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The company has garnered significant criticism for its customer service, with many customers expressing frustration over the lack of responsive support and difficulties in obtaining refunds. Common complaints include billing issues, inadequate communication, and a perceived lack of accountability for damages caused by sitters. While some users reported positive experiences with sitters, the overall sentiment reflects a sense of disappointment and mistrust, particularly among sitters who feel exploited by the fee structure. The company appears to prioritize marketing efforts over customer satisfaction, leading to a growing perception of unprofessionalism and dissatisfaction among users.
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My husband and I have been on Trustedhousesitters for around a decade now. We've been both registered homeowners and housesitters. We've most recently been housesitting full time for over a year and have a couple dozen 5 star reviews as sitters. On our most recent housesit, the homeowners left us only 3 stars and negative feedback for no apparent reason! Their review was full of false statements. They claimed we were not communicative when I texted daily and sent photo updates. They claimed we left earlier than agreed which is an outright lie. I have proof of our text conversations and they have outdoor video cameras (undisclosed to us) showing when we left. On top of that, their review of us said something vague as the reason for the rating like they weren't sure if we enjoyed their home and the area. I don't see how that's relevant or warrants the low stars. I tried to get assistance from Trustedhousesitters and offered my proof that the homeowners had lied in their review. Trustedhousesitters, of course, refused to help or remove the review. They kept telling me that reviews could not be edited even when I asked if it's okay for homeowners to lie in their reviews. Clearly Trustedhousesitters is fine with people making false statements in their reviews. I know I can reply to the review, which I have, but this still affects my rating and looks bad when applying for future sits. There needs to be a way for housesitters to view homeowners' profiles and see all the reviews they've let for their sitters. In this way, maybe we can weed out the odd balls who just always leave negative feedback and not even bother applying to those sits. There also needs to be a system in place where Trustedhousesitters takes these reported issues seriously and actually investigages the validity of a review when someone has proof. Otherwise, there's no protection from any random reviews being posted. If you're offered help from a customer service agent named Braedon, turn it down. He is not helpful and only knows how to copy/paste replies. He even sent me a link to the review guidelines that the owner clearly breached and yet, he still would not help. It's unfortunate that Trustedhousesitters has a vast majority of the jobs in this industry as I would really rather not renew my membership after such treatment and would much prefer to find a better service that values its members and both sides of the community.
We're incredibly disappointed in TrustedHousesitters for failing to uphold their promise to protect homeowners. Despite providing clear evidence and admission from sitters violated the platform's code of conduct, the company did nothing. This leaves future homeowners completely in the dark and vulnerable. What's most troubling is the false sense of security they provide through their so-called "vetting process." When complaints are dismissed and no accountability is enforced, that process is meaningless. Our requests for even basic protective action were flatly denied. This is especially disheartening because we've had multiple positive stays in the past. We once believed in the platform and its mission. But sadly, without accountability, TrustedHousesitters cannot be trusted. Now that we know the risk involved due to their negligent practices, we would not feel safe using the service again and would recommend for prospective homeowners to look elsewhere.
When things work well this is a workable platform, however, home and pet owners be warned, when things go wrong Trustedhousesitters policies are concerning and leave homeowners at risk. My recent house sitter made alterations to my home, displayed unstable, disrespectful and paranoid behaviour, refused to leave when asked, and stole cash from my home. This was all clearly evident through the 60+ text messages she bombarded me within a ten day period. I reported it to Trustedhousesitters and although they investigated and acknowledged what had occurred, they refused to bar her from the platform and continue to promote her. This is a serious risk to other home and pet owners. It demonstrates a real lack of appropriate followthrough after an incident has taken place. They are basically allowing daylight robbery to take place. Shame on them.
We had sitter destroy an expensive murphy bed, attempt to cover it up and then made up a lie about how it happened, neglected our dog. We had video evidence and all the company did was give them a warning, leaving them to destroy others property and neglect their animals. Then the company keeps stringing me along with the promise of paying the destruction. We call them Busted Housesitters now- don't trust them.
The last time I used THS I picked a sitter with 5 stars. 8 months later I am still discovering things that were stolen out of my house. When you use this service you are rolling the dice hoping these sitters are not thieves.THS does not know if these people are trustworthy or not. I learned the hardway. I will not be taking that chance again.
