A tenant has detailed her harrowing experience with a supposedly experienced bonded cleaner who left a trail of destruction and racked up a damage bill in the ‘thousands’.
The Brisbane woman sought out the bonded cleaner’s services after reading his supposedly favourable reviews on the temporary work platform Airtasker when she moved out of her studio unit last week.
She, on the other hand, had to endure a harrowing experience that lasted almost 24 hours and was left with furniture and belongings damaged by a chainsaw.
“She sent me a quote and it wasn’t much different than the quotes I had received from cleaning and moving agencies, but it was a bit cheaper,” the tenant wrote on Reddit, according to the Courier mail.
“We talked about all the extra things I would do to make sure my place was in much better condition than when I found it.”
According to the tenant, the quotes were professionally delivered and she had verified the validity of his business several times, so she hired him to help remove furniture, dispose of trash and perform minor repairs.
His availability meant he could only do the work on the day his lease expired.
The contractor arrived at the property on time that day and demonstrated his expertise as he loaded their belongings into his truck.
A Brisbane tenant saw her vacant unit and belongings ruined by a careless cleaning contractor (Brisbane stock image)
“Give credit where credit is due, I didn’t think all my extra furniture and boxes would fit in a van, but the Tetris skills were amazing – everything was safe, secure and loaded and I was impressed,” he wrote.
However, things changed when the contractor went out to find a cleaner he had hired to help him with the job.
The man left at 10:30 and promised to return at noon.
After two hours of avoiding text messages and phone calls, the contractor told the tenant that he had left his keys inside his truck.
When he finally arrived with the cleaner, he showed her what needed to be done and she started working while he went to another job.
The contractor left his maid and the tenant working on the house, only to contact the tenant at 5:30 pm to request an advance payment of the moving bill, as he did not have enough cash.
Three hours later, the contractor told the tenant that he was back but had broken down because he had forgotten to fill up with gas.
“He asked me to Uber him the canister I had left in my driveway filled with gas. I told him to just Uber package it from my house to his so we wouldn’t have to deal with adjusting bills later, and he did, but to the wrong address. Around 8:45 (p.m.), maybe a little later, the Uber finally arrived, I gave them the gas, and that was it.”
The tenant had to pay an additional fee for cleaning the end-of-contract deposit (file image)
He reprimanded the cleaner for the poor job she had done, apparently dirtying the mopped floors with her work boots, and informed the tenant that his windows would need a “premium” treatment.
‘He ripped off my mosquito nets and asked a girl to clean them with a hose. I went to speak to one of the housemates who lives right below me (to tell him) that there might be some noise.
“When I came back, he had brought the hose inside and was spraying the blinds and window railings with it, throwing water everywhere,” the tenant said.
‘Prior to his impromptu spray, I had made no effort to move anything away from the splash zone or protect things, so the TV unit, my vacuum cleaner, my cordless vacuum’s charger, my freshly cleaned mattress, and more all received a lot of splashes.’
The cleaner left at 9:30 pm and the contractor began removing the last of the tenant’s belongings, starting with a leather sofa.
“He asked me how I had carried it to my house and I explained that I had carried it horizontally, at a slight angle and that we would both have to carry it. He said he knew that wasn’t the case and tried to carry it vertically and it wouldn’t fit,” the tenant wrote.
The contractor seemed professional online and at the beginning of the job before the day turned into a nightmare.
‘He came back with a small chainsaw and started hitting the couch, swearing and behaving badly, and my housemate texted me asking what was going on. I explained and she was quite concerned.
‘Apparently the chainsaw didn’t work so he left and came back with a crowbar and started tearing the sofa apart with it, throwing it back with such force that it completely broke the front storm shutter control and ripped a chunk out of the door frame.
‘I took a step back and felt very scared, both for my safety and for what my owner would do.
‘He finally broke enough of the couch so he could get it through the door. I went outside for some air and watched him grab the couch, drag it outside, stand it upright on its side and for some ungodly reason throw it down the wet stairs right into his car door, denting it.’
After the sofa was dealt with, the tenant went to the back of the property and heard a sound of something breaking.
The contractor told the woman that he had thrown a crowbar into the backyard. She saw that it had hit a container filled with expensive, collectible mugs.
At around 1:30 a.m., the contractor informed the tenant that the cleaning was complete, assured him that he would receive his security deposit back, apologized for the trouble, and then requested prompt payment for his services.
Despite this, the tenant found the unit in disrepair and spent two hours cleaning up the damage.
After the ordeal, the landlord gave the tenant a few extra days to hire a new cleaner, but lost thousands of dollars.
