I was just informed by THS that because I have a basic membership, that my wall to wall carpeting, damaged due to a sitter locking my cat in a room for hours, will not be covered in a claim. So I am out over a thousand dollars to replace a carpet clawed down to the nail strip at the door. I am finished with this site and will use other pet sitting services in the future.
Respectfully if your cat is that destructive then thats your responsibility. That sitter should not be locking pets up like that though. Id file a formal complaint about them.
You knew this by reading the type of membership you signed up for so why the disappointment with THS. They kept their side of the deal
So why expect them to make exceptions for you. You do have recourse against the sitter. In US we have small claims court that has a very low cost fee you get back if you win the case. Also leave the appropriate review on the sitter’s profile. There is a bad apple or two with thousands using this wonderful platform. Happens in all industries. Sorry you experienced one.
I agree with @SeniorSitter1. It is very clear that you have no coverage with a basic subscription. Can’t expect your auto insurance to cover things you don’t pay for. Was the sitter aware not to lock the cat up? Although, they really shouldn’t have anyways.
I’m not sure any of the other pet sitting platforms have such protection coverage. If they do, please let us know.
While that REALLY sucks, it is not surprising due to your choice of membership. Contractually they have no obligation to cover this. What I hope comes out of this is that the sitter is disciplined in some way by THS. I think you mentioned you gave the review that was deserved if I remember correctly. I thank you for that as a Homeowner.
Another thought – I wonder what behavior your cat was exhibiting and why when this sitter decided this was a good approach to manage it. This info should be considered for your cat’s future care as maybe your cat gets too stressed with a stranger in the home or some other thing set off the cat to act undesirably. Poor kitty.
@SunnyJim Given you say you plan to no longer use TrustedHousesitters, your post appears to only be taking an opportunity to vent. If you truly want to make your opinion count, I suggest you review the company on TrustPilot.
You would claim on your household insurance for that, or you could try!
It’s hardly down to THS in this scenario, is it?
@Smiley I understand your point but anyone has a right to leave a review. I’m just making the member aware of that option. There may also be more to this than has been shared with us. Not for me to judge.
More to this can be the sitters side to this story.
You know the old saying, “you get what you pay for”. Anything that has tiered pricing and it’s labeled basic, it doesn’t come with much.
Sorry to hear about your cat.
After all the helpful, well informed replies pointing out that the sitter is being unreasonable expecting THS to pay for damage despite the sitter not paying the additional premium, it would be nice if the sitter who started this thread posted to the effect of “thanks for pointing out that I was being unreasonable shifting the blame away from myself”.
That much said I don’t expect it’s going to happen. Rarely does anyone change anyone else’s mind on the internet.
To the Op if you’re still reading this. Carpet repair people can do an amazing job, especially if the carpet isn’t that worn or faded, and especially if you’ve got an extra piece lying around, if not often it can be taken from a closet. The seam can be invisible or close to it, and even if the color has changed a bit, over time it will be less noticeable.
Even if you use other sites or platforms, would they cover you for damages if you never bought coverage in the first place? Your expectations don’t seem realistic.
First of, the insurance does not cover you, your personal insurance is meant to cover you first and if your personal home insurance does not cover it, then THS cover would come into play, but even then you would have to pay a deductible.
But that is something you should have read in the first place, and seeing as you are on basic means that you didn’t even take the time to read what that offered.
I always recommend people to read over the Terms and conditions of what you are signing up for. But that is just me. I like to know what I’m actually paying for
Sound advice re carpet repair. I think years ago this was commonplace but you seldom hear of it now. It may depend on the quality of the carpet and it may just be that people don’t realise that carpet repair is a thing!
Same thing happened to me except it wasn’t the sitter that locked my cat in their bedroom for more than 12 hours. It was a different kind of guest. The cat totally destroyed the carpet on the bedroom side of the door. I never thought of cats getting angry and retaliating but the cat did poop and pee on the guest’s pillow.
We include a warning in our House Manual not to close doors that trap any of our cats in room.
The sitter is a sitting duck! Sometimes cats get up to all sorts secreting themselves away in wardrobes with open doors or a cardboard box that is irresistible! I’m on a sit now and the owner warned me about this with one of her three. I took photos of the other two and knew I hadn’t been out so the last cat must be inside the property - finally found it in a basket with a curtain pulled in front! Big relief!
Twelve hours of not seeing a cat is worrying by any standards but I wouldn’t be too quick to judge although clearly it is happening on the Sitter’s watch.
Things don’t always go to plan but sometimes there’s a secret agent involved in sabotage! This black cat is on medication as it bit the first sitter on the first day of acquaintance! I was told to throw a blanket over it if it did get out. (It has sharp teeth and claws and has a thirst for Liberty. ) The wrought iron door to the patio has wire netting so when opened it must be tethered so the cat can’t get behind it to scale up onto the roof!
Handing back to the owner after 17 days here. Time for a KitKat and a large brandy!
That is a great suggestion, we used a carpet repair person when my daughter’s puppy destroyed a section of her carpet. He pulled carpet from her closet (replaced with leftover laminate) and spliced in the new section. It’s been two years, and it still looks flawless. I’m pretty sure we paid less than $200 USD
Animals don’t posses higher level thoughts and emotions that humans do. They don’t experience anger and they do not retaliate. They do get anxious and fearful and that is what happened here.
It’s the HO, not the sitter.