ComplaintsforA Place For Rover Inc

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I cancelled 2 rover bookings over 3 weeks ago and it was 8 days before the rover booking was to happen. I have called twice because I have not received either refund and I have not been issued a refund. Terrible to do business with. They are quick to take your money but don't refund your money even following their cancellation guidelines.

  

  Business response

  08/15/2022

  Hi ******,
  
  Feedback from users like you is an important part of maintaining a quality experience and we appreciate you taking the time to share this insight. 
  
  We have reviewed the house sitting originally booked for 08/05/22 with ******** and the house sitting originally booked for 08/06/22 with ********. A cancellation was processed for both of the house sittings on 08/01/22. A refund for $44.40 and $38.85 was processed. Both refunds were to be returned to your original payment method ending in **** within 10 days. Attached is a copy of the receipts for each refund. If you have not received these refunds, we would recommend contacting your bank for further assistance. ARN for the $44.40 refund is 74492152213637208985813. ARN for the $38.85 refund is ***********************  
  
  If further clarification is needed please don't hesitate to reach out, our Customer Support team is available 24/7 at ************.
  
  All the best, 

• Initial Complaint

  08/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We (*************** and ***************) were in need of a pet sitter from 07/31 to 08/03/22. We found *********************** on Rover.com and confirmed her availability. We made the appointment to drop **** off at 8pm on July 31. After the dropoff, around an hour and half later, we received a phone call from ****** that **** ran off. We then drove back to ******** neighborhood which is about 6 miles away, and searched the area until 3am of Aug 1st. We didn't see ****** that night at all, and not sure where she was. The second morning, *** and I took the day off and drove back to ******** neighborhood, speaking to the neighbors, handing out the posters around the entire neighborhood. Many neighbors shared with us how irresponsible ****** is and we should not leave our dog to her. Wish we knew that earlier. Around 12:30pm, we went back to ******** place, and she told us she got a phone call from Westchester vet clinic that someone dropped ****'s body to their clinic. We then immediately drove to the clinic and around 1pm, we confirmed ****'s death due to being hit by a car. My entire family is devastated. My younger boy was hit the most and was sent to the emergency room on the evening of Aug 2nd for the pain caused by the emotional distress. I hope this gives you some high level overview of what happened. I firmly believe this incident demonstrates the gap of the Rover system. Someone like ****** might not be qualified as a pet sitter who lacks the basic accountability based on what we witnessed through this case. In terms of compensation, this is not an exhaustive list. 1. Searching cost. a. My lost pet Alert: $99 b. LostmyDoggie.com: $26.90 c. Homeagain chip tracking cost: $19.99 d. Tape for poster: $29.54 2. ****'s adoption cost $495 - original adoption link.https://www.adoptapet.com/pet/32622458-************-**********-shih-tzu 3. **** spent 5 hours off the work on Monday from 8am-1pm searching for ****. ****'s hourly pay is $141. Total $705 4. New dog cost $2000

  

  Business response

  08/06/2022

  *************** & Family,
  
  Rover was devastated when we heard of ****** passing. As a pet parent myself, I can only imagine how stressful and painful this loss must have been for your family.
  
  At Rover, safety is a priority and I want you to know that our team assisted from the moment we heard the **** of **** being missing - including creating flyers, a reward for ****** return, updating and monitoring social and search pages available to list **** on, enlisting in additional help from local sitters in the area and maintaining constant contact with all parties to assist however possible.
  
  That being said, we are always looking for ways to improve and feedback is not only appreciated, but passed on to the correct team to see how we might be able to build from this feedback. Additionally, all cases are holistically reviewed so that any potential situation where safety might be a concern can be addressed not only on the individual case, but on our Platform as a whole if applicable.
  
  I was able to look into your case, and it appears that your assigned agent has sent you an email on 8.4.22 requesting further information so that we may help you during this process. Please reach out to your assigned agent via the email exchange you have previously responded to, or give our 24/7 Support Team a call at **************.
  
  Again, I want to share my condolences to you and your family.

