My sitter ended the sit early because she claimed she was having an allergic reaction to pet hair and dander. I had the house deep-cleaned before she arrived and then re-cleaned it after she arrived because of her skin reaction - the cleaner said the house was clean and had the expected amount of pet hair produced over a day or so.
I kept TrustedPetSitter updated the entire time, followed their advice, and sent them pictures of my home from the cleaners/replacement pet sitter. The app now claims they won’t accept third-party evidence and is giving me the runaround. I’ve sent documents multiple times and then been told to resend them again.
Is this normal? Should I expect to eat the cost of the emergency pet sitter?
Well I would say the standard procedure for insurance companies is to make it difficult to claim as they know if it’s a lot of trouble to claim a certain percentage of people will just give up. They really are quite unscrupulous in a lot of ways. So I reckon the old adage “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” applies here, don’t give up, keep messaging and don’t just leave it with Frankie.
A good insight from @Cathie - I work with some insurance experts, & the unofficial industry standard is that there are three blockers to most claims in order to create a natural attrition rate. #dontgiveup
I suggest that you call the urgent support 24/7 phone line so that you can speak with a human and Confirm which documents they need to process the claim .
Important ones are :
Receipts showing cost and dates of replacement sitter
and Screenshots of messages where sitter cancelled .
This thread about Sit cancellation claims may be encouraging reading - unfortunately it’s been archived so no one can add to the thread
Very weird that a pet sitter would be allergic to animals. I wonder if they were allergic to the cleaning fluids. You may want to ask future sitters about sensitivities to cleaning products. I know I have reactions to some of them.
I agree with @Oztravels that what isn’t normal is a pet sitter allergic to pet hair. Did this sitter have reviews or past references? If they have a significant history around other pets then the reaction may have been to something else.
In any case, the sitter did cancel so it’s not relevant to the insurance claim. I do have premium but thankfully have never had to claim it so far. I agree with others that you likely just need to keep following up until there is a resolution. You can always try to escalate to a supervisor if you are hitting a roadblock.
@bgreen, we have engaged with THS twice in regards Sit Cancellation Plan. Both times related to a pet parent that cancelled a housesit at short notice. Both were international. In one case, we successfully received a payout from THS for alternative accommodation.
THS Sit Cancellation Insurance terms are quirky. Suggest that you read them carefully both to assess situation eligibility and to understand any application protocols.
She said she had experience sitting for both cats and dogs previously, and had a good reference. But, she was also grossed out by the litter box so I think she may have fabricated or exaggerated her past experience.
@bgreen It sounds like this was her first THS sit as a reference is from an external source, often family members or friends, who may have stretched the truth.
THS allows new members to get references from third-party people. These can be hard to discern from actualTHS reviews unless you look closely. One is an actual star shape, the real THS reviews, the other is merely an asterisk which are third-party references (their friends, family, neighbors). Please be very careful as you move forward using THS in choosing your sitters. If you don’t have the luxury of being really picky with a lot of applications, please look through the form here for past posts for tips on picking a good sitter/s and questions to ask during the video chat and red flags to look for. It really is a learning curve on how to navigate THS as a sitter or a home owner as you get things started, especially if you don’t have a good intuition about people that you don’t know.
Well I don’t think anyone enjoys cleaning out a little tray or picking up but it’s just part of the deal looking after pets. Sounds like someone looking for a free holiday without considering the responsibilities of the trade .
I even wondered if this person was using a relative’s account. Profile pics can be changed and her stated experience and what she knew was so widely different.
I will be really careful about this in the future. I’ve had quite a few successful sits before, but I always made sure they had several reviews and references. Looks like this sitter only had external reviews.
I’ll reach out to the OP via DM and make sure they’re getting all the support they need!
but it’s just part of the deal looking after pets. Sounds like someone looking for a free holiday without considering the responsibilities of the trade 
.