December 7, 2007
Website Review: Care.com
Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been running around like a headless chicken. My list of to-do’s is longer than the Nile river and I can’t seem to find the time to get any of it done.
Work has been exceptionally busy. It’s the end of the year and everyone wants to get all their medical needs taken care of before Christmas, I suppose.
My house is a disaster. I haven’t had time to clean it. I keep shuffling papers and magazines and opened letters (bills) from room to room, desperately trying to find time to remember to do something with all this stuff.
I still haven’t finished my Christmas shopping. I’m not certain when I’ll be able to get ‘er done, unless I find someone to watch Dawson — because Heaven knows I can’t take him to Target with me, lest I want to give in to every demand for the latest toys on the shelves.
It’s sad to say I haven’t even found the time to blog. I can’t believe it. I always found some time to blog — at least once a week, at worst!
And then my car broke down. I can’t even rehash that whole misadventure. All I can say is that I’ve been carless for a week, and I’m borrowing my sixteen year old brother’s Chevy Malibu and it’s a lot bigger than my flirty Focus.
I’m at my wit’s end! I need some help!
Then, I was clued in to a new site, Care.com which offers brilliant services for mega busy moms like me. Care.com allows me to find service providers for child care, pet care, senior care, as well as tutoring. As a working mother, I find it difficult to find reliable childcare when my main caregiver needs a day off or goes on vacation, so this site sounded promising.
I enrolled in a free trial of the site’s features, and began searching for babysitters in my area who may have posted profiles. I only discovered three listings, but this is mostly because I live in a small town as opposed to a bigger city like New York or San Francisco with oodles of resources.
The great thing about Care.com is that I can find a child care provider by zip code, select the best applicant based on certain criteria like, “Non-smoker, with own transportation, comfortable with pets, and a toddler prone to tantrums.”
Once I find the person suitable for the job, I can view his or her profile, contact details, background checks and references, and the number of hours the applicant is available — such as full-time, part-time, evenings or weekends.
I was happy to discover two of the providers are students at our local university. One person is majoring in Early Childhood Education, and the other in Child Psychology, and each person has over five years of experience working with preschool children.
Unfortunately these students will be going home for the holidays once the semester is over in a few weeks, but I’m thinking I’ll need someone to occupy Dawson after the new year so I can regain my sanity. And get my butt back to the gym!
However, once nice feature of the site is that I can post a job listing detailing my specific needs in addition to using the search tools to find care providers who match my criteria.
I love that Care.com also offers pet care, and one young woman in my area would love to pet sit for Murphy next Saturday while we’re visiting relatives out of town. I’m just worried she won’t want to give back our beloved Boston when we return!
If you’d like to learn more about Care.com, check out the FAQs. To enroll and receive a complimentary 3-month membership, click here! I think it’s a wonderful resource parents, pet owners, and others who need someone to care for their loved ones. I encourage you to check it out.
Now, if only I could find someone to clean my house and sort through all this mail!!
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September 19th, 2008 at 9:06 PM, GH Says:
Don’t waste your money! They were supposed to charge me 25 and billed me $40 and I never did get my money back and didn’t find a sitter, either.
They will steal your money!!!
September 19th, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Dana Says:
I never had a problem with Care.com. When I missed canceling my membership by a day, I sent an e-mail to the tech support and they refunded my money the next day. No questions asked, no hassles. They were very polite and courteous.
I’m sorry to hear your experience wasn’t as pleasant.
October 5th, 2008 at 9:05 AM, T. Pinnock Says:
Care.com repeatedly charged my account even though I bought a one-month membership. In my account activity area for example, it states “Membership Plan 1 Month – Your account will be closed on 10/13/2008.” Yet, the last line at the bottom of the same pages states “Next Payment 10/13/.” You can see that they will never cancel the account. Because the day it is supposed to be canceled is the same day they charge my credit card which they have on file. There is no access to cancel the card on file. Their system only allows updating of card information. I sent a cancellation and refund request through the care.com site and a month later I still received no reply other than the automated acknowledgment. Later I responded to a care.com survey by replying to the sender, smola@care.com and still, another month has passed that they have not replied to my email. I bought the one month membership on June 13, 2008. Now, I’m forced to have my card number changed and have the charges disputed through my credit card company because Care.come illegally charges my account, ignores my requests for cancellation/refund, and has a system that prevents the customer from ending their membership, or even removing their card information.