  Customer response

  08/06/2022

   
  Complaint: 17680050
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Rovers response was rejecting our request and ignoring our painful loss. Our family is no longer normal, and my 9 yr old boy has been living in tears. The pain we are suffering now is all due to the negligence of this Rover sitter, and security loophole River has. A simple standard format response is useless. I request Rover to consider my request. This is the last chance before I am seeking legal and public media channels.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************

• Initial Complaint

  08/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We used rover to care for our dog while we went on vacation. We have an old bulmastiff that is scared of her own shadow. She has never barked or growled at any animal or person In her entire life. We left her at a new rover house because our normal girl and he sister (The two we use on rover) were both out of town with their kids. Dahlia (our dog) was at the persons house for 2 nights. They sent pictures of her playing with the baby. On the 3rd night at 2am we started receiving notes that our dog was being aggressive. She has never showed any aggression in her life.. The only way I could see her doing this is if she was abused and hit. We have never hit her. Who has an issue and what in gods name was going on at 2am? At 8am when we woke up the person caring got our dog told us they’d locked her in the bathroom and would not her out. Rover should have already helped as it was now 6 hours later. We are in a different state and were asked to get our dog. We were scared for our dogs life which we value as much as a persons. The rover care person said the dog had to immediately go. We didn’t want the dog to be abused anymore. She then took the dog to our house 45 minutes away. If the dog was aggressive how did they get her in a car and drive 45 minutes with no issues. It doesn’t make sense! None of this is the issue. The issue is our dog was left at our house with no food or water, we don’t get home for 2 more days. I have called rover at least 8 times for help and no one had done anything. There’s a 24-48 hour response protocol. This is an emergency situation and if this is a true Animal lovers company they would understand and help. They should be ashamed. We’ve called the police now and they are going to take the dog to the humane society. We now have to leave our vacation early and go get the dog.

  

  Business response

  08/04/2022

  Hello ********,
  
  We appreciate you sharing your concerns and understand that a member of our leadership team has, since, spoken with you at length regarding your booking and the issues that arose.  If you need additional assistance or have further questions, our team remains available at 888-727-1140.  

  Customer response

  08/04/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  we have not gone through the entire discovery phase as of yet. We are out of town and our dog had been taken to the humane society. We need additional details in order to respond clearly here. 
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****

  Customer response

  08/10/2022

  At this point we just want the person who had our dog to be thoroughly looked into and banned so they can not abuse another animal.  I get it that some people need money and want to watch dogs (even if they don't have one).  But this person believes a dog is an animal and should be treated as one.  She told us that.  As far as Rover is concerned, the process was horrible when our dog got left at our house with no food or water.  There was a 24-48 time to get called back.  We were out of the state on vacation.  They should have taken care of it for us.  Hopefully they can think of something better so something like this does not happen to someone else.  Rover is a great service and we have had amazing sitters for our dog.  This just was a very horrible situation that did not go very well.

• Initial Complaint

  07/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Without warning or explanation, Rover cancelled my booking with a top-rated dog sitter who had overwhelmingly positive reviews, dozens of repeat clients, and had been on the site for a couple of years. The sitter I had booked with messaged me through the website that Rover had cancelled 40 of their bookings and was removing their profile from the platform because the sitter was refusing to increase their rate. I was able to find a toll-free customer service number and spoke to a representative. The representative confirmed that Rover had canceled and refunded my booking because the sitter's profile was being removed from the platform. When I asked why the sitter's profile was being removed, he said that he couldn't say why. I then asked for a supervisor to file a formal complaint. I was put on hold and the rep came back on the line and told me that all the managers/supervisors are busy at the moment. The rep took down my contact number and assured me that a supervisor would get back to me. The lack of transparency is very concerning. On the one hand, if what the sitter told me is true, then this company is engaging in price gouging. There are sitters on the site that have less or similar experience and/or fewer positive reviews/repeat clients than the one I had booked with and their rates are double or triple. Many of the daily rates are even higher than those of professional/accredited kennels. On the other hand, not informing the client as to why a sitter's profile is being removed can be potentially harmful for a client's pet if the client wants to reach out to the sitter privately and arrange boarding. What if the company had actually received information that a sitter did engage in animal cruelty/neglect or other negative behaviours (and the sitter's profile was removed before that information came to light on the site). The company's practices, including communication to clients, merits investigation.

