This is absolutely outrageous behaviour & a terrible thing for you to deal with. Did you tell the HO what happened? Did you tell THS? I hope you received a massive apology.
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I’m seeing more and more of these stories on THS. It should be an area THS really tighten up on - making sure HO’s are crystal clear about this. It’s inconceivable the idea of sharing spaces as part of sits or people letting themselves in uninvited but there are lots of cautionary tales on this thread. It’s very disappointing to hear so many examples being given.
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Hello
I had a quick look at the correspondence on this most recent case and just wanted to clarify that Membership Services are actively working with the HO to sort this out, and they’ve made it clear that it’s not ok for there to be a third party at the listing and that part of what they’ll do is educate the HO about that policy.
From the most recent email that we’ve sent with regards to this, MS has explained that the HO will have the option to either ensure that the third party will not be on site for the sit, meaning the listing can be amended to remove anything about them being there, or if the third party is to remain on site then the listing would be removed.
It doesn’t mean that the HO will be asked to remove the mention of a third party from the listing, but still have a third party on-site during a sit, as that’s not an option due to third parties on-site during a sit being against policy.
Jenny
It was pretty frightening at the time. THS were reasonably supportive at the time. The son in law had a very entitled attitude and felt he had every right to rummage through every corner of the room I was staying in just to find his skis. I made sure he never got to do that! There was nothing in the room in any case. These days, that is one of my first questions that I ask of HOs as to whether any family or staff will be entering the property at any stage. Most understand that it would be very unnerving and assure me that nobody is coming in. I’d never take on a sit without asking this question now and it’s largely down to that experience that frightened the living daylights out of me!!!
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I have just seen a new listing for a lovely looking house in the UK with 2 gorgeous looking dogs. Dates aligned and it is in a part of the country I like so all ready to apply. Tick the appy box as I usually do and then start going through the listing for due diligence.
Two reviews, the first before the new system is generally glowing. The second one docked a star for pet behaviour, a few things alluded to in the write up but nothing specific. Probably enough for experienced sitters to pick up on.
The eye opener was the mention in the write up that the adult child lived at home, was out at work during the day but home in the evenings. They put a very positive spin on it but I would love to know if this was discussed and agreed prior or sprung on them as absolutely no mention anywhere in the listing.
For me this is a great example of the review being helpful to the next sitters. The first one not so much at all as no warnings given at all. Pass from me, will keep looking 
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Hi @Jenny, unfortunately, hosts still have live listings in which third parties continue to reside on site. THS has not removed some listings in which it is clear third parties continue to occupy the home.
You can easily view my correspondence with member support about this issue regarding a listing in which the father-in-law resides in the garage and has full access (through the laundry- kitchen) to the living areas in which sitters stay. Also, this third party shares the back yard with the sitters for HIS dog.
But the listing is still live on THS.
Sorry, but this issue – and the issue of inside cameras – really riles me due to safety and privacy issues for sitters. 
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Totally agree with @KenandMary1998 - members take the time to report sits that break Ts &Cs (because there’s no very useful, time saving, super easy to install REPORT button!) and still MS do nothing about it?! We reported (again) a listing hosting a very active Airbnb within the property as it’s still going on 12 months later……What is MS going to do to solve these issues @Jenny? It’s their job not ours and even when we help they do nothing. #utterlyfrustrating
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When I’ve taken the time to report listings (third party presence / no interior pics (there are LOTS of those!) / constrictor snakes etc), why is it necessary always to give my email details and (often) membership ID? If the listing URL is given and concern specified, isn"t that sufficient for the agent to investigate? It always takes a while to get the message across on ‘Help’ anyway, so why on earth we then have to give our own membership details (and subsequently receive a message saying ‘hope you’re enjoying your sit in xxxxx with xxxxx (pet’s name)’ is baffling!
I agree with @Cuttlefish, that a ‘report listing’ option would save a lot of time.
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@Happypets
I reported this listing by forwarding a link to it to member support.
I got a reply from MS asking if there a third party on my current sit that I am on and gave hosts name ?
I am not currently in a sit .
They asked if they should reach out to the hosts of my next sit to tell them third parties aren’t permitted.
I told them no it’s about the listing which I attached in my e-mail 
The listing is still there 
Oh dear.
I think I’ll just give up reporting sits which contravene the T&Cs. It just astonishes me that some of these listings actually do attract applicants.
maybe those applicants dont know any better (as in read the T&Cs), not read the listing properly or desperate for accomodation.
