Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 04:51:57 GMT

anggie78 — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 04:51:57 GMT

so is there any agency that provides good service, please share with it! As I am going to deliver soon which is due around August and is eagerly looking for a helper to start with me, appreciate it.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:58:37 GMT

Marib — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:58:37 GMT

In our case we hired a maid, she came only one time and then she dissapeared.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:42:59 GMT

30woman — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:42:59 GMT

Hi folks, jus found this on MOM (hope it helps) : http://www.mom.gov.sg/services-forms/employment-agencies/Pages/others.aspx. Scroll down to the bottom and find \"feedback on Employment Agency\". It's a feedback form/ lodge a complain form. But they wil still refer out to respective entities: eg to the AEAS as shown by LCK earlier.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:01:59 GMT

30woman — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:01:59 GMT

As for my current maid, she also lied abt her bio even though I had a face to face interview. During interview,She told me that she took care of her old employer’s newborn, I asked its from the time it’s born? She said yes. ( cos we need a maid w infant experience) And it was only till recently, I told her she would need to help take care of my newborn baby, then she said she nvr take care of newborns before. E last employer let her tk care aft e bb is 2 mths old etc. I dun know if she lied earlier on or she lied becos she want to so less work. So Rafy, u hv to ask and ask again. And if anything sounds illogical and fishy, dun take! good luck to you!

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:53:00 GMT

30woman — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:53:00 GMT

Thanks lck. Hv emailed to e Singapore agency. Hope they can help bring justice to these kind of bad maid agency. I hv encountered maid agencies n maids that lie about their bio-datas! E maid before my current one, e other maid agency lied about y she left. We found her to hv some "emotional problems" , she has a problem w everyone. every few days, she wil b unhappy w someone n aft tt, showed her temper or sit in one corner. WEIRD rite? We didn’t know until we found a piece of paper on her & big surprise: e address belongs To our neighbour who lives above us!! So I asked how she got e paper (she said fr old employer) . I continued to ask wats e reason she left? If not I’ll ask the neighbour. Then she blurt out its bcos she lock herself in e room, refuse to come out when they call for her etc, which is a totally different story fr wat e maid agency said! Aft a few days of confrontation, tt maid agency actually refunded us. Looking back, even though they lied, but at least they r more responsible than this Univers-l maid agency.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:22:31 GMT

lck — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:22:31 GMT

Rafy, you re referring to which bio data? The maids or agency records?

The bio data for the maids if not clear ,u better check and question them till u get the answer. The bio data stated can speak English and cook. But when you call them and speak to the maid, you will be surprise.

I have many bad experience with a lot agency. I recommend you go for hougang green, home keeper agency. That’s their HQ and Trg centre. U will never see the maids sitting down . All of them will be undergo training with proper guidance from the teacher.

After getting all the lousy maids, end up I still go to them and the price is average . Important is the staff are responsible and take ownership of their works.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:14:38 GMT

lck — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:14:38 GMT

30woman,

I think that is really too much. Since they re so unfriendly, my advice to you is to go MOM and raise ur issues to them. They will assist you and provide the necessary advice.

I don’t think the contract state that you need to pay additional money for 3yrs plus replacement maid!!

After you read thru the contract and seek MOM advice.

With all your supporting documents go to bang at their office.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:49:31 GMT

Rafy — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:49:31 GMT

just wondering, has anyone had experience with this maid agency

1st AllBest Human Resource Pte Ltd?

looking at bio datas from them, and want to ensure that this is an all right agency.

Thanks!

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:47:03 GMT

30woman — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:47:03 GMT

And also, I paid for a maid w 3 yr+ experience, n aft tt, they told me I can only get free replacement if I choose another maid that has less than 2 yrs experience. If I want the same experience one, I hv to pay another few hundred dollars. Initially I tot, less than 2 yrs also better than nothing. Now, I dun even get a replacement at all!!! This Univers-l Maid Agency is utterly disgusting and scam.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:43:47 GMT

30woman — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:43:47 GMT

Btw I learnt my lesson. This Univers-l maid agency say unlimited or life time replacement is all bullshit. Cos aft I got my 1st maid, it’s so difficult to even reach anyone in their office. They wil say call u back, short handed etc but more than a week and nothing happened. It’s really bullshit. Dun believe any agency ESP this Univers-l maid agency !! E money tt I hv paid, I can get 3 maids in other agency Lor. Now I only got 1 !! And on top of that, hv to go thru all the misery of chasing after them!

