This is my first post on the Forum.
I renewed my membership at the end of Sept and in October secured a sit for over Christmas and New Year. In October I set up alerts for 3 areas where I was interested in sitting in 2025. Then in November I tried to log into my account on my laptop only to discover that I needed a six figure code which never arrived via email, Not too worried I carried on just using the app and then that too asked for the six figure code that failed to arrive.
Firstly I had no knowledge whatsoever that this 2FA was being introduced - and now that I have actually ventured onto the Forum I see that there are other changes which I was unaware of and for which I have never received any notification.
Secondly I have been in touch with the support section and made to feel that this problem was unique to myself. It is only when I have ventured onto the Forum that I see that I am not alone in having this problem and I do wonder how many others who , like me , do not use the Forum regularly are also having problems and think it is just them.
Supports answer is to give myself a new email with a different domain name. Considering that many others are having the same problem how would I know that the domain name I chose was also not going to have problems. The domain name I have is a common one in the country where I live and I have used it for over 20 years and have never had any problems with it whatsoever. In fact if anything it lets way too many Spam items through!!
So now I am unable to access a service I have paid for and whose rules changed after I renewed my membership without informing me. I cannot leave a review for the sit we did recently, I cannot see any potential new sits etc etc. Thank goodness I had printed out the owners guide some time before starting the sit otherwise I would really have been stuck.
I only have this one email address and really donāt want to create a new one just for this application. As it seems there are multiple people having the same problem surely there must be a way around it at THS end. Personally I would have thought that sending a code to a mobile was a better way - or offering that as an option. Many systems offer the option of selecting SMS or email so it is possible.
I posted elsewhere that my current Host was having a 2FA issue as well. Support had to do something on their end to fix it, but it did correct the issue. From the email the Host shared with me, it didnāt look like it required them to create a new email address to resolve it.
That said, from the posts Iāve read, Iām not convinced itās the same issue and fix for everyone; Iāve seen different symptoms being reported. But it does seem odd itās coming up all over the place recently, since they turned on enforced 2FA.
Yes, the 2FA email is a common issue at the moment that THS canāt/wonāt fix. Many members are having the same issues as you. If you search 2FA on the looking glass above you will see what others have done including requesting a refund and putting a negative review on Trust Pilot.
Interesting that you say support did something at their end which fixed the problem.
Thanks Crookie
I had used the spy glass to see some of the other threads and it all seems very random re fixes etc. I have been a member for 10 years now and am so disappointed that this has happened as this is the first real problem that I have encountered in all that time. I too am thinking about asking for a refund ( not that I expect to receive one) and starting from scratch on another platform. As I cannot access my account I have lost all my 10 years worth of reviews which is really annoying. THis platform worked so well for me too.
As Trust and Safety have been put forward as one of the reasons for the new booking fees, keep hassling Member Services @Helenrw and mention this as security was the reason for 2FA being introduced. You havenāt lost the reviews; you just canāt access them temporarily. And should you decide to leave THS, you can ask for all of your information, reviews etc to be provided to you.
This advice from @MerryPuppins is correct.
Depending on the underlying reason for the issue, Member Services can often resolve these issues, however in some cases itāll require a new email address/email service provider support.
If anyone else encounters a challenge with two-factor authentication our advice is to reach out to our member services team at support@trustedhousesitters.com
Well my account is certainly secure at the moment as even I canāt get into it!!
Thanks for the heads up about asking for my reviews etc should I decide to leave.
I am in contact with somebody at support but we just keep going round in circles so I came on here to see if anybody had successfully had their problems with 2FA sorted without having to create a new email address.
I have just asked support if they can actually provide me with the message that they get back from my provider when they get the āhard bounceā and also the domain name that they are sending from so that I can contact my provider and see what they have to say and if they can rectify the problem from their end.
@Mark_B contacting member services would be great if they only contacted you back! Replies from them recently have been non existent.
I am a home owner and like you hadnāt logged in for a while but have had two successful sitters - the most recent one in December. I had the same issue - this was over a week ago now and I have been back and forth with TH support and Plusnet my provider without success. They tell you to check your spam and add two email addresses in my email as Trusted - in my case Outlook. I did this first thing with no success. I do have my own domain name so clearly this is a problem for them. The error message they receive is āā554 5.7.1 ā¦@ā¦ Relay access deniedā
So, I asked them to use my other email address which is a gmail account managed by Google. After some security questions this now appears on the login screen. I login and request the code, no success again. I have checked Junk folder and added the two email addresses as trusted. Obviously, I cannot contact Google - although they must be one of the most common email providers in the UK. I asked Plusnet and they say as two email addresses arenāt working the problem is clearly at TrustedHousesitters end. I advised the Support team this morning that the gmail address doesnāt work either but have had no response.
So TrustedHouseSitters is no longer fit for purpose. If they cannot resolve the issue with the google email address in the next few days (they donāt work weekends), then I will be cancelling my membership and requesting a pro rata return of my membership fee. I will also be posting a review on Trust Pilot. In the meantime I have joined another platform UKHousesitters for Ā£15 membership fee. I have two sits. One in late February and one in April but it looks like I wonāt be able to do this.
I donāt understand why they could not send the 2FA code to members mobile phones - however I understand from reading up on 2FA that this is more costly.
They must be losing many members.
