Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/14/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I signed up for the service of finding sitters in my area through the site. I paid for the service on, Friday, January 3, 2025. By Tuesday, January 7, 2025 when the charge had just processed and cleared, I attempted to log onto my account to begin actively using it. I had not been able to immediately use the site as starting Friday the 3rd, my family of 5 had contracted a horrible stomach virus which prevented active use until the 7th. On the 7th, I found my account had been cancelled through the SitterCity company without notification and known cause. I have since emailed 3 times to follow up with requesting information and called as well, no explanation has been given to adequately explain why my account was cancelled and why I have not received any type of refund for a payment that was made for use of the website for 3 months. I have requested and am requesting full amount be returned along with an explanation of why my account was cancelled. This is not my first experience with my company as I have used their services on and off for the past 6 or 7 years by now. I am stunned that something like this has happened and why there is such poor/non existent communication has occurred.

  

  Business response

  01/15/2025

  We have removed your Sittercity account from our platform. Because of this, you are not eligible for membership with the site.
   
  There are three reasons an account would be removed from our platform:
   
  -Activity appears similar to common scams
  -Suspected of unacceptable behavior
  -Violation of our Terms of Use

  This is all the information we have regarding removals.

  
  

  Customer response

  01/15/2025

   
  Complaint: 22810041
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The response does not clearly state why the account was closed and no further membership account could be made. 

  My account had not be actively used yet, due to the severity of illness in all our five family members, 3 small children, myself and husband all having the stomach flu. 

  In all three instances possibly given:

  How was it flagged as suspected common spam?

  What was suspected as inappropriate behavior? I merely made my initial job posting, (which I cannot post here to show as I no longer have access to prove my initial post was only requesting a sitter for my 3 children) 

  Or lastly, what terms were possibly violated? Account was not actively used yet as specified in my initial comments.

  I'm conclusion, how could my account be cancelled without a clear indication of why it occurred. I am still requesting a definitive answer as to why it happened, who approved it to be cancelled, they should be able to provide why the cancelation occurred. Lastly, I am still requesting my full refund since a clear reason has yet to be given because as of currently the cancelation is not merited. 

  Sincerely,
  
  ********* *****

  

  Business response

  01/15/2025

  Hi *********,

  Our Trust & Safety Team has done an additional follow-up on your account, and we have reached out to you via your personal email from our Customer Success team.

  Further explanation is in this email, as well as a full refund issued to your account, which you will see post back within 2-4 business days.

  Please let us know if you need anything else. We do apologize for the experience.

  Customer response

  01/17/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********* *****

• Initial Complaint

  10/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I subscribed to sittercity for one year. Paid with a credit card . After using their services and having one person get hired but was trying to extort money from me the night before she was to start. Double the amount agreed upon. I also reached out to numerous others with no responses. I decided that sittersity was a sham with no quality candidates and canceled my membership online. I tried to call but there is no one to talk to . One year later I get charged again ! I have not even signed on to their website nor received any communication from them yet after canceling online I still got charged .

  

  Business response

  10/24/2024

  Hello ******,

  I've reviewed your account in our system and the account registered to your email ************************* is in a closed status due to a chargeback you filed in July of 2024.

  It looks like you upgraded to our annual subscription in June of 2023, and I don't see any communication to our Customer Success team regarding canceling. You have several ways to cancel - you can cancel in your own account settings by 'Downgrading to Basic' - or by reaching out to the team via email, chat, or phone. Our team answers all inquiries within 1 business day. Again, I don't see any attempts to communicate with us.

  The subscription renewal policy is stated twice before you upgrade, as well as in the receipt you receive upon purchase. It also gives you instructions for how to cancel.

  Once you file a chargeback, it is up to the bank to determine whether or not you will receive the funds back to you. Your account has not been billed since June of 2024.

  Please let me know if you have any questions.

• Initial Complaint

  09/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This online computer web based company has completely failed to provide the information and services it claims to provide.This predatory on line company refuses to allow me the stop the monthly regular reoccurring debits from my bank card of 87 plus dollars every month.I have attempted numerous times unsuccessfully to discontinue their services I absolutely desired to stop their monthly debits on my card for over a year unsuccessfully.I strongly desire assistance in stopping this company from automatically taking funds from me every month. If possible I would greatly appreciate a refund of all funds debited for over the past year. Your intervention and assistance is appreciated greatly!

