Reading this thread is becoming pun-itive :
So to try and bring it back on topic, or maybe send it off on another tangent, I think the replies just highlight how much you can't operate as a CC
by simply trying to follow what evrybody else does. You need to properly understand your own situation & marketplace and charge accordingly.
Personally, I don't charge as much as some here do, but also not as little as others, but I know what I need to charge to make the job worth doing.
As for bringing your charges in line with the competition, forget it. Just received this week free weekly paper, on the front page, advert for Carpet Cleaning: "Whole House Offers, 2 Bed £50, 3 Bed £65, 4 Bed £80. and for 2 weeks only, a further 20% of these prices!!"
Mind you I'm in Swindon and we know from another recent thread that you can do a 4 bed in an hour. :