Happy House Sitters Avis 

I must agree with the review I have just read. Suffice it to say I have heard similar murmurings on various sites, re HHS!

I was a member of Happy House Sitters (HHS) for 12 months and was not able to secure a single house sit. Whilst I appreciate this is not guaranteed, I do find this surprising as I am a professional house sitter and have been able to secure many regular placements through other house sitting sites.

After joining HHS as a member on 27th October 2016 I soon became unimpressed with the functionality of the website and the level of customer service received. My requests for a response using their online contact form went unanswered as did my efforts to call to their landline number. I could not even leave a message, at the time, as the mailbox was full.

On 1st November 2016, I emailed HHS directly to cancel my account and request a refund. I was advised that this was the first they had heard of any issue and that under their T&Cs I would not be entitled to a refund. When I challenged the T&C’s I received no further response to my email.

At this point I raised a dispute with PayPal to get my money back. Within hours I received a response from HHS stating: “This email is to advise you that your Happy House Sitters account has been suspended due to a Paypal dispute being lodged. It will be re-activated if Paypal finds in our favour or if you close the dispute.”

I was surprised by this response as there was no mention of my account being suspended for this reason in their T&C’s. Again, I challenged this and received no response.

Although PayPal initially decided the case in favour of HHS I was then able to provide further information and escalate the matter to a PayPal manager. On 9th November 2016 I was awarded compensation for the full refund amount of $65.

On 12th October 2017 I wrote the following review for HHS and posted this on a few online review and community websites.

“I am member of a number of house sitting sites and sadly Happy House Sitters is the worst of the bunch. Over the course of a year I haven't managed to secure a single house sit through this site and the owner (name removed) is not a nice man to deal with at all. Thankfully Paypal have now refunded my fees for the poor customer service received and I have had a far more enjoyable experience through (name removed) and (name removed).”

Within hours I received notifications stating my reviews had been reported by Happy House Sitters for removal as HHS believed they contained inaccurate details and/or personal information. I also received the following response from HHS on 12th October 2017.

Hi (name removed)

Thank you for your review. Im sorry you feel your time with Happy House Sitters was not a success. However, I do feel it's important to be accurate. Firstly, you asked for a refund after using our service for 7 months. Naturally, as you had used over half your membership a refund was not possible. Secondly, PayPal did not refund you as you stated. They found in our favour. Please see the extract from the PayPal email below.

The reason your account was suspended when you lodged the Paypal dispute, is because when you lodge a dispute the funds are taken from the merchant's account. Therefore you were no longer financial. 

"Dear Happy House Sitters,

We're happy to let you know that the following case was decided in your favour. Any hold on this transaction has been removed.

Transaction details
Case ID: (financial details removed)
Buyer's name: (name removed)
I do hope this provides some clarity. 
We wish you all the best.
Kind regards
(name removed)"

With regards to the personal information I have only stated the owners name, which he himself uses on another review site. As evidenced above, HHS were found to be in breach themselves for publishing my personal and financial information.

HHS also claimed that I requested a refund after using their service for 7 months which was untrue. I received the following response after contacting them on 14th October 2017 to dispute this.

“It appears Ive confused you with another member with regard to the timing. I apologise and will amend the review response accordingly. Also, could you please forward the copy of the paypal refund. We dont have any evidence of this.”

I have since provided evidence of the PayPal refund to HHS.

on another note my account was also suspended/cancelled again by HHS on 12th October 2017 which I believe was in response to my negative review of their company. To date I have received no response to the following email, sent on 14th October 2017, which states.

“Could you please also confirm why you closed my account before it was due to expire on 27 October 2017.”

In my opinion, I believe the way HHS have handled my complaint and online reviews speaks volumes about the company’s integrity, professionalism and commitment to customer service. I have since proved all my claims to be true and have provided supporting evidence to the various review teams to have my reviews reinstated. To date I have received no further response from HHS to my emails dated 14th & 16th October 2017 asking why they closed my account early.