Care.com Reviews

I read all the negative reviews and either everyone with bad experiences has had bad luck with the site, or I am someone special, LOL!

I haven't had any problems with costumer service at all, on the contrary, they are always prompt to resolve my issues. A couple of years back I pressed the downgrade button by mistake, contact customer service, and they fix it at no charge. Two years before that I closed the account, then they sent me a discount coupon to reactivate and paid way less for a premium membership.

The most important thing about us providers in Care.com is THE BACKGROUND CHECK. All my current recurring clients found me on Care.com, and they choose me over someone in Craigslist because let's be honest, would you let a person YOU DON'T KNOW go into your home or be around your children and precious possessions? Do you know if they have a criminal record? I live in the border near Tijuana and a lot of people cross the border to work illegally in the house cleaning business. Although I charge double, my clients choose me just because they know I have a clean criminal and driving record, I have the right to work in the USA, hence pay taxes, and they know where to reach me in the USA, not in Tijuana.

Overall, I love the site, it has brought me lots of clients and whatever I paid for a premium membership has paid itself over 10 times.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Kathryn F has cared for my Mom, Dorothy C, in different capacities over the years. In each area of care, she excelled our expectations. Her concern and compassion for my mom were professional as well as personal. Kathryn is trustworthy and honest to put your loved one’s needs in her care.

We highly recommend Kathryn F in all areas of your loved ones.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Wendy Curts was a reliable caregiver for my wife who had a stroke and was suffering from Dementia. Wendy always arrived at our home on time and stayed for her full shift. She is a good cook preparing meals and on some occasions would even shop for the groceries to prepare for the agreed upon meal. Wendy would also offer to do other tasks such as laundry or play card games etc. with my wife. The only reason we no longer needed her services was the vast improvement in my wife's health.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I was able to post a job right away and got responses from applicants right away. It claims to have some free service when you search for it, but posting and observing responses are the only things free. You have to pay for a membership to respond to the applicants. Most of the applicants didn't seem to have read the job posting because they were applying for something completely different. The site constantly asks you about keeping an applicant or not. Doesn't seem to matter, their name never disappears from the list. You can not organize the applications or delete any, or mark them in any way such as contacted, good prospect, did not respond, or whatever.

I scheduled telephone interviews, and the process was almost a total failure. The applicants did not get the message fast enough, and you have to go through a procedure on the telephone designed to hide the contact information of both parties. The site claims various things like payroll services, which I would be interested in, but there were no details, and you have to pay extra I'm sure.

They strongly suggest a background check on every applicant, which costs maybe $89 for one time or $20 a month. They really are wanting you to sign up for monthly services and fees. The only response I ever received from the Care.com was when I complained that you had to pay to use the site. The said no, you can post a job and view applicants for free, you just have to pay to contact them, and gave me an extra 5%, which I used.

I was finally able to contact an applicant, but the process seemed to take about a week. This is just for a tiny temporary job. Bottom line is, I would recommend with reservations at this point, but I also haven't tried to cancel the service, which they claim you can do if you call up to the day before the automatic renewal date.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I recently "joined" Care.com and was very disappointed because they DO NOT tell you ahead of time that you have to pay a fee. I had a prospective employer contact me through Care.com, and when she tried to send me her phone number, it was blocked. I tried to send mine; same result. I even tried to send my personal email, and it was blocked. She said she was very frustrated with this and because we could never connect me she hired someone from another source where she had advertised.

When I emailed Care.com and told them what happened and asked if there was a hidden fee, I was directed back to the website where it then shows a fee that has to be paid either one time or monthly in order to finish your profile and receive job offers. That is very sneaky because they don't tell you at the beginning that there is a fee.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I am beyond frustrated with the quality of help I find on this site. I used to get quite a bit of work from here, so I know someone out there wants to work. So far the candidates either are a no-show, stop responding to contact or accept a job only to try to bait and switch to a higher pay rate when they arrive at the house. I place ads stating to respond with reasons why they are a good fit for the job, and they just send saved responses that have nothing to do with the job. My ad says we have pets and yet people show up who dislike animals or have allergies. They lie about their ability to communicate in English. It's pretty clear why these people are on a website as they are unemployable in person. All responses from Care.com are pre-formed responses.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I paid for three months and saw many housekeepers in my area. I found one I liked and hired her. I then downgraded my account because I didn't think I'd need it anymore. When things didn't work out with her, I paid again for another three months and looked up perspective housekeepers.

