Not usually. Maybe 1/10 declines, if that. But I also get most of the sits I apply for. Or, at least, I did back when I sat more pre-covid. Things are different now from what I recently experienced. So who knows what my W/L ratio will become. 
I have no idea what my ratio is, but I withdraw my application within 48 hours if I donāt hear back from the hosts that they want to schedule a video chat.
Today, Iām headed to my ninth and probably last sit of the year, because I donāt sit during year-end holidays. I sit part time and sitting is just icing while I telecommute. When I want an actual vacation, I donāt sit. Two of my sits this year have been local, while my new-to-me house is being remodeled.
Yeah, Iāve barely sat for years because I was living in the van and preferred that. Next year Iāll probably join a platform with more french sits as I plan to buy property there so Iāll sit while I hunt and then while itās prepared/built. After that Iāll just sit as I feel like it when traveling around.
I tried out Nomador and got a bunch of unsolicited offers to sit in France, even though I wasnāt looking to sit there. I got sits in NYC and Hong Kong, though I opted out of Hong Kong when they added a pet and asked whether I was cool with that.
Nomador is janky, so I donāt plan to renew.
Itāll be a means to an end and working towards my goal so I can deal with a side of annoyance.
Wow that is horrible. I have never had even close to such a horrible experience, but your post has me rethinking using THS because if this sort of thing can happen, I could easily see squatters using this service to gain access to homes by applying for longer sits and then refuse to leave. THS would likely not be able to help because theyāre in the UK and in the US some states make it ridiculously easy for squatters to take over peopleās homes. For the non US member who dont know that this kind of thing is possible, you should Google squatters in the US. It sounds crazy but many states have laws which make it easy.
While I donāt know the law in the US in general it would not be theft as they did not intend to ādeprive you of the vehicleā by not returning it or selling it. It is teh same here in the UK but there is another offense Taking Without Consent (or TWOC) to cover this otherwise people can take vehicles and race around and then just abandon them. In the US this is generally called Joyriding and the police are being lazy by saying there is nothing they can do. A lot of police are, in my experience, keen to avoid work wherever possible so they have fobbed you off. If it were me I would push them and make a complaint to get them to to actually do there job. You could have tied a bow around the keys and left them on the roof of the car it doesnāt mean someone is allowed to take the vehicle.
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Hi @AbigailDC
Iāve checked in with the team that has been helping you, and theyāve detailed everything theyāve done to help.
In terms of filing a police report, Iām going to drop you a message, as Trusted Housesitters will be able to help with this.
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Not just a DC law. Also Maryland. According to the U.S. National Motorist Association, this is standard in all US states.
The cameras take pictures of a carās license plate, not the driver.
Please donāt spread false info. If you google by state, youāll find that laws differ. Thereās no U.S. traffic law that covers all states. For example, in California:
Thereās a reason you have to get a new driverās license each time you move among states and D.C. Each has its own laws.
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I learned the hard way that though it says premium plan comes with insurance, it really doesnāt. YOu must use your own insurance, and only if you are denied will they apply their insurance. So if that was a benefit you were hoping for, forget it. .
Also, if anyone does any damage to your home, you are on your own. TH does nothing. If its extreme or negligent as it was in my case, all they did was remove the prepetrator from the site.
Be sure to get the sitterās name, address and driverās license/passport, because due to privacy laws TH will do nothing to help you. I had someone who did damage to my floors, broke our faucet, brought in an unauthorized pet, emptied my liquor cabinet, and all I had was his phone number (which he blocked me from) and the first name of the sitter as it appeared on the site. He also used my car with out permission and racked up $950 in tickets. When I called TH to get his info, to pursue this in court, they told me I had to get a lawyer or letter from the police. The police donāt want to get involved. They said it was a civil matter. Further they said because I let him into my house there was nothing they could do. So after months and $1000s more of lawyer fees, they refused to give me the info.
Be very aware, that TH is only a platform. They take no responsibility for what happens once a sit starts. You are 100% on your own if things go awry, in my case they went very awry. I learned a lot. I will never ever let anyone I donāt know well into my home again, and while 90% of sits are great, if you get one bad one, like I did, its not worth it. I could have paid for a house sitter. This whole ordeal cost me over $4,000 US.