  

  Business response

  07/31/2022

  Hello Joy, we appreciate you sharing your feedback and are sorry to hear this has been your experience.  We do see that a supervisor is slated to contact you to discuss further, and that a full refund has been provided for your booking, however, due to our privacy policy we are unable to disclose information regarding another user's account - just as we would honor for your own account and personal information.  We believe in transparency and apologize you disagree with this practice, however, our decision to remove a user's account from our platform is never taken lightly and is made with diligence and thorough review of all booking history, communication with clients as well as our Support Team, and any previous incidents (if any).  Furthermore, all care providers listing their services have sole and full control of their pricing and Rover does not require or request any specific changes be made to a care provider's pricing quotes.  We apologize again for this experience and assure you any decision made are in the best interest of yourself as the client and general safety and professionalism of the Rover Community as a whole.  

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have a few complaints about this company a place for Rover. My biggest complaint is I was boarding an aggressive dog (didnt know he was aggressive) that severely injured my dog and killed my cat. I called Rover saying I need a backup sitter to take this dog. I was trying to avoid calling animal control. They left me workout any answers for 13 hours! I called them many times in between those hours. Then they finally found a sitter who was located in New York 3 hour away. So at that point I left my dog with a friend and just touged it out. I am still having nightmares about this situation and walking in to my dog with a compound fracture and my cats blood and organs all over my bedroom floor. Rover has since shut down my business profile because of false accusations made from a Client (unrelated) I am fighting yo get my profile back as I was the top rated and booked sitter in my town and the surrounding areas . I wanted to get some help on both hopefully. But mainly just justice for my cat whos life was cut short! The employee who decided to shut down my account also lied multiple times saying there was reported incidents when I didnt even have a Rover profile I had one incident where a dog destroyed my bathroom and the owner who told me to put him in the bathroom decided to make it my fault when I have many screenshots of our conversations of her telling me to put him in there ?? I am hoping you would be able to help me resolve these issues if its at all possible all the best ****

  

  Business response

  07/20/2022

  Rover was devastated when we heard of your pet's passing and another's injuries. As a pet parent myself, I can only imagine how painful this loss must have been. We had tried to reach out to you multiple times to be of assistance, but never received a response via email or phone.

  Your experience highlights a critical part of the Rover experience- you must list all pets a boarding pet may have access to. As some pets do not do well with small dogs or cats, or intact males, or other preferences, an owner will not know if you have pets their own pet may not interact with well if they are not listed.

  While we do our best to support sitters w

  ho need a transfer of care, the time it takes to find another sitter varies. Like you, every sitter picks their own jobs and stays that they choose to take on. We cannot guarantee a pet can be removed from your care on short notice.After reviewing your record and all phone calls regarding your previous cases and interactions, it was determined that multiple complaints had been attributed to this decision. The decision to remove a sitter's listing from our site is never taken lightly.

   Should you have additional questions about your account please feel free to give us a call at ************.

  Customer response

  07/24/2022

   
  Complaint: 17592698
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Whoeever I talked too lied said I had many complaints on my profile when I didnt. Changed his story a few times and when I called him out and said I didnt have a profile on one of the months he claimed I had an incident report he rudely said I dont have to tell you anything bad buisness, rude slow employees and the company is very flawed as a whole. You want to ban me thats one thing not a good buisness should never lie to justify my termination. With that being said I wont be accepting this lackluster apology. Ever think to check into how good of a job your department is going with these investigations!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  07/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Employee **************** has been harassing me for over a month and froze my account. Please end his harassment now. I've called and emailed many times but nobody will listen.I called and ASKED if I needed to file any report about a dog that got scratched while in my care. **************** said no, unless the dog needed veterinary care. The dog was fine. The owner said the dog was fine. I responded to his multiple harassing emails that there was no need to file a formal report because the dog was not injured and there was no issue. ****** subsequently froze my account and profile without any notification.

  

  Business response

  07/15/2022

  At Rover, safety is our priority. That's why whenever a pet is reported injured, we conduct a full holistic review of the incident, both parties, and any vet documentation. While I understand a vet visit was not warranted, an animal was injured in your care thus triggering the review process. This is a standard process that occurs regardless of who has reported it.
  
  After your initial phone call with agent ******, the case was then assigned to agent **************** He first sent you a request for the required statement on 6.2.22. At which point, you state you will not comply with the statement. As this is part of our holistic review process, we cannot move forward and the events led to an impasse. As per Rover's standard procedures, your account was paused for two weeks (we have sent an email detailing this process on 6.13.22) and later deactivated after lack of compliance.
  
