Has anyone had a situation like the news report below? Theft by T.H.sitter. How do you vet your sitters? This is unnerving.
Article in presstelegram dot com search for TrustedHouse sitters
“Dave and Barbara Bauer had just spent two weeks exploring Spain, traveling by train to a handful of cities in April while on vacation, while their house and dogs were looked after in Mission Viejo.
The couple had hired the man and woman through a company called Trusted Housesitters to housesit and take care of their beagles, Bader and Sophie, they said. It wasn’t the first time they had used the company’s website to find people to watch their home.
However, when they got back, they found their home in disarray, they said in an interview on Friday, Oct. 10. Family photos had either been moved or turned around. A portion of their garage was reorganized and china from Barbara’s great grandmother was found broken in a bin. Dirty dishes and broken glass were found in the sink. And there were signs the man and woman who watched the home had used their cars….” There is a lot more to this story. You need to read it. Scary.
We’re aware of this incident and continue to support the authorities with their enquiries.
Most of our members are already aware of this, but I’m mentioning it for any new members… TrustedHousesitters connects pet owners with sitters, and no sitter is employed by the company. Sitters are verified through ID checks, background checks, and phone and email verification. You can read more about how sitters are verified here: Trust and Safety.
Although this is an unfortunate situation, there are thousands of sitters and there will always be a bad apple in any large pool. There are billion dollar companies that do extensive background checks before they hire an employee and have had problems with people stealing, scamming, etc. I don’t think they should have thrown THS under the table. They could have said a pet sitting company.
PP can give you advice on screening but as a sitter I have some suggestions once they arrive. Make sure your car keys are hidden. I have read more than one post that the car was used without our permission. Car rentals are expensive so some people think, what’s the harm and I am your guest. Make sure you tell them and have in writing that the china is not to be used. You can say, please use the dishes in these four cabinets. You can have a friend get the keys from them on last day. Knowing someone will be there checking on things may make a difference. Meet them when they arrive. Just don’t leave keys for them.
This is very disturbing. As someone who regularly uses THS as both a sitter and a homeowner, it give me pause. The actual story involving several homes, would seem to call for some kind of change in how things work. The part I wonder about is how it could get this far.
(Post edited by the Forum Team to comply with the Terms of Service).
Also seems according to the article above they changed names in some cases, which indicates to me that the criminal background checks in the US didn’t help. I am referring to a different article from CBS news which was modified out of this forum.
Just watched a video online where a news station interviewed the PP. Luckily they were caught and the 100k baseball was returned. They pleaded not guilty which was interesting. I’m sure THS was instrumental in providing information that lead to their arrest. They still are innocent till proven guilty. I don’t think THS is to blame. Nor do I think they can screen any differently. It’s lucky for all they were caught and if proven guilty may face jail time. They changed identities often but they did not say on this platform they did. They could have used a lot of platforms with different identities.
I just read the article on CBS news also. I heard about this yesterday. What I’m wondering is what their profile states their location. I know it can be changed. I live in this area and I never have locals sit for me. They found the stolen items in Orange County too.
They have done it several times before being caught. Makes you wonder about the “robust” security check system THS has in place.
I watched the CBS report and audibly laughed when they read the quote about THS’s “robust processes” that had been circumvented.
I don’t think THS is to blame - in fact they were probably instrumental in tracking the criminals. There is always going to be someone looking to exploit any opportunity, and I believe cases like this are rare.
I do wonder if there might be some combination of HOs pushing for some sort of surveillance being allowed and/or sits in higher end homes becoming more rare after this.
Glad some of the items have been recovered and I hope they can find the owner of the comics.
I don’t think home surveilliance is the answer. I’ve noticed that THS had changed the wording on it’s website to emphasize that homeowners and sitters “vet” each other. The issue isn’t what happens once someone is in your home. It’s what to prevent someone from having access.
I can also imagine insurers refusing on some of these: “You let them into your home???”
Hang on… Where’s the criminality? The couple mentioned in the OP seem to be a complete shower - definitely bad apples - but what crime was committed? What have I missed?
The couple were arrested for a series of thefts. If you google CBS Trustedhousesitters, you may be able to find the story and a video explaining it. Forum moderation is not allowing links to some of the news articles.
I was also curious about previous reviews, considering the mess they left. In one article, THS referred to the issue as identity theft, and an article in the Daily Mail states the couple used the names of previous homeowners to create profiles on THS. It’s not clear if reinstating an old account would allow them to bypass the ID verification.
I don’t believe they changed their names on here. They were on other platforms as well. It could be done here though. They would have to sign up as new members giving all fake ID cards. If they are thieves and got a bad review they might have done that.
Would be nice for everyone if Trusted Housesitters offered some real transparency on this and explained for members (and maybe investers) and potentional members:
What happened: how security measures were breached
Thank you for posing these questions! I’m new at Trusted House Sitters and I’m constantly thinking about this situation and how can I protect my pets and property from something like this happening to me. I would like to hear from Trusted House Sitters leadership on this topic. Thanks for asking the question. How do we get THS to respond?