I have had soo many great house and pet sitters from this website. I pay them NOTHING! It's awesome.
Right now there is a black friday savings event. Use code RAF******* to save 30% AND get 3 months free!
Waste of time and money. Not worth the try. It is a complete frustration and when you ask somthing you don't get an proper answer, alson from the community who I believe are the same people of the website. You get a kick, to make you feel more frustrated then a proper answer.
I signed up seeing the money back guarantee which is false advertising because it is not money back guaranteed. Only within 1st 14 days.
I had a 45 yo male who appeared professional on paper. I truly believe he was just looking for a place to stay and NOT have to deal with caring for my pets. I came home to unhappy animals, a filthy house, my walls (2 different places) had liquid spilled on them and not cleaned up. This guy was a pig, literally!
A complete and total waste of money. Do not involve yourself. Customer service is truly terrible. Buyer beware.
Even getting to *apply* for a sit it like winning the lotto. Only five people are allowed to apply for each sit. I have given the site a very fair chance (six months), receiving email notifications daily for sits, and every single sit I have ever been interested in is not accepting applications by the time I click through to apply. Dozens, if not over a hundred failed attempts. I politely requested a pro-rated refund and there are no exceptions to their yearly commitments. Their suggestion was for me to download the app and get instant notifications so I can apply faster - but this is wildly impractical advice for someone with a full time job. Perhaps if you are unemployed and able to watch for notifications like a hawk to act IMMEDIATELY you'd enjoy the site but it's completely useless and and utter waste of money otherwise.
We had a sitter at our house for 10 days who left the exterior irrigation system on for the whole period causing massive flooding in our basement. When trying to connect with Trusted House sitters via email and phone to discuss applying for coverage through their plan we have received Zero, I repeat Zero communication back. If they want word of mouth to spread about their program through social networks maybe they'd treat customers better.
This site gives a false sense of security. It is no more that a costly craiglist type listing of ppl who want to sit a home or list a home to sit. The site says background check, verify references and home contents protection... All bs.
Background check are voluntary and provided and payed for by the sitter references are not necessarily from actual sits but look like they are.
We confirmed a sit met the person in advance in person to feel them out... Seemed totally normal, leave on vacation... Get a call mid way through from local animal control telling us our dog was turned over to them apparently found in the park next door. Animal control found our front door left open sitter vanished. Turns out the sitter is the one who turned him over to animal control, not before attempting to enter a neighbor home and stealing clothes from their line. Our home was damaged (improper cleaning ruined antiques and our enamel oven, neither of which needed to be cleaned) she broke a figurine and a few glasses as well as leaving ac running despite us explicitly saying in home guide never to do this because leaks, our home was left by her many hours before we could return so our floors are damaged as well...
The home protection insurance on the site is again false advertising, fine print makes it clear you must claim in your home insurance, mediate with sitter for anything under 1000$ and only after using your own home insurance can you claim anything from trustedhousitter...
The fee you pay is pure profit to a site that claims to provide a service but only service is access to ppl who are interested in house sitting. Zero protection and no actual vetting of sitters. Buyer be extremely aware... And sitter be aware you are liable for all damages this site will not support or protect you.
We lost our on half our vacation, our brand new oven is ruined, our antiques damaged, and our home violated by having someone who totally misrepresented themselves and abandoned our home to be damaged.
Nothing trustworthy about this site waste of money.
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Don't waste your money. They won't refund you no matter what. This is a trash site that claims your satisfaction but actually has zero customer service. They'll reply to this saying someone will reach out but I've contacted their support several times with no help. The risk of losing money or having an unqualified person in your home is high due to the fact they make it impossible to report scammers. Again just don't do it.
