Care.com Reviews

Care.com
( 197 reviews )
Website: www.Care.com

Care.com Customer Reviews

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Unethical Business Practice
February 7, 2014
I am in the same boat as many here. I used one referral in summer of 2012. I was promised to be "downgraded" that never happen. I have been charged since then. The practice counted on unsuspecting people who do not check bills. Even now, it took repeated calls and email to have me completely out of their system, no more news letters. It is highly deceitful and dishonest. Please complain to BBB and consumer protection agency to have this practice stopped.

Care.com Membercare June 12, 2014

Hello Hong Fei,

Care.com is an auto renewing subscription service, which is stated twice on our enrollment page, additionally, we offer our members the ability to cancel their subscription anytime. I'm sorry that you had this negative experience but we appreciate and always welcome any type of feedback you have.

Best Wishes,

Member Care Representative

D.C. October 30, 2015

Tried to cancel my subscription--your phone doesn't offer an option for you to do this or for a customer to even make a complaint--your website goes directly to the page to pay another subscription amount with a different credit card when you hit the button to cancel--you folks are nothing but thieves.

Deceitful Billing Practices
January 28, 2014

KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CREDIT CARD BILL THAT YOU USE TO PAY FOR CARE.COM

I signed up for the basic membership and was told it would be a one month subscription. They never stopped billing me and I didn't realize it until five months later. If I got a sitter out of it I wouldn't be too upset but I had no luck. I received 7 messages from people interested in taking care of my disabled son the first week. Five of them didn't respond back to me when I returned their calls and two decided the hours weren't for them. I never received another message after the first three weeks. When I realized they were still charging me five months later I called for a refund and Dianne and Cara on the CARE TEAM said they couldn't refund my cash. I wouldn't have a problem if I was receiving e mails regularly but I didn't receive one message after the first month. They literally stole $175 off me. Stay away from care.com due to their deceitful business practices. They should be ashamed of themselves for the way they handled my situation.

Care.com Membercare June 12, 2014

Hello Gary,

I'm sorry that you were not able to find care for your son and had a negative experience in regards to your billing. Within our enrollment page, we state twice that all of our subscriptions will automatically renew until the member cancels, to which they can cancel anytime. Ultimately, it is the member's responsibility to cancel their subscription. I hope you can have a positive experience with Care.com in the future.

Kindest Regards,

Member Care Representative

Gary June 12, 2014

You're not sorry. If you were sorry you would have returned all my money I was wrongly charged. You hide behind small print and should be ashamed of your business practices. I guarantee you will be shut down at some point soon. It must be awful working for a company that you know is scamming people out of their hard earned money. I feel bad for the people you scam that can't afford it.

fraud victim
January 15, 2014

The auto-renewing subscription employed by Care.com is in violation of California SB 340, which took effect on December 1, 2010. The California Negative Option Law was specifically implemented to end the practice of ongoing charging of consumer credit cards without the consumers’ explicit consent. Care.com is inviolation of multiple aspects.

A copy of the Legislation is readily available at www.leginfo.ca.gov. (“Business and Professions Code Section 17600-17606”)

Many states in addition to California have implemented similar legislation.

Specific violations include:

(c): “Clear and conspicuous”...means in lager type than the surrounding text…”

The copy of the webpage provided by the merchant readily shows that the type referring to automatic renewal is not larger than the surrounding text.

(a) (1): “It shall be unlawful for any business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer in this state to...fail to present the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms in a clear and conspicuous manner…”

The wording used by Care.com is not compliant with “clear and conspicuous”. The term “subscription” is generally reserved for the purchase of ongoing services, not a single purchase, therefore customers purchasing “1-month” are not purchasing a “subscription”. “Subscription” is located under the “3-Month” and “12-Month” plans (“subscriptions”). Because a customer purchasing “1-month” is not purchasing a “subscription”, the automatic renewal plan is not invoked.

Unfortunately, Care.com is the subject of literally hundreds of similar complaints. It would behoove them to ammend current business practices in accordance with the law.

