I’m a first time user and after putting a lot of time into a listing, where I was very clear and upfront about having housemates, received replies that I’m not even supposed to be on this site if I have housemates.
I didn’t see anything about that when signing up or creating my listing so I emailed support and asked for a refund. Then I waited.
And waited. And emailed again and again and waited and waited. I never heard back from THM and now feel like I’m stuck paying for a service I can’t use.
Not a great first impression of the site, especially after seeing all the other comments about how “support” is basically nonexistent.
There’s a no-third-parties rule in the terms and conditions.
Let me ask you–would YOU want to go out of your way to petsit (for free or otherwise!) and end up in a situation with housemates? What is in it for the sitter?
If your housemates cannot or will not care for your pet or pets, you should consider boarding them. The pets, not the housemates.
I did have someone try this on me–only, she kept it out of the listing that she’d since acquired a housemate (she had reviews from pre-housemate) and after 30 minutes on the phone, “ummm, so by the way, you’ll be sharing a bathroom with my housemate tee hee.” I said, “Actually, no I will not. Tthat’s against the rules of THS and I’m no longer interested and you need to amend your listing.” She thought she could argue me down. It’s too bad that some hosts ruin it for everyone.
As for the refund, I think now that you’ve raised it here, they will likely take care of it soon, I hope.
Just to let you know that I have passed this across to the Membership Services team and they have advised me that someone will reach out to you shortly so please do keep a look out for an email from them.
Would it also be fair to say that you can advertise your poisonous snake but it can’t be in the home during the duration of the sit?
According to your logic, that would be fine but I know for a fact it isn’t.
THS claims to check every listing before they are published, so it they didn’t check this one it is indeed their fault and they have a money back guarantee that should apply here if membership is of no use for @julianrose
You should go through the virtual assistant during UK business hours and insist repeatedly to speak with a human. You should demand a refund. It should have been clearer to you that a private space is required for sitters and that roommates are a violation of third party rules. I don’t think they will refuse your request, but if they do, immediately write a very public review on Trust Pilot outlining what happened.
The third party rule is very strict. You won’t find many sitters willing to violate it as it is a safety issue for them. Also because of the nature of THS most sitters are seeking “private” accomodations during the sit and won’t be very interested in sharing space with a stranger even if they didn’t think that person was dangerous.
(Updated. I didn’t notice that a moderator had already responded!)
How would THS know that this member intends to allow the housemates to be in the home during a future sit? How would THS even know this member HAS housemates to begin with?
@julianrose, THS has a Money Back Promise. It’s not clear that you are eligible given that you received at least one application. But it sounds like those applications may not have been genuine intentions to explore a housesit. Regardless, thought mention so that you can raise when speak with THS Member Services - forget Frankie bot, ‘agent’ to chat to human.
I was invited by someone to mind her dog while her boyfriend was living there too. Later I saw reviews from people who seem to have done just that. I myself declined… anyone surprised?
When signing up you are asked the confirm that you have read the terms of service and that you agree to them .
The terms say
“5.2.13. ensure your home is vacated for a Sitter throughout the duration of the Sit, and that no third parties will interfere with the Sitter’s enjoyment of your property;”
Thanks to the folks who offered advice as requested.
To the folks who used this post to attract negative attention to themselves, yikes!
If I were THS I’d simply add a conditionally formatted yes/no “do you have housemates who might be present at any point during your absence?” on initial sign up. If “yes”’sign up denied.
Anyway some of these replies carry an energy I don’t want infiltrating my inbox so I’m going to bail on the forum but thanks for those who had actual helpful intent.
I just resolved it my just emailing the CEO and senior management directly
It was resolved to the member’s satisfaction but that doesn’t change the fact that the problem occurred because this member didn’t read the rules, and takes offense when their mistake is pointed out rather than take accountability and then blames the company that was generous enough to refund when they were under no obligation to do so.
