Hello!
I’ve had two sitters apply for my dates, and they’ve both asked for payment. Has anyone else encountered this? Does anyone pay their sitters?
Thanks!
No on every level possible! Pleas report them both to membership services ASAP @joltina - payment does NOT exist on THS
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I’m pretty sure payment is against the terms of service of TrustedHousesitters. If they want to be paid, they can sign up as employees with services that offer that. This website is about equal exchange.
Could you ask the PS how come they are asking about payment?
It would be good feedback to THS if indeed you could say, “as a result of your advertising for PS jobs …”
Or the TSsitter did really understand the nature of THS when they joined.
either way a report to MS may help so that MS can follow up and clarify for these PS.
Let us know any update.
Sitters should not be applying and asking for payment. While I might hire a paid sitter if I couldn’t get a Trusted Housesitter, I would NEVER pay someone applying through Trusted Housesitters as they are violating the rules and spirit of the site and have therefore shown themselves to be untrustworthy.
Decline. You should also report them but I understand if you are reluctant to do so. I think there may be a way to report them where they’ll be “watched” but they won’t know it came from you.
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Welcome @joltina
The terms and conditions for sitters state :
5.3. The following applies only to Sitters. You will:
5.3.1. not require or demand any form of payment for carrying out a Sit;
You can report them to member services who may choose to “remind “ them of the rules or remove them from the platform.
You can contact member services either by live chat 
in the Help section ( ask to speak to a human not the chatbot) or e-mail support@trustedhousesitters.com
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As said above, please report them.
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Thanks, everyone for your helpful advice. I appreciate it! I declined the application of the most recent sitter to request payment, and she messaged me that she realized she couldn’t ask for compensation and would still like to sit. I declined and am not sure whether to report it or not.
Thanks again!
I’d report them, because it’s not OK for sitters to ask for money, whether they know it or not. THS can use their discretion on how to deal with them. For all you know, they could’ve done this before. If not, THS can monitor or warn them.
@joltina Yes, definitely report this sitter.
They might have been playing the game of getting paid by a new, unwitting homeowner.
If you report, Trusted Housesitters then can see if this complaint has been made before and take appropriate action.
What kind of payment? I had a sitter cancel on me today less than 48 hours before my trip. I said I could not pick her up because LaGuardia Airport is over 3 hours from me. She lands, asks me again to pay for her or pick her up, proceeds to cancel, then FLIP OUT on me.
OMG, what a mess. The enclosed ad was published in a Swedish newspaper today. It states: ‘No additional cost.’ Perhaps your sitter understood it literally. 
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