Before I found anyone, I realized that the job I listed had expired. So I put in another job description and attempted to set up several phone interviews and sent messages to several housekeepers. No one responded. There are supposedly several people in my area who clean houses, but apparently, none of them wanted the job.

I also found out that my job description stated I would pay $80 per cleaning. I never signed up to pay that amount.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

They say that the caregiver account is free. I sent an application for a pet sitter. However, the employer couldn't respond, unless I upgraded to a premium account. When I emailed Care.com they responded by saying, "Only premium members are able to respond to caregiver applications." However, they would give me a discount to upgrade my account to premium for a 3-month or 6-month subscription. I had already paid $60.00 for a background and driving record report. I am unemployed looking for work. Just thought I'd set the record straight.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

After over two years with Care.com providing dog walking services with nothing but 5-star reviews, I was terminated from the service. Emails were sent to all who had contact with me saying I was terminated and would not give a specific reason for the termination but gave many examples of why the termination would take place and none were anything I had experienced. When I contacted the company thru phone and email I was told the company line, which we can terminate the relationship for any or no reason.

Other reasons for such a low rating, many of the jobs posted were old and had been filled but not removed from active listings. I was unable to limit potential jobs by state so even though I had a radius of 10 miles from my home could not limit jobs I would have to pay a bridge toll to get to. I only gave two stars because I did get some pups to walk through the site. But many of my pup owners reached out to me asking what they could do to help me with the company and the representative for Care said nothing anyone would say to them would make a difference.

I would not recommend this site for anyone thinking of trying to provide a service they SAY they will help you with.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I mentioned to a friend that I was going to check out Care.com for pet-sitting services and was warned against signing up with them because of the auto-renewal process that is next to impossible to get out of.

So I decided to use the free account instead. What a joke. I could post my needs but was not allowed to respond to any of the folks who responded to my posting because it was not a benefit of the free account. Therefore it was a total waste of time for me to even visit the site. Then it took forever to get them to stop sending me marketing emails about their "great" service.

I'm glad I took my friend's advice, though, and didn't get involved with their billing nightmares.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Care.com is a fraudulent misrepresented .com platform that puts kids lives in danger daily.

None of the information provided by Care.com is verified at all. Not background checks, references, CPR or even first aid.

Background checks are provided by an out side .com company that clearly states they are not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of any background check since no ID is ever seen by anyone. A caregiver punches a DL number into the computer herself from her home computer and any ID can be used to pass a background check.

References are also provided by the caregiver by forwarding them over the computer by email. The caregiver can provide any email and verify it herself with her own computer as the parent. Nothing is checked out by Care.com. No CPR or first aide cards are registered on the site anywhere.

A parents account will be terminated by Care.com for writing a negative review on a caregivers page. Only a few negative reviews are allowed of no importance like no call or no show. This keeps the Care.com webpage free of too many bad reviews and weeds out the undesirable parents that complain. The same is for the caregiver. If any caregiver should report a parent for non payment or any issue, the caregiver is terminated from the community. This is less costly than dealing with any issues. Both the parents and caregivers receive this auto generated response when terminated. "We reserve the right to remove anyone for any reason or no reason at anytime."

The BBB is covering for Care.com by collecting the $500 membership fee. Any company can be accredited for $500 a year and monitor/pick and choose reviews and keep an "A" rating.

The review boards at the top of the pile when Goggled are "Care.com reviews what customers are saying." These boards at the top are all owned and operated by Care.com and do not allow negative reviews.