Care.com Membercare June 12, 2014

Hello Karyn,

I apologize that you feel negatively towards Care.com. We always strive to offer the best customer support and inform our members, as stated in our enrollment page, that all subscriptions will automatically renew until cancel. Additionally, we offer our members the ability to cancel their subscription anytime. A policy that is convenient for the majority of our members. I hope nothing but the best and appreciate your response.

Best Wishes,

Member Care Representative

NOT RECOMMENDED
January 10, 2014
As an excellent caregiver with an excellent reputation (truly I love the work) who found a difficult employer through Care.com, I quit the position and the difficult employer (who had a long history of unhappy caregivers) retaliated with a negative review on my profile. When I challenged this Care.com refused to post my response. I corresponded with David at [email protected] (who evidently has no last name) outlining the difficulties of the employer and my subsequent resignation. I was informed that Care.com has no obligation to unwarranted negative comments and they refused to remove it. This after paying their monthly membership fees for over a year. They threw a good caregiver under the bus; meanwhile an abusive employer is allowed to continue on. Their policies are hostile towards caregivers. Any organization with such a backwards approach is guilty of poor judgment and questionable competence. Securing the best possible care for yourself or your family requires an organization that attracts good caregivers. Based on my experience, Care.com is NOT that organization.

Care.com Membercare January 21, 2014

Hi Liz,

Care.com takes any complaints or concerns of any of our members very seriously. We pass all concerns to our Safety Team to look into, and if you had expressed any concerns about a member of the site, they would have been addressed in this manner.

Per our Terms of Use, you did agree that Care.com has no obligation to remove any reviews or other information posted on the Site about you or any other person or entity. While we cannot remove a review, we do recommend you write a response, telling your side of what had happened. Keep in mind that everything you post, including responses to reviews, will have to go through an approval process. We are unable to view the response you previously submitted, but just so you’re aware, you cannot include any last names or personal information.

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Deceiving automatic monthly renewal
November 11, 2013

It is so ironic that this company is called CARE.com, because they don't really CARE about using ethical business practices with their members. We were duped into the opt out automatic renewal monthly payment for 6 months of $35/month. Congrats to Care.com for duping a member out of $310. #1, why not make your automatic renewal an opt in process, rather than an opt out. In other words, your members have to check a box for wanting automatic renewal. #2, how difficult would it be to send an email every month to your members, reminding them that a payment is about to be processed. Also, use some common sense.........it is obvious to see that I haven't even logged on to the care.com site in about 6 months.....so why would I pay $35 a month for a service that I'm not even using? Care.com, google search "Care.com automatic renewal" and you will see lots of complaints from other members as well. If you want to stay in business, change your automatic renewal "policy".

P.S. CARE.com, do NOT slap me in the face further, like you continue to do with other members, stating your UNETHICAL policy. Change your unethical policy, and give all your customers their hard earned money back. Obviously it is an issue.

Care.com M November 12, 2013

Hi John,

Thank you for your concerns and feedback regarding our auto renewal policy. As stated clearly on the upgrade page, as well as in our Terms of Use that you agree to upon enrollment, all of our subscriptions automatically renew until cancelled, and this is a setting that you can edit at any point in the Account & Settings section on your Care.com profile after upgrading the account. We apologize if you misunderstood the policy, and for your dissatisfaction using our service. Ultimately, it is the member's responsibility to cancel or downgrade the subscription when they are done using it.

We will definitely pass along all of your feedback and website suggestions to the appropriate teams here, and wish you the best of luck in your search for a caregiver!

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

wont approve my photo
November 11, 2013
I posted at least 50 pictures on care.com and they won't approve even one! I kept trying and trying, it still didn't work! I even took new ones! This is ridiculous. You guys really need to set up a better way to do this because it's really pathetic!!!!!

Care.com M November 11, 2013

Hi Jasmine,

We're sorry you are having trouble uploading a photo on to your Care.com account. Care.com has strict photo guidelines, and if you refer to our FAQ page you can read the checklist of reasons why a photo might not be approved.

Some suggestions off of that list we have would be to make sure the photo is well lit and good quality, it is just a photo of you and nobody else, and the photo is not photo shopped or black and white. If you review our FAQ page, you will see a list of other guidelines that you should make sure to follow as well.

