[The Great One]

Hi Guys

Did a clean on a 3 bed house top to bottom about a week ago (clean and carpets) after the clean some marks were apparent in the kitchen floor and hall carpet.

The owner is saying they weren't there before.
 
i have told him that I didn't use anything corrosive only anti-bacterial which i have used throghout the house. The stains go across the kitchen from the sink to the door, miss out the lounge completely and there are a few light spots in the hall in a different direction?

I have explained to the client that I only uncovered the marks that were already there. He now of course wants to claim against me.

He has denied me access to take my own pictures of the damage. I did try to remove the marks for him, which seemed to work at the time but because  I cannot get in I cannot see for myself.

As I tried to remove the marks for him, would this make me liable for the floor?

Regards

Martin

[woodman]

In a word NO

If he is denying access to inspect and evaluate then he has no claim.

Do not give him any of your insurance details until he allows you this access but do put your insurance on stand by and inform them of his actions.

If you reach an impass then you can appoint an independent inspector to do it for you and will give a report on the situation which you both will receive.

You will have to pay for this though (anything between £80-100.00) but should the report find in your favour you can then take action for the recovery of money owed from the job and your insurance will not entertain his claim.

[The Great One]

 Hi

Thanks for that, reassuring to know.

I have told my insurance company to get in touch with him.

What I think it stems from is that they thought I was going to sugar soap all the walls and woodwork down ready for them to paint. They hadn't clarified this at the begining and I just cleaned it from top to bottom, sanitised the entire place. I did miss two things though which was an extractor fan and a cat flap.

My opinion is that they may not of wanted to pay from the start.

Working practices have changed  from this as now for private owners, I now do an 'on site report' which I then ask them to sign. This way they can stipulate from the start what is required. also invested in a camera phone.

Regards

Martin

[carloso]

martin 606

dont know if this applies to cleaning insurance but you might want to check.
re previous pot put your insurer on standby.

earlier this year i changed the  car insurance, all ok on phone , usual full no claims etc. then policy doc arrives and it is dearer than quoted, any way to cut a long story short it was as follows. 18 months ago someone walked literally from back to front over car, windscreen damage  covered and cover protected so no claim made, however in insurance terms a claim was made simply by informing them of the event.
it seems that english language definitions of things and legal definitions are different than insurance definitions. i was also told that all insurers must record and pass on such reports to new insurers by law. i did manage to fight it and get the original premium but was told that the incident with the roof will stay on file

[The Great One]

hi 

i spoke with my insurers straight away and they has informed me that he has to prove that I did the damage and if he doesn't then he cannot pursue it anywhere.

He is also refusing to accept my invoice. Where do i stand with this as it is £230.  If I am found not liable of which i am confident do i then pursue him by adding base rate + fine to invoice if he doesn't pay each 30 days?

Thought?

Regards

Martin

P.S. Nightmare!

[Len Gribble]

Martin

From whom did you pick up the keys or who let you in?

Why did you advise you insurance to contact him?

Len

[carloso]

hi martin

have you got a contract with this guy either verbal and witnessed
or written??
if you have niether i would imagine you aint got didly

[The Great One]

Hi

He called me personally, via a recommendation. I went through what I was going to do with him and wife.

called my Insurers as he was having the kitchen floor quoted and wanted to charge me 1500, so though best to let them know what this guy is up to.

may have to let invoice go, but will take legal advise also.

Regards

Martin

[Fox]

This guy has refused to give you a reasonable chance to assess or rectify this problem.

I suggest you write him a letter stating that you require access to assess the damage so that you can decide if an independant assessor is required as to the cause of the damage.  State that you need to do this within 48hrs and if he is not forthcoming with an appointment it shall be deemed that you are not liable for the damage and you will start court proceedings to recover the outstanding invoice amount plus costs.

If you get access gather all the info about the floors you can, get in touch with the manufactorers and ask for cleaning specs etc.

If you did not cause this damage and are definately not liable I would write giving seven days for payment and enclose a statement.  Get a county court claim form from your local court they are pretty straight forward to fill in.  Ensure you have all information, timesheets from whoever carried out the work, times and dates, what was carried out etc. 

Are you a member of the Chamber of Commerce or Federation of Small Business?  They both have legal lines that I am sure could help. 

Don't just walk away from this and forget your invoice, if something you did inadvertently caused the damage you need to rectify it as whether he pays the invoice or not he is likely to follow up an insurance claim, but if you didn't you deserve to be paid for the work you have put in.

Fox

[wreelyclean_servic]

  ..Go round and give him a £230 quid snotting............make it worth your while

Only joking.....................................honest

[The Great One]

hi Guys

Posting this problem was a difficult desicion for me in that this is the first time it has happened to me since starting cleaning.

I posted what has happened as a way to help any new people coming in to the industry and to get positive feedback from those of you more experienced and for those that it has happened too.

This has prompted some working changes and whatever the outcome will use it to grow my business and move it forward.

Thanks

Regards

Martin