
Oct 13, 2008 4:48 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: Game of Fetch
FOLSOM (CBS13) ―
A Folsom couple hired a professional sitter for their dogs, but later cancelled their service. When they couldn't get a refund, they called Kurtis Ming. They had been using "smart sitters" for a year and a half and never expected this to happen.
Michelle and Barry Rockwell love their dogs; 6-year-old Max and 8-year-old Maverick.
"He's the light of life, we don't have children together so Max is everything, especially to me," says Michelle.
For the past year and half they've used "Smart Sitters" in Citrus Heights, spending more than $3000 dollars total. The sitters come to their home where Max and Maverick are most comfortable.
"We really rely on this, otherwise they cannot get out the house any other way," says Michelle.
Michelle and Barry planned a trip to Carmel for this September. Back in April, they put down a $300 deposit for a one-week service. But, a few weeks before their trip they decided not to go and cancelled the service.
"I was calling her multiple times a day which made me angry because my time is so valuable," explained Michelle.
The company's website says you can cancel, but you will have to pay a $15 processing fee. But after daily phone calls and seven emails, Michelle still got no response.
"It got pretty serious these last few days which is why I finally just called Kurtis," Michelle said.
We tried contacting the owner of Smart Sitters, Juli Woodward, numerous times. We even went to her office in Citrus Heights, but the door was locked and there was no one there.
We left several messages and she never returned our call.
"With no communication, it leads me to believe she has no intention of paying us back," Michelle said.
Two weeks later, the owner Juli, finally responded to our email and agreed to refund Michelle the $300, plus another $37.50 in credit Michelle had with the company.
"I don't want to ever be put through this again, this is way too stressful," she says.
Now Michelle and Barry can go back to more important thing.
Michelle tells her dog Max, "Give me a kiss...aah, I love you."
Michelle and Barry now use a pet sitting service that doesn't require any payments ahead of time.
They pay the sitter when they show up for the service.
If a deposit is required, pay a small portion and use a credit card for protection.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)