Mumsnet Talk

I struggled recently through the school forums to find a babysitter for my two kids and I hope it wasn't because I am a chap! LOL

Like you do I then went online and found several companies advertising services, it was hard to find anything decent that was free, of the paid sites the one with the best website was I think called babysitting.com, they appear to be multinational so it all "felt safe". It certainly worked and I found 4 girls who are now available as and when we need them so from that perspective I guess it was worth the £25 (yep that's what it cost to get access to the sitter) but the catch was sneaky charging and this is why I am advising everyone to be really careful.

When you sign up they put you on a "automatic renewal for your ease of use", what rubbish that is, it's automatic so you keep paying when you forget to cancel! I set my diary reminder as I was determined not to get stung and then found it really hard to cancel, you can't "click it" on the site, there is no link on the home page or MyAccount (where you would expect to find it) but after some perseverance I found it hidden in the small print, even then you have to go to a different section to fill out a form. Sneaky again!

Be warned, these folks will happily keep taking your money if you are not careful.
Hope someone else doesn't get caught?
Jim

Yes, repeat billing is quite common.

When on a payment page, always read the entire page before clicking to proceed with payment, and read terms & conditions.