My house sitter did significant damage…
My house sitter did significant damage to my car and left the country as I arrived back so was gone by time I realised. One of my pets died in her care and she did not even notice, was not aware, was surprised when I advised her of this tragic event.She all but trashed my home. They did refund me my membership but have refused any form of compensation did the damage to my car. They take no responsibility for damage incurred by the house sitter, no responsibility can't be bothered, overall gutting experience. Would NEVER use them again
I accepted a pet sitter from trusted houses to stay with my animal for nine days. This Pet Sitter had a background check and seem to have a positive profile. I sat down with the Pet Sitter, and gave her instructions on taking care of my Pat, and let her know not to open any windows or doors, because of a problem we had with our gnats. When I returned home from my vacation about a week later, I noticed my house was infested with knats. I asked the Pet Sitter if she had open the doors or windows, and she said she did not. However, my ADT security system keeps record of when doors and windows are open. I checked to find out that the Pet Sitter left one of my windows opened when the screen had a hole in it and she lied.I asked the Pet Sitter if she had open the doors or windows, and she said she did not. However, my ADT security system keeps record of when doors and windows are open. I checked to find out that the Pet Sitter left one of my windows opened when the screen had a hole in it and she lied.Also, I found that some jewelry I had hidden was missing. Lynn, the pet sitter,was the only person in my place and the only person that access to anything in my house
I joined and paid for membership but have not been able to discuss a problem I have with a link to external references. Attempting to contact anyone has been futile. The directions from their help-bot are worthless as it keeps referring me to a solution that sends me back to original problem with no resolution or even coming close to answering my specific issue. I tried to call the phone number in the UK and listened to a garbled message referring me to their website and my attempts to contact via email keep referring me Frankie - the help-bot. As it stands now I am unable to submit external references and my membership is ticking away without any resolution or offers. Wasted money and no customer service.
We did a trial of this service but never used it. They enroll you in auto pay without disclosing, we were billed for a full year on auto pay. No one answers the phone on the site, emails to support go unanswered, best you can do is a chat bot which sends articles on why you cant get a refund past 14 days. Buyer beware - company seems to spend all its resources on SEO and ads.
An excellent option in the United Kingdom is House Sitters UK, offering a compelling alternative. It is free for hosts to join and costs less than £30 for sitters. Additionally, their customer service surpasses expectations. On the other hand, THS tends to label individuals as trolls if they express dissatisfaction with their reviews, displaying unprofessional conduct. I encourage you to visit the THS forum on Reddit, where people can freely share their opinions about the company without being subjected to moderation.
THE FIRST TIME I USED THE APP, THE GIRL WAS COOL. She stayed for a month. The next time I used the app, I let a couple from Russia and the Ukraine stay and they illegally registered their car to my address. They also ordered a package to my address. They said they ordered by accident but you couldn't have possibly accidentally ordered something in February when you had left here last September. I just received yet another parking ticket, even from them to my address even though they said they moved to Thailand. I reported this to TrustedHousesitter and they left the person who broke the trust on the app after I reported that they illegally used my address. They also trusted the housesitter (who had already proven their untrustworthiness by illegally registering my address as their home address) to work with me directly to resolve the issue. I can never use this app again because I'm supposed to be able to trust people to be in my home and registering your license, vehicles, etc to my home address. This is a serious violation that Trusted Housesitter did not take seriously. They responded with "I know you're frustrated but the sitter said they would take care of it...[so there]". This app should not allow people who cannot get background checks to be on the app. Furthermore, they need to immediately disable app capabilities of anyone who violates the homes they are allowed to sit in.
Answer: Fees are an annual membership for both homeowner and pet sitters (approx $120). With thousands of members, I've not had any problem finding a sitter.
Answer: Hi Jim, when house sitting it is expected that you will take care of your own cooking, etc. You will have full use of the homeowners kitchen facilities. We hope this helps. TrustedTeam
Answer: Yes. It depends on where you live but this couple is beyond question the best and dependable and honest. Debbie and Wil Wilburn. debbieandwillwilburn@gmail.com Please give my name: Fluffy's mom
Answer: Your accommodations are free. You still have to get there on your own. Since accommodations are often the biggest expense of a trip, it is a great deal. Use code RAF270183 to get 25% off you annual membership fee.
Answer: Hi Caroline, Thank you for your question, forgive my delayed reply. If you haven't already contacted the Membership Services Team (https://support.trustedhousesitters.com/hc/en-gb) I would encourage you to do so and they will help you to get this resolved. Kind Regards, The TrustedHousesitters Team
Answer: Hi Sada, You'll be able to read reviews of the sitters on their profiles. If there isn't anything showing, then this indicates that the sitter doesn't have any reviews just yet. If there is something else that we can do to help, please do get in touch with Membership Services, and we'll be more than happy to speak with you further. Kind regards, The TrustedHousesitters Team