RESOLVED. We cancelled the sit by mutual agreement
Hello everyone
I’m due to do my first ever sit in 5 weeks time. I was very excited and looking forward to it.
However, today I received a message from the HO telling me they are having garden work done and that they will give the building company keys to enter the house if I’m not in!
This isn’t what I signed up for. First of all the advertised ‘large garden’ was a huge draw, my plan being to spend time in it. Secondly, how much trust is there between HO and building company? If something goes missing, gets broken when they’re in and out unsupervised then who is liable? Thirdly what about noise and mess?
I’m not comfortable at all with the situation and I’m not sure what to do about it!
Any advice gratefully accepted
Elaine
Hey Elaine
I’m sorry to hear about that. I can’t offer any personal advice as I haven’t had to deal with that situation. The following is part of the THS third party policy as it relates to ‘workers’ of various kinds (which is different from people living in the home while the sitter is there, which is not allowed at all):
If they have arrangements in place for people such as cleaners, gardeners and maybe even maintenance people to come in periodically to complete tasks or help maintain the home, then this is allowed. If there are any arrangements in place this must be shared with a sitter (for example “gardener comes in once a week for 2 hours”) before confirming the sit. The pet parent should stipulate the potential for any third parties to be present during a sit by putting that information in their listing.
If this information came to light after the sit was confirmed, it would seem you have the right to request they not do the work while you are there since the policy appears to suggest this is something to be discussed before agreeing to do the sit. Now whether or not you are comfortable making that request is a whole different issue and I understand the discomfort that must arise in these situations.
I am not sure what I would personally do in this situation. But I do believe it is not unreasonable for a sitter to request this work be done at a later date if possible because they feel uncomfortable having strangers there, worrying about damage they may do or other issues that may arise about which they worry being held responsible.
I am sure you will get some feedback here from people who have dealt with this personally as I recall seeing posts on here about these experiences.
Hi @ellybell To follow up further from @KC1102 reply, here is another thread where this has been discussed in detail.
Hi @ellybell sorry to hear that this has happened on your first sit .
As @KC1102 has said third parties are not permitted except for regular maintenance ( cleaners , gardeners ) and even then only if this was mentioned in the original listing .
IMHO Building work would not fall into this category -
It may be that the HO is unaware of the THS policy or has not considered the impact for you as a sitter . You are in your rights to mention this to the HO .
A polite reply to HO through the THS message platform along the lines of
“Are you aware of THS policy that does not allow other people on the property whilst a sit is ongoing. Please arrange that the building work is not done during my stay .”
It can be difficult to speak up but this platform is for mutual exchanges so you need to be comfortable about who will be in the home while you are sitting . Hopefully this can be sorted out with the HO and you will have a great first sit .
We’ve had this happen @ellybell and were told once we were at the property (& taken an international flight to get there😳) It was very annoying but only two days of three weeks so very different to your situation and they didn’t have keys of their own (that’s a big no-no). Maybe reply with something along the lines of “Unfortunately it’s not permitted within THS policy to have third party workmen during a sit so please move them to a later date once you are back from your trip.” And see if it goes away? If not then talk to membership services. Best of luck.