[Alun Whyte]

Got phoned last week from a bloke needin windows cleaned 6 bed house,  flash part of town. While on the phone he asks am i insured and do i use WFP i reply yes to both and arrange to give him a quote. Turn up 2 days later and quote him £70. Again he asks about insurance and to see a copy, which i show him. Happy with that he insists i use WFP and can i do it that day. Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth i say i will do it now.
Set up the WFP and get started 10 mins later the bloke says he is off out and can i come back the following night for my money. No probs. Return the following night and the bloke refuses to pay says ive put a large score on an upstairs window and will need to pay for that. Get the bloke to show me and he points out a 6 inch score bout 1mm deep. Tell him there is no way WFP kit has done that and refuse to pay.
He now tells me his missus is a solicitor and they know their legal position, i tell him if she is a solicitor she will also be familiar with the term GBH. upset he tells me to leave minus my £70.
Any way got me thinking has this type of scam been tried on anyone else and also when quoting we should really have a good look over the windows before starting the job. Thats the problem with WFP you cant see that type of thing from the ground.

[Darranvps]

Theres always somebody out there trying to make a quick buck, especially to us window cleaners

[cleewindows]

lol what about a few mice through his letter box.
a few pizzas too

[bobplum]

take it to the small claims court,even if costs a bit more dont let them get away with it
bob

[TLC]

pooor mice!

How about printing a short account of what the cheap skate has done and post it to all his neighbors. inc him.

[prestige cleaners]

i would counter sue, he cant prove you have done it. take him to a small claims court.

theres some scum bags about mind, hope you sort him out mate, keep us posted.

[williamx]

It sounds like a insurance scam, what I would do is take photos of your brush head showing that there is no part of it that can damage glass, if you can start to use another brush head and kept this one for the court case if there is one.

Next you send this photo plus a letter stating that you would welcome a court case, and point out to them that they will have to show the court how plastic can scratch glass?

I would also inform them that they have 7 days to settle the monies that are owed to you, if they don't then you will be taking a county court judgement action against them which will be recorded against them on their credit file, I would also say that if they do not pay within 28 days of the county court judgement you will be passing the debt onto the court bailiffs.

I would also point out on the letter that this is no bluff, if they take no notice then go ahead with it.

I can guanrantee that they will pay up straightaway

[Alun Whyte]

Thanks for all the advice lads, Thought this forum was meant to save you money. So far today ive lost my £70 ordered 4 large pepperoni pizzas from Dominos £40, 2 bags of tacks, Grasseed and a can of spraypaint from B+Q £30 and had the kids in tears cause ive taken their mice!!!

Think i got the dominos bit wrong guess he was meant to pay for them eh!!!

Keep the suggestions coming though

[JSMC]

was also asked about insurance once and alarm bells ringing straight away.

name and shame also do what the m,an city fans done to the man uts fan whot thre wbottle at bellamy LOL

FOOTBALL'S coming home for the Manchester United fan accused of throwing a coin at Man City striker Craig Bellamy.

In fact, it's coming right to his front door.
For Red Devils supporter Adam Teese is feeling the flipside of his alleged coin attack - with furious City fans bombarding his house with pranks.
Adam's name and address were released by police after the season ticket holder was charged with throwing a coin at Bellamy during the Manchester derby last week.

And within 24 hours, the enraged blue half of Manchester had ordered him £150-worth of pizzas, a skip, rat exterminators and TWO PROSTITUTES.

The barrage of jokes didn't end there either. City supporters also:

Ordered him a bronze statue of WINSTON CHURCHILL.
Sent a salesman to estimate the cost of an INDOOR SWIMMING POOL.
Booked him a performance by SQUEAKY THE CLOWN.

As well as a bouncy castle, a call from an Avon representative, a breakdown truck and a puppet show, he was also treated to a 1957 Pink Cadillac complete with Elvis-style chauffeur.
But dad Joseph, 55, raged: "We've had no end of trouble - I've had to take time off work to deal with it."
Teese will appear before Trafford Magistrates on February 9 accused of "throwing a missile on to the pitch" during the Carling Cup Semi- Final second leg at Old Trafford.
Mum Deborah insists her son is innocent, adding: "I was sat next to him and he did not throw anything. We actually had to duck when a bottle was thrown over us!"
Last night a Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said: "Officers are investigating the incidents."

I just copied and pasted this - made me laugh so thought I would share the funny side of bad behaving football fans

i'm sure hookers amd all sorts were turning up LOL

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Send him a letter saying if payment is not recieved within 7 days the debt will be passed on to a third party!!

Or take a walk past his drive with a syringe full of nitromorse!!

[AuRavelling79]

A few handfuls of grass seed in his flower-beds and hanging baskets should also help to ease the pain 

That's thoughtful - nice grass growing for him. If his car tyres look a little hard then perhaps let some air out for him so that the tyres don't wear in the middle. And if his drain is overflowing you could help him out with some quicksetting concrete down it.

If you were to wash his door as a goodwill gesture and his letterbox leaked that would be a kindness to show him where the leak lies.

[sparklebright]

It may be a kindness to put wd40 on his window hinges, from the outside.
I am sure if you spray enough some will go in...

[sparklebright]

I cleaned a house with leads once, and one or two of them were loose.
After I had done a couple I stopped and drew the dodgy lead to his attention. Though I am sure he must have known, as it was swaying in the wind!
The man asked if I was insured. I explained that of course I was, but that it would not cover the glass I had just cleaned.
Oh he said, thanks, I walked away.
I feel sure he was trying it on.

[prestige cleaners]

someone once mentioned superglueing all door locks? very tempting.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

don't admit to anything.

Are you sure u did not inspect the windows before you cleaned.  And are you SURE you did not spot the scratch before you cleaned ??  your word agaisnt his.  The fact he asked to see your paperwork wouild lay suspicion with him  hmmm wink wink

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Is it possible to report the scam, and if she is a solicitor I wonder if they can be struck off for being involved with this scam. 

Find out if she works for a law company and threaten to report her to her partners.

Oh, and maybe next time you go to there house, make sure you trip up on there land, and sue their arses off

[michael papworth]

pooor mice!

How about printing a short account of what the cheap skate has done and post it to all his neighbors. inc him.

I'd go for this approach.  You mustn't let this filth get away with it. We're hard-working, decent blokes and we deserve to be paid for the work we do.

It is completely up to him to prove that you have caused damage to his property. If he can't prove it, he MUST pay - one way or another.

Post the first one to him, and let him know that each day he keeps you waiting, there'll be one of his neighbours (and his wife's employer) gets a copy.

Oh, and charge him interest on a commercial debt.

[sunshine windows]

Fair play Simon Knight!

Although I do sympathise with anybody who loses money through not being paid by dishonest customers there is a slight possibilty that you DID actually scratch the glass with the stock of the brush. I'm in the middle of sorting a scratch out for a customer of mine and I know it was me that did it. All it takes is for a bit of grit to bed itself into the side of the brush through banging against the brickwork and then the brush flips over on the glass because of worn clamps and pole ends and you've got a scratch.

Hope you get it resolved one way or another though.

Lance

[Ian Mason]

Hi,

Be careful about putting anything in writing & dishing it out to his neighbours & employers, or you might end up with a big legal case on your hands. :

I would try the small claims court first.

Best of luck.

[Ian Mason]

ive also scratched glass trying to get bird muck of with the end of brush..
havnt got round to replace it yet but its on the to do list ..it does happen...
 get the grass seed in to his gutters... i always carry some for after i finnish my gutter cleaning jobs ...means iam back sooner rather than later..

I bet the birds are happy after you`ve been. :