Premium Clean asks customer not to speak out after gas left on, dogs let out

A Christchurch man who returned home after a "Premium" house clean to find his dogs had been let loose and his gas left on says he is unhappy with the service and the company's response.

The man had arranged for his two-bedroom townhouse in Christchurch to be cleaned by Premium Clean this month but was disappointed by "the worst possible chain of events" that put his pets' lives on the line - and his entire property at risk.

He initially shared his story on Reddit, detailing what he called the "absolutely terrible service" from Premium Clean.

The company said it was trying to work out a solution with the man - on condition he removed his post and did not share his story with the Herald.

On the day the house was due to be cleaned the man received a call from his wife who had checked the home's security camera and seen that the couple's two dogs had been let out by the cleaner.

He said he saw the dogs "wander out" of the house before the cleaner drove off, narrowly avoiding one of his pets.

He raced home and the dogs came running before he quickly locked them back inside and returned to work.

Premium Clean told the Herald that the man agreed to allow their cleaner to let the dogs out and said they had an audio recording that proved this.

The man told the Herald that he instructed Premium Clean that their cleaner could let his dogs out of the back door during the clean if they were getting in the way and provided a screenshot to back this up.

He also questioned why the dogs left from the front door as the cleaner was exiting.

He told the Herald he put the dogs inside before hurrying back to work and it was only when he returned home later that day that he smelled gas, and realised that the dogs had been inside with the fumes and that the house needed to be immediately aired out.

He said that he did not think the gassing of the house was "anything nefarious" but thought that checking that gas hobs had not been turned on during cleaning would have been "pretty standard".

Premium Clean said their cleaner performed his usual checklist before leaving the property, which does not include checking for gas, but said that he had denied turning it on and described the situation as "he said, she said".

The irate man called Premium Clean to complain but was told to send a photo - of invisible gas.

He acknowledged the cleaning was done to an acceptable standard, but that was the least of his worries at the time and he wanted a refund.

He was initially offered 10 per cent off his next three house cleans - an offer he said he was not interested in.

In response to a Herald inquiry, a spokesperson for Premium Clean said that they were in touch with the customer and "both parties involved are working to solve the issue as soon as possible".

But after the inquiry from the Herald, the company also contacted the man to offer a full refund if he removed his post on Reddit and the Herald did not publish a story on his experience.

The Herald understands he will not be taking them up on the offer.