Most bad cleaning experiences were predictable at the enquiry stage. The signals below are the ones that reliably precede a contract you cancel within six months.
None is disqualifying on its own. Two or three together usually are.
1. A price with no specification
A number with no list of tasks and no hours attached is not a quote. You cannot compare it to anything, and neither of you can later agree whether the work was done.
Ask for the scope in writing. A company that cannot produce one has not thought about your job specifically.
2. A quote given without asking questions
Property size, number of bathrooms, pets, condition, access, whether it will be occupied, hard water area. A quote produced instantly from a postcode and a bedroom count has priced an average house, not yours, and it will be revised on the day.
The best signal of a competent company is that they ask you more than you expected.
3. Insurance that never arrives
Ask for the public liability certificate. A company with cover emails it the same day, because it is a PDF they send constantly.
"We'll send it over" followed by silence is the single most reliable predictor of a company you should not use. If they will not produce a document that costs them nothing to send, consider what happens when you need them to do something that does cost them.
4. Vagueness about who is actually coming
Ask directly whether cleaners are employed or subcontracted. Subcontracting is not automatically wrong, but a company that is evasive about it is usually charging agency rates for a person nobody has vetted.
5. Pressure to commit immediately
Discounts that expire today, minimum twelve month terms on a domestic clean, or resistance to a short trial.
Good cleaning companies have more demand than capacity and do not need to close you in one call. Urgency in this trade is almost always a sales technique rather than a genuine constraint.
6. A price far below the others
Work backwards. After the National Living Wage, employer national insurance, holiday pay, insurance, equipment and travel, there is a floor below which the numbers do not work.
If a quote sits well under it, something is missing. Usually hours, sometimes insurance, sometimes vetting, sometimes all three. The gap always appears eventually, as a worse clean or a supplementary invoice.
7. Cash only, no invoice, no paperwork
Some independent cleaners prefer cash, which is a personal arrangement and reasonable enough.
A company operating with no invoices and no records is different, and it leaves you with no evidence of what you paid for if something goes wrong. For an end of tenancy clean it is actively harmful, because an itemised invoice is exactly what you need in a deposit dispute.
8. No named contact
"Contact the office" is not an answer. You want a person, a direct number, and a defined route if that person does not respond. Without it, small problems have nowhere to go and quietly become large ones.
9. Reviews that cluster
Twenty five-star reviews in one week and nothing before or after. Reviews with no specific detail. Identical phrasing across several. A perfect score across hundreds of reviews with no negatives at all.
Read the negative reviews specifically and look at how the company replied. A defensive or dismissive response to a fair complaint tells you exactly how yours will be handled.
10. Promises that are too clean
Be wary of anyone who guarantees every stain will come out, claims their products are "100% chemical-free", or promises a specific reduction in your sickness absence figures.
Experienced cleaners tell you what will not work before they start. That is a good sign, not a bad one. Someone who promises everything is either inexperienced or setting up a difficult conversation later.
11. No re-clean policy
For end of tenancy work particularly, ask what happens if the letting agent flags something. A reputable company returns and re-cleans free within a defined window, commonly 48 to 72 hours, and will put that in writing.
No guarantee on an end of tenancy clean removes the main thing you were buying. Cleaning is the largest single cause of deposit deductions in the UK, at 29.38% of claims according to DPS data reported in 2026, so that guarantee is the point of paying rather than doing it yourself.
12. Casual about keys and access
Ask how keys are stored. The right answer involves a locked cabinet and coded tags rather than your address on a fob. Ask what happens if a key is lost, and whether the insurance covers lock replacement.
A company that has never considered the question is telling you how it will handle the rest.
Warning signs after you have started
Some only show up once the work begins.
The hours quietly shrink. They arrive later or leave earlier while the price stays the same. This is the most common form of contract decay.
A different person every visit, with no explanation. Usually a symptom of high staff turnover, which has its own causes.
The specification silently narrows. Things that were done in month one are not done in month four.
Damage discovered rather than reported. A company that tells you it chipped a mug is one you can trust with something serious. One that says nothing is not.
Invoices that drift upward with unexplained additions.
Feedback that changes nothing. You raise the same issue three times.
Cancellations at short notice, more than very occasionally.
The fix for all of these is the same and it is boring: raise it early, specifically, in writing. Most are fixable in month two and terminal by month six.
The signals that point the other way
For balance, what a good company tends to look like at the enquiry stage:
- Asks more questions than you expected
- Sends a written specification with hours allocated
- Emails insurance certificates without being chased
- Names the person who will attend
- Is straightforward about what is not included
- Offers a trial rather than a long commitment
- Tells you honestly when something will not come out
- Gives you one person to call
- Prices in the normal range for your area
- Has reviews spread over years rather than weeks
Frequently asked questions
Should I always avoid the cheapest quote? Not automatically. Check the hours and the scope first. Cheapest is often smallest rather than better value.
How do I check a company is legitimate? Companies House for the registration, the FCA register for the insurer if a certificate looks doubtful, and reviews spread over time. A landline and a real address help.
What if they damage something? Report it in writing with photographs, and ask for their insurer's details and a claim reference. Most established companies simply replace small items.
Is a franchise better or worse? Neither inherently. Ask the same questions, and check which entity holds the insurance and employs the cleaner.
Can I cancel a contract that is not working? Check the notice period. Be wary of long minimum terms on domestic work in the first place.
What is the single biggest red flag? Insurance certificates that are promised but never sent.