The real review boards are as follows:

• Jabbersite
• Reviewopedia
• Pissed Consumer
• Waffles at Noon
• Complaints Board
• WMAG working moms against guilt
• The Doll house
• One nanny's experience

Here are 1000's of reviews backing up what I am saying.

Care.com uses predatory auto renew billing buried in small grey font that most parent do not see. One month membership turns into sometimes years of billing with no E-receipt to the email. They use a Bait and Switch marketing tactic to lure people in the trap.

Care.com allows minors to babysit.

Care.com is hosting check scams, prostitution, identity theft and much more.

Care.com has 13 million accounts in 16 countries. American's personal information is being sold between the countries by dishonest Care.com employees.

Do not use. 

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

NO REPLIES! I am an educator in a public school system looking for summer work. I signed up using the free profile service. I checked out company reviews and have read a lot on the billing troubles. That is why I choose the free profile.

Why bother offering a free profile when it yields nothing? I am highly qualified. I have not received any replies in more than three weeks and I live in a highly populated area. I wonder what the “free profile” is all about. I would not recommend signing up, using the free profile expecting responses for a job.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Any company that needs to hide behind an extra fine print disclosure (Auto renew billing) that is 10 shades lighter than the rest of an enrollment page is a fraudulent non transparent, thieving company that preys on hard working Americans. Care.com provides no receipts to customer emails because if they did they would not be able to steal money from their customers. This is a shameful display of taking advantage of modern tactics and is illegal is many states. Karma is real and these CEOS will have their share of misery coming their way. All criminals fall in the end.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Truly unbelievable. I canceled once and it didn't take. I canceled again and they stated they had no record of my original cancelation. So I canceled twice. Now, I just received my credit card statement and lo and behold, they have charged me yet again. What a nightmare! This is a truly heartless organization. Incredibly unethical.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

It has been very frustrating - while I found some sitters, many that look great and I would like to meet never respond - not even after I use the Care.com option of setting up an appointment with them and not even after I contact them repeatedly. When I told Care.com they repeatedly gave me their blanket statement that they know how it can be frustrating and I should post a job and try that route, but basically they will do nothing more than be sympathetic. So this has been a huge waste of time. This website should not keep caregivers that never respond (for whatever reason). If feels like a scam.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Care.com is a hiring website. I paid for a subscription because they had a special, then I found out that there is no difference in using their free site or paying for it. This is a total scam and I've spoken to many people who have said they never found a job on this site and that it's just a waste of your money.

Do not fall for this, do not pay for a subscription on Care.com. There isn't even a way for you to speak to anyone, they only email you. Scam.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I signed up for Care.com because I love taking care of pets (from birds to reptiles) and because I care about families. They turned me down because of a DUI almost 10 years ago. Really? Does that make me a bad person? I'm not a felon, and I'm not a thief. I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I made a MISTAKE 10 year ago when a parent passed away.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Care.com is the worst. I'd give them zero stars if I could. They take your money, offer no additional benefit and no refunds. Save your $19 and go elsewhere. Absolutely horrible.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I canceled my subscription back in July. Several months later I noticed that I was still being billed. I tried to log in, and none of my email addresses were recognized in the recover your email screen. I then reached out to the careteam@care.com. They emailed me back without verifying who I was, other than the name I gave them in the email and said they would credit back the last month and change the subscription to basic (which has no charges). I thought that was strange, and then even stranger was that they included someone else's email on the reply.

I verified that the last month was credit back to my credit card. Then I got concerned. After eight emails of no help, I found a phone number (877) 227-3115. They were able to tell me that all my information was under an email that was not mine. They said they deleted the account, but boy am I worried that some other person had access to my address, billing info, etc. and Care.com seemed to not really care at all. Go figure.

Keep the phone number 877-227-3115 handy in case you run into issues. This was the only way that I got anything partially resolved. I would avoid this service.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I was appalled and infuriated when my mother was almost taken advantage of because of this site.

