Unsatisfactory cleaning service provided by West Cheshire Facilities Management

[barbara chabeaux]

 

A friend was in hospital for almost  3 months and not allowed home by Social Services till his flat was properly cleaned. I liaised with SS, they recommended a firm and I paid them, in advance, £700.

The standard of work was truly appalling. I sent photos the day after the work was completed (the day before Friend was returning home) and was offered a return visit (31/12) – I said I wasn’t available to give access and friend was returning home next day, and I thought it inappropriate to have them there as he arrived home.  He's 72, not in the best of health and shielding - it was not appropriate to have two strangers in the flat with him.

They  offered £100 refund and I said I wasn't  satisfied with that. I emailed my rejection and asked for the contact details of the MD.  Emailed him and got an "out of office" response.  Two weeks later he responded and offered £150.
The MD then, without my permission, then just paid it into my account..

What do I do next? They’ve had my money in advance and it’s complicated by the fact that I’m fighting this on behalf of someone else..

 

 

 

 

[honeybee13]

Is this the people?

 

https://www.westcheshire.net/

 

HB

[BankFodder]

In fact even better, if you could get the property inspected by Social Services then I think that would be all you need.

We can then see about taking any necessary action to recover your money – which would probably amount to bringing a legal action – as long as we can find them. Doing know whether they have offices or whether they are traceable?

How did you pay?
I think that you should get an independent inspection of the property to confirm its bad state of cleanliness. I suggested that if you could get another firm of cleaners in to give a statement then that would be a good idea and it would also be a good idea first of all to write to West Cheshire Facilities Management and put them on notice that you will be carrying out your own inspection and that if it incurs a fee that you will be looking to them for reimbursement of that fee as well as the cost of making good their substandard work.

 

I tried accessing their website but it doesn't seem to work at the moment. This is rather concerning

[honeybee13]

The link in my post works for me, BF.

 

HB

[barbara chabeaux]

Hi, yes, those are the people.

 

It's too late to ask SS to inspect.  This all happened in a big rush between xmas and new year; I complained to the woman I'd been dealing with, she liaised with the MD and came back with the £100 offer, took a couple of days, I refused, she then said I needed to contac the MD. When I emailed him, I got the out of office message back, and then, eventually, the offer of £150 which he deposited, without my agreement, into my account..  So it all took weeks.  I have plenty of photos though.

 

The social worker saw some of the photographs.  Because of the timing, holidays, everyone busy etc she said she would go by my judgement as to whether Friend should be allowed home (This was before the service was carried out)  I sent her some photos but neither of us mentioned Friend not coming home - nobody wanted him to have to stay in the care home any longer, it was totally inappropriate.  She knew I was going to take some action with regard to the service, but we didn't speak again.

 

 

Sorry, trying to catch up with all the questions..
I paid by BACS - it was the only option I was given.
They are based in Wallasey, Wirral, and I think they have been there for some time.  I don't think they have disappeared.

[BankFodder]

Please follow the link and read what we have to say about people who pay by bank transfer

[BankFodder]

Has the property been cleaned now? Is it the in the same state as before?

[barbara chabeaux]

16 minutes ago, BankFodder said:

Has the property been cleaned now? Is it the in the same state as before?

Yes, it has been cleaned now - it had to be, he came out of hospital at the end of December, and Friend has secured the services of a local cleaning company to come in once a week.  

[BankFodder]

So who cleaned it and are they prepared to give a report of the state of the place as they found it?

[BankFodder]

I suggest you start reading around this forum about the steps involved in taking a small claim in the County Court. It's very straightforward but you should understand the steps before embarking on it so that you are confident.

We will help you all the way.

Once you have done this basic reading then come back here and we can begin the process if you are happy to go ahead.

On the basis of what you say, I expect that your chances are better than 90%.

I also expect that West Cheshire Facilities Management will want to put their hands up before it goes to court and get a judgement against them. We would want to see your letter of claim before it sent off but I suggest that it is made clear that Social Security's have already been informed and that when you get a judgement against West Cheshire Facilities Management, you will make sure that social services and the health service generally are all circulated with copies of the judgement.

If West Cheshire Facilities Management really want to take that risk with all of the reputational and business risk that accompanies it, then they are being extremely shortsighted.

[Manxman in exile]

20 hours ago, barbara chabeaux said:

 

... I liaised with SS, they recommended a firm and I paid them, in advance, £700.

 

 

 

Can I  ask what you mean by "... they recommended a firm... "?

 

I ask because I'm a bit surprised that Social Services are even allowed to do that.  (I may be mistaken and that this is common practice, but it seems a bit odd to me).

 

If they did do so and the work has turned out to be sub-standard and unsatisfactory, I would have no hesitation in making a formal complaint to the council and also to my (or your friend's) local councillor(s).  You acted on the council's recommendation and you should have a reasonable expectation that the firm recommended should be reliable and professional.  I would also insist that trading standards be asked to investigate this firm.  (Where I live our local county council trading standards department runs an approved trader database).

 

A complaint to the council might not directly assist you but it might help to prevent others being taken in by this firm.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Manxman in exile