Hi all, this is my first time posting. We have had great success in the past with sitters but this time not so much. What should I do? I will try to make this as brief but informative as possible and I have already asked for a claim form.
Communication wasn’t the best from the start but we had a confirmed sitter cancel at the last minute and pickings were slim (were in New Zealand) it was his first time sitting so I vetted him as thoroughly as I could (he is verified) sent welcome pack, exchanged information via messages. Asked him and his partner to arrive promptly on day contracted so we had a day and a half together so we could give them all the information as show them around ( same as we have done with previous sitters)
They were late, they turned up like they were visiting, not ready to stay or sit and had to come back the next day, so now we have less than a day to our dear Bailey used to these strangers and reminded him to read the welcome pack.
He admitted he hasn’t read it, so I go over everything and he takes notes, I Ali tell him our return day and time and tell him it’s on the calendar. Tell him that we have added a day to the dates just Incase there are flight delays ( this has happened before to us) and said we would let him know if there were any delays .
We ask for regular updates on Bailey and photos. We only got one update in the first 3 weeks and that was only after I messaged him!
Then another to say that Bailey had a swollen paw, saying if it hadn’t improved in 3 days he would take to vet, I told him to take him immediately to vets.
Ok so we got home, flight on time, and we are an hour and half drive to get home so back home on time at 2am.
Bailey is happy and over the moon to see us. We walk in to what looks like a frat boys doss house! Clothes strewn everywhere, shoes and socks thrown on the leather sofas, dirty crockery everywhere! Ring stains and dirty glasses and cups on my antique sewing machine!(it was my Great Grans) my beauty kitchen is trashed! Open food more dirty dishes, and the stove top is ON with pots all over it and my brand new frying pan with burned food in it.
Ok so I’m busting for the loo, the bathroom is the same clothes everywhere, like they have been just stepped out of, water all over the floor all of my 11 new candles have been used.
I can’t process this trashing of our lovely home and go to bed, don’t sleep I’m angry and stressed. Ok so now I’m going to skip the denials and their justification that I never answered a message sent while we were in the air ( our flight were 3 planes and 38 hours.) so they didn’t know when we coming home (er it’s on the calander and your notes)
So, they have gone. My home is filthy having not been cleaned for a month, my vacuum was blocked (evidence they tried?) sent 4 messages while we away asking if all was good? Only reply was yes all good but bottled gas out, so I organized that while we away (stove left on?!?)
Ok so he smashed a ceramic one off jumping trout it had sentimental value as well as being worth about $500. My previously pristine oven had dried crud in the bottom and 2 of my brabitina saucepans were hidden in the back of the shelf and had burned on stuff in them. And then there is the stilh chainsaw, has just been serviced he asked my husband if he could use it and he said only if you know how to…. He blew it up… put straight fuel in it, no oil.
Advice and pointers please before I leave him feedback.
@JojoandDave so sorry that you have had this experience. Which as you know from your previous experience with THS sitters is definitely not the norm or acceptable .
From what you have said it seems that these sitters seem to be lacking in many of the basic areas
Organized
Reliable
Clean and tidy
Self-sufficient
How about your pets were they well looked after ?
What was the sitter’s reason for wanting to use the chainsaw ?
Please be honest, factual and concise in your own review so future owners have this information to base their decision on. If there were any positives ( pet care ? ) also include these in the review .
We all had to start somewhere (our first sit/ sitter) . However, there is always an element of risk when choosing a first -timer without any reviews. So choosing them for a month long sit without first having a video call was a “brave” decision that came with some risks. Was all communication via the THS inbox or had you exchanged WhatsApp mobile numbers prior to the sit ?
Was there a language barrier
?
Regarding the overlaps at the beginning and end of the stay , were these clearly stated in your listing that you would be staying with them at the start and end date ?
The lack of communication is a big issue - Giving these sitters the benefit of the doubt as they are new to THS maybe they didn’t understand the expectation that they should update you and keep in contact throughout the sit . Had you discussed and agreed with them how often you wanted an update from home and what channel of communication you would use ( WhatsApp? )
Please don’t let this horrible experience put you off choosing first timers for a future sit . You can mitigate some of the risks by meeting up with them ( if they are local ) or having a video call as a minimum before confirming them . Also have a back up plan incase a sitter has to cancel so that you don’t feel rushed or under pressure to pick someone who is unsuitable.
Oh my god! I can’t believe someone could do so much damage & be so disrespectful of your home. I’m so very sorry this has happened to you.
As others will say, you must definitely leave honest feedback so no one else has the misfortune to book this sitter (a couple?). I would also urge you to file a complaint with THS. As I write @Silversitters is responding & I’m sure she’ll give you that link.
Did you take pictures of the state your home was in before you left & on returning? If so they’ll be useful.
If you choose to raise a member dispute about these sitters here is the link for the process.
Include photos as evidence of the damage done and state of your home when you returned.
Sounds pretty hideous @JojoandDave and really sorry that all this has happened to you & your lovely home 
Is Bailey okay and does he appeared to have been well looked after? Write an honest, full & factual review once you have had time to process. Raise the complaint asap with THS as @Silversitters says & hopefully you have photos as @Smiley mentions to back it all up. #wishingyouallthebest
I continue to be shocked at how other people conduct their daily lives……btw we’re ultra tidy/clean sitters. I’m led to understand by an estate agent friend that 50% of the houses she values are in a similar condition! I continue to be amazed by this figure….