The farming one with the adult son at home in the UK if its the same listing you guys are talking about, I noticed one of the references have fallen off, the one that mentions sharing the space with the son.
Yes, Ive just taken a look too and it’s still there, despite blatantly contravening the third party T&Cs and having been reported by at least 2 sitters, 24 hours ago. Go figure… 
I’m not going to report any more listings, but just skip the ones where clearly the pet parent doesn’t abide by the T&Cs.
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Hi @Cuttlefish and @KenandMary1998
To my knowledge of Membership Services-related things, it’s always been clear to me that third parties shouldn’t be present on a sit, so I’m sorry that you both (and others) are still seeing these pop up after being reported.
I’ll see if I can speak to someone in MS who might be able to help with this, and I’ll also pass on the feedback about the report listing button. It would be good to understand what’s going on.
Bear with me, if I get anything back from the team that would be helpful, I’ll update here.
Jenny
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Was this also one that mentioned tenants on the property who will drop by daily with offerings from the veg patch? If so, I noticed the listing is still up with no applicants and they’ve removed some of the more intrusive-sounding details.
So, um… n00b question but how do you report listings?
I saw one a while back with some convoluted arrangement of the husband being home and working in part of the house and sharing the kitchen but you could stay in the guest cabin and share the same kitchen and/or sometimes he uses the same bathroom, or something… it made me wonder why the heck they needed a sitter if he was going to be there so much of the time. I knew it was against the rules but didn’t know how to report it.
Forward it to support@trustedhousesitters.com
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From this thread and my own experience, it definitely sounds as if more needs to be done by member services to implement the third party policy. It’s one thing to have notification that an adult son lives at home (in which case, you don’t need to apply and can report to THS in the hopes it will be removed), but I’ve been in situations on a sit where there was no indication a third party would be present until I was there. In such situations, what do you do? Report to member services who may do absolutely nothing and you risk there being bad blood between you and the people whose house you are inhabiting?
In one sit spanning several weeks, the adult son of the HOs came to the property every day, doing work on the land and in the work shop. It definitely felt like he was checking on me. One evening, I nipped to the shops and received a text saying I had forgotten to leave a light on for the dogs when I went out. He was incredibly unpleasant. Another time, he demanded to be let into the house. I wasn’t feeling well and so choose on this occasion to ignore him, but he became aggressive and entitled as a result, sending nasty messages afterwards. It felt like an invasion of privacy and, as a sole female sitter, made me feel unsafe. At the same property, the home owners had leased out the land for shooting activities while they were away, unbeknownst to me. Imagine my delight when I looked out the window to see a group of men with guns wandering around the land. Member services were supportive but didn’t do much other than contact the HO to reiterate the policy. It didn’t stop them. They were making good money leasing the land. The only thing it did was encourage them to change their dates, leaving me in the lurch, and subjected to nasty messages from them when the sit was over. Conclusion: reporting to member services does not guarantee anything will change and is a risk to the sitter.
On another occasion, I found out while on the sit that there were renovations taking place on the house, often starting early in the morning, and the workmen needed access inside to plug in their equipment. There wasn’t much I could do, other than grin and bear it. The alternative was to report the home owner or request that the work didn’t take place while I was there, neither of which would have gone down well since they were already abroad at this point.
As I say, more needs to be done.
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@anon6309382 Hey there, agree 100% that the primary responsibility lies with Trusted Housesitters. The company needs to step up and ensure these type of sits are not on the platform.
In addition, sitters must discuss this with homeowners during the pre-confirmation video chat. Based on your stated experience with third parties on sits, I would imagine you do that now. As sitters, we sure do.
We wish you smooth sailing from here on out. 
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I agree completely. It’s important to be explicit about it and this is definitely something I ask now. Though, I did ask on the second occasion when I visited prior to the sit whether they have cleaners or anyone else visiting the house. It was only mentioned casually to me once the sit had started that there would be some work done to the house while they were away. The HOs wanted it completed prior to their return, without much consideration for the impact it would have on the sitter. The workmen also damaged my car, I believe when they were taking down the scaffolding.
I guess in such situations, you are putting trust in the HOs to be upfront about the presence of third parties, and they won’t always be, whether intentionally or not. However, I would feel more comfortable addressing it with them if I knew I’d be supported by THS, rather than bringing up something that will likely get their back up without the assurance I would be protected if it were to be taken further.
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