Was the sitter retrieving a parcel addressed to you, when the door closed behind her? Did your tenant consult with you, before instructing the locksmith? It sounds like your tenant took it upon himself to incur the $350 charge without first talking to you to ascertain the whereabouts of a spare key, or obtain your agreement relating to the proposed cost of replacement. I appreciate that your dog was inside the apartment so decisions had to be made, but it sounds like the sitter was not involved in any decision making at this point?
So you’re not clear on whether it was the sitter or the locksmith who potentially caused some damage to the door? Have you any idea how - or if - the sitter tried to access the property, on realising she’d been locked out?
Do you mean you addressed this with the sitter during the return handover? Since this situation occurred on day 2 and you returned 10 days later, this must have been a 12 day sit? You haven’t mentioned if you were otherwise happy with the care given to your dog and your home. I can only imagine how horrible it must have been for the sitter, to be hounded for payment the moment you stepped through the door. Return handovers are usually a time to exchange pleasantries and thanks, so it’s to be hoped the positive aspects of the sit were also acknowledged.
Mistakes happen, and this clearly was just that; a mistake (made worse if she was doing you a favour by taking in parcels on your behalf). A good rule of thumb is to consider how you’d have handled this scenario if it was a dear friend who was helping you out with pet cares and home security so that you could enjoy your time away. Would you be more lenient, do you think? I do agree the sitter should have apologised, but she did you no wrong intentionally and , since you knew the potential for this situation is significant, it really would have been wise to have some sort of safeguard in place.
THS certainly won’t reimburse you for a damages claim in this matter. Do you have accidental damage and / or locks cover on your home insurance? That might be worth a try, depending on the excess.
I hope you can get some perspective on this and put it behind you. You say:
You trusted the sitter to care for your dog and your home. She didn’t cause intentional harm to either, so hasn’t betrayed your trust. Please also bear in mind that trust is two-way, so she’ll have trusted you to be mindful of her wellbeing. I’m sure this wasn’t a happy experience for her, either. It’s surely not all about money, at the end of the day?
Great, but of course everyone’s situation is different. We only have one key coded door and our backup is a regular door lock with a key in a manual lockbox in the yard.
Very helpful that your model does that. Not all models ever made do, our old one didn’t (but it had a physical key option as well as code).
The point is more to look at your home’s situation and have an adequate backup, whether it be a second door with a keypad or a physical key lock. I mentioned it because people indicated a keypad in lieu of a keyed entry, but one keypad can fail and there should still be a backup.
And many apartments/condos do have only one entry door so a keypad that also takes a physical key (which can be kept with a friend/neighbor/or in a lockbox like the ones realtors use) as a backup would be great in those situations.
Sorry you went through that… as a sitter, I would’ve helped pay but everyone is different.
I got locked out once as a sitter-similar scenario. The HO’s had taped a key under a pile of things in their basement and I was able to get back in.
Always have a spare key!!! if not get a code number lock.
Realtors have a little key hiding lock for apartment showings, for anyone here that uses regular keys, it would be wise to have one of those. It’s 10-20 dollars and will save so much time and effort.
One of my hosts had an interesting twist on storing their spare house key: They kept it in their car, which they could unlock or lock remotely. So if you had the garage code, which they give sitters, then they could give you access to the spare house key, if needed.
They had two other spare house keys, kept with neighbors, as well. Plus, their regular cleaner had one.
No, I definitely did not reply to you when I gave my recommendation as I wasn’t even replying to anyone. You hadn’t even posted on this thread yet when I commented.