[Jim_77]

p.s. contract law is very complicated, but a verbal contract was entered in to here.

i would definitely hold on to the rugs, I wouldn't worry about legal action as she has stiffed you and she knows it!

[yorky]

The problem with the small claims court is everything would need to proven. That she booked the clean for that day and did not cancel. Do you have a written quotation signed by her for the work to be done on that day as a start?

How do you prove she did not phone in advance and cancel as many people do. And again if you have a cancellation policy it has to be in writing and given to your customer at the time of booking.

I doubt very much you would win and it's a waste of time and money in my view. Agree with Nick on everything regarding the rugs as she could turn the whole thing round on you and a reputation is worth keeping.

[Jon Oldham]

Why not charge £250 for off-site cleaning of rugs and don't mention the cancellation fee. Email her the invoice along with request for mutual delivery time. This will let her respond and also give you proof that the rugs have been cleaned should it be taken further.

If there is nothing on the quote about the rugs she could have you by the g**lies without correspondence via email. I am not sure about any legalities but without anything in writing etc.

Regards

Jon

[Nigel_W]

Why would you want to work for this client now? I wouldn't!

Am I the only one wondering why you agreed to clean rugs for free and even more so why you did this in advance?

I am also surprised that your technician stayed there for so long. 30 mins would be the longest I would stay.

Did you ring the day before to confirm the appointment?

I would take the rugs back, chalk it up to experience and make sure I never did it again. If she offers you any money take it and run.

Nigel
www.designcare.co.uk

[clinton]

Must have been a large job for nearly 700 pounds.

Be good to hear what happens with the rugs..

[peter maybury]

A contract is a contract verbally or written. If the customer has not admitted to making any mistake about the day etc then it is not possible for her to change her story now. I am a man of my word and have proved this several times in court up to now. Obviously you do not want to waste your time going down that road. If you have given the customer a written quotation with an appointment, date and time on it then the customer cannot now say that there is some mistake. It is she that has broken your verbal contract and as the rugs were being done as a condition of the rest of the work it is not unreasonable to ask to be paid for the time and effort taken on them. If this does get unpleasant I would just ask for a reasonable amount for the rugs and your time wasted and forget about the rest of the work as the customer will be looking for any reason to find complaint.

Peter

[Griffus]

This is a tricky one - if she is savvy she could demand you return the rugs as you have no legal right to hold on to them.

If you "re-soil" them she could claim you damaged the rugs

To claim a cancellation charge you will have to prove, as Yorky states. that it was clear on your quotation.

The only legal recourse you have is to send her an invoice for the cleaning of the rugs and the cancallation charge if appropriate and hope she pays. If she refused to pay you can take her to small claims court but of course there is a risk you may not win!

Nick

I'd agree with Nick on this one.

The one thing in her favour and that would seem indicate her original intention, is that she let you take the rugs in the first place. She must have therefore intended for you to come back and clean the carpets at that point. She may have therefore genuinely forgotten when the work was booked for. Did you call the day before to confirm?

The other possibility, and an assumption based on your own comment about you quote being expensive, is that she subsequently received another quote that was cheaper and went with them.

[richie]

Gont mention anything about a cancellation fee to her.  If she states that she no longer wishes to have her carpets cleaned you will need to be firm and advise her that the rugs were only to be cleaned free of charge under the condition that she had the carpets cleaned to the value of your quote.  Let her know that the full cost of removing the rugs off site, cleaning then returning would be £175.00. She will need to be informed that the rugs will be available once payment in cash or cleared funds have entered you bank account.  Be firm but polite.

Richie.

[Karen Waterworth]

how many days from survey to appointment date
if less than 7 days then she has the right to cancel but she should of called you
just send the invoice for the rug clean, with a note on saying you will ring to confirm payment and delivery date on the rugs, if she replies then you have proof of contract.
be careful as customers like these have big mouths and if she is one of those that goes to coffee mornings, 10 more ladies (with loads of money) will know your name.
good luck   

[Simon@arenaclean]

Write and say as we have cleaned the rugs you will need to charge £--- but you happily waive the cancellation fee and if you can be of service etc etc. Your reputation is worth much more than any satisfaction you might have.

