UK Window Cleaning News

Scam takes cash for traders’ work: A window cleaning company is warning residents not to be taken in by a team of crooks who have been demanding money for the work that bona fide traders have carried out. Customers of family firm My Window Cleaner have been targeted by a tall well-spoken man and a shorter man with a thick London accent. The pair ring on doorbells and claim they have come for payment for the windows and will not leave until the owner parts with cash. So far victims in Southgate, Winchmore Hill and Palmers Green have reported being visited by the con men.
Karen Perks, who runs the company with her husband from its base in The Avenue, Potters Bar, says she has spoken to other firms in the borough whose customers have also been targeted. She said: “This isn’t the first time this has happened. It is a simple con and the last time a few years ago we managed to get two people jailed for it. They come to the door asking for the money and people part without the money without thinking. “If the resident tells them they don’t have a window cleaner, they just pretend they have got the wrong house. Please, if you are approached by these men, do not give them any money. We had one case where an elderly lady who actually went to a cashpoint to draw money while they waited.” Pictured: Joe McDermott, who mans the phones for the company, says he is still getting calls from residents about the two men

Pecking penguins are not a hazard most window cleaners have to endure, but Derek Youd — water services technician at Torquay's Living Coasts — is used to all manner of exotic beasts taking an interest in his work. "We've got an aquarium where we've got fish like mangrove stingrays – we'll have someone watching over us when we're cleaning the windows down there to make sure they keep away," said Derek who is also the coastal zoo's dive supervisor. "But I'm used to octopus climbing all over me." However, the most persistent window cleaner playmate is Solly, the Macaroni Penguin.
"Solly is unusual in that he was hand-reared," said Derek. "What we're trying to do is to stop them thinking of us divers as honorary penguins – that could mean he's more comfortable with humans than the other Macaronis that live in the aquarium. "He swims down hoping to play with us when we're cleaning the inside of the aquarium windows about once a week - and he does give you a nip just to make you know he's up for a game – sometimes he nips you in places you don't particularly want. "But there are times when I feel very privileged – it's fantastic to have these animals moving around you when you are working."
The only occupants of the aquarium with which Derek is not allowed to swim are the fur seals. He added: "They have to be moved out while we're down there because they are listed as dangerous creatures – and there's a big male called Gringo who I wouldn't particularly want to clean windows with."

Downpour of luck for businessman: The sky was the limit for a young businessman who used a downpour to start a window cleaning business during the recession and is now washing landmarks in Corby town centre. Jordan King, 27, who left his job as a lift engineer as the credit crunch hit in 2008, expects a turnover of £100,000 this year as his company goes from strength to strength. Mr King, of Exmouth Avenue, Corby, owns Waterworks, based on the Weldon North Industrial Estate. He is in talks with Corby Council for the contract to keep the Corby Cube spick and span. He said: "Once I started my business I knew I never wanted to do anything else." Mr King had support from The Prince's Trust, including a £3,000 interest-free loan, to fulfil his dream of being his own boss.
He faced difficulty when he initially provided gardening and carpet cleaning and home repairs and found work dwindling as the economic climate worsened. He persevered and hit the headlines with a chewing gum clean-up of Corby town centre before focusing on commercial window cleaning. He said: "I harvest and purify 20,000 litres of rainwater per month for use on some of the most prestigious buildings in a town which is currently undergoing a massive regeneration. "We don't have to pay water rates as it's 100 per cent rainwater. We are excited by the fact its free and eco-friendly."
Rainwater is collected in tanks on the roof of the business's industrial unit and is purified to clean the windows at the new swimming pool and other premises, including the Primark shop and Costa Coffee in the town centre. Terry Riley, Mr King's business mentor at The Prince's Trust, said: "Of all the clients I have had the opportunity to work with, Jordan is unquestionably the most likely to succeed, and his level of industry deserves long term reward."

Class of your own: Children around the country are returning to class this week but, for private tutor Geoff Harriman, school's never out. The newly qualified former window cleaner already has 19 clients in East Yorkshire as parents leap at the chance to give their kids extra education. "Teachers looking after classes of more than 30 children can't give enough individual attention," say Geoff, 61. "However, a private tutor can help coach a child to prepare better for exams. "I'm a scout leader and have met lots of kids who needed extra tuition," he says. "I would have done this years ago but I thought you needed qualifications." In fact, two days' training may be all you need before being ready to start tutoring, says old hand Graham Woodward.

Brain cancer victim is 'stuck in a care equipment vicious circle': "I shouldn't be having to fight for the help I need – I should just be concentrating on getting better." Those were the words of 65-year-old David Aisthorpe, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year. Mr Aisthorpe, who has had two operations to remove two tumours, completed his fifth bout of chemotherapy treatment earlier this month and requires round-the-clock care. But the former window cleaner says he is struggling to cope living in his Nunsthorpe home because of a battle to obtain basic equipment.
The couple, who are planning to get married later this month, say they and family members have forked out a total of £1,500 on equipment to help Mr Aisthorpe, including a £700 chair where he spends most of his day. But, while they have been given a stair lift and grab rails since his diagnosis last year, their requests for other basic equipment, including a commode chair and a glider sheet to get in and out of bed more easily, have been sent round in circles. The couple say that they have been in "constant contact" with the occupational therapy team and the A3 adults social services care section at the North East Lincolnshire's Care Trust Plus. Mr Aisthorpe said: "It is like being stuck in a vicious circle – we can't seem to get anywhere. "When we ring occupational therapy they tell us to ring A3, but when we call them they put us back on to occupational therapy."