I have a sitter willing to take my 2 week sit opportunity. He is the partner of the primary profile person. The primary is out of the country so the partner wants to take the assignment. How do I know if he is vetted through TS. I wish I could just ask this question directly with the company. I have sent a message to the company but that seems to be taking a long time for a response.
@lcuff59 , only the primary sitter is vetted/background checked by THS and only if s/he is a US sitter. No background check is required of non-US sitters.
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He won’t be vetted by THS @lcuff59 but you could ask him for some added info if you want him to sit for you. Also check their past reviews and see if they are both (him in particular) mentioned with good feedback would be another idea. Have they sat together for you before? Is he nearby so you could do a meet up first perhaps? 
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If he’s American and wants the sit, he can always sign up for THS membership on his own and get vetted relatively quickly.
Personally, I wouldn’t accept a sitter under the circumstances you described.
I could understand “primary broke a leg” etcetera and probably would have no concerns.
But “primary is out of the country”??? That is too strange.
In my opinion, sitter broke a deal. Report them.
@lcuff59 We sit as a couple. Our profile clearly states that. We were asked to do a repeat sit in London. I couldn’t be there as I had a family wedding in Australia. I asked the PP if they were ok with just my husband coming and they were fine with that. We got another 5 star review and I would expect nothing less. We are a team and each of us provide the same excellent standard of pet and home care. So I would’nt see it as an issue, especially since they’ve been open about it.
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Welcome @lcuff59 - could I ask if the partner shows on the sitter profile and if they usually sit as a couple?
I think that makes a difference. If both are detailed in the profile it wouldn’t be an issue. If the profile only shows the one sitter who is out of the country I personally would decline as there is no guarantee that the person who turned up was the partner - could just be a random friend.
Of course if that was the case the sitter would be putting their membership at stake and any insurance cover in place would be invalid. Too much of a risk for you.
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Welcome @lcuff59 to the forum, great question . It has been asked before so I’m adding a link…
Verification/Background Checks
The partner will not have been verified by TrustedHouseSitters . That doesn’t mean that the partner will not be trustworthy .
We house sit as a couple . I am the primary sitter , we are both listed on our profile description. THS facilitates travelling with a companion - however there is no facility for the second person to have the ID checks . My husband would willingly have a verification check by THS but there is no option for the second person to have these checks . We have reviews as a couple .
So you may need to do some extra checking yourself for peace of mind . They may be able to provide additional links for example linkdeln
.Airbnb references etc . They may have DBS checks already for their employment which they may be willing to share . As others have already suggested reading the reviews on the couple to see if the partner is mentioned will give you the best indication of whether you can trust them to care for your home and pet .
The primary sitter as listed on the profile- will be responsible for the stay .Not sure how THS insurance would cover this situation but it’s rare that a HO has needed to claim on TH insurance .
As I said: for not keeping to the deal.
If the OP expected the primary only or if they expected the couple when the application was accepted and confirmed, the sitter cannot just unilaterally change the arrangement for flying off somewhere.
Edit: I may well have misunderstood at what stage of the process this was.
Am not sure they said they were going to do it as a pair or as the original sitter @pietkuip I read it as a new application offering the partner as the sitter on this occasion? But could be wrong.
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@pietkuip - I can’t see where the HO has confirmed the sitter. Perhaps it was only an offer from the sitter/partner at this stage.
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Is this person mentioned on the primary sitters profile? Are there any pictures of him? My husband and I sit as a couple, and are both on the profile . If he’s not, I would be a bit wary of this, he could be anybody.
I was really bothered by the fact that pet sitters I hired we’re not both background checked. I wasn’t concerned, per se, that the partner wasn’t trustworthy. I merely was comfortable because as I thought, they had been background checked. To learn now that there’s no option for the partner to be background checked seems of Sir to me. I don’t understand why that would be. Anyone? I think trusted house sitters is putting us in a bad position. I think it’s misleading.
@Baileysmom I have not seen an explanation from TH to why the second person can’t be checked or why homeowners are not checked at all .
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From a Sitter’s perspective, Home Owners are not vetted or background checked. Nothing. We, as sitters, must simply “Trust”.
To the OP, I would review the Sitters’ previous HO Feedback. If both are mentioned positively, I would not be concerned.
The obvious explanation is that THS needs to pay this company Evident for those background checks.
@Baileysmom even worse situation for sitters is that homeowners are not background checked AT ALL.
How is that reasonable……
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Unless other HO’s reviews speak highly of the sitter and their partner, I personally wouldn’t confirm without the other person being vetted somehow. In those cases, I would require a first and last name and ask for a background check. Even though, a background check could mean nothing… if you just haven’t been caught. I rely on reviews and my gut when I speak to them, make sure they’re good people.
I also understand from a sitters POV of HO’s not having any background checks, but also understand that we are allowing you into our homes, our things, our pets and entrusting you to look after them. At the same time, I totally understand also taking the risk of staying at someone’s house….
- What if it’s in a bad neighborhood?
- What if it’s not really their home?
- What if there’s something illegal going on that would endanger your safety?
These concerns are all valid, so I do think background checks should be done for both sitters and HO’s.
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I sit with my partner, I was ID checked etc, but THS’s system doesn’t do a check of partners. I know it would cost more for THS to do 2 ID checks rather than just one, and no doubt a huge cost to build that into their program, but they should take that hit given how large they have become, or even waiver the additional cost if you recommend someone to their site within the first 60 days.