Questions and answers about our home cleaning service
If the answer to your question is not here give us a call on 02920 653158 or 07732 493118 or fill in the form below and we will be pleased to have a chat with you.
Q. How quickly can you find me a cleaner?
A. Usually within 7 to 10 days, depending on cleaner availability but often it can be faster than that. The more flexible you can be on the day you require, the quicker a cleaner can be found. If you only want the most popular days of Thursday or Friday then it may take a little longer.
Q. How much does your service cost for a regular weekly clean?
A. The typical rate is £16.95 per hour.
This is made up of 2 elements, the cleaner's money which is typically around £12.00 per hour and our retainer fee of £4.95 per hour.
The retainer fee covers our day to day administration costs and for things like the provision of insurance cover for accidents and breakages. We also endeavour to introduce replacement cleaners, if requested, to cover holidays and illnesses when a cleaner is unable to do this. And of course the ongoing recruitment and vetting of suitable cleaners. This retainer fee is paid quarterly in advance by standing order; however the first payment is normally by cheque.
The rate above is based on a minimum of 2 hours cleaning on a weekly basis, fortnightly and one off cleans are charged at a higher rate. (see below).
Collecting the Quarterly Fees by Standing Order saves on administration and so allows up to keep the costs down, therefore for those clients who decide not to make their second and subsequent payments by standing order, an additional charge of £5 will be added to the quarterly fees.
Q. How much do you charge for regular Fortnightly or Monthly cleaning?
A. Clients have the same cleaner each week so, if that cleaner is only required once per fortnight her earning potential is reduced and so it is more difficult to source cleaners for fortnightly cleans. In addition our insurance cover is provided on a 52 week basis, and so we have to pay for this cover whether the client has a cleaner or not. Therefore a higher hourly rate is made for fortnightly cleaning; this is typically £18.95 per hour.
Q. Why is the hourly fee split into two parts?
A. The cleaners we introduce are self employed and are responsible for their own tax and national insurance payments.
The retainer fee is currently £4.95 per hour (for a weekly clean), this means that for a typical clean of 2 hours, an invoice would have to be raised each time for £9.90. This would be irritating for you and would be time consuming and costly for us and would inevitably mean prices would increase. By having a quarterly standing order system these costs can be kept to a minimum and so you benefit by us being able to keep our fees low.
Q. After I sign the Standing Order when do you collect the payment?
A. As mentioned earlier the first payment is normally made by cheque, this will be presented to our bank to coincide roughly, with the date of the first clean. The first standing order payment date will be 3 months after that commencement.
PLEASE NOTE - VERY IMPORTANT: One months notice in WRITING is required to end the agreement, this can be via email or the Royal Mail. The notice period begins from the day we receive your WRITTEN termination
Q. Do the cleaners do ironing?
A. Most cleaners are happy to carry out a small amount of ironing (5 or 6 shirts or similar) as part of their normal work but If you require a lot of ironing to be done then we will ensure the lady who is introduced will be prepared to to do this, she may require an additional payment for this if so you will need to arrange this with her.
Q. Who provides the equipment and cleaning materials?
A. Normally the cleaner will use your cleaning materials in order to keep the hourly rate as low as possible. Most clients prefer to know what cleaning items are being used in their home and many have specific requirements like a particular type of polish or a scented disinfectant. The cleaner can supply her own materials she may charge for this.
Q. Can I ask for a specific time for my cleaner to call?
A. You will need to organise a time with your cleaner but it is sometimes a problem keeping to exact times given that they may have other work prior to visiting you which may run over or there may be transport difficulties. It is usually better to ask for an AM or PM clean.
Q. What if I'm dissatisfied with my cleaner?
A. If the problem is minor we would recommend that you initially bring up your concerns with the cleaner, if it is more serious or if things have not improved after you have spoken with her then call us. Let us know what your concerns are and we will do all we can to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. If you decide that you would like us to introduce an alternative cleaner then we will do that with no quibble.
Q. What happens if I am on holiday and don’t want the cleaner to call?
A. There is NO OBLIGATION to pay your cleaner if their services are not required on a particular week. The retainer fee however is not refundable.
Q. What insurance cover do you have in place?
A. Up to £2 million against accidental damage to your property or belongings. An excess of £100 does apply in all instances; full details will be supplied upon request.
Q. Do you have a minimum number of hours?
A. Yes. The minimum number of hours is 2 per week. Any less and your cleaner would spend too much time travelling between jobs and would not earn any money!
Q. Can I change the cleaning tasks from week to week?
A. It’s entirely up to you what tasks your cleaner carries out on a weekly basis, some clients want the same things done each week, others like to have a special job done periodically and others have a monthly rota. As long as you speak to your cleaner and she understands what is required of her then that is fine. However, please ensure that the tasks you set are achievable in the allotted time.