Absolutely unacceptable behaviour, I’m shocked to read whats happened. I would be very upset as a home owner to come home to such a state. I’m really sorry you have experienced this. One star is too much for these fools.
Outrageous !! What is wrong with humanity when they think living in filth is acceptable behaviour? It’s not even logical to me so I struggle to find empathy for people that choose squalor.
I’ve thought about this topic a lot recently and I wonder if it’s a parenting/generational ‘thing’ for it to be such a widespread phenomenon? I don’t know though so purely speculation.
I don’t think it’s anything related to age. Plenty of old and young who live and act that way. With cameras now right in our phones, we see videos and pictures of how people live and act which we had rarely seen not so long ago.
I am a homeowner and stopped breathing while I was reading your post. I would have been furious to say the least. I have only seen this kind of horrible mess once from two German girls in their early/mid 20s that came to my house from Workaway in 2021. Different situation I know, but when it was clear what they were up to, I suggested they leave, which they did (they went to a hippie community).
I always ask the sitters to come two full days before I leave so I can get them eased into the home and pet environment and make sure they are happy when we leave.
However, one time I did say I would not leave if the sitter wasn’t really up to it (she talked my ear off about her problems and didn’t seem interested in the home/pet duties) as I must also feel that our home and pets are safe because no trip is worth such a disaster. Listen to your gut feeling even if it’s a last minute search. I can’t express how sorry I am to read this. 
Hi @JojoandDave
I’m so sorry you’ve experienced such sitters. I’d be angry too!
Did you manage to get any pictures of the mess the sitters left?
I’d contact support@trustedhousesitters.com and open a case against the sitter as they have no place being on THS.
I feel it’s a choice rather than a generational thing. You choose how you keep your own space. @BonnyinBrighton I’ve been thinking about it more recently too because of some of the stories on this forum. Willpower, self motivation, self care, good manners… all a choice. 
Growing up in the 60/70sin England I don’t recall messy/dirty houses partly due to fewer things maybe but also to do with pride/shame between women who were more likely (not all) to work in the home than to have jobs. We were very poor. This housekeeping pride was ‘parented’ into my generation growing up. However as an adult I was a free liberated woman and worked full time for 40 years plus had a cleaner- I’m not sure I similarly parented these behaviours into my offspring….it’s just a single case study speculation. Mind you my son is ultra tidy/clean….perhaps the cleaner taught him? 
@JojoandDave Please be sure to leave a factual review. For the sake of other homeowners!
I am so sorry that you and your poor pup had such a horrible experience. There is absolutely no excuse for any of this abhorrent behaviour. It sounds like you asked for nothing out of the ordinary and expected only basic responsibility, accountablity and care for your home and dog. PLEASE account for every aspect of this sitter’s miscreant behaviour in objective terms ( though I , for one, would have a hard time doing so !). Potential HO’s need to be warned about this person and, sadly, your experience will be a huge red flag for them.
Ok, so I’m having a bit of trouble navigating the replies options. But will answer some of the replies here, yes we talked with him on the phone before confirming him. He talked the talk and had good refs from air B&B. We live on a acre is land so chainsaws are everyday tools for us.
My hubby spoke to him re the saw and he admitted he has no money to replace it and denied putting straight petrol in it without oil but didn’t know what Dave was talking about when he said so you used the ratio measuring pot? His reply was ‘ what’s that? ‘
I have not yet left a review I’m still calming down as I don’t want give an emotional review but a factual one.
Thank you all for your support here, it has meant a lot 
Edited to remove duplicate text
I wish I had taken pictures but I was in shock and it was 2am after 38 hours of travel x
Hi @JojoandDave
This sounds like a home owner’s worst nightmare, and as though little respect has been shown for you or your home. I hope that at least Bailey was well cared for.
What on earth was the sitter even trying to do with the chainsaw? From the rest of what you’ve described, it seems unlikely that they’d offered to help out around the garden and do a bit of tree surgery in your absence! What were they hoping to use it for, or was using it required as part of the sitter’s responsibilities?
Did you return a day earlier than marked on the calendar? If so, do you think the house would have been in a better state if you’d returned the following day, when they potentially thought that you were coming home? You arrived home at 2am - were they apologetic about the state of the house when they woke up the next day and found that you were back? Did they then make any attempt to tidy and clean? Own up about breakages?
Why were they not ready for the sit when they arrived for the handover? You’ve mentioned that it was all a bit last-minute - how close to the start date was the sit confirmed, and does this go any way to explaining why they were so unprepared? Were they confused over the start date of the sit?
How did the incident with Bailey’s paw pan out? Did you request further updates after the visit to the vet’s, and did you receive these?
Out of everything, I would be most concerned about arriving home at 2am to find the (gas?) stove top left on, and presumably unattended. The rest is pretty awful, but I’m trying to look at it objectively and see whether any of it can be put down to lack of experience as sitters, (and of life in general?) or not realising what was expected of them. But the potential consequences of leaving the stove top on and unattended overnight are just horrendous.
As for a review, I would just be as fair as you can with star ratings, but give an honest heads up for the sake of future home owners. Something brief, factual and unemotional as below would be tricky for them to respond to without digging themselves into a deeper hole.
‘We arrived home at 2am to find the gas stove top lit and unattended, and our home in an extremely ‘lived-in’ state. It will cost us $X to repair and replace belongings damaged by the sitters during their stay. They would not be welcome in our home again.’
Quite understandable