Every booking paid on VettedTails is backed twice: by the sitter's own verified liability policy — the big number — and by the VettedTails Guarantee, the fast small-dollar lane we fund and run ourselves. Here is exactly what each tier means, how to claim, and where the limits are.
A booking's Guarantee tier depends on your sitter's platform-wide track record at the moment you pay — it's fixed for that booking from then on. (This is separate from your personal fee tier with a sitter, which only sets your platform fee.)
If the service wasn't delivered as agreed, we may refund up to 100% of the booking value. Every new sitter starts here — and every completed VettedTails sit moves them toward full backing.
The refund remedy above, plus reimbursement for vet bills or property damage from an incident during the booking — up to $100 per incident, subject to reserve availability and program discretion. Either party to the booking may claim: your vet bill for your pet, the sitter's vet bill if your pet injures theirs, damage to your home during a sit or theirs during boarding.
Only bookings paid through VettedTails count toward the 5-sit threshold, and only bookings paid through VettedTails carry the Guarantee. Meet & greets and anything arranged off-platform are never covered and never advance the counter.
Report within 7 days of the booking's end, and complete your documentation within 30 days of the report.
Start from the booking itself ("Report an issue", which attaches the booking's full history) or the Support Center. Useful documentation: photos, the vet invoice or repair estimate, and anything the message thread doesn't already show. A person reviews every claim.
For vet-bill and property claims, the sitter's own verified liability policy is the primary path — its limits are far higher than ours, and we'll open that route with you in the same conversation. The Guarantee is the fast lane for small amounts, not a replacement for it.
The VettedTails Guarantee is a discretionary reimbursement program funded and administered by VettedTails. It is not insurance. Every decision is made by VettedTails at its own discretion — there is no entitlement to payment, and vet-bill and property reimbursements are always up to $100 per incident, subject to reserve availability and program discretion. Refunds for services not delivered as agreed come from the booking's own held funds and don't carry the reserve condition. Where a sitter's policy pays the same loss, a Guarantee payment may be reduced or recovered.
The words above are the whole program — if a surface anywhere on VettedTails says "Guarantee", it means exactly this page.
Guarantee aside, four things are true of every booking paid on VettedTails — each one is something the platform actually does:
You aren't charged when you send a request. You pay only once your sitter confirms they can take the booking. If they decline, or never respond, no money moves.
If a paid booking is cancelled — by you or by your sitter — we refund the full amount you paid, automatically, back to your original payment method. You don't file anything. You don't ask us for it. It happens as part of the cancellation.
Every quote is itemized before you pay: the base price, the platform fee at your current rate, and exactly what your sitter receives. Never a lump sum. Your fee drops from 18% to 10% to 6% as you rebook the same sitter — and you'll see it drop.
Only people who actually booked and completed a stay can leave a review. No anonymous ratings, no review farming — the stars on a sitter's profile came from bookings that really happened.
If you and a sitter arrange a visit privately, none of the above applies — no held payment, no automatic refund, no itemized breakdown, no Guarantee, and no claim window. That's not a penalty. It's just that we can't protect a booking we never see.
Head to the Support Center or email hello@vettedtails.com.