I hope this helps, and best of luck in your job search!

Best Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Terrible
October 31, 2013
A client who hired me through care.com ripped me off a shift's worth of work. When I complained to the deadbeat client and care.com, the deadbeat client wrote a false review of me on care.com. When I wrote a very nicely worded rebuttal to the false review, explaining that I was actually owed money and for month's by this client, care.com refused to let me post my rebuttal. Then, they cancelled my account. I know why. I was a free account, and the lying, thieving client's of care.com were paying customers. It's very clear. I am booked out solidly all the time. Today, I checked my client roster of about a dozen folks, and 100% of my regular, paying clients came from care.com's competitor's site. I guess it's no loss, but what a dirty little experience over such relatively little money. This is my LIVELIHOOD, and here I get stolen from, lied about, and care.com backs the crooked, lying thief. Very dishonorable. Further, some poor lady paid like fifty bucks for a background check on me the day before they cancelled my account, and now has no way to contact me. I bet she is TREMENDOUSLY pleased. Wow. Anyway, after reading all these cc fraud complaints on this site, I'm so glad I never gave care.com my cc#. Shudder, shudder! At least there's one positive to this trashy little story. What a dirty little experience. Ug. They should be called idon'tcare.com, because guess what? They don't...

Care.com M October 31, 2013

Hi Molly,

We're very sorry to hear about your experience with Care.com.

The decision to close an account on Care.com is not taking lightly. Care.com takes the safety and security of our site and our member community very seriously and, based on the Terms of Use that each member agrees to, reserves the right to remove access to the site for any reason or no reason, with or without notice. You are welcome to contact our Member Care team at any time to discuss your removal from the site.

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Artsypants November 01, 2013

I think you meant to say "is not taken lightly."

Molly B November 01, 2013

I am also welcome to file a class action lawsuit against your firm and am looking into organizing that effort as we speak. Shame on you for siding with liars and thieves, care.com Member Care Representative, whoever you are. And thanks for the canned response. I am very, very disappointed in your unfair decision. You have defamed me through your practice of notifying all your contacts that I was removed, and I find it unforgivable. See you in court.

Unethical
October 26, 2013
I did find a babysitter through care.com. However, before registering for their service, be forewarned that they will try to deceive, trick and over charge you. Just look at all the complaints. If you give care.com your credit card number, I can almost guarantee you'll regret it.

Care.com M October 29, 2013

Hi KG,

We're sorry about the misunderstanding of our billing on Care.com. All of our subscriptions are set to auto renew until the member sets them to cancel. This is clearly stated on our upgrade page, and is also in our terms of use that you agree to upon enrollment. You are also notified of the auto renewing policy in an enrollment confirmation. Many of our members like the auto renewing feature. Additionally, we set it up this way because we would not want to interrupt communications between members, or remove access to information that a member might still need.

I hope this clears up any confusion on our billing policies, and am glad that you were able to find a sitter through Care.com!

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Scam
October 4, 2013
Billing scam. Beware. And the service is not good either. Very expensive. They thrive on billing people continuously even if u sign up for a month. They say, it is in the fine print !!!!

Care.com M October 23, 2013

Hi Sid,

We're sorry that you misunderstood our subscription plans. As stated on the upgrade page when you sign up for a subscription, as well as in Section 8 of our Terms of Use, all of our subscriptions are set to automatically renew until the member sets them to cancel or downgrade. Many of our members find this feature useful as they like the insurance of having a community of caregivers available whenever they need care.

As soon as you upgrade your membership, you can immediately set the account to downgrade, which effectively cancels the auto renewal. This is an option in the "Membership Information" section on your "My Profile and Settings" page on your profile. When you select to Downgrade the account, you will continue to have the premium access for the remainder of your subscription, whether it is the 1 month, 3 month, or 1 year option, and then will automatically go back to the free, basic level, and will not be charged again.

I hope this helps clear up any confusion regarding our billing policy!

