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Terms and Conditions
Last updated: 10/4/2026
These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of PetFena, a two-sided marketplace that connects pet owners (“Owners”) with independent pet sitters (“Sitters”). By creating an account, listing services, booking a visit, or using any part of PetFena, you agree to these Terms.
1. Eligibility and account roles
- You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into contracts.
- Owners create profiles for their pets, search for Sitters, book visits, and pay through the platform.
- Sitters create listings, set availability, accept or decline booking requests, and receive payouts for completed stays.
- You are responsible for maintaining accurate account information and keeping your login credentials secure.
2. Booking and payment
- Owners select a service tier (Basic, Standard, Premium) with published base prices. Additional hours may be added at the per-hour rate shown before checkout.
- When an Owner confirms a booking, payment is authorized and held by our payment processor. It is not released to the Sitter until the Sitter accepts the booking and the visit is completed or the payout is scheduled in line with our policies.
- PetFena charges owners a 10% platform fee on top of the Sitter’s payout. The checkout screen shows the Sitter payout, platform fee, applicable tax, and total charged to the Owner.
- If a Sitter declines a request or does not respond in time, the held payment is released back to the Owner.
3. Cancellation Policy
The same rules apply to every stay booked on PetFena. Your exact free-cancellation deadline is shown at checkout and on your booking.
Your free-cancellation deadline
Cancel more than 24 hours before drop-off for a full refund — PetFena keeps nothing.
If the owner cancels
The service price and travel reimbursement are handled separately.
| When you cancel | What happens |
|---|---|
| More than 24h before | 100% refund, including fees and travel |
| 12–24h before | 75% of the service refunded, sitter keeps 25%. Travel refunded, PetFena fee kept |
| 2–12h before | 50% of the service refunded, sitter keeps 50%. Travel refunded, PetFena fee kept |
| Within 2h of the start, after it starts, or no-show | Treated as a no-call no-show: no refund. The sitter gets 100% of the booking minus PetFena fees, plus travel |
Example: a $100 service + $20 travel cancelled 18 hours before refunds $75 + $20 = $95; the sitter keeps $25.
Travel reimbursement
When the sitter comes to your home, you reimburse their round-trip miles at $0.725/mile ($5 minimum), once per day. It's calculated automatically from both addresses and paid 100% to the sitter — PetFena takes no commission on travel. No travel fee when you go to the sitter.
Emergencies
If your pet has a medical emergency, or you face a personal emergency, choose emergency cancellation on your booking. Our team reviews every request, and may ask for proof such as a vet note. A verified emergency is the only case where the service fee can be refunded too. It overrides the late-cancellation and no-show rules above — but you must send proof to our team within 3 days of cancelling (upload it in Support). Without proof in time, the normal policy applies.
- Before drop-off: if verified, up to a full refund.
- After the stay has started: if verified, 50% of the unused hours.
Example: a $100 24-hour stay cancelled 6 hours in leaves 18 unused hours ($75), so the verified refund is $37.50. Refunds are returned to your original card, usually within 5–10 business days.
If the sitter cancels
- Before the stay starts: the sitter is paid nothing at all, and the owner gets a 100% refund — including fees. We help you find a replacement sitter.
- After the stay has started: the sitter is paid only for the hours they actually pet-sat, and they forfeit the PetFena commission on the entire booking — it is deducted from the payout for the hours they did work. The owner is refunded everything else.
- Example: a sitter booked for 3 hours who cancels after 1 hour is paid 1 hour's rate minus the 10% commission on all 3 hours.
- Late cancellations count against the sitter. Repeated late cancellations can hide their listing.
- Sitters who cancel 20% or more of their bookings are warned, then moved down one tier at a time.
Other cancellation situations
- If a stay goes wrong or you disagree with a charge, open a dispute from the booking. Our team reviews check-ins, visit logs and photos before deciding.
- Service fees are non-refundable except in staff-verified emergencies.