October 5th, 2008 at 9:43 AM, Dana Says:
Hi T.Pinnock,
I’m sorry to hear of your troubles. I never had any problems with Care.com. As I told the previous commenter, they canceled and refunded the charges promptly in my situation.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:04 AM, Kathy Schneider Says:
I am a provider and have looked for caregivers on care.com and jobs. I signed up about a year ago when everything was free. It sounded like a great idea to have caregivers and jobs at your fingertips. However, the caregivers that I interviewed did not turn out. Some of them didn’t even show up for the interview. Now, on the flipside I was listed as a caregiver and had some potential opportunites, however those never panned out. For example, I had one job that came up for pet sitting and the client had a 6 week old yorkie. She didn’t want to mess up her pretty house so she decided she would feed the dog once a day. I couldn’t take the job. It was disheartening to feel the puppies bones from lack of nutrition. I tried to talk to the owner in a professional manner explaining that small breeds need to be fed 3 times a day because they could experience a sugar low pass out and eventually die.
Then, I noticed about a year later that I couldn’t apply for jobs because I didn’t have access. It required a $25.00 charge a month. I understand the need to profit, however it seemed like a slight of hand to have access and then pulled away overnight.
I, then, paid a $25.00 fee so that so that I could actually see caregivers phone numbers and call upon them. I was not under the impression that it would be charged monthly. Then, I started seeing a monthly charge on my account. I contacted them and they sent me a message back saying that “I was violating there terms of use because I was a provider looking for caregivers”. My understanding of their fee was that it was for anyone, including providers. I obviously didn’t read the fine print, or maybe they added that rule in later, kind of like them adding the 25.00 fee in secretly overnight.
Obviously, they weren’t going to remove the charge from my credit card but they said that because of my ‘violation’ they are going to terminate my account. I just don’t understand their volatile email. It was as if they are accusing me of something that I did intentionally, and by the way, we aren’t going to refund your money either. I had no intentions of violating their terms and feel that they were very unprofessional.
By the way, I didn’t find any caregivers from their site. Half of them didn’t show up for the first interview and ther other half were not hireable.
I really thought their site was a good idea and hope them the best but the way they handled the $25.00 monthly charge was unprofessional turning around and throwing some rule back to me that, who knows, could have just been added. They may have some good caregivers on their site, because I believe we are responsible and very reputable in our area, however we are now terminated from their site. They are growing and making things up as they grow. I guess if they do that to thousands of people it could be a profitable business.
January 4th, 2009 at 3:35 PM, Allyson Says:
This site is disengenuous and a fraud, as is their surrogate with supposedly “real” reviews of care.com, “bestcareforus.com.” I signed up for their service and although I did end up finding a housekeeper through them, I am disgusted with the site itself. Here’s what I found:
- unqualified/suspicious profiles (i.e., housekeepers who posted pretty pics while telling subscribers they didn’t know how to clean!)
- NO posting of REAL reviews. Not a SINGLE negative review – when I submitted one for a provider that came to my house and spent over 8 hours and didn’t even manage to vacuum one complete room, didn’t know how to operate a mop (I’m not kidding, she had to actually ask me), and thought it okay to mop a bathroom floor with plain water WITHOUT sweeping it first) Care.com deleted the provider instead of posting the negative review.
- Site is frequently unavailable – apparently can’t handle capacity of viewers.
If you are looking for a site that really wants to help busy professional families find qualified help and avoid wasting time and money on unqualified providers,look elsewhere. You won’t find it on Care.com.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:11 PM, Kris Bravo Says:
Having a bad experience with Care.com as well. They billed my wife $40 initially and I found recurring $25 charges for the next four months, even though she only signed up for the 1-month trial.
I’m cancelling her card, and disputing with Amex right now.
