Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Cleaner Windows on March 27, 2014, 06:33:11 pm
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Ive been cleaning quite a large country pub inside and out every other month for the past 3 years. Ive always done a good job and never had a problem with payments as I have always handed the invoice over to which ever member of staff was on the till when Id finished the job and they would put the invoice in the till and hand me £48 in cash.
Cleaned it recently though and no staff seemed to be around but the cleaner says the pub has new owners that took over in september last year (first Id heard about this!) and she said somone would be down in a min to pay me, so I went out to my van and waited and along comes a pretty lady who I assume is the manager, as she explains the owners happen to be away on hols in hong kong at the moment. She also goes on to say that she doesnt know about us cleaning the windows and cant authorize a payment without speaking to them on the phone... she took my number and said she'll ring me back later. She rung back as promised but says the owners are saying they didnt know anything about me cleaning the windows and that they are NOT paying me anything and not to clean the windows any more!! I had to hold my tongue at this point because I was already fuming but explained to the girl that they must have noticed the dirty windows had magically become clean once every two months and the tills surely had my invoices in.... apparently not the case :S
Now Ive got a record of all the work done printed from george on my pc which shows all the dates ive cleaned the pub and all the payments made by them which I can take in and show them. The thing is, Im assuming the owners are going to be very uncooperative since they've flatly refused to pay and I dont want to lose my temper and do anything I shouldnt! what would you do and where do I stand within the law seeing as there isnt really a contract on paper as such?
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hope it has a good outcome for you CW, but it don't look good .
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If they are new owners then I don't think there's anything you can do as your agreement was with
the previous owners.
You could go after them for not informing you that they where selling up.
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how many times have you cleaned them without payment?
if you didnt make an arrangement with the new owners to clean the windows then nowt you can do mate.
just write it off and move on pal.
my missus has been done over to the tune of £5,000 recently. >:( >:( >:(
puts things into perspective.
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If they don't pay up. Go have a nice meal with the other half then refuse to pay.
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If they don't pay up. Go have a nice meal with the other half then refuse to pay.
Don't do this as you will be done for theft.
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As a caveat i'm not sure whether what i'm about to say has any legal standing, but here goes...
Before they took over they had the books and should be aware of all revenue and expenses vis a vis the pub, including your £48 bill every 2 months. That is after all £288, no small beer. If they took over in September last year and you have cleaned it since then (say in November and February, and have been paid by them then I would have thought that any court might agree that there was a tacit continuation of service - they could have cancelled you after all. A contract would be implied.
I would personally write a final letter outlining the above, saying that you accept that they no longer want your services and you have cancelled them, but that their bill is still outstanding; give them 30 days to pay; if they don't pay I'd get Thos Higgins involved - a Letter Before Action costs £2.40. If they still don't pay, forget it.
Best of luck.
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If they don't pay up. Go have a nice meal with the other half then refuse to pay.
That's what I would do, say your very unsatisfied with the meal and don't pay.
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Go in when the pub is open and announce in a loud voice that you need to be paid for the window cleaning.
Make the customers uncomfortable with the situation.
Keep doing this every night until paid or arrested.
Either way will affect their business.
Or ask nicely and try and reason with them.
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As a caveat i'm not sure whether what i'm about to say has any legal standing, but here goes...
Before they took over they had the books and should be aware of all revenue and expenses vis a vis the pub, including your £48 bill every 2 months. That is after all £288, no small beer. If they took over in September last year and you have cleaned it since then (say in November and February, and have been paid by them then I would have thought that any court might agree that there was a tacit continuation of service - they could have cancelled you after all. A contract would be implied.
I would personally write a final letter outlining the above, saying that you accept that they no longer want your services and you have cancelled them, but that their bill is still outstanding; give them 30 days to pay; if they don't pay I'd get Thos Higgins involved - a Letter Before Action costs £2.40. If they still don't pay, forget it.