  I do see that you have now opted to give a comment on the events that happened and the agent assigned to your case will get back to you regarding your statement as soon as possible.
  
  Additionally, I would touch on Rover's Terms of Service section 4.2 Suspension and Termination; "(1) if in our discretion your conduct on the Site or Rover Service is inappropriate, unsafe, dishonest, or in breach of these terms; or (2) if necessary in our discretion to protect Rover, its users, pets, or the public. You may suspend or terminate your use of the Rover Service at any time and for any reason. If you wish to deactivate your account, please contact Rover. Note that if you have any outstanding payment obligations, those will survive suspension or termination of your account." At any time, Rover may suspend or terminate accounts on the Rover platform. I see that this has been conveyed via email in response to the level of professionalism in the emails received from you. Please note that we value professional communication and expect it from all service providers advertising their services on the Rover platform.
  
   
  If you have further questions or require assistance regarding this case, please respond to the email that your assigned agent has sent you.

• Initial Complaint

  07/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I use rover for a part time job. I had a job boarding a dog named Lady. Her owner, ******* paid for my service AND my service fee. I have a screenshot that shows. My pay was *****. However, Rover still took out my service fee (16.40$) leaving me with *****. I contacted ******* to let her know. I tried resolving the issue with Rover but they refuse to help. They are claiming ******* did not pay for mine even though it shows she did. They also claim my other jobs said and did that too. However, on any job I have had, nowhere does it show nor has anyone else paid for MY fee. I would not be wasting my time and energy if it had. This makes me think they do this to a lot of people. There is no way to contact corporate or leave a negative review for their website. I am looking to get my full earnings for my job that I completed and earned.

  

  Business response

  07/12/2022

  I want to say that I'm so sorry for any confusion surrounding the way that this is worded. Any time a booking is paid for and completed, you will get a little message, which you can also see by navigating to the Past Stays section of your inbox, and selecting these stays. 
   
  I'd also like to add, that per the Terms of Service, sections 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3, you have agreed to pay a 20% service fee for use of the platform to include the Rover Guarantee, 24/7 support, and extra support in the case of emergencies with the pet that is in your care. You can find this information in our Terms of Service.
   
  When the Owner pays for the stay, take for example the stay with ******* for Lady. When they request those dates, the system will automatically apply one of your rates, depending on several factors. For this stay, it applied the rate of $27 per service. In this case, it was three services for this request. This was a grand total $81. Then the Owner fees are calculated and added on top of that flat rate, to include taxes. Then the Sitter fees come out of the flat rate of $81. This is separate from the Sitter fees, and Owners actually have no way in which to be able to pay the sitter's fees, as the system will always automatically deduct that 20% from each booking. This applies to all users of the Rover platform.
  
  We hope this helps explain further but if you have any questions please give our 24/7 Support Team a call at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  07/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was charge 3 times on 6/27 . ******, ****** and *****. I only received a refund for *****. ****** is still outstanding. Please provide proof in writing that every refund took place. I filed a dispute with my bank because of this. I shouldve only been charged ***** for a booking for June 27th. Please refund my money!

  

  Business response

  07/10/2022

  Hi ******, 
   
  Our team received your feedback and were sorry about any difficulties. Feedback from users like you is an important part of maintaining a quality experience and we appreciate you taking the time to share this insight.
   
  We have reviewed 3 doggy daycare services booked and the refunds processed. The refund received for $55.50 was for the recurring doggy daycare booked and was modified to be shortened from 06/27/22 - 07/03/22 to 06/27/22 - 06/29/22. This changed the total booking cost from $130.50 to $83.25 and charges included your sitter's standard doggy daycare rate of $25 as well as Rover fees. Two refunds were processed on 06/27/22 for the duplicate bookings for $83.25 & $138.75. Attached are the receipts confirming the refunds were processed.
   
