX (have removed my address) on Friday 10th May at 14:00pm. Firstly, I would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you and secondly to thank you for taking the time to converse your comments and suggestion of the service taken place. As a professional cleaning company, we take great care to ensure that all our cleaners undertake their activities professionally. We understand your frustration, which is why we sent a Supervisor to prove to you that we value our customers' opinion to the highest degree. We have spoken to the cleaner who has emphatically denied damaging anything in the property and even if we as a company are willing to claim the damage from ours or his insurance, the insurance company will ask for a statement from the cleaner stating that he has made the damage, which he has refused to supply. Our Supervisor confirmed that there are visible marks and some stains, but she couldn't confirm when they appeared. Apparently, there are three symmetrical stains with clear outlines which the Supervisor assured couldn't have been caused by any of the materials we use. The stains are darker than the flooring and if they were stained with materials they would have appeared lighter (or at least they won't all look the same). Additionally, the Supervisor does not believe that the scratches on the wooden floor could have been done with the plastic end of a mop, and that plastic in general can scratch wooden/laminate floor to such a degree. As you have not showed us any convincing evidence that the damages were caused by our cleaner, we do not wish to receive any further correspondence on the subject and if you want to take the matter any further, you are at liberty to do so. Consequently, I cannot stress this anymore, we as a company are not in any way responsible or liable for the present state of affairs. Hence, I would need firm evidence supporting your statement in order to be able to assist you in any way with this matter. Thank you in advance for your understanding of the above matter. Kind regards, Nick read more