About two years ago, my mother had placed a job seekers post looking for a caregiver position. She got a response, and the person sent a photo of themselves and the elder, prospective client. Things began to slowly get odd when she said she'd send her a check, but first, it would have to be forwarded to another party to cover the cost of a wheelchair. Had my mother's bank not been experienced enough to recognize a fraudulent check, it would have been catastrophic.

Not good. Stay away. Find other resources for getting help. Unless they start using proactive screening measures and monitor posts, it's just not safe.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

They offer you the option of a one-month trial, and then sneak in the email registration that they will renew your registration automatically. What's the point of a month registration if they automatically renew it without sending you a notice before doing so?

They just stole $200 from me because, at $40 a month, you do not notice it right away.

I am very disappointed. This commercial behavior is the sign of a company trying to get money out of you, and it is against my conception of business. Shame on them.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Read the fine print when you sign up. The membership charges are $35.00 monthly. I signed up thinking it was for a one-month period as my daughter needed a sitter in March, but then I was charged again in April and again in May. Also, review your credit card line items in detail to avoid unauthorized charges.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Care.com did a background check on me through Sterling Talent Solutions. Over three years ago, I had a driving incident that I was not charged with, ticketed for, arrested for or fined for. Their email says to contact STS to fix it, but STS say I must contact Care.com.

I tried half a dozen times to reach them by phone, and I never can reach a live person. So, my account has been closed. I have emailed them numerous times, and they tell me to call their customer service number, which I have.

They have information and refuse to discuss it. This company is not a company anyone should deal with.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I used Care.com to hire a housekeeper, and when she didn't do a great job, I gave her three stars. She commented back, and her comment was a lie. I noticed that Care.com only shows her high rated reviews and depending on when you look at her profile, you may see mine. It seems like they only want people to see the good ratings and not ALL of the ratings.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I was a bad kid and made poor decisions. Care.com does background checks on paying members looking for care. My crimes were nonviolent and over 20 years ago, but they have no problem taking that membership fee of $78. I feel like I'm on Cerci's walk of shame from Game of Thrones.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Care.com allows "parents" to review nannies, and it opens a door for passive aggressive cyber bullies online.

I have been a nanny for about six years, working with families for years at a time that I still keep in touch with, and when I received a message from a woman regarding childcare paying $15-20 per hour I gave her a call. She then said she would only offer $8 per hour and also wanted housekeeping. I politely declined her offer in a message after our phone call, only to receive backlash from her and then two weeks later received a bad review saying horrible lies about me on my page.

I called Care.com to explain to them what happened and they told me that they cannot remove reviews but that I could write a response to her. If I had DESERVED anything she said, I would have written a polite response, but what she wrote was horrible, and I felt embarrassed having my image on the website above that. I was told by the Care.com person that if I tried to delete my account and get a new one, they would find out and have me banned. Acting like I was the one in the wrong here. There was no respect, no empathy, and they didn't have my back at all.

Care.com does not protect people from scammers and possibly dangerous people on their website. They say they are a referral service, not a nanny service which I guess absolves them from any wrongdoing.

The reality is anyone can go on this website saying they're a parent and then write whatever they want about a person. Care.com does not go to any lengths to protect the people that are keeping the site running, which are the nannies, housekeepers, petsitters, etc. Please go through other websites or companies, they do not accept any personal responsibility for the environment they are creating, and by allowing reviews they are opening the door for anyone to say anything they want, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

First, as a caregiver, they want to pay for a membership, which I came to the site to make some money and meanwhile help people.

Within the first week that I signed up, I was contacted by a Carl H, who introduced himself as Mark McCormick. She/he/it is a scammer block if you see those names. He offered me a job that was too good to be true. It told me that it worked for Lively Franky Furniture & Decor, but the company does not exist. I did further investigation, and the numbers and emails are all disconnected. I looked up the CEO and he does not exist.

So, run away fast! I wish I could give Care.com ZERO stars. They have false advertisement, having so many members (oh please), filled with scammers. Care.com needs to clean up the mess. I know better websites than this.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend