Was I being....scammed?

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
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Had someone apply for a sit yesterday but when I confirmed she wasn’t able to Accept. She said the app was being glitchy but she’d try again later. When I asked her to get on Zoom or google meet with me she said she’d never been on either, didn’t know how, but could do a phone call the next day (her profile says she is in her 30s – adding her age because who didn’t know how to zoom or google meet during COVID?). Today she told me she still couldn’t accept the confirmed sit. I withdrew it and she reapplied. She said the same issue. I withdrew and sent her an invite. Same issue. She then told me this has happened before and she would still be happy to sit. My spidey sense started humming.

I told her that sitting through THS protects both of us. She then said she has only basic and so has no protections. I told her she still had protections. She insisted all would be fine. I told her I couldn’t take the chance. This was a “last minute” sit (I didn’t post it on that thread) for a work thing and now I’m stressed. But beyond that, was I being scammed? Can someone still have a profile if their membership has expired? The chat was NO help. Thank you.

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Could be a bug in the system but it’s always best to trust your gut. Based on what you described I would move on.

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When using the chat you can ask to “speak to a human. “

Maybe a glitch . The App is very glitchy .

Possibly their membership is about to expire so they couldn’t confirm until they have auto-renewed their membership.

Maybe they are planning to overlap with another sit - which the system won’t allow .

You were right to trust your instincts and only keep to confirmed sits arranged on the THS platform .

(FYI - I have done 30+ sits since the pandemic and all the hosts I have sat for have suggested a WhatsApp video call or a phone call - none so far have suggested Zoom or Google Meet )

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Good you backed out @Firechick

It could be several reasons for her doing this as mentioned by @Silversitters and @Oztravels , none of which are good news for you.

A member experiencing a glitch to confirm would ofc reach out to member service to get it sorted. So major red flag.

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I have never used the App, but there can be glitches with the website. I had a meesage came through four days after it had been sent by a pet owner the other day. Frequently messages have come through late. But I have never heard of Google meet and have nver used Zoom. I have completed about 60+ sits now and when I first joinerd all sits were confirmed by message only. It has only been in the last couple of years that some have been with a phone call, WhatsApp Call or WhatsApp Video. Video’s are still quite rare thjough and usually jsst a call at most. As it was mentioned she could do a phone call, why did you not do just that? Surely everything could have been cleared up in a phone call and you could have asked lots of questions to reasure yourself. You would also have had her number for any later queries.

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Does she have many reviews? If she only has a small number, she potentially didn’t realise how easy it is to reach out to THS to fix the glitch.

That said, everything sounds very plausible, and just from what you’ve said, she was potentially trying to help you out with it being last minute. The reasons you have given, aren’t reasons that would make me doubt her integrity, unless you already had doubts about her for other reasons. But obviously wanting to stick to the THS platform is of course the best thing to do, but if it’s a last minute sit, time is an issue, so she may have been trying to help you.

We’ve had the odd glitch on a couple of occasions, but a couple of hours later, everything was fine. I’ve never contacted @support about those particular occasions, but I know sometimes it’s just a temporary glitch, so I just hold off for a while - but it happens. There are other glitches that I’ve had them fix though, just not accepting a sit, those ones have automatically fixed themselves hours later in my scenario.

Zoom/google meet - that’s totally plausible, as they are both more profession based systems, whereas if you’d have said whatsapp video, then I would perhaps think that was slightly odd, because a lot potentially do that with family and friends. I don’t think we’ve done zoom or google meet chats with any owners on THS. So what she says is totally plausible again.

No THS protections - in her eyes, she is right to a certain extent. She pays extra for a normal level of insurance, and extra again for last minute cancellation, neither of which matter as your own THS insurance covers you anyway… unless it doesn’t go via THS. But she is totally correct in saying she doesn’t have any protection, as she see’s it in her eyes. Whereas you’re possible viewing her protection, from a security/honesty/safeguard angle, but that won’t be a huge concern for her if she already has reviews, because we’ve never met any bad owners on THS, nor have we met any that have taken advantage of us, and we’ve done around 40 sits. I know from the forum, these things happen, but that hasn’t been our personal experience.

Now you have doubts, move on, or you’ll be panicking while you are away and it’s not fair on her now that you mistrust her.

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I would pick another sitter, she sounds like a nightmare

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I am a bit surprised that people have never heard of Google Meet or Zoom too, they were huge during the pandemic. Google Meet was used widely for schools, for students and educators. Zoom was also big for many groups.

