Hi there! We’ve had about 6 sitters this year and always have left use of one of our vehicles for them.
Unfortunately, our last sitter incurred a parking ticket by parking in a street sweeping zone. The sitter did not tell us about the ticket, nor pay the ticket, and now we’ve incurred late fees for failure to pay it. I just found out about the ticket today and the sitter incurred it in early Janurary.
What is the etiquette on reaching back out to the sitter and asking them to pay it? I’ve already left a 5 star review of the sitter and they honestly were such a great caretaker of our pups. I just wish they had told us they got a parking ticket!
Sounds very unprofessional if they are English speakers. i would go back to them in writing saying you got this ticket during the time they were there and how come they did not even tell you about it. I would ask them to send you the funds to pay the fine. If you ask them to pay directly they may say they have when they have not. They may have tried to pay the fine at the time but got fobbed off and told to wait until fine comes through. Sometimes, people think that they can get away with it and don’t
realize that just because they are not the owner, does not mean someone is liable. So sorry you have had this experience, but there are chancers and freeloaders everywhere.
I would send a picture to the sitter of the fine, explaining that this ocurred during their time and ask if they noticed anything on the window screen or maybe paid already? (Kind of avoids accusing them)
If they are decent people and hadn’t paid yet, they will take responsibility and pay.
Good morning @Kodakitty and welcome to our community forum. I’m sorry your first visit is to report this action by another member. We would encourage all members to be responsible, as they should be generally, for any tickets, citations, parking fines, tolls charges or similar when on a house sit.
To play devil’s advocate, it sounds like they were great sitters and I wonder if they have simply forgotten to make the payment, easy sometimes when moving continually. Last year when back in the UK we traveled across the Dartford Bridge (which is online payment only within 24 hours) and we totally forgot until my mother got the reminder
If I were in your position I would certainly contact them, jog their memory and give them the accumulated charges with the assumption they will pay and see what transpires. I will tag @Therese as she may have other suggestions from a support perspective.
I hope you get this resolved and it serves as a good reminder for us sitters to ask about parking restrictions in new destinations. We had a sit booked in NYC where a car was being left but had it have gone ahead (a Covid fallout sit), we would have had to move the car each day, I think for similar reasons. This was something I’d never come across before.
Hello @Kodakitty : I don’t know where you are leaving but in France, nowadays you don’t get anything on your windscreen when you are fine for a wrong parking (too long, wrong place or wrong time of the month/day). You just receive it long time after. Same thing for a speed limite fine. So maybe they just didn’t realize ?
As a sitter I would like the home owner to tell me (showing me a picture of the fine) and I would send the money to him/her. I would also be happy if the owner can pay for it and I can give him/her the money : sometimes paying is very complicated on-line ! We have been fined once in Netherlands with our own car and never understand how to pay it !
I’m sure they won’t be offended if you contact them now.
It is very nice that you let them use the car.
Hi @Kodakitty I think you have had excellent advice here, and most definitely do chat to the sitters. I hope you resolve this, but if you experiencing any issues in this regard, please do contact us at support@trustedhousesitters.com
Kind regards
Therese
Like Vanessa @Kodakitty I hope you get this resolved and just to support the theory of others I overlooked a London Congestion Charge while driving my daughter’s car … it is easily done.
Thank you all so much for the great advice. I’ll reach out to the sitter with a photo of the fine and hopefully we can resolve the issue that way.
And yes, the sitter was amazing and this seems like a fluke. Our city does place paper tickets on the windsheild, but perhaps it blew away or fell off? I’m assuming it was incurred while parking near the dog park as parking at our home is up the driveway and off the street!
Hi Kodakitty — We actually had a similar situation arise while we were sitting in the UK. We are Canadian so rules of the road can be different ; ) In our case, I believe the charge was applied through a photo of the car driving in the wrong lane. So the ticket was not issued to us, but to the HO after we had left the country. We had both posted great reviews. Then we were contacted by the HO about the ticket, which we paid online immediately, sent proof of payment and all was resolved happily. I think you’ll find the same situation when you contact your sitters as they were clearly responsible people : ) Best luck! Kath
In Italy sometimes kids have fan removing the paper tickets from the cars we also have private workers who are eligible to give you a fine especially for erroneous car parking but since they are not part of the police/carabinieri they tend not to leave the fine. I just received one this morning
we also have private workers who are eligible to give you a fine especially for erroneous car parking but since they are not part of the police/carabinieri they tend not to leave the fine. I just received one this morning 