[SonOfFormby]

Ok I'll give you the story from the beginning (some of you may know some of the facts)...

When I first started w/c I bought a round from a local w/c, I paid £4000 for about 180 calls with a total value of £1445.The guy was very helpful etc through the whole process.Through putting prices I lost alot of work (no problem, my own decision, they were too cheap and I would rather lose them than work for peanuts, then replace it with better work).There were a few that said they had sacked the previous w/c, there were some that said 'we don't want a window cleaner' before I had even done the 1st clean (comments on where I stand with this are welcome), there were some that were 2 monthly (the price we agreed was for all monthly work).There were evn a couple who had the clean then didn't pay!!On agreement with him, 2 weeks ago I gave him a list of all the 2 monthly, no w/c wanted etc for him to replace this work with some more....time passed no return phone call, I called him several times.....no answer.I finally bumped into him in a local shop, he looked embarrassed to say the least, and said we could meet later in the week.The following day I arrived at a house to clean it only to be told by a neighbour (a customer i bought that dropped me) that the previous w/c's had cleaned his windows, and the one I was about to do (which I cleaned last month,no problem, no cancellation)Also the properties either side (were mine but dropped me due to price increase) were absolutely sparkling.Needles to say I tried to phone him immediately...5 times...no answer.He eventually phoned me back and I asked to know what was going on, he replied that he was doing something else at the moment, but he would ask his partner......That was Tuesday.
I know it was his partner that cleaned the windows as the mentioned neighbour named him.

Any advice, comments (good or bad) would be greatly appreciated, as this is getting to me a bit now,and just want it sorted, and get on with my w/c.

Lee   

[ronnie paton]

is he older enough for a thick ear

[Davew]

The problem is because you whacked the prices up straight away and have lost customers who have obviously contacted him to do their windows. Seems he is a greedy type and willing to take them back on and has no morals. Difficult one really because he couldn't give them back to you even if he wanted to. I don't know what your agreement was in the first place but I reckon your just going to have to fill your books with new work. I can see your likely to lose more too if he is still around and still charging his old prices.

[Grafters Cleaning Services]

Lee, this a hard one?
in retrospect it may have been better to work at his old prices for say 2-3 months and get the customers to trust and like you, once done you can then increase prices at a steady level.

as for the guy and his morals i don't know what you can do about this, in hindsite you should have had something in writing to say that neither he or his so called partner could go back to any of the clients on the list that he had sold to you.

not very helpful on this occasion i know but perhaps a valuable lesson for others on this forum.

[d s windowcleaning]

seems to me mate you been ripped off . i know what id do after spending 4 grand on a poop thats how it looks in writing  mate . he would be in a&e by now . thats my opinion and in all honesty it would be the view of a lot more who visit this site . you minght as well give me 4 grand mate & i will give you £3 grand of work that minght cancel see where im coming from . get him sorted .

[AuRavelling79]

Learn from it - never pay the full whack up front.

Always get an intro  to the customers first and then see below:-

Always make staged payments (say - if you're paying 3x then pay one third at the start, after the intro and then another one a month later and another one a month later.)

If customers cancel in the first three months then they get deducted from the amount in the second or third stages.

Oh, and make sure the original w/c agrees in writing not to re-canvass or offer the round for sale to anyone else.

[Londoner]

Its stories like this that make me very wary of the whole idea of buying work. I have seen it happen round here. There was a guy called Martin who must have sold the same round three times over and then ended up back cleaning it again.

[Russell Macdonald]

Hi mate.

Hes a member on this forem, send him a txt stating that it needs sorting, stating you will put a post up warning others to be carefull if they have any dealings with them.

I know how i would deal with it.

Macc

[G O A]

what a pi55 taking tw*t makes tou wonder about people doesnt it.
i think hes lucky to be walking

[windowwashers]

Learn from it - never pay the full whack up front.

Always get an intro  to the customers first and then see below:-

Always make staged payments (say - if you're paying 3x then pay one third at the start, after the intro and then another one a month later and another one a month later.)

If customers cancel in the first three months then they get deducted from the amount in the second or third stages.

Oh, and make sure the original w/c agrees in writing not to re-canvass or offer the round for sale to anyone else.

If and when I sell rounds I would not accept staged payments, you could not go in tesco and ask for the payment to be split in three just to make sure.

Have a contract signed by both parties, also make sure that it covers that they cannot canvass or market the houses sold for a period of say 5 years.

If I sell a round it is done on trust, and have never got any bad feedback.
there are alot of con men and women out there just make sure you dont hand over money till you have seen the work and been introduced to as many customers as possible also have a letter printed about the change over and give to every customer when the seller is with you.


Not every one is bad 

[G O A]

does this mean your soon to sell a round lol

[G O A]

Learn from it - never pay the full whack up front.

Always get an intro  to the customers first and then see below:-

Always make staged payments (say - if you're paying 3x then pay one third at the start, after the intro and then another one a month later and another one a month later.)

If customers cancel in the first three months then they get deducted from the amount in the second or third stages.

Oh, and make sure the original w/c agrees in writing not to re-canvass or offer the round for sale to anyone else.

