What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? texas
Hello,
Recently I hired a pet sitter to come to my home while we were away. I was in a hurry and did not ask for references and we did not have a written contract. We agreed she would come by to feed the dogs, let them out to potty and play with them twice a day for 3 days, When we returned I let the dogs out and the little one immediately ran around to the front yard through the new hole in my gate. There is now a large hole (3' long x 18" wide x 10" deep) under my gate and the gate boards themselves are broken off 6" up from the bottom. There were a few empty plastic buckets in the hole on the backyard side and in the front a large, heavy (50lbs) cast iron cooking pot - think witches cauldron - propped against the gate. There are large gaps on either side of the pot with an ornamental concrete sculpture stuffed under one side and my battery powered weedwhacker (which was also damaged by being left out in the rain) stuffed under the other. There is still plenty of room for a small dog to escape, as she did when I let her out. This is a big hole that took time to dig and could not have been done during a few potty breaks. I believe she simply left the dogs out while she went to tend to other clients then came back later to let them in.
Suzy the sitter has refused to provide any explanation for the damage except "I filled in the hole" and "the dogs never got loose". My dog escaped quickly enough however and had to be chased down the street. Also in her email was a threat that if I didn't pay her within 10 days she would file theft of services charges against me.
I was looking around the net before I found this forum and noticed on another sitters site, stated plainly, that they would not be held responsible for damages unless caused by gross negligence. Repairs will cost me a Saturday and $100, which is the amount I owe her, so a few letters is about all the effort I want to spend to satisfy my aggravation.
OK, sorry for the long post - here are the questions.
1 - Is the sitter grossly negligent and is she responsible for the damages?
2 - What can I do, on my own, to encourage her pay? Or at least scare her enough to ruin her day.
3 - Do I have to pay her?
Thanks
Hello,
Recently I hired a pet sitter to come to my home while we were away. I was in a hurry and did not ask for references and we did not have a written contract. We agreed she would come by to feed the dogs, let them out to potty and play with them twice a day for 3 days, When we returned I let the dogs out and the little one immediately ran around to the front yard through the new hole in my gate. There is now a large hole (3' long x 18" wide x 10" deep) under my gate and the gate boards themselves are broken off 6" up from the bottom. There were a few empty plastic buckets in the hole on the backyard side and in the front a large, heavy (50lbs) cast iron cooking pot - think witches cauldron - propped against the gate. There are large gaps on either side of the pot with an ornamental concrete sculpture stuffed under one side and my battery powered weedwhacker (which was also damaged by being left out in the rain) stuffed under the other. There is still plenty of room for a small dog to escape, as she did when I let her out. This is a big hole that took time to dig and could not have been done during a few potty breaks. I believe she simply left the dogs out while she went to tend to other clients then came back later to let them in.
Suzy the sitter has refused to provide any explanation for the damage except "I filled in the hole" and "the dogs never got loose". My dog escaped quickly enough however and had to be chased down the street. Also in her email was a threat that if I didn't pay her within 10 days she would file theft of services charges against me.
I was looking around the net before I found this forum and noticed on another sitters site, stated plainly, that they would not be held responsible for damages unless caused by gross negligence. Repairs will cost me a Saturday and $100, which is the amount I owe her, so a few letters is about all the effort I want to spend to satisfy my aggravation.
OK, sorry for the long post - here are the questions.
1 - Is the sitter grossly negligent and is she responsible for the damages?
2 - What can I do, on my own, to encourage her pay? Or at least scare her enough to ruin her day.
3 - Do I have to pay her?
Thanks