I hired a cleaner for $60/hour and was fuming when I caught her red-handed

"Call the cleaning agency and tell them, this so obviously screams of a 'scam'," suggested one person. 

When a professional cleaner arrived at Sophie's* door, with her eight-year-old sister in tow, she was taken aback. 

She had hired her for $60/hour, and was told that she would be the only person cleaning the house. 

But the little girl wasn't there to help.

"I just had no one else to leave her with," the cleaner, Eva* explained.

Being a mum herself to a four-year-old, Sophie was empathetic to the predicament, however wasn't pleased.

Little did she know that this was only the beginning of what would be a series of events that would eventually lead to her kicking out the 19-year-old cleaner and her little sister. 

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Image: IStock

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Red flag after red flag...

The mum explained on Reddit that Eva's daughter was playing in Sophie's daughter's playroom when she heard a noise.

"I rushed over and saw her playing in the room and she'd broken a glass bowl that I had custom-made for my daughter, Alaia, when she was born," she said.

"At this point, I was annoyed but again, I held myself back and told Eva to clean it and keep an eye on her sister."

The mum then went to go pick up Alaia's favourite cake, before coming home and putting it in the fridge before school pick-up. 

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After arriving home with her daughter, she walked into the kitchen to see Eva's sister eating a big piece of the cake from the fridge.

"I have never had an issue like this before, in fact the cleaning ladies I've had before never open my fridge or anything 'cause they have no business there," the furious mum explained.

"I asked Eva what she thought she was doing and she told me, 'My sister was sad and really wanted cake so I figured she could have a piece'."

She continued, "Alaia started crying because she had been looking forward to the cake. I told Eva that it was not her place to figure whether her sister could eat something from my fridge without asking me. She could have waited for me to get back because I told her I would be back. I told her that even if she did do this, this cake was meant for my daughter."

The cleaner responded with: "You are getting mad for no reason just take the money from my pay".

But at that point, she had had enough and told her to "pack her stuff and leave."

"She had been at the house for only two hours but I paid her $180 and told her to get out. I am wondering now AITA?"

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"This screams of scam"

The mum received a lot of reassurance from the forum community, who told her that she was justified in kicking her out. 

"When you booked your cleaner, you did NOT agree to have a child running around the home — honestly 'Eva' is lucky you paid her at all," said one user. 

Another suggested: "Call the [cleaning] agency and tell them, this so obviously screams of a 'scam'."

Someone else agreed and said: "That was really unprofessional, and you would have been totally justified to report her to the agency."

And this person urged, "The only time you open a fridge is if you need to clean it OR when the house owner says you can get a drink from the fridge. Also, you only take a child with you when you ask beforehand or decline a job if you can't leave the child."

Originally published as I hired a cleaner for $60/hour and was fuming when I caught her red-handed