10/20/2008: $40
11/20/2008: $25
12/20/2008: $25
1/20/2009: $25
There is NO SUCH THING as a 1-month use with their company! I’m having to treat them like the scam they are on the card-side.
Unless you want one more thing to watch out for on your list of things to do, pass this service up!
February 7th, 2009 at 2:01 PM, Kris Bravo Says:
Just got off the phone with Amex. They said if you cancel your card, recurring billing from merchants continues for a 1 year grace period. So watch out for further charges even after you have changed the card number.
Love Amex though – the CSR actually sounded enthusiastic about helping to end this problem.
April 13th, 2009 at 2:22 PM, Jill W. Says:
Care.com is horrible. I’ve reported them and have been working with the BBB. I suggest you all do the same or they won’t be made to stop. I even did a screen shot, as I also do when purchasing an item online, and it stated one month at a $25 fee. Well it was $40 on my card and the same $25 repeating fee that you all mentioned. I also mentioned to BBB that care.com has not commented once regarding my additional concerns besides the $40 dispute so it’s obvious they have no intentions of improving their online receipting policy- every other web site gives you the printable receipt option after a purchase showing your final amount, their blank references for caregivers across the board- something I was supposedly paying for yet is never required by any caregiver to actually post, their generic green checkmarks supposedly passing as a background check- no details given which is something else they state you are paying for… and so on. Overall care.com is a waste of money and has the worst customer service I’ve ever dealt with. Celeste Jones with care.com was rude to me more than once and it was from the start! Everything was so unethical it caused me to contact the BBB which is something I’ve never done. They are closing my complaint as consumer not satisfied because care.com is refusing, due to “internal policies”, to refund the addition $15 which caused the initial $40 instead of $25 charge, and the secondary $25 which was never to be charged- totaling $40. I did get the information on where to go under your profile to end the charges only after the second charge hit and I had contacted the BBB. For a company connecting families to caregivers this business should be having huge red flags to other agencies and watchdog groups. One can only hope also that these watchdogs will get word out to consumers that the ‘service’ provided by care.com is a waste of money. It still infuriates me!
November 1st, 2009 at 10:15 AM, Nadeira Says:
I have to agree with Dana. I’ve had no problems so far. It seems like some of the issues listed above could have been easily avoided by reading and understanding the terms. I also don’t think that care.com should be held responsible for ‘caregiver’ matches or lack thereof. They’re just a database site that helps connect people. Whether or not you land the job or find a caregiver that meets your needs isn’t up to them. Also, to Kathy Schneider, given you were so upset about the Yorkie puppy, did you report the woman to your local ASPCA? Just curious.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:16 AM, Natalie Says:
Wow I am really glad I read all your reviews!! I was about to sign up for Care.com but DEFINITELY am not going to do that now! Thanks for taking the time to warn the rest of us out there!
November 25th, 2009 at 11:49 AM, Stephanie Manzo Says:
My name is Stephanie, I work for Care.com as a Member Care Team Lead. I am sorry to hear about the negative experiences several of you have had using our service.
As part of your subscription, we offer automatic renewal of your account and highlighted this feature on the enrollment page when you joined Care.com. Many of our members find this feature useful as they like the insurance of having a community of caregivers available whenever they need care.
We understand that people may forget about their subscription and do offer refunds for the previous months transaction. We also have The Care.com Guarantee, become a Premium Member after posting your job and we guarantee that you’ll get responses within 3 days, or we’ll refund the entire fee…no questions asked.
I am happy to help if anyone has any other questions or concerns. Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at smanzo@care.com.
May 20th, 2010 at 2:59 PM, Kathy Potter Says:
I’m still not impressed with the response by the Member Care Team Lead. She’s sorry but puts it back on the user “We understand that people may forget about their subscription”. I never had a “subscription”. I used the basic free option and just paid the $25.00 one time. It stated “one time”. And, so become a Premium Member. You’ve got to be kidding me.