Regards,

Care.com MemberCare Representative

Beware of care.com's deceptive billing practices
September 26, 2013
If I could give no stars, I would. I signed up for one month of use, or so I thought. They have continued to bill me for months. There are no invoices/email of any kind sent. There is no notification whatsoever sent to you that the billing will continue. Apparently, if you don't cancel after a month, the will continually bill you. I have disputed the charges with my credit card. Care.com has agreed to credit me one month out of the many that they have billed. Beware of being scammed by them. Their billing practices are unethical and deceptive.

Ursula September 29, 2013

I was considering to sign up as a care giver. But.... My red flags are going up all over as I do not see any actual procedures and disclosures pertaining to billing, payments etc. (No step by steps.) I get the impression that this is simply a website (not a real service) designed to make money for the operators by collecting membership fees. There is much legal language pertaining to Care.com designed to collect whatever and covering them. I wonder!!!

Care.com M October 30, 2013

Hi B Lee,

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience with us. Care.com is an automatically renewing subscription service, which is stated clearly on the Upgrade page, as well as in our Terms of Use. This is a setting that you can manage on your own at any point after upgrading the account in your "Account and Settings" page, or by emailing us any time before the renewal date. We offer auto renewal so that communications with potential caregivers don't end prematurely. It is ultimately up to the member to manage their account.

We apologize for your experience but do hope you were able to find the care that your family needs!

Regards,

Care.Com Member Care Representative

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER FOR ANYTHING
September 11, 2013

I am a "premium member" as a care giver which means I pay annual dues to the website to get job postings faster than the non paying members and I show up higher in search results to local families looking for help.

Everything was fine until I paid my annual dues a couple weeks ago but my background was not updated.

Not only was it not updated, but my social security number was suddenly coming up as "non verified" which makes me look like a liar I guess.

I tried to pay the $9 fee to update it.... four times... and got a message each time saying that there was an error and it wouldn't work.

However, I did get charged $9 four times on my bank statement....for a service I never got.

I've messaged the care.com 8 times now and still no response that is not completely automated.

I have filed a complaint with the better business bureau and will not be recommending the site to any more of my friends and family....I have gotten many people to join this site over the years and I am starting to regret sending them any business because when you're a paying customer and you need technical support....

THEY ARE NO WHERE TO BE FOUND WHEN YOU NEED THEM.

HANDS DOWN WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EVER NOT RECEIVED ANYWHERE FOR ANYTHING THAT I HAVE EVER PAID FOR.

Care.com M September 24, 2013

We are very sorry to hear about your experience, Ava. We have looked into your account and assure you that you have not been charged for those background check attempts. The charges you were seeing were pending charges and never went through. The reason you were receiving an error when you were trying to process a new background check is because the card was being declined. Again, we apologize for any confusion, but we hope this helps.

Sid October 04, 2013

Bullcrap. They very well know about this recurring billing scam and provide lip service "WE ARE SORRY" ..... blah blah !!!!

Care.com M October 30, 2013

Hi Ava,

We’re sorry to hear about your experience with Care.com. The featured membership for a caregiver includes lots of great benefits besides the background check. In addition to getting job posting notifications before non-paying members, you are able to contact more families with the membership. The featured subscription includes one free background check, so if you had gotten a background check for free with a featured subscription in the past, you would not be eligible to renew that for free again.

In terms of your billing, we’re sorry that you were having issues processing the payment. Cards can be denied for a number of reasons. Each time you attempted to purchase the background check it would have taken the $9 on hold, but we do not charge that money unless the payment goes through. Sometimes charge attempts will remain as “pending” on your bank statement, but those pending transactions will drop off typically within 3 business days.

Please refer to our Safety Center to find out more details about our Background Checks, what is covered, and for a list of reasons why a Social Security Number may come back unverified.

We hope that you were able to resolve any issues that you have had, and wish you the best of luck in your job search!

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

An Equal Opportunity Rip Off for Job Seekers and Employers
August 27, 2013

Where does one begin with reviewing this company? I believe you start with the numerous complaints made on virtually every website discussing Care.com. I almost paid money to this site. I am so grateful to have read the reviews of others before I made such a mistake. As a business they have the right to charge a fee but the way they do it appears fraudulent to a majority of users. Customer service appears to be extremely poor and it also appears that they send people to review sites such as this posing as real members. The idea for care.com sounds wonderful but it ends up being anything but wonderful as a time and money wasting experience.

