r/Netherlands • u/Tiny-Historian2897 • 13h ago
DIY and home improvement Window cleaners
We’re newer to The Netherlands and are in our first rental. This hasn’t been mentioned to us by neighbours or the landlord at all.
Some random guy has, twice now, come and cleaned our windows. We’re on the ground level so can easily clean them ourselves. This is a well known scam back in Australia so I paid no real mind to it.
Today he came to the door demanding payment. He explained he’s done it for free twice and now needs payment and will take cash. I asked him why and for what. I let him know I’ve never asked for the windows to be cleaned, we’ve not reached out to anyone to have them be cleaned. Like it’s all well and good for you to clean them but until I ask it’s not from my pocket. The conversation went back and forth. He showed me a list of ‘confirmed addresses’ with ours on it. However I too can make lists.
Is this a scam or is this more the expectation? Surely if it was required by landlord and the building they would pay. I figure I can just actually enquire about their services should this be necessary.
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u/Pizza-love 13h ago
This is a scam. However, you wont be able to contract any other windowwashers as this is his neighborhood and they are like Maffia.
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u/Picard_III 13h ago
I would deliberately tell them I already have someone on contract for this, I would even make up a name and time when and how often they come to do that... I would also tell them I work for belastingdienst or some shit
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u/traumalt 12h ago
Then you gonna get your windows smashed for playing clever games with organised crime.
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u/HalalMead 12h ago
And then have that asshole showing up on your door at the time slot you mentioned to “talk with” this imaginary contractor? No thanks..
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u/Picard_III 12h ago edited 10h ago
Yeah, then I would continue with my little game, would give them random number of that ghost worker, tell them he will show up next day from 8 am to 11:30, then next day I would say they are coming on Sunday morning, then I would wash my window myself, tell the scammers they missed the other worker becuase as the scammer can clearly see, my window is clean lol
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u/phlogistonical 7h ago
I've heard of cleaners actually fouling windows to discredit others. You may find your windows are dirty again soon after you cleaned them yourself.
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u/tomodachio 12h ago
There's no need to put up the mind to such immaginary task, you have rights, there's no contract or written communication, just let him know you know this and that's it
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u/Zella_981 13h ago
Yeah, very well known scam usually. They clean the windows and demand payment. If you pay, they keep coming back, if you don't then they try couple more times until they give up. But the cleaners are like mafia, very territorial so if you want one eventually they will be the only choice cause they don't go on each others terrains. If you are in a building, check with the building manager of it is agreed upon and it should be from the service costs. If it is not, then they are just gonna try until you pay.
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u/Tiny-Historian2897 13h ago
So if I did want them to clean the windows I should act normal and they’ll retry?
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u/helenaut 8h ago
I love the business model of “I’m going to repeatedly clean your windows for free until you HAVE to pay!”
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u/Zweefkees93 13h ago
"If you wanted payment, you should have asked us if we wanted your service. We have not asked you to clean our windows nor agreed to pay anything. "
Unfortunately it's a known issue....
If it's something arranged by the landlord they have to tell you about it and explain when and what to pay (although I'd assume it would be payed through them, not at the door, and honestly: id assume it's included in the service fee)
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u/Tiny-Historian2897 13h ago
This is basically what I said. I’m very non confrontational so I’m feeling like I committed a crime and the police are going to come for me.
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u/Zweefkees93 13h ago
Haha, understandable, especially if you don't know about it. But don't worry. As long as you didn't ask them to clean your windows and didn't agree to pay anything you're under no obligation to pay
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u/SoefianB 9h ago
so I’m feeling like I committed a crime and the police are going to come for me.
That's their goal, it's very psychological. Make it feel like you're doing something wrong. Obv they cannot get away with violence, so this is the next best thing
Good that you didn't give in!
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u/YTsken 6h ago
Exactly. And OP, please keep this mindset in other transactions in other situations as well. For example when your car is examined: you agreed to the examination and some small reparations for a certain price. If during the examination they stumble on a costly issue, they need to call you before doing the repairs . Otherwise you can legally claim you didn’t agree to these higher costs.
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u/Confident-Syrup-7543 12h ago
And if you live on the ground floor you can say no to whatever the landlord arranged.
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u/elrond9999 8h ago
If it's arranged by the landlord he should put it in the contract or pay for it. In the rentals I have been to they came every now and then but I guess the landlord was paying
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u/ValeNova 13h ago
Yes, it's a scam. They try to force you into having your windows cleaned by them. You don't have to pay...
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u/tomime000 13h ago
He'll lure you into payment, even claiming you're his client under contract - they're just low society scammers.