Yes I am sure you will get a response calling you the day of your appointment that someone can’t make it for whatever reason. I understand that they aren’t in control of the individuals actions, as stated in their agreement:
“Users do hereby represent, understand and expressly agree that Care.com does not have control over the quality, timing, legality or any other aspect whatsoever of the services actually delivered by the Care Providers, nor of the integrity, responsibility or any of the actions whatsoever of the Care Seekers. Care.com makes no representations about the suitability, reliability, timeliness, and accuracy of the services provided by Care Providers or Care Seekers through the Site whether in public, private or offline interactions.”
So, with that we all understand we have to take the extra time to research and screen individuals especially when the source comes from a web site that markets as a ‘Venue’. They are becoming more and more popular. These sites have educated me and helped me come up with some good strategies for locating caregivers. And, it’s not from any of these ‘Venue’ type sites. Screening and follow up is critical.
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 AM, Marcy Says:
I actually read the “terms and conditions” of Care.com before signing up for their free service. I was not asked for any credit card information and am able to post for jobs. After reading all the dissatisfied comments I didn’t learn anything that I hadn’t learned by reading their terms and conditions. All too often we forget to read the fine print and then are shocked and dismayed because we didn’t know all the details. I don’t find Care.com at fault in any of the instances described in the posts above. As a legal professional, I’m very familiar with the importance of reading the fine print. Most of the upset with Care.com described in the above posts, would have been avoided had the users took the time to be informed about what they were doing and understanding their obligations under the terms and conditions of the agreement they were willing entering. Further, I wouldn’t leave it up to an annonymous third party to screen the people I am allowing to enter my home and care for those I love. That,is my responsibility and no one elses. Care.com is merely an database. Its sole purpose is to connect caregivers with those who need care providers.
July 24th, 2011 at 12:49 PM, marie Says:
I have been trying to find a job on care.com and it is impossible. I have applied for 50+ jobs and never get any responses. It is ridiculous. I have everything on there background check, references, picture and description. It is insane. Worst website I have ever seen or dealt with in my life.
August 23rd, 2011 at 2:33 AM, Kristina Says:
I have been trying to find a job at care.com for almost 6 months now and either people don’t message back about your application or you get a message back saying that they aren’t going to hire you. I have a completely clean background both driving and criminal, I graduated high school, I’m a non-smoker and am comfortable with all pets. But I completely believe this website is a total scam.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Angela Says:
Don’t waste your money. The service is not that great. Also, even if you sign up for 1 month service, they will still charge your card again on the 30th day. Even if you contact them on the 30th day & say I only wanted 1 month, they tell you there are ‘NO REFUNDS’.
*~unhappy customer~*
December 7th, 2011 at 3:45 PM, Another unhappy customer Says:
Wow. I was just begining to think that it was just me being paranoid. I have applied for almost 100 jobs and had no response either. I am available all day and time except for Sundays, passed the background check, College educated and so on but not 1 taker. What the? I tried applying at all times of the day but the CSR from Care.com says that more than likely, by the time I applied that person had already found a sitter. Really? I apply as soon as its posted what are they talking about. I even ask for those looking for care to let me know if the position is already taken and nothing. This makes me wonder if Care.com purposely don’t deliver our apps so we can buy into 1 or more of their many upgrades being that its free to create a profile. Not to mention their customer service stinks. She had no empathy with the problems I been having, she already sounded mad before I even said anything and couldn’t wait to for me to hang up. As far as Im concerned this is a scam.
December 21st, 2011 at 10:03 PM, barb Says:
Run from Care.com. I signed up to find a sitter and they did their usual background check, but did you know the company they use only goes by name and date of birth? My first and last name and date of birth came back as a hit. This other lady lived in Michigan and had felonies coming out of the wazoo. Care.com didn’t bother to listen to anything I had to say, just shut my account and banned me. I had to deal with the company they use to do background checks. I submitted personal papers and court papers in order to prove who I am. Care.com was unsympathetic. They could care less. “Oh well, that’s the way we do things” is the attitude I got. After I was able to clear my name I got an email from Care.com that I can once again open an account with them. I told them they could shove it. Save yourself the headache. Horrible customer service.