Both employer and potential employee must spend $40 to begin any sort of communication. Why would a job seeker have to pay money to get in contact with an employer? And what exactly are you getting for your money? As far as I can tell, you aren't getting a more qualified pool of applicant'ts. And it appears by many of the comments here that many job seekers are finding false ads.

The form one fills out is entirely useless. The potential employee does not set the pay, the person doing the hiring does. Using five dollar increments is also ludicrous. This forces people to either set ridiculously low or high value to certain jobs. Realistic wages are not the norm for this site. I have seen a list of applicant'ts most agencies would never hire for their lack of experience but who think they are entitled to $20-$25 an hour for babysitting. I think if many of these people would go searching for work at a hospital, school, or home health aide agency they are going to be in for a rude awakening.

Pay is almost always negotiated after the interview process and not before. Pay is determined by your experience and skill set. And in many cases when it comes to caregiving jobs, it will be an outside agency who sets the pay scale and not the parent or relative.

It also appears from member reviews that many applicant'ts don't show up for their job and likewise employers from this site may ditch the applicant't with little to no notice. This can happen in any job situation but it must be especially disheartening to those who have paid a hefty fee to either find a job or a caregiver.

I don't easily anger but the short-lived experience I have had on care.com has left me frustrated and disgusted. Care.com runs their business more like a dating service than a reputable job seeking site. It is my opinion that care.com preys on the vulnerable (those looking for help for their loved ones as well as care givers who are desperate for employment).

Not a good experience. I think I am going to put up some fliers at my local churches. At least it is free!

Care.com M September 24, 2013

Hi Dee,

We are sorry to hear your sentiments towards the site, but we would like to clarify a couple of things. We assure you that we do not send people to review sites and pretend to be real members.

In terms of the subscription fees, it is true that if you are looking to hire a caregiver, you do have pay a subscription fee to be able to message caregivers and obtain their contact information. However, you do not need to pay to be able to search and apply for jobs. Caregivers have the option of upgrading for additional benefits, but it is not required.

In terms of the pay rates, both the potential employer and employee are required to put in a pay rate. These are intended to serve as a guide, not set in stone by any means. Ultimately, pay is completely up to the employer and employee to negotiate and agree upon.

Ultimately, Care.com is a self-service website. While we do our very best to encourage all of our members to conduct themselves in a professional manner and be respectful of others' time, it is ultimately up to them on how they choose to utilize the site.

We do appreciate your feedback and we will forward it along to the appropriate department.

Sid October 04, 2013

Who the heck is this representative. Why dont u clean ur act on the website scamming schemes first . That way u dont have to say "SORRY" . U SUCK

Care.com M October 30, 2013

Hi Dee,

We're sorry to hear about your frustrations with our service. All of our subscriptions are set to automatically renew, as stated clearly on our upgrade page, in an enrollment confirmation email, and in our terms of use.

Our service is completely free for caregivers. They do have an option of upgrading the account for additional features, including a featured profile page, and the ability to contact families before they have posted a job. Caregivers can create profiles, post pictures, reviews, references, and a lot more, as well as apply to any jobs listed on the site absolutely free of charge!

Families on Care.com who are looking to hire caregivers can also use our service free of charge. They are able to post jobs, as well as run searches for any caregivers in their area. In order for families to contact any of the caregivers whom they have found or who have applied to their jobs, they would need to upgrade to the premium membership.

We allow both families and caregivers include how much they are looking to make, or how much they are willing to pay, so that people aren't applying to jobs that are going to be way under or over their salaries. We give you a range in $5 increments because we understand that the amount people are willing to pay can vary based on qualifications, experience, and a number of other factors, as well as the rate that you would be asking can vary based on the work load, hours, and again a variety of other factors. Ultimately, we do not get involved in the payments between a family and their caregiver, though we have a number of resources, including the babysitter calculator, to try and help come up with a reasonable amount.

I also want to clarify that Care.com is not an agency. We are do not place care providers, nor does Care.com directly employ the care providers on our site. All care members on Care.com do go through an initial verification process, prior to being allowed to create an account. If members aren't showing up to interviews or jobs, we highly recommend that families leave reviews on their pages.

