Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay my colleagues £500 for looking after their house and cats?

DietIrnBru

The couple sound like a pair of weirdos. If they wanted rent - they should have said before - and you should have insisted on them putting their mangey cats and dogs into storage.

HillStreetBlues

The best decider would be the cats, did they feel well looked after?
If they have complained then yes you should pay as clearly not doing  your job
But if they gave you a glowing reference than no you shouldn't pay.

Saltboi

Is this a joke? They clearly know putting the cats in a cattery would cost them thousands so its you who should be - at the very least - have been given a really good gift for saving them a fortune and not increasing their home insurance for being away so long.

Fliberdygibbet

If they had wanted you to pay, they should have asked and agreed this with you. They are trying to bully you. Simply say that you had assumed it was a non commercial transaction but if they now wish to retrospectively change that, your bill for watching the cats is £x. Find out how much it would have cost them to have a professional sitter and that will be the amount. 

Otherwise, if they don’t agree that it should be a commercial arrangement, you can let things be as they are but if they ever need a cat sitter in the future, you are £x per day. 

That should put their gas at a peep! 

mimgable

No way!

They’d be off my friends list for asking….really is taking the p. 

Everyone I know gives a gift or bit of dosh to the sitter as a thank you! 

So what if you saved a few bob on travel-you’re doing them a huge favour. If anything happened eg cat got sick, house broken into, water leak happened they’d expect you to sort it, so fair do. Yes they’d have had to pay extra insurance as 30 standard. Plus kennel fees. +same would apply if they asked for bill money. They’d have had nightmare if a leak happened or burst pipe, or electric fault happened etc etc. they’re darned lucky to find someone to do that for that length of time in the first place! (+would you have even saved £500 on travel-sounds doubtful). They could have rented it out for three months if they wanted income, (costs involved so usually not worth it for that time) or paid a sitting service with high costs. Yeah they’re on the make+trying to make money from you. Tell them no!

shazzamma

So...how was it resolved?!! 

mum_of_joey

I have had to pay at the MINIMUM (depending on the cattery) for 2 cats sharing, £18 per DAY at a proper cattery, which adds up to £126 per week, £567 per calendar month.  So, for the 3 months that you mention, that means about £1700 for their boarding alone if they went to a cattery.  To expect you to pay THEM for the responsibility of looking after the cats is them taking the mickey.  Presumably they would leave all the food for them, and you might want to buy your own food (for yourself) so that they wouldn't make a ridiculous charge for that. 

Should one of them fall ill, you should make it clear that any vets' bills will be their responsibility, and they should leave details of any insurance that they have so that it can be claimed back.  Some insurance companies deal direct with the vet, but my one doesn't, so you don't want to be out of pocket for paying for that up front and feeling nervous about asking them for it on their return.  If one or both are 'senior' cats (10 or 11+) there is normally a co-payment of 20%, so you don't get that back at all.

You could end up way out of pocket with this.  Is it really going to be HUGE saving on your commuting?  They seem to be looking for cheap labour for huge responsibility.  I would honestly suggest that they take the 'cattery' route, or ask one of these 'pet sitter' people who do this as a business, either live-in or coming two or three times a day and staying a while to keep them happy - they certainly will NOT pay your colleagues!  I can understand how awkward you might feel if you work with them, but once they are confronted (on a sheet of paper) with the 'true' cost of how much a 'professional' cattery or pet-sitter would be, they might realise that you are a great bargain and that YOU paying THEM is actually a huge insult to you (though don't hold your breath, as they do sound rather unreasonable and it might just go over their heads).  In fact, you are helping to pay for their 3 month trip!  They are the ones who should be feeling 'bad' about it, not you.

slenderkitten

Need more detail did you not discuss the amount they should pay you to feed the cats, how much the food for the animals would cost? 

I don't beleive you should have to pay them to stay in their flat as you were there to feed the cats, anything else was a bonus with the exception of the utilities you would have used which I think you should pay.

Birdiefan

why don’t why don’t you charge them the minimal sum of 6 p per day for looking after their house and cats.over three months(92 days) they will owe you just over £500 . They were very unfair to say the least not to have mentioned they would be charging you to do a job for them before you agreed to do it .

GoldenLibra

With 'friends' like that, who needs enemies!