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:36:49 GMT

30woman — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:36:49 GMT

Thank u very much for the advice!! I didn’t know there is an agency in charge of all agencies in Singapore!! I believe a lot of people didn’t know too!.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:41:04 GMT

Steadyberry — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:41:04 GMT

I had bad experiences with maid agency too. They are liars. I told them I needed a maid urgently and called them a few times to check when my maid be coming in. They gave me excuses, passport not ready, this not ready that not ready. Finally my maid came. I asked my maid did she has problems with her documents. My maid told me no. Infact she arrived for many days already but was told by agent that I was too busy to pick her up. She told me she spent her time cleaning the hostel and the agency office. There were more but there is no point mentioning now. In the end, I decided to be a sahm and get help from part-time cleaners. No more agent or maid issues. But also no more hair treatment and facials etc… too but it was worth it.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:24:06 GMT

lck — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:24:06 GMT

Important thing is u must have the patient. They are registered company and definitely they will paid us.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:17:03 GMT

lck — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:17:03 GMT

Pse contact the following :

Singapore Employment Agenices (In charge of ALL AGENCY)
Tel : 68362618 / Fax : 68362690 / aeas.org.sg
email : aeas.org@gmail.com
Address : 9 Jalan Kuloh #03-77 Singapore 160009

They will be able to assist you .

Previously MOM directed me to a link( Under MOM website) to retrieve the information of the agency . But require us to pay $5.00 plus for the infor. The information contained the capital of the company and the owner of the agency . The house address of the owner is part of the infor. I was prepared to go direct to the owner and luckily they managed to refund me the $$ .

The agreement is likely is standard for all agency as long they are registered with CASE. But some agency just ignore the agreement .

Whatever they said not refundable is not true. The loan u paid for the maid, insurance ... Can be refund back. Unlimited Replacement sound \"good\" but to the agency, they are not require to refund you back. Cos they still provide you with the service and continue to let you replace the maid.

Unless you want to TERMINATE their service, they will have to refund you. You have the rights to terminate and get the refund.

If they keep giving you more excuses, just tell direct that you have went to MOM to complain and fight for your case. The agency will prefer to settle with you .

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:32:52 GMT

30woman — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:32:52 GMT

I recently have a very bad encounter with Univer–l maid agency. Located in both marine parade and lucky plaza. I went in naively to think that by them charging me almost $2k for a transfer maid, stating "life time replacement" leh, sounds like a great deal rite? But once they collected the fees n aft I got the maid, it’s so difficult to get in contact with anyone in their agency. Aft 4 months, I have problem with the maid and would like to change but I can’t even get hold of anyone despite repeated calls for days!! A week has passed and no follow up from them. I requested for a refund and they said its impossible, go read the service agreement. So what am I supposed to do now? I feel so cheated!! Please DO NOT use them!

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:38:33 GMT

Simplify — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:38:33 GMT

Hi

Indeed agency are really not responsible and professional in providing service that we paid them for. They are just after your $$$ and all else comes later, if not at all.

That is why I get my maid on my own and have done all the paperwork and leg work by myself.

However if you are doing what I am doing, you may still need to engage a "representative licensed agency" accredited by the Philippine Embassy in SIN to handle some administrative stuff which Employer do.

My Filipino maid arrived last Friday and I have paid less than $1800 in all.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:15:48 GMT

sleect — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:15:48 GMT

I do not expect the new maid to perform to our expectation immediately. I can accept if the maid is willing to admit her mistake and put in effort to learn but her attitude is hopeless. I was so pissed off the other day and just wanted to get her out of my sight, hence, did not pursue further with the agent. On top of that, me and wife working, and have to look for a nanny for my 18 mth old daughter, my eldest will be with my Mum (she can’t handle the young one due to health). Luckily we manage to find one at our neighbouring block, hope my daughter is able to settle in. I will definitely take it up with the agent again. Seems that in some way, we are always at the losing end. Anyway, thanks for the feedbacks.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:26:06 GMT

lck — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:26:06 GMT

sleect my 5 cents comments…

What are the things that covered for the $2k++ ?

You can definitely get back the loan which you paid for the maid + insurance fee(pro-rated) . THe food and lodging fee cost around $10 per day for the maid to stay at the agency. The max that you require to pay is $210 (for 3 weeks). If luckily someone chosen your new maid within the next 3 days, you will just need to pay for $30.00. The rest of $180.00 will be refund to you.

Are you require to pay for replacement maid fee ? If NO, my advice to you is to wait and see whether there is any replacement maid in the current agency. (Might heng heng get one…is really luck).

But if u think the agency is screw up and service poor, you might want to go for another agency . For infor, I had 3 maids all from H.Keper at Hougang Green. The maids were trained well (but also depend on luck but higher chance of getting a good one).

If you really intend to terminate with the current agency, check with them when you can get the cheque. Don’t let them delay the payment… majority of the agency have the $$ jus that they refuse to pay up and just wanted you to get the replacement from them.

To conclude, MORE REPLACEMENT = GENERATE MORE PROFIT FOR THE AGENCY.

