Our sitter has hinted he had no money to get a train ticket on the day of the sit
Hello
I am sure a message like that is stressful. While sitters are expected to cover their own transportation costs, there is nothing that expressly prohibits hosts from providing sitters the money to pay for their transportation or other such things. So even if it would be far from an ideal scenario, you would be welcome to cover those costs if you really felt cancelling him and finding another sitter would put you in a bind.
Whether or not he is truly having unexpected financial issues and is generally a responsible person, or he is trying to take advantage of you, would be hard to discern with absolute certainty. But even in the former scenario, it could potentially represent a number of red flags, especially depending on the exact circumstances, such as the cost of these tickets, how soon the sit is starting,etcā¦ For example, I would be concerned no matter what, but much more so if these tickets he couldnāt afford cost 20 dollars vs 200.
Ultimately you are free to handle it however you wish, and you do not owe him anything as far as honoring the agreement as he appears to not be holding up his end. Best of luck!
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@Froggie, welcome to THS Forum. Thatās a very odd situation - never seen it on a forum thread before.
We would perceive four questions. 1) are you willing to pay for their train ticket? (atypical situation but thatās your choice). 2) do you have other concerns about housesitter ability to execute housesit? (how fund themselves during housesit?) 3) do you have a backup plan? (OP does not mention duration sit - if brief sit then maybe a neighbour/friend could help). 4) are you confident on securing an alternative housesitter (OP does not mention start date, thereās 5000+ unfilled housesits for Christmas).
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Thatās not normal. Given you need a sitter, you could give him the money he needs, but then how does he buy food etc.
How far is he travelling? No idea where you are, but if heās travelling from far away, then a lot would have bought their train ticket in advance, to make sure they had a seat, given the sitter has an obligation to you. But youāll know whether your train lines operate like that or not.
When you say he āhintedā, whatās his position now? Or have you picked him up?
Can you give us a bit more information? Is the sit supposed to start today and heās just told you this? In that case, it absolutely sounds like heās trying to take advantage of you and I would cancel the sit and report him to THS.
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I have to wonder if he doesnāt have money to get to the sit will he have money to leave the sit upon completion.
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My concern is the sitter is this flat broke, they have no money for food or God for if they get a toothache and need to visit a dentist? I would tell them they need to come up with the money themselves or cancel and report.
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āHinted ā ?
Are you suggesting that he is asking you for money in order to fulfill his commitment orā¦ā¦ ?
More details would assist in helping us help you in this challeging situation.
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@Froggie Sitters arenāt supposed to be hinting for money or overtly asking for it. Report this sitter to THS and perhaps go to your Plan B instead of having this particular person in your home.
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I would cancel the sit. How responsible can he be if he didnāt plan on having train fare?
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I would cancel too. Suppose he needed to take the pet in a taxi to the vet?
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Be direct with the sitter and raise all the questions asked here. If you donāt like the answers and youāve got other options then cancel them.
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Sitter rang from LGW and asked me to collect him (previously he said he was getting the train). This would been from Cumbria so I said not possible. Then he asked me to look up prices and I did; I gave several screenshots and he said that the timings would just be Ā£146. This was a little more than expected (Ā£109) but the sit was meant to start the next day and I have had no other applicants. I sent him the money, figuring that Ā£146 is still cheaper than a cancelled trip. Once he arrived, he said he needed to go to Asda for food, so I said Iād take him, as we live at the bottom of a very steep hill. I was waiting near the checkouts and he had Ā£70 of food. He put in two different cards and both were declined. He said he only had US$25 in his account so if credit didnāt work, then he would have no food for three weeks. Again, he didnāt ask specifically but clearly I am a mug and I paid the Ā£70. Both cats liked him and I thought at least he seemed to have settled in.
So strictly speaking he hasnāt ASKED for money but Iām feeling strong grifter vibes and that Iām going to be hit up for more.
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His profile stated his location as Birmingham UK and before the sit was agreed he had said he would probably get the train if I could pick him up from the station - no problem. Turns out he was in Orlando FL but is going to base himself in Birmingham. He is a pleasant person and seems very focused on the animals and had good references. His profile said he was a remote consultant. I donāt think heāll hurt or neglect the cats but Iām now only 90% confident the house will be as we left it and Iām 99% sure heāll say again he isnāt paid until the end of Dec and needs food.
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You are being taken advantage of, big time. That much said, youāre allowing it.
Next time, donāt offer. Iām thinking they wonāt starve to death in your absence.
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To start an international trip with no money for food or transport is irresponsible.
You have every right to cancel this sitter.
What is your back up plan ?
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I think you should report the sitter to THS. He is basically asking for money. If you are continuing the sit, I would make it clear that you wonāt be paying for anything else such as the return train ticket or additional food.
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You are being taken advantage of big, big time. The fact that he apparently doesnāt have any money is not your problem. Let him know you wonāt be paying for anything else. If he asks for payment, report him to THS.
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Ahhh, the only positive thing in this whole scenario is the Birmingham bit. His location didnāt used to have to be his home town, that must have only changed very recently, because I didnāt even know theyād changed the wording of it.
It now says āwhere are you locatedā but Iām sure not long ago it was worded more like āwhere would you like to sitā something like that, itās different now somehow, because other owners have been unaware of that on the forum before.
Money wise he is a terrible terrible sitter, and should never be sitting overseas at all. Also, if he would have got stopped at the airport, they would have refused him entry for not having funds to cover his trip. Even Brits travelling to mainland Europe need evidence of funds to cover their trip, but having access to a credit card is always fine for that. His accommodation cost is zero, but he would still needed to have evidenced enough funds to pay for food and transport.
Heās done zero research about your place to realise LGW is quite a distance AND cost from Cumbria (Iām not too far away in Durham). Please make sure he knows he needs to pay you back when he gets paid, you can easily word it in a nice friendly sounding way, when he says thank you can say āItās fine, you can pay me back when you get paidā in a lighthearted way.
He gets marked by you for āself sufficiencyā and āorganisedā and āreliableā in your review. He gets zero for those, minus marks actually.
Look, Iām sure your pets will be cared for, and Iām sure heāll care for your home too, but he totally lacks responsibility in so many other ways.
Iām not sure how many other sitters youāve had before, but make sure his reviews are THS reviews, and not just references from friends and family, itās THS ones that are the ones that matter.
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Good grief, @Froggie , this sitter sounds like an opportunist! Whatās going on here is just plain wrong! This guy is taking you for a ride! Are you happy to continue having this āsitterā (I use the term loosely) in your home? What do you want to happen now, or what advice are you looking for?
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