Members of TrustedHousesitters who claim they were detained while travelling abroad say the company’s visa information is misleading

It is billed as a cheap way to travel the world – staying for free in strangers’ homes in exchange for looking after their pets. But the world’s biggest housesitting company has been accused of encouraging its members to flout visa rules by providing misleading travel advice.

In some cases, members of TrustedHousesitters were detained and deported after arriving for international housesitting jobs without work visas, leaving them out of pocket and facing difficulties travelling in future.