Karen S.

Unfortunately this was the worst hairdressing experience of my life. I visted the salon last October and had balayage highlights. The hairdresser seemed inexperienced and lacking in confidence. For some reason the colour did not seem to take and there was no difference to the colour of my hair. As I got myself ready to leave there were hushed whispers at the reception area and I was not charged for the colour, only the cut which I was happy with.

Within a few days my hair turned blue where the colour had been applied. There were many e-mail correspondences between myself and the manager of the salon. I was unable to go to the salon as we had entered the second lockdown and I had moved to another city. The new hairdresser I went to see said that she could not fix my hair because not only was it blue it was extremely weak and broken.

I had a terrible experience and the salon took absolutely no responsibilty. The salon manager tried to tell me that the damage was caused by hair colour that had been applied several months previously though was impossible as it was the hair where the balayage from this salon had been applied that was blue and damaged. I am still growing out the damaged hair 1 year later.

Three years ago, I had the most horrific experience with Trusted Housesitters- you can read my original review on this site. In September 2020 the world was in chaos and many people were in a state of flux. That did not excuse the appalling behaviour of the homeowner who I signed up to sit for or the disrespectful and shocking treatment I received from Trusted Housesitters. Now that some time has passed, I was interested to contact THS to see how they felt about the incident now. Unbelievably their position is the same! Their attitude and behaviour at the time was totally without accountability and as far as I can see this company are getting worse. There are many negative reviews and there are also reviews and experiences like mine that call into question the legality of this company.

Essentially, I signed up for a 6 weeks sit in the Italian countryside. The sit was not at all as had been presented on several accounts:

When I arrived for the 2-day hand-over to a remote house in the middle of the Italian countryside I was led to believe there would be a husbands and wife there- it was only the man who from the off on a short fuse and very rude. I immediately did not feel safe to be alone with this man and checked myself into an air b & b for two nights, visiting the home regularly so he could show me the set-up. The man was visibly annoyed that I had chosen to find separate accommodation.

Visiting over those two days it transpired that the house had no internet or phone signal. This is something we had discussed on a video call- the owner told me that while I might have some difficulty with Zoom, Skype or streaming, there was a reliable basic internet and phone connection. There was not. I asked the owner about this on several occasions and each time he became more annoyed saying that it must be my phone/computer.

The owner told me that had been a change a plan, that instead of going to Malaysia to be with his wife for 6 weeks he was going to Liverpool, UK to visit friends and he didn't know how long he would be away... or when he would be back.

I really should have left there and then but I had paid a lot of money to get there and somehow foolishly I stayed.

The water from the taps smelled strongly of rotten eggs and sulphur- he had mentioned this, but I had not realised it was so bad. When I did some research, I discovered that the smell was most likely caused by a bacterium in the pipes that was potentially harmful. For this reason, I did not want to shower.

The lack of internet and phone connection continued. I could only make calls or send messages for the nearest town or a remote spot about a 20-minute walk from the house. The house was in a very remote place. Friends and family became increasingly concerned for my welfare. When I messaged the owner, he was by now just always angry and annoyed. He asked concerned friends to check on the home and pets. The friends were surprised that the owner had told me there was an internet connection- there was not a connection in the area they said. They also said that would be drop by every day to check on things.

By now the owner send a message to say that things were obviously not working out and he would arrange to come back. He said that as long as I did not say anything negative about him or his home, he would pay for my return flight. The thought of being alone in that remote house with this angry man without a connection was more than I could bear. On the demands of my family who were by now very concerned I left the sit. The pets - a dog and a cat were well cared for and loved. The garden was well watered, and the home looked after. I know that the friends would be dropping by daily but just to be safe I also contacted the emergency contact and made her aware of the situation. She said that while she could not stay at the home, she could also visit every day.

During this time, I had tried to contact THS several time to no avail. After I left the property, I managed to send an email and was contacted via telephone by Jordan. This man was extremely rude and made me feel like a criminal. He refused to listen to my story and said that because I had left the sit my membership was under review- it did not take long before I was stuck off without getting my membership refunded.

Over the next few weeks, I attempted to share my experience with THS but it was almost as though they did not read my emails. I felt totally ignored, disrespected and betrayed.

I was left shocked and traumatised, in need of emotional support and considering legal action. I did not take legal action mainly because it took a while to get over my experience and because I did not have the financial resources. Three years later, especially in the light of THS continued attitude of zero accountability I have searched on the internet and found that there are many similar cases and, in each case, THS refused to take accountability.

With some perspective, my case boils down to these essential factors-

The homeowner contravened 3 of the codes of conduct set out by THS themselves. While THS maintain that it was me that was in breach of contract because I left the sit early, I refuse to accept this as the clause they are referring to clearly states- a Sitter must not leave a sit earlier than agree unless under exceptional circumstances. Well, if the circumstances I experience are not exceptional I do not know what is. What would it take, an assault or some other crime?

I have felt so disempowered in this situation. I sent a message to the CEO of the company who has also totally ignored me.

If anyone has any suggestions about how to pursue my case legally or in some way expose this travesty, I would like to hear your thoughts. I am also considering creating a support group for people who have, in my opinion, been treated criminally by these people.

If you have read this far, I thank you. I would also like to add that until that point, I had several sits and all of them were excellent with no issues, in fact I only had 5-star ratings on my profile (which I have not been able to access since my account being almost immediately shut down). Financially I lost around £1'200 in this ordeal.

The only apology I received was from the owner's wife whom I never met. She told me that her husband had been under a lot of stress.