Best of luck.
that's the sort of info I'm looking for, cheers mate I was thinking along those lines. I will try exactly that and I think you are probably correct there. They've been paying me between last Sept and the clean previous to this last one so how didn't they notice the payments and invoices when they tally up at the end of the day/week! ? Cheers :)
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As a caveat i'm not sure whether what i'm about to say has any legal standing, but here goes...
Before they took over they had the books and should be aware of all revenue and expenses vis a vis the pub, including your £48 bill every 2 months. That is after all £288, no small beer. If they took over in September last year and you have cleaned it since then (say in November and February, and have been paid by them then I would have thought that any court might agree that there was a tacit continuation of service - they could have cancelled you after all. A contract would be implied.
I would personally write a final letter outlining the above, saying that you accept that they no longer want your services and you have cancelled them, but that their bill is still outstanding; give them 30 days to pay; if they don't pay I'd get Thos Higgins involved - a Letter Before Action costs £2.40. If they still don't pay, forget it.
Best of luck.
agree....except for the forget it bit, small claims court last thing a landlord wants is a CCJ....MIGHT effect his licence application
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Carls reply is a business mans reply im willing to bet he runs his company well
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As a caveat i'm not sure whether what i'm about to say has any legal standing, but here goes...
Before they took over they had the books and should be aware of all revenue and expenses vis a vis the pub, including your £48 bill every 2 months. That is after all £288, no small beer. If they took over in September last year and you have cleaned it since then (say in November and February, and have been paid by them then I would have thought that any court might agree that there was a tacit continuation of service - they could have cancelled you after all. A contract would be implied.
I would personally write a final letter outlining the above, saying that you accept that they no longer want your services and you have cancelled them, but that their bill is still outstanding; give them 30 days to pay; if they don't pay I'd get Thos Higgins involved - a Letter Before Action costs £2.40. If they still don't pay, forget it.
Best of luck.
agree....except for the forget it bit, small claims court last thing a landlord wants is a CCJ....MIGHT effect his licence application
Yep, bobplum, but I'm not sure where he stands legally, Mind you, they have been paying him...
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Carls reply is a business mans reply im willing to bet he runs his company well
Nice of you to say. I do try. It's best to try and take the emotion out of things like this if you can. Saying that, I'm rubbish at that but, as always, it's easy to give advice to someone else.
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you need to teach them a few manners . wait a few months then do it right
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Wait until a busy period, Valentines night or New Years Eve, then phone up numerous times a few weeks before and book table after table until they are fully booked up. An empty restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year......that'll teach 'em.
Or a sliver of bamboo in the lock.
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Do they sell food?
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Are you owed £48.00 in total?
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Wait until a busy period, Valentines night or New Years Eve, then phone up numerous times a few weeks before and book table after table until they are fully booked up. An empty restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year......that'll teach 'em.
This ones my favourite ;D
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I like the bamboo idea - comes up a few times on the forum - thanks for the tip.
Multiple table bookings - this has to be the way forward.
I wouldn't advise anyone to do these sorts of things as that would be very bad.
And don't pour cement down the toilet if you go in there for a pint. Ever.
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If you want to pursue this:
1. Go in and find "the pretty lady" - explain to her that you want paying for the work you've done. If you don't get a sensible answer then you need to know whom (grammar ;D) the Thomas Higgins letters must go to.
If you need to escalate matters inform "the pretty lady" that you will call back and request payment until the matter is settled. (Say nothing else about when.)
As mentioned, go in on a busy evening, dress smartly and walk in to the reception/bar or whatever and firmly and politely ask to speak to the manager. Do not move and if the manager does not come down wait five minutes and loudly announce that you wish to speak to the manager about an unpaid bill in the sum of £48.
If they try to remove you do not resist but call out - the owners of this pub owe the window cleaner £48 and instead of paying they have swanned off to Hong Kong on holiday.
Go back to your van and get your placard which reads "I am owed £48 by the owners of this pub." Walk up and down outside for ten miutes calling out loudly "Window Cleaner owed £48!". (Good exercise)
If the Police turn up cooperate completely and leave.
;D ;D ;D
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Geoffrey. I salute you.