  

  Business response

  09/19/2024

  ***,

  Thanks for reaching out to us.

  You have multiple ways to cancel your subscription. You can cancel your subscription on your own by logging into your account, clicking your Account Settings, and downgrading to Basic. You can also reach out to our Customer Success team who responds to ALL inquiries within 1 business day at *********************************** You can chat with them Monday - Friday to cancel if you didn't have time to write an email, or reach us by phone. I don't se that you attempted to reach out to anyone for assistance to cancel - we honor all cancellations and again respond to all inquiries within 1 business day.

  Furthermore, the subscription renewal process is outlined on the registration page twice before you upgrade, with instructions how to cancel, as well as in the receipt you received upon purchase.

  I've cancelled your account for you and issued a courtesy refund of $87.00 for the last time your subscription renewed successfully on June 18th. You will see this post back within 2 to 4 business days. You will not be billed moving forward and will receive a confirmation email from Sittercity as well.

  Please let me know if you have any questions.

• Initial Complaint

  04/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed up for only ONE month for sittercity. I am a SINGLE MOM and needed their service for only ONE month. However, I have been charged for several months. From September 2023 to April 2024. I received NO email stating I was being charged. They are secretly charging people. This is an absolute scam. Please refund all the months after the first month of signing up as I only signed up for ONE month. Your company lacks serious empathy taking away money from single parents. I have been charged ***** since September 2023 until April 2024. I received a refund for this month after I realized they had been charging me! I canceled my subscription which was bogus because I only signed up for a month. Refund me my money

  

  Business response

  05/17/2024

  Hello *******,

  Thank you for reaching out.

  I do apologize for the experience, however our subscription policy does state it is a monthly subscription that does auto-renew until cancelled. This is stated twice before you upgrade, as well as in the receipt you receive upon purchase. You are able to cancel the renewal at any time in your own account settings, or by reaching out to our Customer Success team who does respond to all emails within 1 business day.

  You did reach out to our Customer Success team on April 20th and received a response back within 2 hours in which we cancelled and refunded the latest renewal charge. It does state we don't issue any refunds, so this refund was an exception to our policy.

  Please let us know if you have any other questions.

  Customer response

  05/20/2024

   
  Complaint: 21602343
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I received no email with receipts from your monthly charges. I havent even logged into my account since last year in September. I only signed up for a month membership. As a SINGLE mom I could only AFFORD one month. Im requesting a refund of everything month I did not log in and use your services. Because again, I only signed up for a month. You are stealing at this point. Everyone seems to have the same complaint. Do you see the problem there? To have so many complaints about secretly taking money out of peoples accounts. Terrible business and I will not be using you again.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  

  Business response

  05/20/2024

  *******,

  You did subscribe to our monthly subscription - this was noted on both pages of the upgrade process highlighted in the attachments from your first complaint. This is also very clearly stated in the receipt you receive upon purchase. We send a receipt confirmation of the subscription purchased, we do not send receipts for every renewal period. We understand this is not ideal, however our subscription and auto-renewal policy are stated very clearly up front in no fine print.

  You did receive a full refund issued on April 20th, which is an exception to our refund policy of no refunds - this is also outlined in the upgrade process as well as in the receipt you received. I have issued 2 additional full refunds of $39 each which you will see post back within 2 to 4 business days.

  Please let us know if you have any other questions

   

• Initial Complaint

  03/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Sittercity has charged us $70 per quarter for 5 years ($1400). Paid for 1 quarter in 2019 and then thought we cancelled. So you know, absolutely no value from the service. They have charging us each quarter and refunded only 3 of 20 charges. Help me get remaining overchsrges.

  

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  Hi *******,

  I apologize for the experience. As both our representatives, **** and ********, have explained, all of our Premium Membership subscription plans automatically renew unless canceled. This auto-renewing policy is stated twice on the sign-up page before you purchase a membership with us, and on the receipt you receive upon purchase. Please see the attached screenshots showing this auto-renew policy.