If and when I sell rounds I would not accept staged payments, you could not go in tesco and ask for the payment to be split in three just to make sure.

Have a contract signed by both parties, also make sure that it covers that they cannot canvass or market the houses sold for a period of say 5 years.

If I sell a round it is done on trust, and have never got any bad feedback.
there are alot of con men and women out there just make sure you dont hand over money till you have seen the work and been introduced to as many customers as possible also have a letter printed about the change over and give to every customer when the seller is with you.


Not every one is bad 

[windowwashers]

does this mean your soon to sell a round lol

NO not for at least next few months. just adding to the post, as reading it would put people off from buying rounds, when in fact they can be very good.
for every scammer there will always be 10 good people maybe more.

every one has an opinion and that was mine 

[Trevor Knight]

Buying a round based on just pure goodwill is always a risky venture and as I have said several times, the person buying the round has to take as many precautions as possible.

People get drawn into paying 3x or 4x the round value. This is always laced with danger as in that time people have to realise things may change in this time.

1) Cancellations
2) People just don't want their windows cleaned anymore
3) People don't like you? it happens!
4) Prices are not high enough so you need to increase the prices
5) The customer has NO loyalty to you!
6) Other window cleaners canvass your area - the customer has just changed so may be more inclined to look for a cheaper quote?
7) Customer change their frequencies from monthly to bi-monthly or 3 monthly.

These are all things you need to consider when purchasing a goodwill business.

Its a double edged sword with both the buyer and the seller.

If a seller accepts 3 or 4 instalments he effectively has handed over his business and has to hope you pay on time etc..... very risky even with contracts in place, court costs, solicitors are all very expensive.

Likewise, the buyer wants security what they are buying is a real venture and with as little risk as possible. I guess its up to both individuals how they work the deal out and how they go forward with the sale.

I have purchased 3 rounds over the years and they have all had some discomfort, just try to minimise it and understand you ARE going to have some problems along the way!

I have always paid 80% upfront and given the other 20% after 2 months as then I have a better feel of the business I have purchased. If the seller has no confidence in his round and wants 100% then he can sell to someone else, its not for me!!

Hope this helps a little for future prospective buyers!

[aztec]

take him to the small claims court but with no written contract i wouldnt hold out much hope, all you bought is the goodwill of customers continuing using you instead of him, in any case any customer can choose who they like to clean their windows which is why i will never buy work.

[SonOfFormby]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, quite a bit to chew on, and a few things to sort out before I decide how to proceed.Still won't answer my calls, but I'm not in the habit of just letting people walk all over me, so I'll most likely have to confront them in person. I will keep you all posted on what happens.
Lee

[Village Gleam]

Trevor Knight, very well thought out post. Thank you for taking the time to set it all down so concisely.

Son of Formby. I sympathise with you but you must look at this objectively. I assume you were a new starter, buying this round had got you straight into the business- you admitt some of the erorrs were yours- just as starting from absolute scratch you would have made errors also.

I think on balance you've done okay, don't beat yourself up, it was a fast way to build a customer base. Yes you were niave in part, but aren't we all.

If his partner is now targeting your customers, I think that is unfair, but some of the underpriced ones you didn't want anyway.

To put things in perspective for you IMO some on here post that they jumped straight in and bought the full Ionics set up- up to 20k's worth. And then they say that after two years experience they could have done it cheaper/better, but on balance they are glad they got into a profitable business and made a go of it.
That's how I see you, I don't think you've been done. Believe me starting from scratch is justas expensive if you look at the other costs.

If you can get some sort of redress, great; otherwise get on with your life and your very good business, you are no more stupid than the rest of us.

IE. If you end up with a grand a week business (because I get the impression that's where you're headed), and you get there a month sooner because you bought some work, that's your four grand right there.

[SonOfFormby]

Trevor Knight, very well thought out post. Thank you for taking the time to set it all down so concisely.

Son of Formby. I sympathise with you but you must look at this objectively. I assume you were a new starter, buying this round had got you straight into the business- you admitt some of the erorrs were yours- just as starting from absolute scratch you would have made errors also.

I think on balance you've done okay, don't beat yourself up, it was a fast way to build a customer base. Yes you were niave in part, but aren't we all.

If his partner is now targeting your customers, I think that is unfair, but some of the underpriced ones you didn't want anyway.

To put things in perspective for you IMO some on here post that they jumped straight in and bought the full Ionics set up- up to 20k's worth. And then they say that after two years experience they could have done it cheaper/better, but on balance they are glad they got into a profitable business and made a go of it.
That's how I see you, I don't think you've been done. Believe me starting from scratch is justas expensive if you look at the other costs.

If you can get some sort of redress, great; otherwise get on with your life and your very good business, you are no more stupid than the rest of us.

IE. If you end up with a grand a week business (because I get the impression that's where you're headed), and you get there a month sooner because you bought some work, that's your four grand right there.

Thanks Mr. S. It is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when things like this happen.This whole thing cost me less than 10K to set up, and as I'm sure I've said before, got me out of a job I absolutely hated......but I still think I'm entitled to be just a little MAD

Gonna text him now anyway.

Lee

[Davew]

Just phone him on someone elses phone.

[Bobs Window Cleaning]

chin him