Care.com Reviews

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

Care.com Customer Reviews

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Dishonest, despicable company
February 9, 2013

I will echo all the one-star reviews (any five-star reviews are fake).

I explicitly indicated my desire to find a caretaker in a different state where I was going to be with my son on business. Nonetheless, the website generated a posting to which only care takers in my state responded. This is a problem with their website -- this shouldn't have happened and is a tremendous inconvenience for all concerned.

Secondly, echoing the comments above, the website indicates that there is a basic service that is "free." In fact, it's not free. It's totally worthless if an individual is unable to communicate with potential care takers who respond to one's message. The website does not clearly and unambiguously specify that the service is only "free" in terms of receiving responses from potential caretakers, but does not include the ability to communicate back. This came as a surprise when I figured this out. The owner thinks they can suck people in enough to be willing to pay a ridiculous fee ($37). This exorbitant fee is billed to a credit card in order to communicate with potential care takers, and will be billed monthly, and they are counting on people forgetting to cancel their "memberships."

The company is tremendously unfair to all the care takers who respond to posted ads. Some write very long, tailored responses and there is no way to respond to them.

In short, the company is supremely dishonest and - quite frankly, disgusting. I hope someone writes an expose and publishes it widely, describing the company's unethical business practices and shoddy service. I am really put off by this company and the individual who started it.

Margaret S February 10, 2013

I had an almost identical experience. Well said. Avoid this company!

Marianne February 10, 2013

If you read the information fully on the website, there is no misunderstanding about what's available free and what you get if you pay. Free allows you to see if there are job seekers in your area that will meet your needs. Paid membership allows you to communicate with them. How would the company stay in business if you could communicate and set everything up without paying? It's exactly like online dating - free to see who is out there, a fee to communicate with them.

You don't want to pay the fee? Don't pay the fee. Don't use the service.

Susan February 13, 2013

Wow, what a response Marianne.

Mecca February 20, 2013

I agree 100% that this company is a complete fraud! I just wasted about an hour of my time answering all these questions & filling out a profile telling all about myself & my experience working with animals. just to be asked the exact same questions after I clicked continue. meanwhile I would NEVER pay to look for a job that is NOT how it works. THIS is how it is done the person seeking the care giver pays the agency THEN the agency pays the person providing the service out of the money they get from the person who is seeking the service OR the person seeking the service pays a fee to the agency until the find the person they want to hire at which point they pay for the care giver.

The reason for this is simple in a working relationship there are two parties the EMPLOYEE & the EMPLOYER. The EMPLOYER pays the EMPLOYEE not the other way around. so if any of you are seeking a job in care giving this is NOT the way to go.

Deborah Hemsworth May 15, 2015

OH god, Marianne. If your child dies by a misrepresented internet babysitting service...They will send out his message we reserve the right not to refund your money and have the right to terminate your membership.

The reason people are angry is not because they have to pay for the service. It is because it is a dishonest, predatory, non transparent, unethical, illegal in some states, and lying sack of sh**t company that puts kids lives is danger.

Cancelled For Writing Bad Reviews and No Refund
February 8, 2013

So we first used Care.com and had a great success story. Then we moved and I had to find another care giver. I contacted DOZENS of people all of which didn't work out.

THEN I interviewed TWO people - who both turned out to be flakes. So I wrote professional negative reviews for them - shouldn't I have??

NOW THEY CANCELLED THE ACCOUNT -"FOR NO REASON NEEDED" and of course won't refund the monthly membership fee.

SCAMMERS - WHO DON'T REALLY WANT YOUR FEEDBACK ON BAD PEOPLE OUT THERE LOOKING AFTER YOUR CHILDREN.

BE WARNED
February 6, 2013
Be very careful if you decide to create and post a profile on this site as they may suspend your profile based on inaccurate criminal background reports they conduct

Kay March 09, 2013

This happened to my mom. She wrote a hot check when she was 20 because she forgot the amount of money in her bank account. A family paid for her background check, and care.com suspended her account. Because of a minor offense that happened nearly 20 years and has nothing to do with childcare.

So far so good!
February 6, 2013

I signed up with Care.com last year and within a day of applying for babysitting/nanny jobs I had a response back. We set up an in-person interview (my mom came with & sat in the car) and the family called me back a few days later to tell me I had the job. Everything went perfect during my time as a nanny for them & I created a special bond with their daughter. Unfortunately they relocated & I could not travel with them. We still send emails and texts back & forth to keep in touch. I feel bad for the families who have had awful experiences with their caregivers!

