As a service provider who helps homeowners, some people need to tell the truth about their hired help and give honest online reviews. I have encountered several homeowners who are dishonest and feel they can bully or scare service providers into giving them a full refund on a job well done. I will correct all of the mistruths in this post from a homeowner who is known to con other service providers into giving him back all of his money. I will not be an addition to his list. Here goes: He called me from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Christmas Eve in desperate need of a cleaning service for his new home in Clermont, FL, because he could not find one on such short notice. We were to be closed for the holiday, but I wanted to help him and agreed to clean on the following basis (my email to him and he agreed in writing): Member, Thank you for contacting my company, A Zing Zap Cleaning Service for your move-in home cleaning. We will clean your new home on Wed, 12/26, with arrival time of 9:00 am. I originally thought the arrival time would be an afternoon appt, however, a morning appt is available. I hope this change is ok with you. Per our telecon discussion, please give me a call upon your arrival to the home. I will be taking before and after pictures. Payment: My estimate for the list of items below and 1900 sf 8 hrs @ $30/hr - $240 - 50% deposit of $120 charged to your Mastercard 7206 - remainder of job to be charged when we finish the job. You understand that the work may take more than 8 hours and be payable at the end of the job. I will ensure that each task is reviewed and assessed as being necessary using my industry expertise and knowledge of work to be done. Tasks: -Dust and Clean Window Dressings (wood blinds) -Dust walls -Hand wipe baseboards (caked on dust and dirt) -Door Frames -Plant Shelves (LR, Foyer, TV area) high up cleaning -2 bathrooms (deep clean) -Chair rails (kitchen nook area) Signed, Dee All of the pictures I sent him (before/after) were not half done. I will try to post some on the company page as evidence of his untruthful statement. Vertical blinds were not on the list. Only wood blinds, and they were thoroughly cleaned for him. 50 light switches and outlet covers were not removed before cleaning. We did clean them as they were filthy. This task took us 52 minutes. The homeowner was NOT charged for this time. Again, I will try to attach pictures of the 10-foot high (not 8-foot high as he stated) plant shelves that the homeowner states were not cleaned, but they were all cleaned, plus other areas which were not on his list. I was asked to clean 3 high up areas when in actuality a total of 5 high up areas were cleaned. The homeowner states he inquired with other cleaning companies about the charges for this type of job and he was quoted 6 hours. When he spoke to me on 12/24 he stated that no other cleaning company was available and he was grateful for me taking on his job. The house was quoted sight unseen which is why I asked him for his approval to clean beyond the 8 hours if the depth of cleaning required us to stay on the job to get it done. The house baseboards and lower walls were splattered with dog feces and buggers on the walls, cigarette tar coated the walls, food was splattered on walls, dog feces and hair was coated on the 3 large foyer columns, the dust left on the door jambs and frames and onthe high up areas was over 1 inch thick, and the list goes on and on. The before/after pictures are proof of our hard work. The homeowner was emailed a list of our completed work tasks after we left the job: Hi. Here's the list of what was completed today: A) 2 large wooden window dressings (blinds) in guest bedrooms - 20 min B) All door frames - 1.2 hrs C) 1 Master Bath (double deep clean) with high up dusting, exhaust fan, baseboards, cabinets (int/ext), window, built-in shelving, glass shower door and window, tub, double vanity and sinks, mirror, medicine cabinet, 6-panel doors (1 pocket, 1 door), toilet and water line - 2.1 hrs D) 1 Guest Bath (double deep clean) with exhaust fan, baseboards, cabinets (int/ext), window, glass shower doors (2), tub, vanity and sink, large mirror, medicine cabinet, 6 panel door, toilet and water line - 1.5 hrs E) Chair rails in small hallway and kitchen nook - 10 min F) Cleaned walls (heavy "dog art" and food removed on lower level; dust removed on higher level) - 2.7 hrs G) Hand wipe all baseboards (1904 sq ft) ... each room took 20-30 minutes - billiard/den, foyer/dining room, living room, 2 guest bedrooms, 2 small hallways, kitchen nook, master bedroom, 2 baths, laundry room, kitchen - 3 hrs H) Cleaned lower level of pillars in foyer area (pillars and floor) - 35 mins I) Plant shelves and high up shelves cleaned in dining room, living room, bedroom, kitchen, master bedroom, master bathroom - 1.2 hrs J) All light switches and plug plates were detail cleaned. They were very dirty. - 52 min Total labor hours: 13.85 x $30/hr = $415.50 - 2 free hours @ $60 = $355.50 total job I have charged $120 to your MC this morning. Balance due is $235.50 charged at completion of job. Please be sure to give me a call when you arrive tonight. I'll be on my cell at ***-***-**** until about 9 pm. I suggest the windows be cleaned on the interior. They are very dirty. I also noticed that the light fixtures and ceiling fans need a good cleaning, too. We re-vacuumed some carpet and both bathroom floors to remove dust and dirt we knocked down and off of walls and high up shelving. No charge. Signed, Dee Furthermore, the homeowner had the owner of Seabreeze Aluminum stop by to check on us and the work progress. I went through the home and showed the owner what we had done. He said we had done a great job and was telling me how dirty he remembers the house being a few days ago. He asked me for business cards to recommend Zing Zap to his clients. The homeowner was asked to call me upon arrival to his home on 12/26. I called him on 12/27 and left a voicemail, however, I received a call from him 5 days later on 12/31. He was yelling about plant shelves and threatens to dispute the credit card charges and hangs up. I waited to hear back from him for about an hour, no callback. I emailed him and did not hear back from him for another 3 days. This time, he emailed me 4 pictures on 1/03. I question where he got the pictures from since I have the same of work done before/after. This homeowner called me, yelled a lot, and hung up. I listened and continued to try and make contact to go over and talk with him. On 1/03 afternoon I received his pictures, emailed him back right away that I would return to re-clean the areas the next day at 1 pm. I was on my way over on 1/04 only to receive an email from him on 1/04 at 11:30 am that he had already cleaned and painted the home. I was never given a chance to discuss the problems the homeowner was having with our work OR to go over and fix it. Service providers who come in contact with this homeowner... get everything in writing. If you don't, he will threaten you with complete non-payment of the job. I will no longer be a one-time clean provider for Angie's List. It is too much work to ensure we will not be taken advantage of by consumers who have bad intentions and a voice on this forum. Theft of services is considered committing fraud with a charge of larceny in the State of Florida.