- Pet discomfort cancellation fee: If a pet becomes uncomfortable, anxious, or aggressive during a booking and the Sitter determines the stay cannot continue, the Owner remains responsible for a $10.00 cancellation fee. This fee compensates the Sitter for time, preparation, and inconvenience. The fee is non-refundable and non-negotiable. The Sitter must provide photo or video evidence of the pet's behavior at the time of cancellation.
- Evidence requirement: Both parties must submit drop-off and pick-up photos. Failure to submit required evidence may result in forfeiture of dispute rights.
- Owner liability: Owners are liable for false health declarations, undisclosed behavioral issues, and any damage caused by their pet.
4. Refund Policy
PetFena never takes your money up front. We place a hold on your card when a sitter accepts, and only charge it when the stay is finished.
How the hold works
- When a sitter accepts, your bank reserves the full amount. Nothing leaves your account yet.
- The hold shows as pending on your statement and lowers your available balance.
- The charge happens when the stay ends — and the sitter is paid after that.
If the stay is cancelled before it is finished
- Nothing owed: we cancel the hold outright. No charge ever appears. Banks usually drop the pending line within 1–5 business days.
- Part owed (a late cancellation fee, or hours the sitter already worked): we charge only that part and release the rest of the hold at the same time.
- Already charged (the stay ended, or the hold was charged on day 7 of a long stay): we send a refund back to the same card, normally arriving in 5–10 business days.
When no sitter is found
If your sitter cancels and we cannot match a replacement, or you stop the search, you get 100% back automatically — the hold is released or the charge refunded in full.
Stays longer than 6 days
Card networks only let a hold stand for 7 days. For longer stays we charge your card on the 7th day instead of at the end, and anything owed back to you afterwards is refunded to the same card.
What is not refunded
- The PetFena service fee is kept on any cancellation within 24 hours of drop-off. Inside that window the sitter keeps 25% of the service price, rising to 50% within 12 hours. Travel reimbursement is always refunded if the stay hasn't started.
- Hours a sitter has already worked before a mid-stay cancellation.
Staff-verified emergencies are handled separately and can be refunded in full at our discretion.
Checking a refund
Signed-in owners can see every cancelled stay and its refund on the refunds page.
5. Sitter tier program
Sitters start at the Basic tier. They advance to Standard and Premium by earning consistent 5-star reviews. A single 4-star review may be forgiven within a streak, but two or more low ratings reset progress. Two consecutive reviews of 3 stars or lower will downgrade the Sitter to the previous tier. PetFena determines tier status based on review history.
6. Reviews and communication
- Owners may leave a review after a completed visit. Reviews must be honest, accurate, and not abusive, defamatory, or misleading.
- Chat between Owners and Sitters opens after a booking is accepted. Both parties must communicate respectfully and may not use PetFena to arrange off-platform payments.
7. Conduct and prohibited activity
You may not:
- Use PetFena for illegal, fraudulent, or abusive purposes.
- Harass, discriminate against, or endanger other users, pets, or people.
- Circumvent platform fees by arranging payment outside PetFena.
- Provide false information in profiles, listings, or reviews.
- Attempt to manipulate ratings, tier status, or search results.
8. Disclaimers and liability
- PetFena is a marketplace platform, not a pet care provider. We do not employ Sitters and are not liable for the actions, omissions, or quality of service of any Sitter.
- Owners are responsible for accurately describing their pets’ health, behavior, and needs.
- PetFena does not provide insurance, accident coverage, veterinary coverage, or guarantees for any booking. Owners and Sitters assume the risks of their arrangements and are solely responsible for accidents, injuries, illness, death, escape or loss of a pet, veterinary expenses, property damage, and personal injury arising from or connected with a visit, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
- Any identity or background-check status displayed by PetFena is limited to the specific check shown and is not an endorsement, guarantee of safety, or substitute for the user’s own judgment.
- To the fullest extent permitted by law, PetFena’s liability is limited to the fees paid for the specific booking giving rise to the claim.
9. Termination
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraud, or create risk for other users. You may delete your account at any time by contacting support.
10. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated through the platform or by email. Continued use after changes means you accept the updated Terms.
11. Governing law and contact
These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction where PetFena operates, without regard to conflict of law principles. Questions about these Terms can be sent to info@petfena.com.