Advice needed - we are currently abroad and have our first sitters looking after our animals. They seem lovely and I am confident, although nervous as we’re first timers.
We forgot to turn off the doorbell notifications and my husband has noticed there’s people going in and out that aren’t the people we approved. I wouldn’t mind if they had asked but we didn’t have a clue and I feel uncomfortable, but I don’t know how to proceed as they’re currently living in our home.
I went onto THS chat and it advised I report but I’m not sure that’s the best course of action. I could reach out but I’m not sure if it will achieve anything.
Looking for advice from more seasoned veterans.
That’s a very valid concern, and it’s completely understandable to feel uneasy about unexpected guests in your home. Before reporting to THS, consider sending a friendly message like: “Hi, we hope everything’s going smoothly with the animals. We’ve noticed via the doorbell that there have been a couple of people at the house who we didn’t recognize. Just to clarify, we’d prefer to be informed ahead of time if anyone else is entering our home. We’re sure there’s a simple explanation, but we wanted to check in directly. Thanks so much!” or if you do not want to mention the doorbell: “We hope everything is going well with the animals and that you’re feeling settled in. We just wanted to check in about something: it seems that people have been at the house who we weren’t expecting and haven’t been mentioned to us. We totally understand if you had help or visitors, but we would really appreciate being informed beforehand if anyone else is entering the home, just for peace of mind.”
Their reaction will tell you a lot. If they explain, apologize, and respect your wishes moving forward, all might still be well. If they get defensive or dismissive, that’s more concerning.
Take note of the dates and times, maybe screenshot the THS chat suggestion, and save any communications. Hopefully you won’t need it, but if things get worse, you’ll be glad to have a record.
If the response is not satisfactory or more unapproved people show up, it’s appropriate to contact THS support. They have procedures for this kind of issue.
PS: Now I’m genuinely curious – what exactly do you mean by “doorbell notifications”? Are we talking about a camera? Because if it’s just notifications, how would you know it’s people you didn’t approve?
And if it is a camera, it’s important to know that outside surveillance is not allowed unless sitters are clearly informed in advance. If you didn’t do this intentionally (which I’d like to believe), then I personally think it would’ve been right to let the sitters know immediately once you realized the “oversight” – instead of leaving it active for days.
Because from where I stand, it seems like it still served your interests during that time, which makes it hard to believe that it was just an innocent mistake.
I dunno. I think not alerting the sitters to the door camera could well have been an innocent mistake. I’ve done 15 sits and from reading this forum, I realise there are quite a few THS rules I’m not aware of, or which might slip my mind while going through the whole meet-greet-seet business. My guess would be that the OP genuinely didn’t know she was supposed to tell her sitter about the camera… Or she forgot.
Honestly, if I were in the hosts’ shoes, I’d want to let the sitters know about the doorbell cam – not because someone forced me to, but simply out of respect. If I had forgotten to turn it off and kept getting notifications, I’d feel awkward not saying anything. And let’s be real: it’s hard to believe they truly forgot when they were actively watching the feed and reacting to what they saw.
So even if it started as an oversight, it clearly wasn’t handled well once they realised it. The right thing would’ve been to message the sitters as soon as they noticed it was still on – not days later, after forming opinions based on what the camera showed.
I see how that sounds. It’s a ring doorbell, our house is quite big and we often don’t hear the bell so it pings you if someone rings the door. It then records for 90 seconds.
We just totally forgot about it as it’s our first sit. It pings to say we missed the evri man and that’s when we noticed loads of entries on it.
Not deliberately watching! And it only films the doorstep for a finite amount of time.
That’s totally right. Obviously don’t have any internal cameras (we don’t have any anyway) and that would seem totally wrong but I didn’t consider the outside one being an issue, I just didn’t think of it. Will know to turn it off in future - and I’d like to add, this is only over the last few hours since the ping.
Hi @Lp1605 , my humble suggestion is that you and your husband can pretend you didn’t forget to turn off notifications and trust the sitters you’ve chosen. If you receive daily (or as agreed) updates and information about your pets during the sit you shouldn’t worry.
When you return home, you’ll be able to check how the sit went. If the pets are happy and healthy and the house is in order, everything will be fine. Next time, be careful not to forget to turn off the camera. If any thing is no correct when you are back, it will be the time to report it to THS or the authorities, as appropriate.
The platform is about trust, and surveillance is not allowed. If you are new to the platform it is understandable, and can be taken as a lesson learned. May I ask, leaving aside the notifications (which is an honest mistake), are the sitters aware of the camera and that it records for 90 seconds? It’s important that they do so, so the deal is fair for all parties.
All the best, and I hope this is just an anecdote and that your pets are in good hands!
I would contact the sitters, ask if all is going well, and mention that you are aware of visitors to your house, then see what their reaction is. Yes, you should have mentioned the camera, outdoor cameras are allowed, and lots of people have them, as long as the sitters know about them, but they shouldn’t be having visitors without your permission. Try to keep it as as friendly as possible.
My understanding was that all outside cameras are allowed, just not internal ones. I have sat a couple of places where there have been cameras on the door, as well as in the grounds.
They are @Visit ! However, all devices must be disclosed to a sitter before a sit starts, and a pet parent must display this information on their listing as well as their Welcome Guide.
Are they by chance new sitters? Maybe they didn’t know that they were not supposed to have visitors. I would just straight up ask them about their visitors but be prepared for whatever reaction you get. If things go south, do you have family or friends who can take over? If they truly had visitors that you did not approve of, I would reflect that in your review.
It is great that it is included in the security section, but it seems it wasn’t disclosed pre-confirmation(?)
I don’t like surveillance, but as a host if I needed and/ or wanted the outdoor camera to be on, I would inform the sitter - not only out of respect but also because it could nudge to not have undisclosed visitors that weren’t agreed with me.
As it is, I’d consider a calm and respectful message to my sitters, mentioning that I noticed visitors via the doorbell notifications from security, as mentioned in the WG: “Hey, I just wanted to check in. We noticed some visitors coming by the house on the doorbell notifications. Could you let us know a bit more about that? We weren’t expecting anyone else.”
Depending on the answer, you can see what you want to do. It seems you are not against visitors per se, but you want to know who is coming. This is understandable as it is your home, but I’d also need to know who are visitors of the sitters and who are strangers that might need me to contact the sitters or the alarm company. So that makes perfect sense. I would say that is quite normal in THS, to agree if visitors, and the host should know who they are. So your next response could be something like:
«Thanks for letting us know! For peace of mind, we’d prefer that only you and [partner/sitter’s name] stay in the house unless we’ve discussed it first» or maybe - «we are open to you having some guests, but please let us know who they are and when they will be at our home so we know when it is not necessary to alarm anyone, and know what to say if anyone contact us regarding visitors.»
I think it is also in the interest of the sitters. I wouldn’t like the host to be unknowing if a neighbor or passer by called the host to ask and they knew nothing about it.