For clarity sake, I think this post could be merged with your Original post from October .
Itās the same topic. IMHO, having several threads on the very same disastrous experience can give a false sense of multiple negative sits.
Again, I am really sorry this happened to you and itās nice of you to warn others about possible risks and the little value of the so called THS āinsuranceā
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This is an appalling story about an appalling sitter, I feel very sorry for you. The only good thing, is heās been removed from the site, I think youāre right about the insurance, Iāve never had it and never will, not worth the extra money.
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What an awful experience youāve had. Even though THS has secured so-called proof of identity, they donāt provide that proof to the homeowner. And in this unfortunate situation, they canāt fork over that info without consent unless required to by law-enforcement, etcā¦
Iāve had a few very strong opinions online from some sitters who feel strongly about being asking for ID ( license/passport) as an apparent/possible breach of privacy, that it bordered on offensive, that theyāve already ID checked etc. That it goes in the face of a being an ātrusted house sitterā ā¦ Even in the setting of a HO loaning a car ā¦ which may have implication in the setting of accruing tickets, having an accident, using a car without permission.
This experience paints why itās important to set clear boundaries for a sit- like seeing an ID/proof of licensure. If a sitter would give a full name to me? They donāt get to sit for me. It may mean sitter passes over my sit, or a HO passes a sitter over if refused.
Well, there are many good sitters out there, all it takes is one like this to topple confidence.
Iām really sorry you had this happen.
Edited to meet posting guidelines
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I donāt have a problem with HO getting a copy of my ID once I start the sit. With the critical numbers blocked out. But they would have my first and last name and address. I think that is fair if I am staying in their home. What happens if they steal jewelry? I donāt get how it is OK they took the car without permission. That is stealing.
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With all my sits, I connect with Whatsapp, so they have my phone. And they have my email. My email has my name. Did you not have his email or phone number? And use of car without permission is unauthorized use of vehicle. It is a crime.
To be clear they have not helped me at all. They simply said I could go to the police. I got a lawuyer at TH request, and spent $ and in the end TH still said they couldnāt hand over the personās name and info. I ultimately got it elsewhere. So as not to mislead people here, TH has done nothing to help me seek justice or compensate me for what happened.
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THS canāt really investigate a matter like this, and should fellow members raise disputes against you, you too will be protected by accusations that a member service canāt really conclude in without proper legal action.
It will seem very hard and unfair and leave a feeling of being unprotected and alone in your situation, but it is the same as if a friend/ relative/co-worker/girlfriend-boyfriend/ex-spouse or other had done these things - it would be a legal matter for ordinary law enforcement and/ or legal action and an app wouldnāt be able to fix it, unfortunately. Sometimes insurance of sorts can cover it, depending on terms, and sometimes not.
Sometimes it will be more costly to put resources in it than end result, sometimes you can get a legal decision in your favor but there is nothing to collect so you end up with only expenses anyway - or result in nothing - to pursue a claim in many cases of life, and maybe in this.
This is unfortunately quite normal, Iāve seen legal action being taken in cases with lots of money, getting a ruling in their favor in court and appeal court - and then the company goes bankrupt and you hav spent loads of money you wonāt get back. You can get to be ārightā but at a high cost.
It seems you have done an effort, more than many, so sometimes there comes a point where one has to cut ones losses and decide that I am not going to waste more money and mental capacity on this. Only you can decide when that is, and it might be more to look into, but it could be useful to figure out at what point youāre done.
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I think this just proves a point of how important it is to get at least the sitters full name, and where they live. I donāt think any decent sitters would mind providing that.
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"He sat for me prior without issue, so I trusted he wouldnāt go ābuck wildā this time. I was wrong. I have his first name and his phone number but it doesnāt help if he blocks me. I canāt get his full name and address from THS without a letter from a lawyer, which I am working on. " Yet you told us that THS wont give you his first name. Make your mind up. And of course you have to go through your own insurance first, that is normal in life.