I would like to inform potential customers of Teresas Family Cleaning that this company cannot be trusted to keep any verbal agreement.
I contacted Teresas Family Cleaning looking for a team to clean a house I had just bought from a hoarder. It hadnt been cleaned in what appeared to be years and there was an awful lot of pet hair in addition to the general grime. I informed the woman with whom I placed the order of this and that another company I had previously contacted informed me upon seeing the home that they felt unequipped to clean the property. She gave me an estimate of 3-6 hours. I told her that my budget for the job was about $500, but I understood if the cleaners required the full 6 hours (which would have come out to $580) that was fine. I asked to be billed and she said that the cleaners would leave a bill, but that she needed to take a credit card number for security. Thinking that sounded reasonable, I obliged. (The manager later told me that the cleaners never leave invoices, so perhaps the sales rep had only been mistaken.)
When I arrived at the property the day of the cleaning, the team had been in the home for going on 10 hours. I asked how long they expected to stay and the lead woman said at least 2 more hours. I excused them, even though the job was not near finished. I did not engage her in a conversation about billing because I believed it would be better to contact the office in the morning to find out how they expected to charge me for the job, rather than argue with the maid.
When I called the office at 11am the following day, I was informed by the sales rep that Teresas Family Cleaning had ALREADY charged my card for $1,000. I explained that I had expected the job to take no more than 6 hours and could not afford to pay $1,000 when I had not authorized the job or the charge. I was told by the office manager that the estimate was not binding, nor did it constitute cap on the job. She also said that upon entering the house, the team could tell that the job would take far longer than the previously quoted estimate. However, AT NO TIME DID THE COMPANY CONTACT ME to ask whether I wanted the job done for TWICE the estimated cost.
They preformed work we did not request nor want/need done (scrubbing the floors when we were going to have them refinished a few days later, etc.) I asked the manager if she would be alright with her mechanic acting the same way (taking the car for an oil change and then replacing other "needed" parts) and she said absolutely not, but that this was somehow "different." She could not say how.
I sent a number of detailed emails to the sales rep and to Teresa herself, without response. Finally, when the office manager contacted me a week later, she simply reiterated what I had been told on the phone, that the 6 hours was not a cap and the girls were authorized to stay as long as it took to perform the job.
Teresa herself could not be bothered to address the matter.
This company effectively stole about $400 right out of my bank account.
Their website is beautiful and they claim to do a fair amount of charity, but the fact is that in this case, Teresas Family Cleaning acted unprofessionally and unethically. The work was good, but dont trust a thing they tell you. If you decide to use Teresas Family Cleanings services, make sure you get everything in writing and, if you can avoid it, dont give them your credit card.
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