However, I'm looking for a babysitting job now & I've applied to about 10 jobs within the past few days & I haven't gotten a response back yet which is aggravating.

Avoid at all cost
January 31, 2013
We hired a nanny from this site. She stole from us. We hired several housekeepers. One of those stole from us. Three babysitters never showed up. And when we posted some positive and some negative reviews our account was shut off. It looks to me like they don't want honest reviews because most would be negative. When I called the helpline- their own agent told me they hardly every do background checks and the ones they do are very very limited in scope. This did not surprise me since several applicant'ts admitted to crimes - including felonies - after we informed them we would have a complete and real background check run. It's so scary. Leaving your children with someone is worrisome enough and for the site to seemingly blacklist those who provide negative reviews seems dishonest. We ended up using a real placement agency. Well worth the money. Parents beware! I gave actually heard bad things about some families too and of course nannies cannot leave feedback. I would just recommend a reputable agency. It might cost more upfront but it will cost less in the end. And peace of mind is priceless.

BEWARE: Background Check is Pointless and Misleading in SF Bay Area
January 26, 2013

I recently used this site to try to find an in-home child care provider. After considering about 20 prospective providers, I interviewed and checked references for two highly qualified applicant'ts that I met through the site, although I did not ultimately hire either one.

However, I recently learned that the background check offered by care.com is totally pointless in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A major selling point of the site is that it offers basic background checks that are free with your subscription, or enhanced background checks for an additional fee. However, after some searching on the site, I discovered that for most counties, the only "background check" they perform is checking the index of criminal records in the county courthouse, and in three of the five counties in the Bay Area, including Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, those indexes are no longer updated with new convictions, and have not been updated for many years. (One index has not been updated since 2003.) Moreover, in many counties, including San Francisco, they don't even check the county courthouse, and instead they only obtain data on individuals who are "Most Wanted" in that county. So, although I did not realize it at the time, none of the people I considered through care.com had actually been subjected to a criminal background check.

Susan t January 31, 2013

if the background check is done on the web, then it is totally unreliable. it needs to be done thru the state law enforcement. someone who shows up as arrested actually was not arrested and this deprives them of a job. do not rely on these web searches.

Bank charge, no services
January 21, 2013
I enrolled and selected a premium subscription but could not use the services of a premium member. Care.com told me the charge had been denied -- I checked with my bank, and the charge had gone through. A week later, same issue. Care.com says I haven't paid, but my bank shows that I have. I cancelled my subscription.

Never get replys after filling out many job apps.
January 19, 2013

I am very frustrated and not sure why after filling out atleast 20 job applications, I have never heard back from any of them.

What is up with that....is it because I have a basic membership? Do they take money on the other end ?

Anne B January 22, 2013

I have just closed my profile. I paid premium membership and nothing so I returned to basic membership and no responses.

I am a highly qualified teacher and checking the site and emails is a waste of my time. A letter of complaint I wrote when reverting to basic membership drew a response from care.com apologizing for the lack of jobs and asking me to be patient.

If they are genuine is a real shame for them. I don't want my personal credentials being so public for no return. Not impressed.

Carol January 27, 2013

I've yet to receive ANY LEADS from Care.com. I enrolled for 3 months (premium) but already have called and have it marked on my calender to cancel after this 3 month period. Care.com has done absolutely nothing to help me. AND....some of those 'new contacts in my area' seem pretty questionable.

Carol January 27, 2013

May need an occasional sitter for vacation times later this year. Not sure when but just checking around to see what is available. We just moved to GJT from Tucson AZ. We have two Shelties and a 12-year-old Border Collie/Aussie mix.

GJT???? thats the airport!

Somebody February 01, 2013

Useless

Wish we could select 0 stars
January 18, 2013
What a scam. Even WITHOUT reading all of the negative reviews from people who feel how I do.

Carol January 27, 2013

agreed!

Care.com-means "CRIMINALS.COM"
January 14, 2013

Beware, there are criminals looking to take care of your kids on this site.

I have been using care.com for about 9 months, and my experience has not been good. The sitters are just ok. Not really experienced in childcare, just in it for the money.

