[maggie67]

Hi there

Some wordly advice please!!

I am sub-contracting at one large block of recently converted apts. The guy owning the company asked me to go in to sparkle clean an apt (2days notice to be precise!). I asked for the no. so I cld go in & look first (It was 2 days before xmas) but guy denied knowledge of which property. Anyaway basically a penthouse that still had snagging going on, probablly valued at £1 mil. Hard wood floors throughout and every perimeter had an inch wide stripe of emulsion and bits of masking tape everywhere, grout all over floor tiles, usual scenario. However we worked hard and removed the lot. We were also told that they were completeing following day! Basically four of us were there for 5 hours and charged £200.00. The guy I am sub-contracting from have said company have rejected the invoice and he will only pay me half (which obviously I will be handing to the guys I brought in.

I am totally miffed as I did not want to do the job in the fist place but fely obliged because I was told they were completeing the following day.

Can anyone give me some 'constructive' (excuse the pun!) advice on what I can do please?!

Thank you 

[martin19842]

hi there,

was the price agreed prior to starting the work? was it agreed with your client, ie the main contractor.?

did you get a day work sheet signed off from the developer?

did you have any discussions with site personnel, during the cleaning operation to inform them of the work load and therefore the implications regarding the cost.

we have several different methods of operation, where we are on site full time, IE it is our site and do all the cleans, then we work on tender and day work sheets. if we go back into a property to check the floors then its FOC , bit of give and take.

if we are doing one off work and we do it a lot, we will photograph prior to work start, and in extreme circumstances we will bring site manager into plot and highlight, ie excess paint on window frames, light fittings etc.

these photos are then available for the client to view if thay want to dispute.

my opinion would be to speak to site management firtst, and ask why the invoice for the clean has been rejected.  site may not even know its been rejected.  if they dont then use them to speak to the surveying department, and explain the extent of the work carried out.

another route, would be to invoice the cleint, so that they can then contra charge the decorators, for making even more mess ie excess paint on floors.

contra charging by the developers back to other trades happens every day of the week.  (there is a warning in there for you aswell) if you ever see scratches in bathrooms, kitchens, or on any windows, report it the same day to site management.  PROTECT YOURSELF.

i hope that the above provides some form of guidance.

regards

martin

[maggie67]

Hi Martin!

Thanks for your advice!
It is all very difficult. As I am the third person down the line. I am seen to be part of a 'team going in on behalf of this cleaning company'. It's a strange. The guy I work for does that and tells us nothing (very shrewd!)

However when we arrived on site the sales consultant did qoute 'are you mad? we had a team of 5 last week who took one look and walked off site, you'll be here forever! ......But the guy I am working for says that even the sales consultants could not justify the length of time we were there. If i speak to sales consultant it may get back and jeapordise the regular work we are doing there at the moment!

There's no answer really! I am just totally miffed and have to put it down to a learning experience. I did not gain a penny for this job and it's not my company. The way I look at it is if he did nothing then he is not losing anything by just paying our invoice without gaining profit. It was a good PR job for him as he was seen to be sending in a team of cleaners that did the job well when the previous company walked out!

But hey ho! Enough moaning from me!

Thank you for your advice I will use it in future!

[martin19842]

hi there,

it sounds to me that this wasnt a sparkle clean, if we go on site to do a sparkle, and it turns out to be a reclean to sparkle finish, then we say so form the start.  and the client has to acknowledge it.

we are working with top 5 house builders, and they are obviously as tight as they can be, but believe me they will listen when you say that the clean is X not Y.

if you are doing a good job, then you will not have any problems, also you need to establish the ground rules, if we dont get sign offs then we will walk off site, also we charge cancellation charges if the client isnt ready.

you are not a charity. you are only doing this to make as much profit as possible.

regards

martin

[maggie67]

Thanks for your comments (all of them!!) 

Maggie

[texas girl]

Maggie,

I sub out a lot of window cleaning and cleaning jobs in general. To me, if you sub from someone, an agreement should be made clear before you start. It sounds like there was no time for clear evaluation, and it was wrong for the contractor to not pay you the subcontractor what you charged. In fact, an emergency fee would not have been out of the ordinary if it was a last minute deal. The contractor should have been the one to eat that one, or pay a  compromised price that was fair to you and your workers.  I would not do any more work for that contractor. That is not right. How about being second instead of third on the ladder of contracting? Sounds like you have a good crew and a good heart. Maybe this experience is a blessing in disguise?

[Jake]

Maggie

When you submitted your invoice, who did it go to?  If it went to the guy your subbing off, then it is him who makes the decision to pay or not! If you submitted it straight to the construction company, why not cut out the middle man!!

I can tell you that here in Devon, it,s very hard to get the prices that you would get in Kent(I guess), but £200 for a builders/sparkle clean on £1m apt sounds very reasonable, in fact it sounds very fair, considering the short notice, tread carefully.

                    Regards, Jake Dillon

[maggie67]

Thank you texas girl & jake!!

I invoice the guy I am sub-contracting for, for all the work we do, so yes I agree with you that the primary clients dispute is irrelevant! Apparently our guy is hoping to get future contracts from this company as a result of 'the work we did' (and it was a one-off job. I am not silly so I have taken on board the fact the guy we are working for has stepped in and saved the day!! all the more reason why the guy we are working for has probablly charged through the nose!!)

Unfortunately I am in a position where I am doing 3 regular visits and the pay is pretty good. We are also paid two weeks in arrears. Is this usual for sub-contractors?

I am just waiting for my next oppurtunity which I am working on. Any offers?

Thank you for your support. Feeling a little less de-moralised!!

Maggie :

[martin19842]

hi there,

maggie, ahve pm'd with a question not for open discussion

regards

martin