  We do understand how an auto-renewing subscription can be overlooked. The refunds provided to you were the maximum amount of refunds we can issue, and were above and beyond what we typically provide, as we do have a no refund policy. This policy is also stated twice upfront prior to subscribing.

  Please let us know if you have any further questions.

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21400532
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  ***** is a senior citizen and has been taken advantage of.  I expect there are many other seniors struggling with the same issue with Sitter **************** find a refund somewhere in the middle.  ***** was misled; and ***** should have been more observant.  No additional refund is not acceptable.
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

  

  Business response

  03/12/2024

  Hi *******,

  I understand it is frustrating to learn that ***** has been paying for this membership for some time. However, ***** did agree to both the auto-renewal and refund policy upon purchase of the membership. It is up to our customers to manage their own accounts and subscriptions and ensure that their memberships are canceled prior to renewal.

  We are unable to offer any additional refunds here. I do apologize for any frustration or inconvenience caused.

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21400532
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  ***** is a good representative of a senior citizen trying to leverage the online application. 
  - we moved and she needed a new pet sitter
  - she tried Sitter City and received absolutely no value

  - she thought she cancelled and didnt even know there was such a thing as premium

  - an organization with good **************** would have contacted ***** and asked why there is no activity.  Sitter City cares about making money regardless of customer service

  - the ******************** should investigate how Sitter City is treating senior citizens.

  I expect additional refund.

  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  02/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We signed up to use sitter city in 2020 and ended up cancelling that service a few months later. I noticed that Sitter City was still charging us a monthly fee several months after we had canceled the service. I followed up with them and attempted to cancel the service the again. This time I also filed a complaint with my credit company. The issue stopped for a while.Here we are, February ****, and I am still being charged a monthly fee.What is weird is that we changed our credit card once or twice since we canceled the subscription. Somehow they have managed to get a hold of our new number!

  

  Business response

  02/19/2024

  Hi *****,

  I have searched our records and am not able to find an account registered to *************************** - there are no transactions associated with your name or email address either.

  Our Customer Success team is available and answers all inquiries within 1 business day. You can email *********************************** or chat, or call. I don't see a record of you reaching out under this email address.

  If you could please respond back with your account details (any other name or email associated with your account, or the last 4 digits of your card with the last date of transaction) I can locate the account for you. This is also something our Customer Success team can do and is here for - I would recommend contacting them first about your account or canceling instead of leaving a BBB complaint.

  Please let me know if you have any other questions.

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company is deceptive about their auto-renewal process. It's well documented on the BBB website. NEVER sign up with these folks. I would like to see a class action suit put this company out of business and reimburse their victims.

  

  Business response

  01/26/2024

  Hello *****/******,

  I do apologize for the experience you had. However, we are very up front with our auto-renewal policy.

  We do alert parents twice before upgrading that all subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled. All subscriptions can be cancelled in your own account settings by 'downgrading to Basic' or by reaching out to our Customer Success team via email, phone, or chat. My team answers all emails within 1 business day if not sooner as you can see from your quick response via email this week, and your call was answered as well. Furthermore this is outlined very clearly in the receipt you receive upon purchase - it also tells you when your subscription is set to renew.

  We do not hide how to cancel - this information is also easily accessible in our help center. Our team is extremely responsive if you cannot find where to cancel on your own or if you needed help.

  Furthermore, you filed a chargeback before you contacted us to cancel or ask for any refunds. When a customer files a chargeback first before contacting us, it is then completely up to their bank and out of our hands whether or not they get a refund. We highly prefer and request for customers to reach out to us first. Once a chargeback is filed we cannot issue refunds; this is our chargeback policy.

  Please see attachments for your records. Please let us know if you have any questions.

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In late May 2022, I needed to find a nanny, so I tried using Sittercity. A week later, with my search complete, I moved on. Nearly 2 years later, I was informed by Sittercity that my credit card number was no longer working for their billing purposes. For 19 months, they had auto-renewed my subscription. But had never communicated with me about billing or my subscription. This kind of practice is all too common with online subscription businesses, but it's bad. I would like to ask for support in getting a refund. And I would like to bring awareness to the Better Business Bureau of Sittercity's practice of doing auto-renewals without ongoing communication while also having a no-refund policy. Thank you.