Q. Can I trust the cleaner?
A. All cleaners on our database are vetted by us personally. We visit them in their own homes to see where they live and also how they live and we make sure they are who they say they are by checking personal documentation and household bills. References can be provided if required.
A. Usually within 7 to 10 days, depending on cleaner availability but often it can be faster than that. The more flexible you can be on the day you require, the quicker a cleaner can be found. If you only want the most popular days of Thursday or Friday then it may take a little longer.
Q. How much does your service cost for a regular weekly clean?
A. The typical rate is £16.95 per hour.
This is made up of 2 elements, the cleaner's money which is typically around £12.00 per hour and our retainer fee of £4.95 per hour.
The retainer fee covers our day to day administration costs and for things like the provision of insurance cover for accidents and breakages. We also endeavour to introduce replacement cleaners, if requested, to cover holidays and illnesses when a cleaner is unable to do this. And of course the ongoing recruitment and vetting of suitable cleaners. This retainer fee is paid quarterly in advance by standing order; however the first payment is normally by cheque.
The rate above is based on a minimum of 2 hours cleaning on a weekly basis, fortnightly and one off cleans are charged at a higher rate. (see below).
Collecting the Quarterly Fees by Standing Order saves on administration and so allows up to keep the costs down, therefore for those clients who decide not to make their second and subsequent payments by standing order, an additional charge of £5 will be added to the quarterly fees.
Q. How much do you charge for regular Fortnightly or Monthly cleaning?
A. Clients have the same cleaner each week so, if that cleaner is only required once per fortnight her earning potential is reduced and so it is more difficult to source cleaners for fortnightly cleans. In addition our insurance cover is provided on a 52 week basis, and so we have to pay for this cover whether the client has a cleaner or not. Therefore a higher hourly rate is made for fortnightly cleaning; this is typically £18.95 per hour.
Q. Why is the hourly fee split into two parts?
A. The cleaners we introduce are self employed and are responsible for their own tax and national insurance payments.
The retainer fee is currently £4.95 per hour (for a weekly clean), this means that for a typical clean of 2 hours, an invoice would have to be raised each time for £9.90. This would be irritating for you and would be time consuming and costly for us and would inevitably mean prices would increase. By having a quarterly standing order system these costs can be kept to a minimum and so you benefit by us being able to keep our fees low.
Q. After I sign the Standing Order when do you collect the payment?
A. As mentioned earlier the first payment is normally made by cheque, this will be presented to our bank to coincide roughly, with the date of the first clean. The first standing order payment date will be 3 months after that commencement.
PLEASE NOTE - VERY IMPORTANT: One months notice in WRITING is required to end the agreement, this can be via email or the Royal Mail. The notice period begins from the day we receive your WRITTEN termination
Q. Do the cleaners do ironing?
A. Most cleaners are happy to carry out a small amount of ironing (5 or 6 shirts or similar) as part of their normal work but If you require a lot of ironing to be done then we will ensure the lady who is introduced will be prepared to to do this, she may require an additional payment for this if so you will need to arrange this with her.
Q. Who provides the equipment and cleaning materials?
A. Normally the cleaner will use your cleaning materials in order to keep the hourly rate as low as possible. Most clients prefer to know what cleaning items are being used in their home and many have specific requirements like a particular type of polish or a scented disinfectant. The cleaner can supply her own materials she may charge for this.
Q. Can I ask for a specific time for my cleaner to call?
A. You will need to organise a time with your cleaner but it is sometimes a problem keeping to exact times given that they may have other work prior to visiting you which may run over or there may be transport difficulties. It is usually better to ask for an AM or PM clean.
Q. What if I'm dissatisfied with my cleaner?
A. If the problem is minor we would recommend that you initially bring up your concerns with the cleaner, if it is more serious or if things have not improved after you have spoken with her then call us. Let us know what your concerns are and we will do all we can to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. If you decide that you would like us to introduce an alternative cleaner then we will do that with no quibble.
Q. What happens if I am on holiday and don’t want the cleaner to call?
A. There is NO OBLIGATION to pay your cleaner if their services are not required on a particular week. The retainer fee however is not refundable.
Q. What insurance cover do you have in place?
A. Up to £2 million against accidental damage to your property or belongings. An excess of £100 does apply in all instances; full details will be supplied upon request.
Q. Do you have a minimum number of hours?
A. Yes. The minimum number of hours is 2 per week. Any less and your cleaner would spend too much time travelling between jobs and would not earn any money!
Q. Can I change the cleaning tasks from week to week?
A. It’s entirely up to you what tasks your cleaner carries out on a weekly basis, some clients want the same things done each week, others like to have a special job done periodically and others have a monthly rota. As long as you speak to your cleaner and she understands what is required of her then that is fine. However, please ensure that the tasks you set are achievable in the allotted time.
Q. Can I trust the cleaner?
A. All cleaners on our database are vetted by us personally. We visit them in their own homes to see where they live and also how they live and we make sure they are who they say they are by checking personal documentation and household bills. References can be provided if required.