However, the last straw for me was when one of the sitters I found from care.com stole my LV purse I just bought from Paris a few months ago for $2000! She also STOLE 2 LV bags from another family she met through us. She actually confessed to stealing my bag after I sent her repeated texts. She finally sent me a money order for $2000 to replace my bag, and returned both bags to my friend's husbands office.

I called care.com to inform them, so they could discharge her from their agency, in order to protect other families she is caring for. She is clearly a criminal!! This was a month ago. I have sent several emails to care.com. They sent me a reply after the 3rd or 4th email, and basically said, there was nothing they could do!!!!

Their reaction was unbelievable!! So beware everyone, I don't know what kind of background checks care.com carries out, but I think all they do is collect their "checks" from these sitters. They really DO NOT CARE about the safety and well being of the families out there.

Chris C January 22, 2013

I checked this site out in order to apply for a job. They wanted a lot of personal info from me that they would have had no use for unless they were paying me - which is not the case since I was aplying directly for a job that someone else had posted. I think it is a scam - that or they sell the info to emailers!

Mecca February 20, 2013

this is so true

Mary February 23, 2013

thank you for the reviews. Now ive decided not to subscribe. their site looks very deceiving

It's a Bait and Switch Scam
January 14, 2013

I posted a job for a dog sitter, as our usual sitter was unavailable for a family funeral we were to attend. I had a promising response the next day, and searched for her phone number, address, etc. Imagine my surprise to find out NOW that I had to pay $35 to contact someone for a one-time, 3 day job. And like the others, I also discovered that amount would be charged each month until I unsubscribed.

No where in the sign-up process was this disclosed. I would rate this site as deceptive, unnecessarily expensive and a complete waste of time. I was fortunate to have not lost any money, and intend to report Care.com to any agency who will accept my complaint. I encourage others to do the same. This site needs to be taken down.

Julie January 17, 2013

I am a pet/house sitter whith great references and years of experience who thought care.com would be a great way to reach new clients. First they denied my request to join because I joined as an individual (which I am) and not as a company. Then I gave it another try to sign up as a company and imagine MY surprise when I discovered that they charge provders $12.00 for each referal. THAT''S REFERALS NOT JOBS. Someone trying to make an honest living could wind up paying Care.com a lot of money for nothing. I agree...it's a scam.

Bella January 22, 2013

It's not a scam. It's a criminal activities. I agree to report this site to someone who will check them

Carol February 03, 2013

35.00!!??? What a cr*p company they are! Maybe that's why I'm not getting any activity on my account. Someone looking for a pet sitter and has to PAY for me? I'm already paying. My customer shouldn't have to. UGH...I really dislike care.com

Carol February 03, 2013

I'm even beginning to think that the 'positive' responses on here are from the company itself

Tory February 22, 2013

This explains why I NEVER get any responses for the numerous jobs I have applied for. Makes sense to me now. I was starting to think something was wrong with ME!

Membercare May 22, 2013

Hello, I am a Member care representative from Care.com. When signing up for the service, all members are made aware upon their enrollment that they do need to upgrade the service in order to fully utilize the site. Members are also made aware on the upgrade page and on the confirmation page that all of the subscriptions are set for automatic renewal until they’re canceled. This membership can be canceled either by contacting us, or can be done right through the account when you’re done utilizing the service. We do offer the ability to set a ‘Reminder’ on the confirmation page that notifies members via email 7 days before their account is set to renew.

No problems
January 12, 2013
I have had no problems with this site. I found a good job with an awesome family and I have had a lot of responses from families, I just had an interview with a sweet family last night. Ive read the negative reviews and to me it just seems like people lack common sense. Would you sign a lease on a car before reading the fine print? And you have to actually communicate with the families to get a job. You cant't just make a profile and expect to be selected for a job. It works the same way as if you we're going to apply to work at Walmart or Wawa.

Marketing s January 19, 2013

I too have had success as a Private Home Health Aide. I only pay for the background check and get updated emails of new jobs sent to me regularly. I work for a family now through the website. I was tired of working for healthcare agencies that took a huge part of my profits. I have my own references, you can pretty much go anywhere to get a background done now a days. I think that people need to remember if you hire people who aren't from here you won't get a background on them. Also, just because you check someone's background does not mean that person has never done wrong, it means they never have got caught. I personally give more than 6 references and tell them to google my name, not to mention I am a Realtor so you can go onto the California Department of Real Estate, they do a exstensive background check. I used Care.com to market myself, unfortunately most of the jobs are very low paying, some times ridiculous amounts. Hate to say it but, you get what you pay for. Blaming an agency that is strictly for marketing because you didn't do your homework is negligence on the clients part. Do your homework, at anytime anyone could be the wrong person. If you are so worried pay for your own background on a individual. Because of Care.com I have work now and I am able to pay for the rest of my nursing school.