  

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  Hi ******,

  I do apologize for the experience. As our representative ****** explained, all of our Premium Membership subscription plans automatically renew unless canceled. This is stated twice before you upgrade (attached screenshots), as well as in the receipt you receive upon purchase. We understand how an automatically-renewing subscription can be overlooked. We are in compliance with all auto-renewal policy notifications; this is something we are aware of and are actively discussing. The refunds issued by Aeisha are the max ****** of refunds we are able to issue, which is well beyond our no-refund policy, which is also stated prior to upgrading.

  Please let us know if you have any questions.

• Initial Complaint

  12/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Business is practicing dark UX pattern, sending no email of auto-renewal confirmation and monthly payment charges or invoices. As a new mom who was seeking help on the website, had received no reminder of any charges until I checked my bank statement.

  

  Business response

  12/18/2023

  Hi DiFenni,

  I do apologize for the experience.

  We do not participate in dark UX - our subscription policy and our refund policy are stated quite plainly on both pages of our upgrade process. Screenshots of these pages are attached for your records. We are in compliance with all states regarding renewal policies and sending reminders. There are many states that do not require renewal reminders. There are also many companies who do not send invoices or renewal reminders of subscription renewals either. Again, I apologize for the experience, however our terms of use, subscription policy, and refund policy are stated quite plainly prior to renewing. It is also visible in the receipt you received upon purchase.

  You have received a prorated refund plus 2 additional refunds, which will post back to your bank statement within 2 - 4 business days. We have gone and above what we typically provide - as we do have a 'no refund' policy.

  Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

  Customer response

  12/18/2023

   
  Complaint: 21012004
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Difenni ******

• Initial Complaint

  10/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In January 2021, I signed up to work with sittercity to find a nanny for our two daughters. I had signed up for monthly fees so i would have to renew it monthly for $39 because I figured we would not need the application for long. At that time we found a nanny in 1 month via a different application and no longer required sittercity services. Come to find out it was an auto-renewal monthly. I was charged for another month and caught it on my bank statement. I requested a refund for one month and was granted it.In February 2022, we used the sittercity application again to find another nanny. At the time, again, I signed up for only one time monthly subscription so I would have to renew monthly if I wanted to continue services. $39/monthly. As a side note, there was an option for $15/monthly but that was reoccurring and I did not want to get into a subscription. So I did not chose that option. We found a nanny in february, but she did not work out. Again in search of a nanny, we went back to sittercity in May 2022. That same month we found a nanny through a friend and no longer required their services. In September 2023, I received an email from sittercity that said our MasterCard was going to expire and we needed to put a new credit card in to continue services. This is 1 year and 4 months since opening the sittercity application. At the time I also found out the application stopped working and was no longer in use. At that time they had charged us $741 which is $39/month for a subscription I never asked for. Given there was an option for a subscription for $15/month, I emailed them requesting a refund for $24/month for the past 1 year and 7 months, which is $418. They refused. I got no notification of the charges. When I asked them about this they stated they did not HAVE to let us know when they were charging us. This is UNETHICAL and according to ** law and MasterCards provisions they DO have to let us know! I am now requesting the full $741 be refunded.

  

  Business response

  10/30/2023

  Hi there,

  I do apologize for the frustration, however our auto-renewal policy is stated quite clearly twice before you register, as well as in the receipt you receive upon purchase.

  I see you did write into our team in January of 2021 to cancel your subscription - Aeisha cancelled your subscription and issued a refund, and also explained all memberships renew until cancelled. I will attach a screenshot of that email for your records.

  As stated, all of our memberships auto-renew until cancelled. On the registration page, you can select between a monthly, quarterly, or annual membership, and the price is broken down by monthly costs. We do not send email reminders or invoices, however as a business this is something we are in active discussions about. We are in compliance with all state laws regarding renewal reminders.

  We don't issue refunds for time not used on the site; we operate similar to ******* or a gym membership - if you aren't using the service then you can cancel, but if you don't, it will continue to renew. You did also use the site in May of this year to post a job and message caregivers, so you did use your subscription at that time.

  At this time we will be sticking to our no refund policy. Please let us know if you have any questions.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