We again want to apologize about your experience, but hope you were able to find the care that you needed!

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Artsypants November 01, 2013

You state that you can cancel your monthly subscription at any time, and yet many complaint posters say care.com continues to charge the monthly subscription fee, even after subscribers cancel their subscriptions.

So does this mean, you pull their care.com job posts and cancel their subscription, but then continue to charge their credit card each month? This sounds like a scam-nightmare!

Care.com M November 06, 2013

Hi Artsypants,

Thanks for the question. You can cancel the subscription at any time after upgrading before the renewal date. If you sign up for a subscription of 3 months or 1 year that is being billed monthly, you would have to continue paying the full 3 months or year, which would be the only reason for charges after a subscription is set to cancel or downgrade. Once a membership has been downgraded or cancelled, they will not be charged past the end of their then current billing date.

Job posts are separate from the subscription, as you can post a job for free on Care.com. The job posts default to close after 3 weeks, but a member can change the job post close date and leave a job post open for however long they want, regardless if they are a premium member or not.

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Count M November 12, 2013

Glad to know the truth about your company before making the mistake of becoming a member.

My experiences
August 23, 2013

I have hired 2 fantastic pet sitters this year. The first one had a paid membership which made communication easy. The second time I posted a job, I got 9 applicant'ts within 24 hours, and of those 9, one was able to sneak her email address in her response so we could email directly. Good thing that I found her to be the most qualified.

The website is awkward to use, but most of the applicant'ts have been satisfactory. There was only one response of the ~15 across both jobs that was a definite no thank you.

I am glad for having found Care.com, and will continue using it and refer friends and family.

Wow September 03, 2013

lmao clearly a fake review... idiot

Care.com M October 30, 2013

Hi!

We're so happy to hear that you were able to have luck with Care.com! We apologize that you found the website to be awkward to use. Feel free to email or call us and let us know what we can to do make it more user friendly!

We're very glad that you found a caregiver who met your needs!

Sincerely,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Doesn't seem reliable and too expensive
July 31, 2013
I have had a paid membership for several months. Care.com backgrounds checks on potential employees are basically worthless. Minors put in fake birthdays to appear over 18. Just too expensive for what you get.

Someone August 23, 2013

They should drop the price to $20 for a single month, and $150 for the year or something. $37 for a single month seems rather steep for using a website service.

Care.com M October 30, 2013

Hi Liz,

We're sorry to hear that you weren't satisfied with our background checks. We recommend that you refer to our safety center to see exactly what is included in each Background Check, specific to your state and county. Additionally, I want to clarify that all care members on Care.com do go through an initial verification process, prior to being allowed to create an account.

We do have different pricing schemes, which are all set up to bill on a Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly basis. These prices can vary depending on taxes, but typically are around $37 for a monthly subscription, $77 for a quarterly subscription, and $147 for a yearly subscription. Thank you for your feedback on our pricing, and we will absolutely pass it along.

I hope this helps address any of your concerns!

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Recurring charges with no notice. Take your business elsewhere!
July 19, 2013

I have signed up for care.com premium membership in September 2011. Apparently, somewhere on the website the fine print says that you'll be billed continuously on the monthly basis until you downgrade the membership. I have not noticed that and have been billed by care.com for almost two years now with no notifications or statements whatsoever. My mistake was using the credit card that is rarely used otherwise and being overwhelmed by a suicide in a family at the time, hence is the need for a nanny and negligence to check the credit card charges.

However, regardless of my failure to monitor family finances, care.com is an unethical and immoral company. Clearly, their system is set up to make revenue dishonestly, taking advantage of people instead of fairly charging customers for the services they use. Respectable companies ALWAYS notify their customers of recurring charges. Care.com doesn't care about reputation or customer loyalty.

There are dozens better and safer ways to find a babysitter. Care.com charged me $700 for using NONE of their services in the past 22 months. They didn't respond to my email either. Please don't contribute to this scam and don't let such shameful practices proliferate.

Mamaswan August 24, 2013

Thanks for the honesty. I was tryin to find a high quality sitter for my husband and my three year anniversary. Definitely will not go through them.