Cement? GENIUS!
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Dip your brush in the mud and put the dirt back on the windows, and charge a re-stocking fee. ;D
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Dip your brush in the mud and put the dirt back on the windows, and charge a re-stocking fee. ;D
Marc-you're using old get backs.
Mud is so last century.
The latest (courtesy of RobertPhil) is when you're back washing, the waste water-stuck that in a sprayer bottle.
Spray that on the offenders windows.
No-one will know anything is wrong until it dries. ;)
Between him and Geoffrey-revenge is sewn up!
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Dip your brush in the mud and put the dirt back on the windows, and charge a re-stocking fee. ;D
Marc-you're using old get backs.
Mud is so last century.
The latest (courtesy of RobertPhil) is when you're back washing, the waste water-stuck that in a sprayer bottle.
Spray that on the offenders windows.
No-one will know anything is wrong until it dries. ;)
Between him and Geoffrey-revenge is sewn up!
good old bobby p aka robert phil is a die hard tradder so i doubt that came from him, however we are forever in his debt for the sliver of bamboo in the keyhole trick ;D
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I'd go in and order the soup or a prawn cocktail (depending on the prevailing weather conditions) and refuse to pay for it.
And that's just for starters.
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I'd go in and order the soup or a prawn cocktail (depending on the prevailing weather conditions) and refuse to pay for it.
And that's just for starters.
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1395982378_Griff.gif)
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I'd go in and order the soup or a prawn cocktail (depending on the prevailing weather conditions) and refuse to pay for it.
And that's just for starters.
;D ;D ;D
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Go back to your van and get your placard which reads "I am owed £48 by the owners of this pub." Walk up and down outside for ten miutes calling out loudly "Window Cleaner owed £48!". (Good exercise)
If the Police turn up cooperate completely and leave.
;D ;D ;D
My sister carried out the same tactic outside a currys store years ago due to defective washing machine that she wanted her money back on; banners included.
Currys called the police. They arrived but couldn't do anything, she was simply handing out leaflets to potential currys customers about the poor customer service she had received.
Currys refunded her.
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I'd go in and order the soup or a prawn cocktail (depending on the prevailing weather conditions) and refuse to pay for it.
And that's just for starters.
;D ;D ;D
Classic.
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When I was about to set off on another of my travels I bought a brand new rucksack from Blacks in Southampton. When I got it home I noticed that part of it hadn't been stitched at all. I took it back straight away and the manager said they'd send it away for repair! He refused to listen for my request for a swap or refund, so I just stood on a chair and explained the situation in a loud voice to the entire shop. It was only a couple of secs before he pulled me down and gave me the cash ;D Now why didn't he do that in the first place.
Last month I bought some wood from a bloke a few miles up the road. To cut a long story short it was not seasoned when he'd assured me it was - spitting like hell and won't burn unless chopped into slivers. I asked him to come and see it and to bring his wallet, and he agreed he would.
He never showed and started ignoring my calls. I knew he was in business with someone (he's a plumber and sells wood as a sideline) so last Sunday morning at 10:30 I called a second number I got from the Net and asked if it was Gareth, "Nah, it's his brother". "OK. I'm just calling to apologise" I say. "What for?" sez he. I explain I can't get hold of Gareth and he's ignoring my calls "So tomorrow I'm calling the tax authorities to let them know he's selling wood on the side" (he got me to make the cheque out to his wife...) "and then I'm going to call the council to let them know he's got this income. You see, i'm sure he's not declaring it to any of them. I'm apologising to you because you'll obviously have your tax affairs looked at too. That is unless Gareth calls me in the next 20 mins and collects the wood and refunds me in full this morning".
"Leave it with me" sez he.
5 minutes later the phone rings - "Carl, can we collect the wood in 20 mins?" says Gareth's wife. And true to their worth they did, giving me my £100 back before they loaded it up. ;D
Twas a very satisfying start to last Sunday.
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nice one carl ;D
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I would order the Tirumusu and black forest gateaux then spread it over the windows - give them just desserts!