I am disabled, so I contacted and hired A Beautiful Home, Inc. (several weeks before I needed them) to do a "move-in" cleaning of our totally empty 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1, 850 sq. ft. home. I was told that I would have 2 people to clean the home, that it would take 4 hours, and that I would have to pay additional money to have the walls damped wiped, the windows cleaned, and the refrigerator cleaned. The oven & microwave cleaning were part of their "normal" cleaning, as well as the rest of the home.

When I was called to actually schedule the job, I was told there would only be 1 person to clean the home. I questioned her about that right then, because I knew what I had been told when I first called; and mostly because I knew what a big job it would be, especially with the additional work I had requested. I was told that we would not be disappointed with the quality of the work and that she would have the invoice when she came, which was to be paid with a check. The day of the cleaning, she did a walk-through of our home and my husband was presented with the invoice for the job at that time, which he paid in advance of the work even being started. I thought that was a bit strange, but since we were assured that we wouldn't be disappointed, I thought well, it's OK.

When the one cleaner showed up an hour later, she had even forgotten to bring her Shop-Vac to help her do her work and had to borrow ours. We discovered later that day that the hose had become clogged with something she had vacuumed up, and therefore was not actually cleaning at all because there was absolutely no suction. She cleaned our entite home by herself for only 4 hours, after spending 1 1/2 hours of that time in just the master bathroom. I have never been as disappointed in anything in my life as I was in the poor cleaning job that was done on our home. There were rooms that weren't even touched - sawdust in drawers, cobwebs everywhere, shelves not even wiped off, grease in and under the microwave, an extremely filthy oven, food splatters on the walls that she didn't even try to wipe off, etc. I have witnesses who can readily verify all this. I was so upset and appaled by the poor work done that I just broke down and cried.

I called the company immediately and complained; and my husband also called the company and faxed something to them the very next day so they could send someone back out to complete the poorly done job, and they sent the same cleaner, who was at our house just 1 hour the second time. Of course, there was no way to clean all that in just one hour.

I tried to place a stop payment on my check, but it had already been cashed. I then called the owner for some kind of rectification for the poorly done job. He claimed he had actually walked through our home and taken pictures and that it looked beautiful. To the contrary, I seriously doubt if he did actually come here; and if he can produce pictures, I would sure like to see them! I asked him if he was blind, because I was wiping spots off the wall with my finger and combing cob webs off the walls as we spoke. He said he couldn't and wouldn't keep sending someone back to clean my home for free, so he asked what I would like him to do. I told him I though at least a partial refund of my money paid would be in order, and of course he refused. He told me they never had any complaints before mine (which I find very hard to believe). He actually accused our movers of putting the grease in the microwave, when in fact, they didn't even come into our kitchen.

We paid a great deal of money for this poorly done work. The worst thing is that the overall attitudes of both the job scheduler (I was actually yelled at on the phone when I called to complain) and the owner are less than a consumer should expect in these circumstances. I was told "we can't do miracles". I didn't want or expect a miracle; all I wanted was a clean home.

Finally, I am a very sick woman who lives in daily chronic pain on much medication. I have had to spend countless hours doing the job that I paid others to do for me, so I could concentrate on just moving in our home. I can't tell you how many buckets of filthy water I have carried out of our home from cleaning it; and how many hours I have spent just getting the oven and microwave clean, all the while in pain.

Consumers, please beware of A Beautuful House, Inc. My husband says "we got hosed" and I have never felt as ripped off in my life as I have by them. To be yelled at just for letting them know what a poor job they did cleaning our home (and not receiving even a partial refund) was like getting salt poured into an already opened wound. I feel like I've been raped!