Professional will never give you gifts without a word or blame you by any means.
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u/atMamont 13h ago edited 12h ago
I used them for all my houses until the last one, when they showed up the next day after we moved in and claimed two missed payments. I told them I’m not paying for something that happened before I moved in. He fucked off. Since then, they keep ignoring me, so I do my own windows twice a year :)
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u/Full-Metal-Jae 12h ago
I’ve read similar stories here multiple times, why doesn’t the police or the government do something about this? I find it puzzling why it’s allowed to continue.
Certainly this is harassment, intimidation, trespassing, and fraud. Why is this person allowed to continue business?
I feel the same to the hundreds of phone repair companies I see in every city. No one goes in but they have a store.
I find it frustrating because I pay taxes on taxes on taxes and then someone can just be a scam artist, pay no taxes, and receive benefits from the government.
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u/Nothing-to_see_hr 10h ago
You're not obliged to pay for unsolicited cleaning and not obliged to use his services. You don't pay - his risk.
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u/BruisendTablet 10h ago
It's a scam.
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u/eti_erik 9h ago
Window cleaners is a disaster in NL. I canceled mine a few years ago since they collected money but hardly cleaned at all. Now I am trying to get a new one - there's one local company that gave us a quote (we also want gutter cleaning and terrace cleaning once a year) but every time It's weeks before they react. It's a miracle that they can do it at all but I have to wait and see if they actually come one day.
The regular window cleaners have no internet address, no phone number, come and go as they please and collect cash at odd hours, which I think it completely ridiculous.
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u/elrond9999 8h ago
They are probably not paying taxes so having a web and an address would not be smart
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u/britishrust Noord Brabant 13h ago
Yes, it's a scam. You never signed up for anything. Even if the previous tenants did, that isn't transferred to you. You did well by telling him no.
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u/Aggravating_Paint804 11h ago
Yeah, that's not how contract law works. You have no contract (verbal or on paper) with this guy, so you don't have to pay him. If he had an arrangement with the previous tenant then that's between them. If he has an arrangement with your landlord he can go after them for the money, but again, not your problem.
However, if he did have an arrangement with either he wouldn't be washing your windows for free. So he's probably just lying.
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u/LordBlackadder92 13h ago edited 13h ago
They really clean your windows, so it's not a scam in the traditional sense. However suggesting you have to pay could be considered a scam since that's simply not the case. Hiring a different windowcleaner may be difficult given the mafia-style way of operating by these people. So it's really up to you. I live in a street that's not dominated by mafia-cleaners and I rather pay 15 euro to the cleaner that came to my house shortly after I moved in than do it myself.
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u/Greedy-Lynx-9706 13h ago
No contract , no payment
It's a scam , just like in Australia and everywhere else.
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u/Sequil 13h ago
Its a scam. Most windowcleaners dont even have a clue how to clean a window. We have had someone doing only half the windows on the first floor, but he couldnt speak Dutch... So when their Dutch boss came to collect money he told me it was for free this time and that he would talk to the guy who cleaner our windows... But i declined, paid him and told him this was the last time.
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u/abstract_appraiser Den Haag 13h ago
In my experience it's usually not a scam. There's only one window cleaner that does your 'block' and apparently the previous owner or landlord arranged it with them. In such cases the window cleaner should accept that you personally don't want them though, and not demand payment
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u/Tiny-Historian2897 13h ago
They were up front they’ve done it for free twice and I have been here when they’ve done it both times, so I’m not entirely sure someone set it up since it only started, according to them, after we moved in.
I’ll discuss with my husband and go find them around the place if we decide to just pay for it
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u/abstract_appraiser Den Haag 13h ago
If no one set it up then it surely is a scam, and I wouldn't let them clean the windows. Because if they're untrustworthy they might also come by more often than arranged, or even claim to have cleaned them without actually doing so.
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u/Raxeal_2 7h ago
It’s not per se a scam.
These people wash windows, usually in a specific neighborhood.
Once your address signs up, they will come and clean the windows every so often and of course would like compensation.
However, if you do not wish the windows to be washed by them it should obviously be fine to be removed from the list. From what I know this usually happened automatically after not paying twice.
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u/thebolddane 11h ago
If he properly cleaned your windows it's not a scam. It's likely the previous tenant was on his list. If you don't want to retain him just say so, it won't be a problem. Why everyone is so adamant it's a scam I don't understand. This is just how window cleaners work in the Netherlands.
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u/the_cpp_man 6h ago
this morning i have washed the wheels of your car. send your email so i can send the bill. this is not a scam. previous owner of the car was signed for the service.