Thanks marsbar
That is all very interesting and bears out my thinking that the problem lays at THS end not ours. Maybe to THS my domain name is an obscure one although it is widely used in this country but for you not to get the 2FA using gmail is very worrying.
Iām also glad that you got to talk to the Plusnet guys.
It really is very frustrating as the person I am dealing with via support will not give me the āerror codeā and insists that I am the problem and all will be solved if I just get a new address!! Clearly this is not the case.
Are you saying that you have two sits already booked to do in February and April through THS? Hopefully you will have contact details for the people you are sitting for away from THS and can contact them that way and explain the situation and maybe go to them away from THS and ask if they could write you a review for the new platform you have joined.
I am with you and do not understand why we could not have had the 2FA via phone - but as you say that costs more and I guess that there in lies the answer.
It really is very frustrating - I am unable to write a review for the homeowner I have just sat for which must be really annoying for her.
Please do come back and let us know if you get anywhere with getting the 2FA sent to your gmail account. Ironically had I set up a new email address it would have bee with gmail!!!
Maybe THS will spend some of their new booking fees income on fixing their 2FA so the code can go to a mobile number instead. After all this is about their memberās safety and security and user experience which the booking fees are supposed to be for. But donāt hold your breath.
The error message I obtained was from Plusnet (a major broadband provider in the UK), which I passed on to THS Support. All communication with them is via email.
I am a homeowner member and have two sits to post. If this issue is resolved which I doubt, there is no chance me getting anyone for late February sit. I also checked Gmail via my browser rather than Outlook and there are still no 2FA emails.
@marsbar , I hope this is sorted soon. The Membership Services team tells me theyāre working with you to get this up and running.
This is the response I received today from THS Technical team.
āI have consulted again with our technical team to see if there was any new information regarding the failed delivery to ā¦
As we previously identified with your personalized domain, the issue remains the same: our system is attempting to send the verification codes, but they are being blocked by the email providerās server before they can reach your inbox. Because this āRelay access deniedā or āSoft bounceā error is triggered by the receiving end (the email provider), our team has confirmed that there is unfortunately no further action we can take from within our system to bypass their security filters.
I truly wish I had a different answer for you, as I know how much you want to get started. At this stage, since the issue is following the account even after an email change, it points to a delivery block that only the email provider can resolve.
I recommend checking with Gmail support again or looking into any high-level filters that might be active on the account. Iāll continue to keep a close eye on your account status here, and Iām truly sorry that the technical limitations on the providerās side are causing this ongoing delay.ā
So, I have tried two email addresses and THS are passing it back as a provider issue.
I have no idea if it is possible to contact gmail support, a global email provider, although obviously I will try to do so. I canāt even find a contact on Google other than help file or Community Help.
(Post edited by the Forum team to remove a personal email address as per the Terms of Service).
Thanks for posting this.
AS you say it seems odd tat you are having problems with 2 email addresses and they are saying that the problem is the same with both of them.
I am not technical at all but to my mind if you are using a gmail account and getting this error message are all other gmail account users having the same problem and if not why not?
I am using a different email domain name and I am told by THS that they are getting a āhard bounceā from that one.
Interestingly enough I have just done a quick internet search about hard and soft bounces and this is part of what I found
āAs well as the name of the server that rejected the email and the time and date it bounced, this bounce message includes an error code specifying why it was rejected. In most cases, email error codes starting with a 4 indicate a soft bounce, while those starting with a 5 are a hard bounce.ā
I seem to recall that the error message that Plusnet gave you started with a 5. So I am assuming that THS have now given you the error code that they get back from Gmail in order for them to say that it is a hard bounce?
I am guessing that as the issue has not been resolved you will be using the other platform that you signed up to to advertise the sits you have.
Another entity that I deal with has also just introduced 2FA and guess what - I get the email containing the authentication code from them and they are only a small concern and my email address is not a usual one for them to be dealing with!!
I have just created a brand new email microsoft account ending outlook.com. This is now set up and I have just one welcome email.
I am going to ask THS to use this one for my login and then test 2FA. If this one fails too what on earth is going on.
I have posted a question on the GMail Community so see what they say.
I am not technical either! I also emailed Plusnet, a really helpful chap who I have been corresponding with over this. He stated the following:-
āSo, what theyāre virtually saying is that their 2FA doesnāt support Gmail or Plusnet which is outrageous since Gmail is so big (I use it myself). That being said Iād probably make an Outlook account or iCloud email account and try that as theyāre technically not āgoogleā or āPlusnet.ā Ultimately, I believe itās with Housesitters in themselves as theyāre not only blocking your Plusnet email with us but also your Gmail with google, I wouldnāt be surprised if you try iCloud or outlook and it says the same, it could be something bigger potentially maybe a vpn on the device but this is really just random guesses.
Honestly, you could try the website using your gmail email running off mobile data instead of our internet, worth a go if it doesnāt work itās beyond me in terms of guesses but definitely not on our end and even if it somehow were weād have minimal control over it.ā
Do let us now if this third address works.
It is all such a faff isnāt it for something that should be so straight forward. How many hours have you spent trying to sort this out?
What an interesting message from the Plusnet man.
TH have confirmed they have done this. However, the login page has changed and it now asks me to create a new account with a number of questions to complete. This is different to previously - the login page was unchanged. I donāt know what to do. This is my second year of membership. I am unable to login with my new microsoft email as it requests that I create an account.
What new place where Satan resides (I am not allowed to post the word H***) is this???