Make sure your quotation has a cancellation charge to cover costs, mine is my minimum charge. 

[robert meldrum]

I could be wrong, but this sounds like a typical  " Mrs Bucket " scenario, where a woman aspires to a lifestyle she really can't afford but will never admit to it.  She can't afford your prices but will NEVER ADMIT THAT. She probably got a price she could genuinely afford and the job's been done or arranged to be done by someone else.

This happens to carpet cleaners every day and not just the high charging ones.

Unfortunately, you've voluntarily taken away her carpets and cleaned them which made logistic sense, but.................what if she cancelled ?

They're not your property so have to be returned

[from edge2edge]

Jon tell the who are to come and collect them if she wants them.Regards Alan(swindon)

[yorky]

Lets be honest it has happened to all of us and it is very annoying and lost money if another job was turned down because of it. I had two at Christmas but just walk away and forget it because in the end it's always going to happen. I usually lose them I think on price where people find someone cheaper and don't want to phone to cancell. Given your pricing which Is about the highest I have ever heard of for a days work (well done) that's probably what has happened to you.

[jon777]

Thanks all for your advice,

I have sent her an invoice today for £100 + vat for the rug cleaning. She will need to pay this or come and collect the rugs which will be dirty again.

The cancellation fee would be to much hassle to pursue so I am not going to ask for it. She will need to pay it though if she wants her carpets cleaned. (As someone said I would'nt want the work now anyway).

cheers jon

[Colin Day]

That sounds fair enough if you ask me.

I had a phone call today from a Scouser in sheltered accommodation in St Ives (Cornwall), he sounded rough and was asking me how much for an oven and carpets cleaned... I said he'd be looking at a forhell of a lot of money , just to get him to sod off! Sometimes it's easy to see you've got a time waster and in other cases (like yours) it's that bit more difficult.

Hope all is resolved soon enough for you!

[james roffey]

Jon

In matters like this imagine it being scrutinised by a judge at a later date i know its sounds a bit dramatic but as long as you are "fair and reasonable" you will not have to worry about comebacks.
You are entitled to be paid for cleaning the rugs charge what is fair and reasonable even if its the top rate but not a penny more.
Your waisted time is fair and reasonable but do you have it in writing that a cancellation charge is payable.
I think it is reasonable to ask for "cleared funds" before you return the rugs especially after her previous no show, keep copies of all correspondence, just in case.

Good luck


James

[Dave_Lee]

We all suffer this kind of thing occasionally, personally thankfully rarely, but it does happen.
Sounds like the price was on the high side if it could still be done in the half day remaining, when the Tech was there, or should I say Very high side.
It is a fact that when charging very high prices to average domestic customers, you can expect to have an above average number of cancellations and no shows. As this case shows it can also happen with above average domestics too. Purchaser remorse is a powerful emotion, which can lead to otherwise reasonable people doing unreasonable things.
Dave.

[robert meldrum]

Painful as it is, I think you've made the right decision !

[southern counties]

If the rugs are on your signed quote or survey sheet then you can charge her the going rate for the free items if she cancels the items that actually qualified her for the free rug cleaning. seeing as youve done the rugs

also it could be said she hasn't really cancelled the job she has just prevented you from finishing it as youve done the rugs.

Verbel agreements dont mean that much in law or i could say you owed me all sorts and see who the small claims courts believed

cant put the soil back on the rugs its a contaminant type thing, you cant just infect peoples stuff with concentrated germy water.

you might get away with dropping the rugs outside her house  in the pouring rain but wouldn't reccomend it lol

[mark_roberts]

£695 for half a days work and £150 for two 2x9 rugs is high by anyones standards.  Maybe she just didnt have the bottle to say so but it is a pain in the butt.  I think you did the right thing in the end although i would have phoned her first.

Had one today complaining things are tight as she opened the door of her range rover.

Mark