What a sham!
January 11, 2013
I've been signed up with this site for about a year looking for part time dog walking gigs. I've paid for the background check, I apply for jobs and I've never ever gotten work through this site. Every picture I upload is denied, any profile changes are denied. They send me emails about new jobs and when I click on them they are actually old jobs. I'm beginning to think the jobs I apply for don't really exist. This website is a waste of time.

They j January 14, 2013

Omg!!!!! I have been with this site for 3 years. I just renew my 3rd year last year. I have the same issues, one job i applied for, did a reference check and that was it, nothing else happen. they send me all type of emails, but noone replied back or anything, i thought it was because of my color. every thing was well said in this posting. i myself think its a scam. I did my bgcheck one time. and i never renew it afterwards.

Julie January 17, 2013

why do you keep giving them your money for nothing? Put a little ad in your local free weekly newspaper (many towns have them). Mine costs about $35 a month and I get a lot of business for house sitting and pet care from it. Pays for itself and then some.Care.com DOES NOT CARE...IT'S A RIP OFF

Membercare May 22, 2013

Hello, I am a Member care representative from Care.com. I’m sorry to hear that you were not able to find a part time job through the service. When applying to jobs, keeping your profile up to date is a huge part of the process. Our profile and photo guidelines can always be found on our ‘Help’ page when trying to update your information, or you can feel free to contact us if you’re still experiencing issues. The volume of jobs that are added to the site depends on the volume of individuals registered in that area that are looking to hire. The emails that get sent out notify providers of the most recent jobs posted, but if there are no new jobs being added it is possible that you will receive job alerts that are a little older. I wish you best of luck going forward.

Rip off
January 9, 2013
Same issue as previous posters. Do not join! They will terminate your membership if you give honest feedback. And we have given both positive and negative honest feedback. Really positive and some negative but honest. They also seem to reach the bottom of the barrel. We have had a few----very few good finds and some horrible. One that alluded to using drugs. Several that asked to be paid cash only (we report to the IRS by law). One we caught taking 12 packs of soda to her car. One that failed to strap kids into car seats. Care.com did the same to me that they did to those above who gave honest feedback. They terminated our membership. I want to know if someone listed does drugs or doesn't use safety procedures with kids. That is really important to me. I don't understand why care doesn't care?

Marc January 22, 2013

We'll see closer what they do soon

Rebecca April 23, 2013

I havent even gotten the chance to post a review of someone. We started using it 3 days ago, paid for a 3 month membership for $70.00 and today (third day) we were terminated. No explanation, nothing, just tried to sign in and it said email not recogized so my husband checked his e-mail and BAM, termination notice. I cant wait to call customer service that is a phone call i am going to love to record and report to the Better business bureau

Membercare May 22, 2013

Hello, I am a Member care representative from Care.com. I do apologize for the experience you had regarding the caregivers you hired. Anytime members have a poor experience, we encourage them to write a review or report the provider to our safety and security team to make others aware of the situation that occurred. We would not remove a member from the service for leaving honest feedback about the experiences they had with other members, however due to our privacy policy we cannot disclose the reasons as to why accounts get removed from the service. Again I apologize for your experience but wish you best of luck going forward.

Arrogant, unethical and deceptive at best
January 8, 2013
I had been searching for a housekeeper for some time and had paid care.com the subscription fees for several months. I was aware of the auto-renew feature but it took some digging to find it. They purposely obscure it to gouge you. The worst part of this, is after paying several months and after I had a poor experience with one provider and posted some fair, but negative feedback towards the provider, which care.com asked for, they arbitrarily cancelled my account. I requested several times to at least understand why they canceled the account and they refused to tell me. They quoted their policy that they have the right to terminate service for any reason whatsoever and are not required to disclose the reasons for such. What arrogance. Please, please join me in boycotting this company and send a message that this nonsense will should not be tolerated.

I w January 14, 2013

I will help

Hey,Care. c January 22, 2013

You think all people are stupide and you are so smart?????