  We hope this provides peace of mind the refunds were processed as requested and will be returning to the payment method on file. If you have additional questions the 24/7 Rover Support team remains available at ************. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  - We are independent contractors using Rover as a matchmaking service with clients, and pay a hefty 20% commission for them act as a middle-man. We set our own cancellation policies - mine is 50% refund if cancelled with less than a week until the booked service.- I was contacted for a last minute booking that was 1 and a half days total - this is calculated and applied automatically by Rover based on start and end times.- I also conducted a last-minute meeting with the client and she agreed to a small additional fee of $30.- The client cancelled the booking with less than 24 hours until the start time due to extenuating circumstances. I informed her of the refund policy and she accepted to 50% refund.- This potentially puts me out of the additional fee being 50% refunded too, but I accepted that. The stay was $180 and I expected $90 (commission not taken into account).- However, the owner was refunded $130, leaving me with $50. They did not honor the cancellation policy that was set.- I explained the situation to Rover twice but they refuse to honor their own policy nor the people working to bring them money.- They explained to me that a stay for 1 day, or 2 days etc. is honored correctly, but a stay for 1.5 days is disregarded. I was out of a booking for the whole weekend as a result. This was not written in any of their policies, nor does it make sense - it was made up on the spot.- Acceptable resolution: I require $32 ($40 minus Rover's 20% commission for no reason) refunded to me.- Ideal resolution: Since partial services were rendered ($30 last-minute meeting fee), this should be granted in full while the rest of the booking fee ($150) 50% refunded, meaning $30 + $75 = $105. Minus the $50 already refunded, $55 minus commission = $44.- I am willing to accept a flat 50% to uncomplicate things - that is me being generous and taking a slight loss.

  

  Business response

  07/03/2022

  Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your review. Feedback from sitters like you is an important part of maintaining a quality experience and we really appreciate you sharing this information. 
   
  We have reviewed your clients booking from 06/24/22-06/25/22 and the cancellation request. The charges included for the booking were your daily house sitting rate of $100, a $30 add-on for a last minute meeting/booking, and $50 for extend care. Extended care rates are automatically added when the end time is over 2 hours to 8 hours later than the start time of the first day of service.
  
  When the booking was canceled your cancellation policy was applied to the daily house sitting rate. An extended care rate was no longer applicable to the booking since there was no longer a start or finish time. Additional charges like add-ons or extended care are fully returned to the owner. If you have additional questions our 24/7 Rover Support team remains available at ************. 

  Customer response

  07/03/2022

   
  Complaint: 17517659
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Extended rates is not "extra care", it's time-based. Since the booking was supposed to start Saturday morning and end Sunday evening, that is effectively two whole days i.e. the whole weekend i.e. no other jobs. It is the same as saying "We will honor the cancellation policy for 2 days, but not for 2.5 days or 1.5 days." A cancellation policy is 50% flat. All these other reasons for one way or the other is just random, made up on the spot to cover your decision.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  07/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife and I made a reservation for Rover dog sitting service for our trip. We dropped our dog Luffy off around 4:30 pm June 30th, 2022, then headed to the airport. When we landed we received a text a random stranger said theyve found our dog. We just moved to ****** ** and barely know anyone nor family in town. My wife is pregnant and was very upset with the situation. We made multiple attempts to reach out to the sitter but no response. Our small dog is a well trained and dont be outside in hot ** weather. He dont even like to go outside unless he needed to go for bathroom. We dont know how it would be possible for a sitter to lost our pet and let them roaming around at 10pm at night. And this happened at their own house. Rover had the need to contact my wife and asked if the dog like to escape, maybe before the ask, they maybe do their diligence to contact the sitter first to find out what happened. My dog is small 15 lbs dog, it will not even able to open the door or even fit through a fence if that was the case. Rover should understand that dogs are like babies to a lot of people hence why we are hiring Rover to watch our pets, and Rover would lost our pets. Imagine you could lost your own dog or babies just because the sitter working for Rover just simply said I dont know what happened. Rover needs to reach out and resolves this before we seeks legal action.

  

  Business response

  07/03/2022

  Thank you for contacting us about this, we do take these matters very seriously and were sorry to hear this was your experience. Were currently looking into this as we do have an active investigation on the matter and will be taking appropriate steps to address this situation. In the meantime, I recommend reaching out to your assigned Trust and Safety Agent at ************ if you have any more information for us or would like an update on where we are in our investigation. As pet parents ourselves, we care deeply about the pets and users on our platform, and the safety and wellbeing of our community members are a top priority.

*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. ↩