Also had handover. Sitter arrived the day beforehand and I showed her everything in my welcome guide step by step. I left the next day confident she understood that she had various ways of communicating should she have any questions.
None at all. You did everything right. I don’t approve of victim blaming mentality.
Sometimes, in life in general, once the main issue has been addressed, and the victim has recovered, it may be worth doing some retrospective analysis and take the necessary steps to prevent whatever incident from happening again.
In your situation you did absolutely nothing wrong. Not only there’s nothing wrong with giving newbies a chance, it’s a kind, humane gesture that would make a better world if everyone did.
Just recover, don’t blame yourself and don’t let anyone else blame you.
If you have received the advice that you need, perhaps you would like to consider asking @Jenny to close this thread. 
Druskinkai,
I feel so sorry that this has happened to you. I likely live not too far away from you but irrelevant. It sounds like she never took your dogs out for any walks and ;left them in the house all day, due to the wees and just out in the garden, as covered in poo’s. Did you ask for regular updates? For example I tend to always send photos of walks I have been on with dogs, that way owners do know where I have been and how far away etc. I also send photos of them in the garden and relaxing in the home. Plants are then seen in the background. But on hindsight maybe asking for photos of the plants would have been a good idea as away for so long. I know the rules are no third parties etc. but I do think it should be feasible to always be able to have a neighbour or friend to pop by just for a quick check and peace of mind. And as cleaners are allowed I see no reason why not? I have also had owners arrange for a friend or relation living nearby, to come on a walk with me, as their dog is very friendly with the owners dog. I have enjoyed the company on these occasions. But it could also be a way to check up on a sitter another time. It sounds like this sitter just wanted somewhere to crash and was out of her mind most of the time. How can anybody live this way, without clearing up sick and dogs mess etc. And now I have read that you ended up with maggots as bins not emptied etc. I think this person needs reporting to the police, as has gained a position (even though unpaid) out of false pretences and caused a lot of damage.
I also think THS should be able to write to her and put in a claim, for the cost of damage she has caused. She definitely should be removed from the site and not left to wreck yet another home. You were really unlucky. Sending a big (((Hug)))
I hope you’ll give 1* across the board and blow this sitter out of the platform, just awful!! 
Not only that. It’s important to mention at least some of the worst stuff and make it clear that they are just examples of an endless list.
Indeed, we all hope that they
They certainly don’t deserve to be here. But, as there are some examples of THS giving just a warning when everyone agrees someone should be banned, spelling out what they did, will at least prevent others from being damaged by them. At least while they keep the same profile.
I really hope there’s some kind of protocol to prevent this kind of people from signing up again. @Jenny, could you please clarify that for us.
Thanks everyone, for the support and advice you’ve given @druskininkai.
For anyone experiencing something similar, incidents like this should always be raised with our Membership Services team, who handle account reviews and any enforcement action. That side of things sits outside what I can speak to as Community Manager, but please know reports like this are taken seriously and reviewed carefully, with any appropriate action being taken by the team.
I’d always encourage anyone with concerns about a specific member to raise a dispute directly with the team so it’s properly on record.
Our member dispute process can be found here.
Jenny 
Well, you’re right. We’ve all had to start somewhere and you shouldn’t take any blame at all. Your sitter was completely to blame as it sounds like you did your level best (from reading ahead) with several video calls and clearly going through your Welcome Guide with her and feeling confident she would be ok. I can’t get your situation out of my mind, so absolutely disgusting. I can imagine you’ll be nervous taking on your next sitter.
Not a police matter
I don’t know. I think that would depend on the country or area. There has certainly been damage done to the property and some laws may consider that there has been negligence in the care of pets. It would certainly not be a priority to dedicate resources to but I know in some countries you can at least file a report and, in some cases, insurance companies may require the police report to act on the claim.
I think it’s pointless reporting it to the police even if a crime has been committed. They are not very effective in my experience. A few years ago my car was stolen off my driveway and I had they entire event on CCTV but the police weren’t interested in even looking at it as the thief hadn’t realised the car wasn’t running and hadn’t been able to take it further than the end of the road. I don’t believe they would be helpful.
I was under the impression that THS was bonded so that an owner could recoup the costs for damage caused by a sitter. Is that not the case?
No they are not bonded. The only chance that you have of THS covering damages from a Sitter is if you have chosen the premium membership. Then you have to meet all of the criteria, timeline, jump through hoops and provide proof, etc., etc., and then just maybe you might get some sort of coverage. If you search the forum for topics like insurance claims, home damaged, car damaged, theft, etc., you can read peoples real experiences. The good news is this is not a common occurrence. The better you are at carefully vetting & picking Sitters and having good intuition, the better things will go for you. THS is not for everybody, that includes the Sitter or the homeowner. There are always some people who try to take advantage of other people in life, and that occurs on occasion on the THS platform.
@lesliekate Adding to what @MTBer has said, Premium members also have to claim through their own home insurance company first. If denied, then THS MAY agree to cover some of the expense but we don’t often hear of successful claims.
Home and content plan is included in both premium and standard membership. But, to be honest, I have never heard of anyone getting anything covered by this “plan”. I have heard of quite a few people being denied it for several reasons.
What’s exclusive to premium membership is the cancellation plan and there are many members that have successfully been covered, it seems quite straightforward, providing the criteria are met.
That is awful. I’m so sorry you had that experience. They don’t belong in any home as a guest.
Oh my!! Some people have such a different definition of clean. Omg. So sorry to hear! I’d definitely make clear pictures and videos (if it’s not too late) and absolutely report him/her to THS.
What about the sitter, can you still reach him/her? Or is there complete silence?
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YES! He/she better has a good explanation. And should pay for the damage! That won’t happen probably, but man what a [mess] :o
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Request that time be credited to your membership. They did that for me, a full time sitter with a negative HO experience.
I’m thinking the state of the house does not reflect what the sitter defines as a clean house.
Then again the thread starter’s definition of a house that has been destroyed may very well differ from others. Of all the listed problems the only “destruction” is the dead plants, everything else can be handled with a deep cleaning.
There is so much damage, I’ve decided not to take the risk again and won’t be having another siitter. The entire downstairs carpet needs replacing. I’ve scrubbed but there’s no getting rid of the stains and smell.