AuPairInArgentina.com Scam

[Maddy]

I agree with @theblackhand that there are always 2 sides to a story and so will not comment on the specifics of this case. But i am happy to confirm i had (and am still having) a good experience with this agency. They introduced me to a wonderful family a year ago who i am still working with. Numerous social events have been organised for Au Pairs during my time here and i have been contacted on several occassions to check all was going well. Having had zero success finding employment in BA when i first arrived, i was happy to pay the admin charge and leave the hard work up to them.

 

[dinister]

Well that's really nice for you, Maddy. Really. I too, didn't mind forking over that cash in exchange for a similar service.

However, the "scam" part is when you don't receive that service, or you receive a service so infuriatingly negligent that it's time for the company to own up to its missteps and give you a full refund.

What I want people to take away from my story is that when you pay AuPairInArgentina.com, you may have a really great experience or they might just screw you over. But in either case, they're not going to give you your money back. (Assuming you're a different Maddy from the fake Couchsurfing user "MaddyBA.")

So if you want to take a chance on an agency run by a lady desperately making fake comments all over the internet, siccing lawyers on 23-year old girls so she can keep 80 bucks and just generally not responding to facts or logic- be my guest.

For anyone who cares, it wasn't a "standard legal document." It was a "compromise agreement" which is a British labor thing between an employer and employee...I was never an employee of anybody, why would I sign a crazy contract for a refund?

 

[TheBlackHand]

dinister, at this point you are just repeating yourself endlessly. You've said what you had to say. We get it, you don't like the agency. Maybe you should let others voice their opinions and or experiences as well without feeling the need to chime in only to repeat yourself again and again. It rings of insecurity and or ulterior motives.

 

[katti]

This is an interesting story : why does the au pair come to argentina without a contract with a family, and how?

I have had 3 au pairs, years ago. I worked with 2 different agencies : one in south africa and one in Canada. We worked for months together until we found a good match. We were in contact with the au pair several times before we signed with the girls. We paid the agency the fee, not the au pair. Then with the au pair contract, we could get a visa for them.

If I am not mistaken, we had a 3 months 'guarantee', but each time we had a great girl, so there was no need. The agencies had made a good match. And to be honest, I have no idea what would have happened to the girl If we would have send her away.

I suppose it is different in argentina, but there were strict rules about the working hours, as well as the to do's, which we had to sign in the contract with the agency, as well as with the au pair. We had to pay the flights of the girls. As far as I know, au pairs don't make a lot of money, but they have no expenses.

So yes, this is a strange story...

 

[glasgowjohn]

does it not seem strange to anyone that the posters defending the agency are fairly new posters with a low post count?

surely no one will have asked them to post........

 

[Fabe]

again , sock puppets

 

[sesamosinsal]

This is an interesting story : why does the au pair come to argentina without a contract with a family, and how?

I assume because she paid the $250 USD. Their TOS say that they don't charge this fee until a family is found, but apparently it's charged as soon as they sign up. And from what I read in the TOS, it's impossible to get that money refunded to you if you should decide to change your mind. It seems that the agency is changing the rules to fit their game. So, I imagine she felt somewhat obligated to come. In hindsight, I'm sure she has a different view on this.

I think the agency failed her from the start. Why did they ever let her board a plane here if they didn't have a family lined up for her? (They essentially told her, "Yeah, yeah, we'll figure it out.") Why did they charge her the fee prior to arrival if she had never accepted a family at that point? And why would the agency only refund her just $170 USD if she kept her mouth shut about the company?

I don't know if I would go so far as to say this is a scam, but geesh, it stinks.

 

[Davidglen77]

dinister, at this point you are just repeating yourself endlessly. You've said what you had to say. We get it, you don't like the agency. Maybe you should let others voice their opinions and or experiences as well without feeling the need to chime in only to repeat yourself again and again. It rings of insecurity and or ulterior motives.

This is a typical display of "blame the victim", and "we are tired of hearing about your plight" that has become all to frequent on this board. I personally view this board as a community and have counted on and given advice to people numerous times over the years, that I have thanked others and as well been thanked BY others for offering insight and support.
There is a consensus here that certain codes were not followed here on the part of the AuPair agency and if you read into it, she was put in a VERY precarious situation and was confident she would come to Argentina and be promptly given employment as a Nanny. NO reputable agency offering employment charges a fee of any kind, there are also laws against this. And the pay being offered is well below what is legally the minimum wage for household work. So right from the beginning there are violations whether you get someone to agree to this or not. Then the contract stating she would get a refund if she would never mention what happened it totally unethical. I am glad this was exposed and to the rotten egg who runs this agency you best rethink your business model because you or your host families are going to end up with some nasty and WELL DESERVED lawsuits for all kinds of violations. And the postings supporting this AuPair agency are very likely fake as well.

 

[jp]

does it not seem strange to anyone that the posters defending the agency are fairly new posters with a low post count?

surely no one will have asked them to post........

I've been here for four years, have more "helpful" votes than most and am more than happy to vouch for Anna and her company.

But what does it matter? Does the OP's post count reflect on her credibility?

As for "well deserved lawsuits" - David, my heart went out to you when you found yourself in trouble a few months back. My understanding is that you narrowly avoided being shut down due to a fairly simple misunderstanding. I'm genuinely surprised to see you railing against an expat trying to run an aupair scheme. What do you really know about this case beyond hearsay?

The small minority of expats who have dared set up a business here know that its tough. You have to deal with shit from the government, shit from clients and shit from employees. The longer you operate, the more likely it is that you will be attacked on all fronts.

Nobody knows the details of this case. Dinister clearly has a grievance. She may also have to answer for what she's published.

For everyone else, this is nothing more than ugly gossip.

 

[TheBlackHand]

isn't it strange that the person who started this thread just signed up a few days ago and only has 10 posts. All about the same subject ???

I guess not

does it not seem strange to anyone that the posters defending the agency are fairly new posters with a low post count?

surely no one will have asked them to post........