Membercare May 22, 2013

Hello, I am a Member care representative from Care.com. I do apologize for your experience on the site. Unfortunately per our privacy policy, we cannot disclose specific details as to why accounts do get removed, however we would not terminate a membership for posting honest feedback about their experience with another member; our review feature is made for just that. Again I apologize for your experience, but wish you best of luck going forward.

Willfully and wrongfully canceled our membership.
January 5, 2013

My wife and I needed some help so we signed up with care.com.We paid the fee for a year and started using the service.We only used the website for about 3 weeks after which we stopped for we no longer need a caregiver.

3 months later,we got this email that our membership has been cancelled at the discretion of care.com

No reason was given and the email states they,can at will cancel your membership.

This is my story...

Okay site, sneaky billing
January 3, 2013
I found a babysitter through this site. I didn't use many of the features, so I can't comment on many aspects of the site. It was helpful to see so many listings. I read through the billing policies carefully because I know that some sites auto renew. It did state that the account would auto renew after a month. I think it should be stated more obviously, maybe in red at the top of the page, because it's a big deal. I downgraded to the free membership one month to the day after I purchased my premium membership. Admittedly, I should not have waited until the last minute. Of course, I checked and there was a pending transaction in my bank account. I emailed Care.com, and by the time I called (the next day) it had already been taken care of. I am glad they took care of the issue. Like another user stated, they send out emails all the time, so it should not be a problem for them to send out a billing reminder.

Billy January 22, 2013

Come on.... It's no the best site, you should hire a better designer, at least with some education.

Membercare May 22, 2013

Hi there, I am a Member Care Representative from Care.com. I’m glad to hear that you were able to have success with our site. We do offer a billing reminder upon enrollment, so that you would get a billing reminder one week prior to your subscription renewal. I apologize if you missed that, but again, I am glad to hear you had an overall positive experience, and that we were able to assist you with your billing concern!

not helpful and bad billing practice
January 2, 2013
I didn't know the site auto renew my subscription. I was charged for several months and didn't even know about it. I asked the representative if others have the same complaint/problem or if I was an idiot for missing that part...she said she does have a lot of people call in with the same problem. OBVIOUSLY this is a scam because they KNOW that their small prints about the auto renew is not obvious to their users. Also they have a no refund policy so I was unable to get my money back...even though there has been no activity on my profile for MONTHS. Don't use this website. I went through a bunch of applicant'ts and couldn't find a reliable one. You are better off asking your friends/family/neighbors for references!!! IF you decide to use this site, please make sure you talk to all the references and have nanny cam in placed!!!

Membercare May 22, 2013

Hello, I am a Member care representative from Care.com. I do apologize for your experience on the site. When signing up for the service, all members are made aware upon enrollment that they do need to upgrade the service in order to fully utilize the site. Members are also made aware on the upgrade page and on the confirmation page that all of the subscriptions are set for automatic renewal until they’re canceled. This membership can be canceled either by contacting us, or can be done right through the account when you’re done utilizing the service.

Care.Com site states it will find you a job, I am still unemployed!
December 26, 2012
When I first signed up on care.com I put out 2 different applications. One was for housekeeping & the other 1 was for a caregiver provider. I tried to upload my photo from Facebook and that didn't work so then I tried to upload my photos from my computer and that still doesn't work.This site has a lot of problems with it. I filled out several applications with many people looking for house keepers and caregivers, and I've never been contacted, and I have no reviews. I put a lot of work into my applications and filling out my info on care.com. I will give it 1 more week and if I don't hear from anyone on a job offer, or at least get a call I'm just going to take my information off the site and go elsewhere for a job.

Reader December 29, 2012

you better cancel your billing account now, seems they bill you for 3 more months that you sign up for!

Same Story: Deceptive Billing
December 23, 2012

As a consumer I have certain responsiblities such as check my billing statements and read the contract. As a company, they put info in the fine print knowing the consumer in these conditions don't have time to read the fine print. They send daily, weekly and monthy e-mail notifications about childcare but they can't send a single e-mail that notifies the user they are being charged. They are relying on the consume, like myself, to be too busy to notice. Flat out this is predatory. If they were practicing full disclosure, they would notify us they were charging us. They don't because we would realize it and end our service. If you are stuck in an annual contract even after notifying them to cancel the service, I would get your credit card cancelled or renumbered.

They get a 2-star because I did find someone but the back ground check was useless.