House Cleaning Scams

Years ago, when I lived in a small, 2-bedroom apartment, I employed a local cleaning service to tidy up the place on a weekly basis. There were typically 2 to 3 girls that came, and they did a wonderful job.

Today I live in an 1800 sq. ft home with my husband. Not a huge house, but quite a bit larger than that apartment was. Now my concerns with getting the job done include making sure that no harsh chemicals are used, as our family now includes several pets that could be harmed by the fumes.

I discussed this with a local firm, and was assured that they were very 'pet friendly' and used only non-toxic products. Family was arriving that day, and I was anxious to have the place looking really, really good.

When a team of four arrived, I was ecstatic and was sure that they'd knock off the job in no time at all. They all made way to the master bath and bedroom.

An hour and a half went by, and I began getting a bit annoyed because the time for me to go to the airport was quickly approaching. They were still in the master bath, and had another bath, living room, kitchen, and small spare bedroom to go.

When they finally exited the master space, I went in to check things out. Yes it looked very clean. But the chemical fumes were so strong, they had actually opened all of the windows and turned on the ceiling spans to disperse them. What happened to 'pet friendly'??

I finally had to leave and asked if they could simply bill my credit card. She said yes, absolutely. I wasn't exactly happy with the thought of leaving them in my house, but I had no choice. And the crew that used to do my apartment was always there when I was not. It had never been an issue. In fact, back then, I much preferred not being home and in their way when they were trying to work.

I picked up the family and returned home. Yes, it smelled pretty good, which is always my way of telling if something is really clean. I saw a Thank You note on the kitchen counter, and proceeded to open it up. $350!!!! Four women, who should have been able to do this job in, I would say, a couple of hours, had stretched it out to a 4 or 5 hour task!

My footnote will make me seem a bit foolish, but I had to make it known. I accidentally called this same company months later. I didn't realize it, but she started telling me that they use only safe chemicals. When I gave her my name, she said, 'Oh yes. You're in our records'. Instead of just hanging up and calling someone else, I went ahead and booked them.

But this time, when hey arrived, I told them that they were not going to be cleaning the master bedroom or bathroom. The head lady, the only one that could speak English, seemed shocked. She hesitated, and even made it seem that they would have to clean those rooms too. I said, "No. Just clean the rest of the house." After all, the master bedroom and bath had taken them at least 1 1/2 hours last time. Eliminating these rooms should considerable reduce my bill this time. I thought . . .

Once again, they milked it big time. Final bill was over $250.

It is quite obvious to me that this company sends their crews out with the goals of making a set amount of money, no matter what the size of the job is.

I've had it with the 'pet friendly' lies, and exorbitant fees these companies are getting away with. Cleaning is a huge business these days, with the busy work schedules we all have. That gives them no right to take advantage as they are.