AuPairInArgentina.com Scam

[2GuysInPM]

Two words: fake profiles.....

good detective work on the IPs. if you have emails from them, you can view the full headers and see if the email's source IPs also match.

 

[TheBlackHand]

Actually no. There are two sides to every story and then there's the truth.

I personally won't take the word of one 4 post anonymous account over another 4 post anonymous account. Therefore i'll just remain neutral since I have no dog in this fight. But that's just me.

uh huh. one of those side is always a lie.

 

[fifs2]

It is quite standard for Au Pair Agencies to cover a fee; it goes towards administration, care while the au pairs are abroad, events and orientation.
We have been working for 2 years successfully in Argentina with currently 30 happy au pairs placed with satisfied families, which I don’t think we could do if we were “fraudulent” or out to rip people off. Unfortunately there is not much we can do about a bitter au pair, who was asked to leave for not working properly and “treating the house like a hotel”, bad mouthing us across the internet, and of course she is entitled to her freedom of speech. The only thing we can rely on is the positive feedback that we consistently get from our clients content with our service and who know that we are true to our word.

Hi Ana, welcome to baexpats which is a lions' den of usually friendly beasts just looking to help their fellow expats if they can. It would probably help if you could answer the specific accusations of the OP in question as some of those do seem suspicious - the cover fee is not at all in question and is as you say standard for the industry:
- did she have to wait 2 weeks for a placement in spite of being promised 1 on arrival
- why the "hush" clause in the settlement contract?
- who so many profiles?

 

[Fabe]

A good rule f thumb is that any decent employment / placing agency does not charge the worker a fee up front.
Legitimate agencies see the people looking for an au peir as the client , and charge THEM the service fee.
Im not afraid to say unequivocally that this agency is a scam.

 

[Rease]

I worked for this agency too. I ended up letting a girl live with me because she had the same issue with being kicked out of her family's house. I also helped two other AU Pairs who had family issues and never got help from the agency. Pretty terrible.

 

[Davidglen77]

I would say that this issue falls into the category of "trata de personas", which is a very serious offense here in Argentina. Let's get these people's data together and let derechos laborales about what their game is. War on scammers and cheats!

 

[annatempleton]

Hi Ana, welcome to baexpats which is a lions' den of usually friendly beasts just looking to help their fellow expats if they can. It would probably help if you could answer the specific accusations of the OP in question as some of those do seem suspicious - the cover fee is not at all in question and is as you say standard for the industry:
- did she have to wait 2 weeks for a placement in spite of being promised 1 on arrival
- why the "hush" clause in the settlement contract?
- who so many profiles?

Hi Fifs2
Firstly as far as I am aware no placement was promised on arrival. It can take 2 weeks - 2 months to find the right family placement. According to my staff, Nandini was offered several families which she turned down as she didn't feel they were right, which added to the delay in her placement.

The agreement she was asked to sign by my lawyer was in full and final settlement of this case. Apparently this is a standard legal document and not a "hush" agreement

Not sure what you mean by why so many profiles...?

 

[Boneapple]

I worked for Au pair Argentina back in October 2010 and had a great experience with them. Anna was hands on and supportive all the way through my experience. All of the other Aupairs i met during my time with them also had a good experience.

Cue lots of remarks from people saying i'm linked to AuPair Argentina in some way...yes i was, i worked for them for over 6 months. Am i still linked to them..no. But having read all these comments accusing them of being fraudulent, i can guarantee that's not the case. They are 100% above board and offer a great service to most people who work with them. Clearly the poster of this post has a grudge, they havent hidden that, so i would say to everyone reading this / getting involved. Remember there are always two sides to the story.

 

[dinister]

I received and published a comment today on my blog from another girl who paid the agency, was similarly abandoned by the agency and did not receive a refund.

Scroll down to the comments: http://aupairinargentina.wordpress.com/about/

Glad to see others stepping forward.

 

[dinister]

Nope, the first family I was offered was about a week before my arrival in Buenos Aires. It was for a family that needs someone to watch 2-year old twins and 8-month old toddlers for 12 hours a day, in Uruguay.

I mean, I had to decline. I've never been alone with a baby before. I don't know how to hold one, even. I wrote that in my application. I said that in a Skype interview. I don't know what this agency was even doing offering me a position like that. Forget me- that actually puts children and the families at risk.

I accepted the second one they offered.

Back in August, her representative sent me an email saying:

"As an agency we work to find you guaranteed work and we offer constant support and guidance, plus discounts in places in Buenos Aires.
It usually takes around 2 weeks to month to place you depending on the circumstances."

So it was kind of news to me to receive an email from Templeton telling me to sit tight in a hostel indefinitely in a foreign country: "Argentines can be quite flakey so it is hard to tie them down. So although 2 months might seem like a long time to you, it can be a short time to secure a family."

It would have been helpful to know about that months-long discrepancy before, no?


I'm thinking I need to publish all my email correspondence as a next step, but until then you can just check out the Cliffsnote version.
http://aupairinargentina.wordpress.com/a-timeline-of-lies-and-contradiction/