Be more careful when you chose the next maid and if the bio data are not details and they cannot answer to your queries, you better think twice.

for $$ is not sure, you can call the contact that i provided in my post.

don’t let the agency off easily… and we have the rights and seek for the $$.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:26:03 GMT

camleelaa — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:26:03 GMT

Unfortunately I don’t think employers have any right to recover $ back so long as you have been supplied with a maid of your choice. There is no QC on the maids supplied by agencies. I had similar issue with a lousy maid supplied by an agency, whose actual capabilities versus those stated on her bio do not match at all. For the record, her bio was so "impressive" (or maybe there are so few suitable maids nowadays) that at least 3 people wanted to hire her and I only managed to secure her by pre-paying a deposit. She arrived and was hopeless, not as weird as your maid, but certainly not typical of someone who had apparently spent 8 years working as a housemaid in Indon and looked after children of all ages. I could not hire her.

My options were to either pay $488 to get a new replacement maid from Indon, or around $200 for a transfer maid currently in Singapore. However, the agency only let me interview one transfer maid (claiming no supply), who proved unsuitable, hence I paid another $488, + 21 days of food and lodging at $12/day while waiting for the lousy maid to transfer out. I didn’t switch agencies because I am overall satisfied with their service. I can’t blame them for supplying me a lousy maid that I agreed to myself. Anyway, to be honest, neither yourself nor the agent will know how good a maid is until she is put to a practical test. Only the instructors at the training centre have a clue, but their interests and yours are not aligned. That’s why hiring maids is almost always about luck and not so much about skill in choosing. After all, almost everybody looks for the same qualities so it’s not rocket science for maid bios to reflect those things.

The only thing I can suggest for next time is to do a video conference and, at the risk of repeating, confirm with your candidate everything that has been stated on her bio. Sometimes you will be able to uncover inconsistencies. Of course if there is intention to lie, there’s nothing you can do.

There was once, many years ago, when I managed to get half of the agent fee back. That’s because the bio given to me for a Myanmar maid veered too far from reality. However it was a rather primitive set-up (they had no training centre in Myanmar). I don’t think bigger agencies will bow to such fee refund requests.

Reply to Lesson learnt REFUND Issues- Unethical agency on Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:14:58 GMT

sleect — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:14:58 GMT

Let me also relate my experience with another agency in Hougang Green name starting with ‘J’.

I had to let my maid (Indon) of 19 mths go home as her young son is ill. No complains- no day-off, don’t mix around outside, look after my 2 daughters (6 yrs & 18 mths) well, does the household chores diligently, both kids were close to her especially the young one whom she took care since a mth old. Hence, we went back to the same agency ‘J’ to get a replacement maid. We were told that the agency fee now is $12xx (instead of $3xx previously) and salary is $450+$70 (we prefer maid with experience and don’t take day-off). We selected the new maid in end Nov 12, waited till end Jan 13, new maid still have not arrive due to issues with application of new passport. Based on the agency’s recommendation, we selected another maid (ex-Jakarta, experience in taking care of kids, has a 3 yr old son) that already has a passport and fitted our criteria (looking after kids and household chores, with prior experience). All this while my previous maid still with us and agree to stay for a few more days to help train the new maid. The new maid arrived last week, boy…were we shocked at the new arrival. She doesn’t seems to be experience at all, was slow in completing the chores, when briefed on how to perform certain tasks, just give a ‘stoned’ look keep nodding and replied ‘yes’ or ‘ok’, got the same reaction when we corrected her mistakes . I seriously doubt if she can comprehend what we say or what my previous maid is telling her (even in their own language). Some of the things she did dumbfounded us including my previous maid-
1) Threw an unfinished packet of rice out the window
2) Using newspaper to wipe the table
3) Do not know how to make milk for my youngest daughter despite me and my previous maid demonstrating to her no less than half a dozen times (1st try- put powder before water, 2nd try use room temp water to make milk- when questioned, claims this is the way she do back home).
4) Do not know how to feed my youngest daughter- Keeps playing with her by dangling the bottle or spoon in front of her instead of putting in her mouth.
5) Telling lies- Among others, deny (1) & (2) above when questioned. Did not shower my daughter but claim she did and later flipped her answer to say she just wiped her down.
We had sleepless nights since her arrival. It seems that she is acting blur or plain lazy. On the fourth day, we decided to send her back to the agent. When questioned by the agent, she denied everything. Throughout the 4 days, she keep saying sorry but did not show any effort to correct her mistakes, instructions go in one ear and come out the other. On the same day, my previous maid also had to leave (she was apologetic that we had ended up in this predicament). The agency asked if we wanted to take the new maid back temporarily as we still have to pay for her 1 mth salary. Of course we said no, how can I leave my children under the care of someone like that. It seems that I’ve wasted $2000+ for nothing; on top of that, we still have to pay additional agency fee if we were to select another replacement. We have decided against that at the moment.
Is this to be expected for a maid with experience? Or down to bad luck. It seems that the maid’s bio-data may not reflect the true picture and no basic quality control at all. I would like to ask, am I able to get back any of the $2000+? what is our rights as employers here…? Sometimes its not about the money but the injustice under the circumstances. Advice from fellow-forummers welcomed.