Jeff K.
Worst company
Being a professional fire fighter and my wife NICU RN, we have irregular hours. That being said, when we approached this company with full transparency of our schedules, and our specific needs for our Au Pair hours the local and regional coordinator approved us as a host family. Because we got this approval, my wife proceeded to quit her day shift job and find one that was night shift. Things were going well until 4 months in, the regional coordinator's boss caught wind of our irregular schedule and kicked us out of the program within 20 minutes of our 1st phone call. Mind you, there is nothing in the contract that states what we are doing is against any rules and we had prior approval from their own employees. The reason behind kicking us our was because they "felt uncomfortable about the schedule". Now we are stuck in a situation where my wife no longer has a job she can work without the assistance of an Au Pair and currently have no child care. This company essentially screwed my wife out of her job and kicked us to the curb for no reason. They DO NOT CARE about what will happen to us!! My wife would have never quit her previous job if they said we couldn't do what we asked. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS they are heartless, liars and have no regard for ethics. *Response to your comment* Your coordinators absolutely said our schedule needs were ok, why else would be proceed and have my wife quit her job. Your lies make no sense. We would never have left a good paying job if your program didn't give us the go ahead and approval. We were fully transparent the entire time.. We were never given any options about leaving the program. One 5 min conversation with your national director and within 20 min we were kicked out of your program. Multiple texts and phone calls ignored by all levels of your management. In addition to that, our entire profile with messages and fees paid was deleted and I no longer have access to anything. I can't even submit records for my taxes because you did this.. FYI I still haven't received a refund.
Response from Au Pair USA by InterExchangeMar 21, 2022
Hi Jeff, we are sorry that you are dissatisfied with Au Pair USA. We have host families from many different professions and backgrounds participating in our program. Flexible childcare and scheduling are benefits of the program. As a U.S. Department of State sponsor, we make every effort to ensure that our host families understand au pair working hours and limitations. These are outlined in our program materials and discussed with each host family. Limits on working hours are in place to protect the health, safety, and welfare of au pairs and the children in their care. Our records show that our regional supervisor did specifically inform you before your au pair arrived that overnight childcare would count towards an au pair's working hours. When you came to the conclusion that you could not work within the guidelines of the program, we provided you with a refund. We sincerely regret our program was unable to meet your family’s childcare needs.