Eliette September 03, 2013

I have used Care.com several times over the last couple of years and I find their pricing to be quite clear. It is what it is. It says right when you sign up that they will continue to charge you until you cancel. There are different rates if you sign up for month by month, 3 months at a time, etc. There is also an option to be reminded via email when you are about to be charged for the next go-round so that you can opt out. I have had good luck with them in finding decent people to help with my kids. This reviewer was overwhelmed by personal circumstances that caused her to miss $700 in charges over a period of two years and now she wants to blame the company...?

Ursula September 29, 2013

Please indicate were on the Website one can find clear pricing information prior to signing up for anything? The Terms of Use do not disclose any pricing either and only address the recourse Care.com has if they do not get paid.

Care.com M October 30, 2013

Hi Elena,

We're sorry to hear about the misunderstanding with out auto renewal policy. We do state clearly on our upgrade page that all of our subscriptions are automatically renewed until cancelled. It is also stated in section 8.2 of our Terms of Use that you agree to upon enrollment, and you are notified of the auto renewing policy in your confirmation email when you sign up.

Care.com is a self service website, and it is ultimately the member's job to downgrade or cancel the account when they no longer need the services. Many members like the auto renew feature on the accounts so their searches or communications don't get interrupted, and so they can always have access to a database full of caregivers in their area.

You can look at the pricing when you sign up for Care.com by clicking on the "Upgrade Now" button. This will show you the pricing for our monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription. From that page you can select an option and upgrade, or choose not to upgrade and go back to the Care.com homepage.

I hope this helps clarify and concerns, and again apologize for your experience with Care.com.

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Don't subscribe
July 8, 2013
Ok in order to actual see the sitters/nannies you have to update and subscribe, however after months of not finding someone to meet my needs or provide background checks, I cancelled my subscription but I'm still charged for the remaining subscription. No contact number to verbally talk to a representative (only Email). Very expensive, after a while. Also several people I asked for a background check, none was provided. I'm assuming the sitter have to pay for that service?!?!

Care.com M October 30, 2013

Hi,

We are sorry that you were unable to find a caregiver using Care.com. With a free, basic account, you are able to do searches in your area of possible nannies or sitters, as well as post a job and see what kind of applications you are getting before deciding to upgrade. We set it up this way so that you can see what kind of responses you receive, and if there are going to be any caregivers to meet your needs in your area before you choose to pay for the subscription and ultimately hire someone through the site.

If you signed up for a quarterly or yearly subscription, you do agree to pay for the full three months or year. Downgrading the account will set the subscription to cancel at the end of your billing cycle, whether its the month, quarter, or year.

In regards to background checks, if you had requested them the caregivers would not have to pay for the background checks. As soon as you request a background check, the sitter will get a message that you requested to view it and then can choose to respond or not. You can view any background checks that you were given access to in the My Background Checks section of your profile.

We again apologize for your experience, and hope that this was able to help clarify any of your concerns with using Care.com!

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

Expensive, unwieldy website, iffy service
July 1, 2013

Using to find sitters, not impressed. Simple navigation is a pain. I am a "premium member" (wish I had read reviews before) and now have to remember to cancel. Simple things like blocking users (if facebook can do it, they should do...I mean to make it so certain users can't see that you are advertising again...they say ads are public and that's that...if you are in a small town you are out of luck!). Several times I have tried to reply to a sitter who has answered my ad and received the message "that "care.com does not recognize that user" - well, what???

Yes I have found a few people, but they don't have references or reviews available online, so it's no better than craigslist imo (which is also not great, but it's free - and has so far been more helpful...)

Care.com M November 01, 2013

Hi Alissa,

We're sorry to hear you were unimpressed with our service offering.

As soon as you upgrade the account, you can select to have it downgrade or cancel at the end of your billing cycle. This is an option on your Account and Settings page under Membership Information. When you select to downgrade, you will have your premium access for the full billing cycle (one month, three months, or one year) and then the account will automatically go back to the basic membership and you will not be charged again. You can set this to happen as soon as you upgrade the account, as soon as you have found a caregiver, or at any point between the initial upgrade and the end of that billing cycle.