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Absolutely not. You were 100% right to trust your gut – this is a mountain of red flags.

The tech issue once might have been believable, but multiple times, across confirmations, reapplications, and direct invites? No way. And claiming not to know how to use Zoom or Google Meet in her 30s? That’s extremely odd – especially considering we’ve all had to adapt to those tools during COVID.

Also, her saying she only has a basic membership and therefore no protections is either a complete misunderstanding or a flat-out lie. Every tier on THS includes basic protections, and more importantly, you both need to be active members for any agreement to be valid.

The fact that she kept trying to work around the platform is deeply suspicious. You were absolutely right to withdraw and walk away. That had “potential nightmare” written all over it.

You weren’t being overly cautious – you were being smart. Good instincts.

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I wouldn’t know how to use Zoom either. I’ve done meetings through it for THS, but only when I’ve been sent a link. I wouldn’t have a clue how to initiate a meeting. And I’m not that dim or old-fashioned! I’ve just never had a job where it was needed, COVID times or otherwise.
And I find the app incredibly slow and unreliable. I can’t imagine what a hassle it would be to apply for a sit that way.. I stick with the website and have never had any problems.
This potential sitter may be a bit flaky. On the other hand, maybe she’s to be commended for sticking with it, despite the difficulties she was having..
I can’t see a potential scam in any of this. To what end?

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I get that not everyone is tech-savvy, but this went beyond that – repeated issues confirming, claims of glitches, and attempts to bypass the platform entirely. If someone can’t manage the basics, THS might not be the right place for them. There are plenty of informal Facebook groups for that – without structure or protection.

THS requires a certain level of digital competence. It’s not rocket science – just basic tools to ensure mutual trust. I trust my instincts, and this didn’t sit right with me. For a last-minute work sit, I’m not taking chances.

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I did a last minute sit last year, which did not get confirmed because in this case the HO had difficulties with the app and wasn’t able to confirm. I still showed up, but the issue never got resolved so I wasn’t able to leave the HO a review and vice versa even though it was a very nice sit.

Nonetheless, not knowing how to use Zoom or Google for someone in their 30s seems a little odd. And it’s not exactly rocket science to hop on a Zoom call

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Trust your gut and don’t use this sitter.

One issue isn’t so much that she’s never used Zoom or Google Meet, but that she’s unwilling to try. I had never used What’s App for video calls before joining THS, but I was willing to learn.. A sitter unwilling to even try to get on a Zoom or Google Meet despite its being new is unlikely to be willing to learn how to deal with new equipment in your home etc. either.

I have only heard one horror story from an HO for whom I sat - and it all started precisely like the story you’re writing here.

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Most of my sits are international and WhatsApp is my go to for video chats too. I have noticed for the few sits I’ve done in the U.S. these pet parents always suggest Zoom as they either don’t have WhatsApp or “don’t know how to use it”.

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@kimshady WhatsApp isn’t as commonly used in the US as it is in other countries. I hadn’t even heard of it until I started housesitting in 2022. However, Zoom is very commonly used in the US. Zoom has been part of my daily work life since 2018.

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WhatsApp didn’t get initial traction in the U.S., because texting has long been free here. (WhatsApp didn’t get video till years later.)

Many of us Americans who used WhatsApp from years back have family and other contacts abroad and/or travel abroad more often than other Americans.

Then with the pandemic, Zoom quickly gained huge traction, because some of us already used it for work and we helped extend its use into other circles.

It was at the time notably easy, because someone could just send you a link and you could start using it immediately, even if you didn’t already have an account.

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My issues were less about the video call and more about everything. She didnt suggest another video platform - I would’ve been happy to use WhatsApp or something else. But that wasn’t the deal breaker.

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I don’t think this is about a glitch in the system. There’s something weird. If she had wanted to do the sit through THS, all she would have needed was to get in touch with THS and there are all sort of alternative means of communication.
She was obviously thinking of herself when she said

What about your protection?

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19

I don’t think you were being scammed. This strikes me as a sitter who could be neurodiverse or just ham-fisted with IT. It must happen at all ages.

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So many options:
WhatsApp
Messenger via FB
Zoom
Teams

However if someone is using an ESIM because they’re travelling techie stuff can and does go sideways at times… check back on her future reviews to see if you dodged a bullet or were simply glitched.

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