Complaint Against Maria, Canadian Au Pair

Search all aupairs, nannies, host families, and agencies to avoid scams and potientially abusive or illegal situations. If you have ever had a bad au apair or nanny experience and you want to warn others, you can post it here for free.

GreatAupair does not investigate, arbitrate or endorse any posting made in this public forum. All statements are the personal claims of the Author. Authors agree to indemnify and hold harmless GreatAupair, InteliMark Enterprises and its management for any claims arising out of any content or statement represented herein. Note that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protect and immunize web site operators from liability for postings from third parties. See Schneider v. Amazon.com. You must agree to our Terms of Service before you can sign in and post complaints. Complaint submissions are manually reviewed, and if approved, will be posted within 5 business days upon which time you will be notified by email. Please submit only factual complaints based on personal experience, as GreatAuPair will attempt to screen out complaints of a harassing or defamatory nature.

Full name Unlock with Membership Known aliases Unlock with Membership Street address    Unlock with Membership City Unlock with Membership State Unlock with Membership Country Unlock with Membership Zip code Unlock with Membership More photos Unlock with Membership Complaint   >> Posted: Apr 20 '08 by Kate in New South Wales, Australia A warning to all registering families: Use GOOGLE to verify details and PLEASE DON'T PAY ANY MONEY TO A POTENTIAL AU PAIR OR TO A TRAVEL AGENCY before the au pair arrives at your home, NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES. I had taken this stance but was tricked by these scammers because the au pair gave the impression she was paying her own way until the very end of our discussions. This was after I had spoken to "her" several times on the phone in detail about the job, what she liked and disliked about previous au pair roles and her general philosophies towards child care. I had also spoken to her referees, one who was in London and one in Cameroon. She led me to believe she had put as much time and effort into making this happen as I had. The story to watch out for was that at the last minute, her budget for the airfare had been cut into by the need to have vaccinations (she sent me an official looking government edict requiring the vaccinations which I took to be genuine) and never suggested that I give her money personally, but that I pay it through a travel agency, ("Flying Blue") which also seemed genuine in it's "professional" emails to me about flight details but does not in fact, exist. The day she was to arrive, I received an email from her "friend" with a story (which I now know is identical to the stories used in other scams involving this Cameroon based group) that the bus she took to the airport collided with a timber truck and that the au pair had been rushed straight to Good Hope hospital in Douala Cameroon (which does exist). Even some of the language used was the same: "she boarded a bus in haste", "she would have used her parents credit card for the ticket but someone had 'peeped' it, so it was unable to be used." (peeped - unusual word to be used appeared in several descriptions of the same.) Once I realised I had been duped, a quick GOOGLE SEARCH took me to sites (including Great AuPairs public forum site) describing the scam. I only wish I had thought to use Google before committing to anything. Even au pair's referees could be googled, as if they are working professionals, they are likely to be mentioned on their company's website. Certainly be aware of any au pair who says they have de-registered their profile from Great Au Pair (this girl said she had done that due to the volume of emails being unmanageable). If they are genuine, then they won't mind being registered. Good luck to all families and I hope you find a genuine au pair who helps make your life easier and that you avoid the distress we have experienced this way.