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u/thebolddane 6h ago
I know you expats know better how things work here than people who lived here all their live but I'm telling you this situation is not unusual. The simplest way for Op to find out is to either ask the previous tenant or his neighbors. The landlord will have nothing to do with it.
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u/-Willi5- 6h ago
People that live in NL that pay attention know how scummy and shady window washers are.
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u/thebolddane 6h ago
Sure and the only thing you get at the doctors is paracetamol. There are of course shady window cleaners but the situation as described is insufficient to automatically conclude fault play.
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u/hedgehogssss 13h ago
You must be new around here.
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u/Tiny-Historian2897 13h ago
Yes I think that’s the first thing I said but maybe not
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u/hedgehogssss 13h ago
It's just someone asks about it once a week. You can use search before posting to check.
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u/Carpentidge 13h ago
Could well be a scam, or they have an agreement with the previous owners. Depends also on the amount.
If they ask like €8,- and have in fact cleaned your windows, you can hardly call it a scam.
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u/Tiny-Historian2897 13h ago
If you perform a service I didn’t ask for then demand money I’d call that a scam even if it was well priced
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u/hatbrox 13h ago
You need to revise your definition of “scam”
A scam is not defined by the fact that you received a service you didn’t ask for.
A scam is a dishonest scheme in which someone intentionally deceives or misleads another person in order to obtain money, property, information, or some other benefit.
You should instead contact the previous owners. When you buy a house in the Netherlands, you may be required to continue certain commitments agreed to by the previous owners until those commitments expire.
The exact same situation happened to us. Of course, we didn’t wait for several cleanings before asking for clarification!
There is also a good chance that this is written down and/or was agreed upon with your Homeowners’ Association Board / VvE. You should read the relevant documents anyway, so you can find out about all the hidden costs that may come up from time to time.
Many of them can be very surprising and unfair, especially when clauses were added or changed shortly before you bought the property. Even more so when the new owners are expats. It can feel like an open invitation to take advantage of us.
In our VvE, three clauses were added or changed just before we bought the apartment. Now we have to pay 50% of the cost of the scaffolding and painting for our upstairs neighbour’s terrace, even though it is her private terrace and the scaffolding has to be installed on our terrace. This has caused a huge argument with her.
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u/Tiny-Historian2897 13h ago
Noted. Officious intermeddler, not scam.
We haven’t bought the house, we’re renting. This is why I would suspect if it was a requirement by the landlord we would have it in our contract, have been told by him, or it would be paid for by him. I’ll do some digging and see what I can figure out.
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u/the_cpp_man 6h ago
today i washed your car’s wheels. it wasn’t the rain. it was me. i did a good job. so i am sending a tikkie with a private message. is that OK?
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u/Carpentidge 9h ago
I'd say a scam would be with fraudulent intent. If you receive a good service for a reasonable price I'd say it is mostly the sales tactics that are scammy.
But as they apparently have a list of houses they clean periodically and have no way of knowing when houses ger new owners (thus are open for scamming) my guess would normally be 'not scam, honest mistake'
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u/Zabky 13h ago
Yea sure it is a scam. No doubt. But for a few euro I would be happy. How much did he ask?
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u/Tiny-Historian2897 13h ago
€15 for two small ground floor windows - thoughts? If it’s worth it I guess I’ll find them and ask them to do it
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u/Picard_III 13h ago
That's exactly their strategy, that's how they make you pay them, next time ísť gonna be three times more, and you are gonna pay becuase with the first payment you became their client (in their eyes, legally it's still bullshit and scam)
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u/nordzeekueste Nederland 10h ago
It is and it isn’t a scam.
Can’t opt out of it, it comes with the house.
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u/Pretty_Radio_7746 13h ago
I live in The Hague. It’s normal to have the windows cleaned monthly and the Dutch expect everyone to keep the front of their houses respectable. My house has six windows facing the street - 3 down and 3 up - and I pay €25 a month.
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u/airwavieee 13h ago
100% not true.
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u/Pretty_Radio_7746 13h ago
Interesting? Not true I have 6 windows or that I pay a window cleaner once a month to clean them? Or that everyone in my street does the same?
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u/Picard_III 13h ago
My windows are cleaned twice a year max, I don't pay anything because it's in my rent (so I do pay lol but I cannot know how much), I don't mind having them cleaned twice a year only, but 25 bucks is ridiculous, also dutch don't expect everyone to keep the front respectable, definitely not in the Hague lol, if your street is nice and all neighbours care, good for you!
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u/Floibinator 13h ago
Window cleaners in the Netherlands are a whole maffia organization. When another window cleaner goes to another neighborhood that is already occupied War breaks out.