We do have an option to block users, however it will only block them from messaging with you not from seeing your job post. We can definitely submit your feedback on our block feature, but as of now all ads put on Care.com are public.

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative

what a joke
June 26, 2013
I have been on care.com for several months and have not gotten a single job. I get all these emails about job postings in my area and then i apply, and nothing. Nobody ever responds and it is because posters are charged for replying to you. If you are going to post a job, put your email address on it so that job seekers and email you directly. I deleted my account because it was such a joke.

Diana September 21, 2013

I agree after years of being on this site I never got one job.

I began to see that the same jobs were advertised for very long periods of time and I applied two or three times to them with no reply. Then I began to receive replies from scam artists. I notified care.com and deleted my account. I give this site an E. for the effort it takes to make us feel like we will get a job. They are careful to maintain dignity but where is the honor?

Diana September 21, 2013

Review above

Mary October 24, 2013

Also 3 months not one single response. I didn't know they continue to charge even though Ihave never been offered any jobs or even been contacted by these clowns.

Care.com M November 01, 2013

Hi Linda,

We're sorry you were having trouble finding jobs on Care.com. We understand the job search can be disheartening, especially when you have spent time applying to jobs. We encourage all Care.com members to be courteous and timely in their communication with all members, and I'm sorry that this has not been your experience.

We encourage all members to check their Care.com Profile Strength for tips on ways to make your profile stand out more. Some tips include making sure you have a complete profile by adding a picture, reviews, references, and having a background check on file.We also provide lots of tips in our Articles & Resources page for care givers that we recommend you look through. We apologize you were unable to find a job through care.com, but wish you the best of luck in your job search!

Sincerely,

Care.com Member Care Representative

total scam with billing
June 24, 2013
don't join they will auto auto charge your credit card after you join one time.

Diana H June 24, 2013

I am glad I came to this website. I was just about to sign on with care.com, but with this long list of negative reviews, I think not. Thank you to all of you for taking the time to tell the unfortunate stories that may help others to not have the same experiences!!

Stand u June 24, 2013

You can fill out a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission - it is an online process and very simple to lodge your complaint against deceptive marketing. Also the MA Attorney General will take your complaint free of charge. Both very easy processes to use.

Care.com M November 01, 2013

Hi Anthony,

We're sorry that you misunderstood our subscription plans. As stated on the upgrade page when you sign up for a subscription, as well as in Section 8.2 of our Terms of Use, all of our subscriptions are set to automatically renew until the member sets them to cancel or downgrade. Many of our members find this feature useful as they like the insurance of having a community of caregivers available whenever they need care. Additionally, we would not want to interrupt communications between members in the middle of the search process!

As soon as you upgrade your membership, you can immediately set the account to downgrade, which effectively cancels the auto renewal. This is an option in the "Membership Information" section on your "My Profile and Settings" page on your profile. When you select to Downgrade the account, you will continue to have the premium access for the remainder of your subscription, whether it is the 1 month, 3 month, or 1 year option, and then will automatically go back to the free, basic level, and will not be charged again.

I hope this helps clear up any confusion regarding our billing policy!

Regards,

Care.com MemberCare Representative

Erases contact information even after you pay for it
June 22, 2013
I paid for 2 months of the membership and got in contact with a few different sitters but I didn't keep a separate file of their contact info since they had written it all down in their messages on the website. After I downgraded to the free service Care.com put xxx's on all of the contact info in the emails and said I would have to pay the monthly fee again to be able to use the info I had gathered. I don't feel I should have to pay a second time for information I had already purchased. I will never use them again and don't recommend anyone else should.

Care.com M November 01, 2013

Hi Cecilia,

We're glad that you were able to get in contact with a few sitters through the service, and are sorry that you misunderstood the downgrade process. With your premium subscription, you were able to view any contact information that members had sent you, in addition to accessing messaging and background checks.

When an account downgrades, you were no longer able to view that contact information, because it was part of the premium subscription.We're sorry if this was not communicated to you, or if you misunderstood, but as soon as you upgrade again you will have access to that information again, and can store it outside of Care.com if you will continue to need it.

Regards,

Care.com Member Care Representative