Sit cancellation and Premium membership

Good to know - we haven’t used any of the Premium perks yet but are thinking we will get the lounge passes for our next overseas adventure!

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On a sit that is due to end mid November but is being curtailed due to owner having an accident and needing to return home . Have just had confirmation that they will get a flight back TODAY !!!

There are no THS sits listed in the area that start today . We are Premium members so we have booked alternative accommodation ( within 20 miles ) and I have submitted our Sit Cancellation claim. I will update the forum on how it proceeds .

Meanwhile we’re busy packing up to leave ….
:broom::soap::luggage:

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Yikes. Good luck!

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Wowsers! That’s big curtail @Silversitters - hope it all works out okay. We were paid fast on our claim, 14 days - message us if there are any “bumps” in the system and you need help. #speedpacking

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Update

Sit ended on day 6 of a 22 day sit
No sits listed for day 6-14 (even when extending search to 2 hour drive away )

Alternative accommodation booked - and claim submitted to THS yesterday with the receipt for the alternative accommodation and screenshots of messages from host ( to prove they were returning early )
Also a screen shot of Google maps showing the distance between sit and alternative accommodation (to prove it’s under 20 miles)

What I have learned so far.
$1500 doesn’t go far in South East of U.K.
we have maxed out with only 10 days accommodation ( we needed 17 to cover the original sit dates ) but fortunately have now secured a house sit for day 15-22+

We have our own property to return home to so this curtailment didn’t make us “homeless “
However, we do have work engagements in the location of the sit - so for us having the Premium cover has meant that we can continue with our planned schedule with minimal disruption.

Whilst we have had to pay a significant amount of money upfront we are confident that we will be reimbursed because we have been careful to dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s to met the criteria for making a claim . We have checked at every stage with member services that we are following the claim procedure correctly and found them to be helpful , reassuring and informative.

If this sit had been for a holiday - we likely would have chosen to book a hotel as alternative accommodation .

However, since we are working we decided to book a small basic apartment rather than a hotel room ( both were a similar nightly rate ) the hotel would have been more luxurious, but the apartment allows us to cook , wash our clothes / has a garden and has good Wi-Fi and two rooms which means we can both be working online / in meetings at the same time .

Of interest - in addition to the nightly rate - the owner of this accommodation ( booked through booking dot com ) wanted a £300 security deposit !!! To be paid up front by bank transfer and then paid back up to 7 days after departure and inspection of the property . We were not prepared to fork out that much on top of having to pay for 10 night’s accommodation. We forwarded a link to our THS profile to them and pointed to our 20+ 5 star reviews . They agreed to waive the deposit after having seen our reviews.

This is the third time that we have had a sit curtailed but the first time we are claiming under the Sit Cancellation Plan .

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@Silversitters When you have time and opportunity, would you please document every step you took towards claiming on your premium Membership? For example, did you first advise MS by phone or message? Did the host cancel the sit online, and how did that work (and appear) in your dashboard (were the dates simply amended to show a new departure date?)?

I think it would be really helpful for all sitters, to witness a complete breakdown of the claim process, including dates etc. Maybe in a new thread, which can be easily identified for future reference?

Best wishes to you!

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If useful @Happypets we can add to that thread/help as have been through the full process this summer and successfully claimed $900 back :raised_hands:t3: #letusknow

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@Happypets -good idea

@Cuttlefish do you want to start the thread since your process is complete ?

@GotYourBack has also posted today on another thread that they have a successful claim .

and @Amparo also posted the timeline of her claim process.

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#onitlikeahotbonnet @Silversitters :raised_hands:t3:

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Our sit was curtailed Day 6 of a 22 day sit.
So the host couldn’t change the dates on the system . We had only the WhatsApp message to let us know that they would be coming home early due to the accident and subsequently the messages confirming the date and time that they would arrive back ( they were waiting on their travel insurers to arrange their flights home ) We screenshot those messages which showed the date we received them .Member services said that was sufficient.

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So did MS amend the sit end date when you informed them it was being curtailed (sorry, I possibly should ask this on the new thread when it becomes active)?

@Silversitters, just read your last couple of comments. Yikes. That’s not good at all. One of the quirks of THS Sit Cancellation Insurance is effectively 10 day maximum (US$1500 total max, US$150/night max). Though guess more days poss provided daily rate below max.
One of our cancellations occurred after the sit had commenced. We were onsite. After sit has commenced then Pet Parent cannot cancel housesit on system. But THS Member Services can action that. Screenshot seemed work for you. Out of an abundance of caution, we also asked Pet Parent to also expressly write message on THS platform that they wanted to cancel the sit.
You noted $rate doesn’t go far in SE UK. Curious if THS would provide some form of exception to 20-mile term so that you can secure lower cost alternative accommodation. No harm in asking.
Hope all works out for you.

@Silversitters would you please advise of your experience relating to sections 3 (a) and (b) of the sit cancellation plan:

  1. Alternative House Sit

(a) Where time allows, Sitters must allow Us to recommend alternative house sits that may be of interest

(b) Where Pet Parents cancel a Sit at short notice or during the Sit, Sitters must allow Us to attempt to source an alternative house Sit where possible.

When sit curtailment is immediate, do THS attempt to source alternative sits commencing on the date of curtailment, or must you allow them to do so for the remaining duration of the cancelled sit?

THS do not recommend any alternative house sits @Happypets - it’s always last minute and it’s always whatever you can see on the search function in the region you’re in so that’s an odd caveat. Effectively, you’re on your own! #inourexperience

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@Happypets
The answer is No to all of the above .
You are on your own to find another sit .

Finding another sit would have been our preferred option .

I think this is a clause that’s not in any way practical or enforceable .

For example even if THS finds a sit that fits the dates and location that you need - they can’t insist that the host must accept you as their sitter .

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plus given some of the listings that THS lets slide, the thought that they’d be able to force you to take any old listing that’s available is ridiculous.

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Update on our claim for a curtailed sit .

Claim for 10 night alternative accommodation costs submitted 14 days ago - funds received in our account today .

For us the experience of making a claim was a smooth and straightforward process .

We hope that we will not have a sit cancelled or curtailed ever again . However, if the situation did arise in the future and we needed to claim for alternative accommodation , it’s reassuring to know from personal experience that if you are a Premium member and follow the procedures correctly you will be reimbursed promptly.

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@Happypets - our claim has been successful :grinning:

14 days from submitting claim to funds in our account . :clap:

As you requested , our claim process is fully documented in another thread which you can read here:

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