No video chat yet and the sit commences next week? And you haven’t yet received the Welcome Guide or been notified of the address? Yet you went ahead and bought your plane ticket last month?
There are a number of red flags here, IMHO. It’s also odd that the HO contacted you 2 days ago yet hasn’t read your response to his message or followed through with the WG.
To answer your questions:
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Contact the HO again and say, given the time factor, if you don’t hear from him within 24 hours you will consider the sit cancelled.
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Any cancellation will not show up on your profile page, but only the HO or THS Membership Services can actually cancel a sit, so if this doesn’t happen it’s possible the HO could leave you a poor review. (even if the sit doesn’t take place) or open a dispute against you. All the more reason to ask MS to intervene now.
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No, if the HO cancels, it will not show in his account.
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Yes, you can see when a message sent via the THS system is read.
It sounds frustrating. Wishing you the best of luck.
@idocsteve, you are quite correct. I misunderstood, but probably not by much and perhaps for the worse.
Coverage requires that sitter first permit THS to source an alternative housesit (without geography limitation).
Coverage requires that alternative accommodation be located within 20 miles of cancelled housesit location.
We have faced two cancellations by pet parents, both on first day of housesit and both in international locations. One was ineligible as there was at least one other open housesit in broad vicinity (undesirable but best bad choice). One was eligible as zero other listings in PP country, though obligated us needlessly to stay within 20 miles.
“For any Sit cancellation, the Sitter must first allow TrustedHousesitters to attempt to source an alternative registered housesit, before seeking recourse to this Plan.”
“we will never pay under this Plan … The Alternative Accommodation that the Sitter uses is further than 20 miles (32 kilometres) from the location of the original Sit.”
Heard anything yet, @molly.g ? I hope things work out for you.
Thanks for checking in @Happypets. I’m moving forward with the sit. I did hear from the homeowner. I have certainly learned some things from this experience and will take those into account when I apply for my next sit. Take care.
To clarify, certain communication should take place on the THS system, but it is always a good idea to have cell phone numbers and email addresses as a backup.
When sits/sitters are accepted and confirmed, ideally the Welcome Guide would be available within a few days, including the physical address of the home.
Due diligence on the part of owners and sitters is necessary for success!
You sound like me. Efficient, responsive, and responsible. There is almost no good reason for anyone who is involved in an important transaction with another person to ghost them for days, when we’ve all got a cellphone in our pockets or our hands and it takes about 5 seconds to fire off a quick text.
Sure there are exceptions, off the top of my head I can think of: marooned on a desert island, arrested, kidnapped, or in a coma.
Understand that despite you never treating someone with that level of disrespect, many people don’t think twice about it, and if you understand and expect them to be that way, you might not be so anxious when you don’t hear from them in a timely fashion.
Thank you @idocsteve. I appreciate your note.