Happy House Sitters

4.4
based on 89 reviews

  • Melbourne, VIC 3000
    We service ALL Australia
  • Visit our website
  • Opening Hours (Friday: 8am - 8pm)
  • Payment methods
    Visa, Master Card, PayPal
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89 reviews about Happy House Sitters

23 Jul 2018

We have only used Happy House sitters once but will certainly use in the future and would recommend to anyone.

Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know. We really appreciate it.

verified email - 29 Apr 2018

I have been a member of Happy House Sitters for twelve months or more and can highly recommend them to anyone looking for a quality well-run, easy to use site for either sitters or home owners. After two years of FT house sitting I am on my final and longest sit but will be back in future if I take up the lifestyle again.

HI Lissa
Thank you for your lovely comments

The HHS team

verified email - 26 Jan 2018

I've been housesitting for the past two years and my favourite sits have been through Happy Housesitters. The website enables easy result sorting as well as smooth communication with home owners and site administrators. I also like getting relevant emails every morning, which alert me to housesits in areas I'd love to visit. Thanks for being such a friendly, well organised and positive organisation. You're providing a fabulous service for house sitters and home owners alike. :-)

Thanks for your lovely feedback. We really appreciate it.

verified email - 17 Jan 2018

Am writing to thank you for your well organised site. Also your availability to solve even the smallest problems is appreciated. It feels like the personal touch is there, in a genuine way.
So thanks for looking after us.
Much appreciated.
Britt and Monash (sitters)

Approximate cost: $65

Thanks for the lovely feedback

31 Dec 2017

We had never had a house sitter before and were pleasantly surprised by such a caring, responsible sitter while we spent time with my family overseas for Christmas. On our return we found happy dogs and a clean, tidy house. Very impressed!

Happy to hear that! And thank you so much for taking the time to write to us.

verified email - 15 Oct 2017

Folks Just a quick note for feedback to say - congratulations on such a clean and easy to use website. Looking very good! I look forward to connecting with more happy hosts through your great service! Regards, Lisa

Thanks. We appreciate your feedback

verified email - 15 Oct 2017

Many thanks for a delightful experience. We have bought a home in Bega,and no longer on the road. Your service was superb.

verified email - 15 Oct 2017

This is an extraordinary site.
Can't believe how easy it was and also how quickly I found a sitter...less than 24 hours. Five requests!

Thanks for your kind words

verified email - 12 Oct 2017

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 (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. I'm 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 I've 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 don't 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.

Approximate cost: $69

Happy House Sitters can not guarantee you will be selected for a house sit. We are sorry you were not selected. Once you had filed a letter to PayPal we did suspend your account as we assumed you no longer wanted the account. We wish you well in future endeavours to find a house sit.

verified email - 05 Aug 2017

Your yearly fee is too much in comparison to other sites which are better than this one. I won't be renewing for this reason.

We are sorry to hear that. In terms of our price point we sit sometime the middle, but are by no means the most expensive.

We are $65 for 12 months. That's 0.17c per day.

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