Dog Walker not turning up

d_i_2014

Hello everyone,

I have just joined this forum in the hope of getting some advice on a tricky situation I am in. Unfortunately it is quite complicated and long winded but I will try my best to summarise it as concisely as possible.

I own two dogs and roughly 10 weeks ago I hired a dog walker to walk them Mon - Fri every day for an hour. I met her beforehand and she met the dogs and all seemed ok. Website is very professional and woman offers dog boarding, dog training, dog walking and more and owns 8 dogs of her own which she trains and competes. Overall, generally portrays a respectable and reliable image.

After a few weeks I was returning home to find the dogs leads and harnesses untouched, home completely untouched, dogs absolutely full of energy when I came home - these were just a few of the signs - but I passed it off as nothing and gave the benefit of the doubt. Communication from the dog walker was extremely poor in addition which raised alarm bells in itself. Anyway three weeks ago I was delayed by 3 hours when returning home from work and one of my dogs had soiled his crate which he has never done in the whole 1.5 years I have owned him (even when he was younger).

I became very suspicious and therefore the next two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) my boyfriend stayed home from work to see whether she was coming. As we expected she did not turn up. I text her confronting her only regarding one of the days to try and catch her out, and she replied saying that on the Wednesday she was held up at an appointment and had text me to tell me but only just realised it may not have sent and apologised profusely.

This was the point I told her that I knew she had not come the previous day and it was highly likely she had not been turning up some days previously as well. I told her I no longer wished to use her services and that I would like my money refunded (I paid in advance at the beginning of the money and also had 4 'dog boarding' days in credit) and keys returned. I heard no response from her but that day she returned the keys without seeing to the dogs (my boyfriend stayed home from work to talk to her) and she scarpered. I have not heard from her since.

I have sent two follow up texts, breaking down the costs owed to me (the three days she did not turn up, the dog walking for the remainder of the month, and the 4 days dog boarding credit). I then sent a follow up email last week quoting my text (just incase she 'didn't receive it') and gave her a deadline to pay or I would be pursuing this further and taking the required action to receive my money. I am still yet to hear any kind of response, admission of guilty, or excuse.

What I am wondering now is what is the next best course of action? Should I take her to the small claims court? Or should I see a solicitor? I am just wary of solicitor fees and it wouldn't take many solicitor hours to exceed the amount owed to me.

I apologise if my posts sounds confusing, please ask if anything needs clarified.

Anyone else who is a dog owner will realise this is not only about the money but it is largely the principle. As far as I am aware it is an act of animal cruelty (I would never intentionally leave my dogs alone for more than 5 hours at a time) and is even more concerning given the fact this person is supposed to be a 'dog lover'. I will of course be reporting the situation to the RSPCA and trading standards but I was waiting until I received a response or some kind of excuse (which doesn't look like its going to happen now). It is horrible to think she may be out there doing this to other dogs, or may do so again in the future.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I should add that I have invoices that state breakdown of costs and agreement in a text of the credit of my 4 cancelled dog boarding days.

DCFC79

Why not try a LBA- Letter Before Action stating you want a refund and give her so long to refund you and if not then small claims court.

hollydays

Did you actually check for example if she has a licence for boarding dogs( I'm sure you'd need one ) and whether she belongs to any professional bodies.

d_i_2014

DCFC79 wrote: »

Why not try a LBA- Letter Before Action stating you want a refund and give her so long to refund you and if not then small claims court.

Thanks for the advice, I have just looked into this and it seems like this is the way to go - it will also give me a period of time to research what exactly is involved in submitting the paperwork and preparing, if it goes that far.

hollydays wrote: »

Did you actually check for example if she has a licence for boarding dogs( I'm sure you'd need one ) and whether she belongs to any professional bodies.

She is fully insured and has a full police check to verify no criminal background (how ironic) and is a certified dog trainer i think. I am unsure about the dog boarding license as I had only ever originally planned to use her for dog walks. I signed a lot of paperwork initially regarding vets and the dogs themselves so was all very professional.

pmduk

I strongly suspect that the LBA will do the trick, the effect of a court case could be very damaging to her business.

hollydays

d_i_2014 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, I have just looked into this and it seems like this is the way to go - it will also give me a period of time to research what exactly is involved in submitting the paperwork and preparing, if it goes that far.



She is fully insured and has a full police check to verify no criminal background (how ironic) and is a certified dog trainer i think. I am unsure about the dog boarding license as I had only ever originally planned to use her for dog walks. I signed a lot of paperwork initially regarding vets and the dogs themselves so was all very professional.

I suppose the point I was making was-it's irrelevant whether or not you were going to use the boarding, but I'd thoroughly check out every aspect of a person that was going to have care of my dog.

And just because someone "talks the talk" doesn't make them reputable.

It's quite worrying that a person capable of such deceitful behaviour has access to anyone's home too.

d_i_2014

hollydays wrote: »

I suppose the point I was making was-it's irrelevant whether or not you were going to use the boarding, but I'd thoroughly check out every aspect of a person that was going to have care of my dog.

And just because someone "talks the talk" doesn't make them reputable.

It's quite worrying that a person capable of such deceitful behaviour has access to anyone's home too.

Yes in hindsight I may have been a bit slack. I do know that you don't need qualifications and certifications as such to be a dog walker so it hadn't actually crossed my mind. My vetting process consisted really only of meeting her and assessing her manner with the dogs, and studying her website. I guess I was falsely reassured by the fact she owns 8 dogs and working with dogs is her passion, apparently, combined with the fact all the insurance and paperwork was in place etc. It really does go to show you can never be too careful.

1DayAAT

This is awful. I don't really have any advice other than to write a formal sounding letter to her requesting the monies back along with the mention that you will pursue legal redress if not responded to by a certain date.

We have used a petsitter/dogwalker extensively since 2008 and have been blessed that it is someone wonderfully trustworthy and honest to a fault. We have since recommended him to several of our friends and he has impressed them all too. I guess it boils down to 'luck' in situations like this a lot of the time but I am really sorry you and your dogs had this bad luck with her - disgraceful person.