Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Cultural Care, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Cultural Care, Inc.

  1 Education St E Cambridge, MA 02141-1805

  
• 

  Cultural Care, Inc.

  8 Education St E Cambridge, MA 02141-1968

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/11/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We paid Cultural Care Au Pair the full annual au pair stipend ($8,245 on June 30th 2022) in advance of our au pair's arrival on August 19th 2022. The au pair arrived and on August 31st 2022 broke my 4-yr old son's finger; in addition to other safety concerns we documented we asked the au pair to be placed into rematch (available for another family). She left our household on September 16th upon matching with another family. Despite having paid the full 12-month program fee, Cultural Care Au Pair refused to let us replace the departing au pair with another au pair in the program, stating that the earliest we could match with an au pair would be January 2023 due to the agency hitting its **** maximum for the year. We then had to terminate our contract with Cultural Care Au Pair as we could not be without childcare until then. They provided us the standard refund of ********. I requested a full refund given they refused to allow us to move forward with a new au pair match. They offered an additional $3032.44 provided that we sign a non-disclosure agreement. We refused as we should not be forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement when the business is breaking its original terms to provide 12 months of au pair care. Further, since our son was injured we need to be able to fully recount the details of the accident to a number of medical providers and I should be free to discuss my experience with the agency in being denied the opportunity to rematch. I want a refund with no requirement to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/20/2022

  
  We have been corresponding directly with the family to understand their concerns regarding the specialized refund offer we have made to them.  We are working to find a mutually agreeable version of the document needed to confirm a refund above and beyond the standard refund and we are hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement.   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/04/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In September of 2021 I prepaid for 12 months of an au pair service through Cultural Care. Our au pair left our child unattended, and was found having a breakdown in another room alone. She went home to her family in ******, thankfully my one year old was not injured. It was a weekend which cultural care gave me no assistance in finding a new au pair, so I switched agencies to one who was VERY accommodating. Ive been contacting them for almost a year for a refund, which they will not, and we need another au pair due to the fact my husband is a physician, and we both are outside the home with 9 children to take care of. Cultural care cannot get a **** for an au pair, and not responding to my calls or emails regarding someone assisting me for over 9 months. I need to get another au pair asap, which they have 11 months of prepaid credit they will not either provide me with an au pair asap or return, so with 9 children I cannot pay for even more child care while they hold my money hostage with no service to give to us.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/11/2022

  
  We apologize for any delay in responding or confusion regarding the request of the family following their departure from the program.  While hosting with another program, their fees remained as a credit on their account.  We have reached out to the family to review their account and as a customer service gesture have offered to provide them with a specialized refund which provides an amount in excess of what is contractually due per the terms of the agreement.  We are working with them to confirm the necessary paperwork to process this for them.  We wish them the very best moving forward and regret that they did not have a more successful program experience but are pleased we were able to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/20/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This complaint is in regards to our cultural care account, USX360780. We made payment to cultural care on 3/4/22 for $9695. This payment was in return for an au pair to provide childcare for 12 months. Our first au pair, *********************************, had to leave the program due to family issues after about two months. We subsequently matched with a second au pair, *************************. We paid cultural care $1591.47 on 7/7/22. This payment combined with the credit from ******* totaled a commitment for another 12 months of childcare from cultural care. That second pair was with us for less than a week. We currently have a credit on our account of $9018.33 - which was detailed by ************************* with cultural care. Cultural care recently made a decision to limit all matching until January 2023. They failed to properly inform us of this decision - we found out by email AFTER the date it was effective. This decision has made it unlikely that we will find a new pair in a timely manner. I am a physician and childcare is imminent for our family. Due to cultural cares lack of notice and change of policy, we are requesting a FULL refund of our account so we can find alternative childcare. I have contacted both *************************, CC president and *******************************, CC Vice President. Neither have responded to our inquiry and request. Thank you for your assistance in a resolution. Sincerely,***************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/26/2022

  We have been in touch with the ******* family and have provided a specialized refund offer which they have accepted.  We regret that they have had such a difficult experience and are hopeful that we may have the opportunity to work with them again in the future.  In the meantime we wish them the very best moving forward.    

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/26/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/31/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We had an au pair arrive from ****** in June 2022. Despite telling us she could drive and could drive our kids, she could not drive a car when she arrived. We had to continue to pay for 50 hours of child care for two months, took her to driving school and on practice drives for hours a week and then paid someone to take her to get her drivers license (and paid ******** days after she got her license, which was 5 days after we released our other caretakers and the day after my three kids started school, our au pair told us she wanted a rematch. She had never expressed a concern or issue. Instead, she said she was happy with our family.She was unwilling to have a resolution meeting. You are given two weeks to find full time child care when this happens. When we inquired about a rematch, we were told the au pair would likely rematch within two weeks and we would not be eligible to even look for a rematch for six months.We were offered a 60% refund for the prorated fee (as a reminder, she requested the rematch during her first week working 40 hours). The au pair got in an accident with our car today. Thousands of dollars of damage. This program is a scam. Save your families and your own well-being. Run the other way.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/01/2022

  We have been in contact with this family responsive to BBB complaint 17795217.  We believe we have resolved that matter however this additional complaint and these details are very important for us to review further with the family so we will reach out again for further discussion and review.
  
  
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  I requested three things in my complaint:

  1- contact by a senior leader

  2- a full refund from the program

  3- confirmation that another family who she is eligible to rematch with immediately will be informed fully of the situation and circumstances (she was in an accident with our car and caused thousands of dollars in damages, she requested a rematch out of the blue after we had just touched base the day before and the week before about everything and she said it was all good 

  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  *******

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2022

  The Peng family has a confirmed appointment to speak with the Vice President tomorrow morning.  We are hopeful this will be a productive conversation and they feel that their concerns have been heard and properly reviewed.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/08/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as

  Scheduling a phone conversation does not resolve the issue.  It is the proposal in the discussion and resolution of the matter that would address the concern.  

  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  *******

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I would like to file a complaint against cultural Care but I don't know how to do it. I am a French au pair. I arrived here on June 24 in a family that completely lied about their intentions. Once I arrived , I found out that my grandmother was living with the family. They asked me to work more than 45 hours, they only spoke Pakistani, I shared the room with the baby and I was also a housekeeper. I had no access to a car and the conditions were worse and worse. I asked for a rematch and I sent all the evidence to my LCC and my CRM to justify the reasons for my rematch. They never took into account and left the family in the program + they put a false notice on my profile while the agency knew the truth. The family made me understand that they wanted me to leave their home. Cultural Care and the manager offered to send me to a hotel where there were security problems and bugs and cockroaches. I paid for my own hotel and was then relocated to a LCC where we had to share a small room with several people sleeping on mattresses on the floor. My LCC has never contacted me since my rematch and does not answer me. She never showed up during the first 2 weeks I was in the program as required by the American rules. I have no help from anyone and no one answers me. I have found 4 families who want to match with me but cultural Care is deleting these requests and telling the families that they cannot host an au pair before January under the pretext that they did not register before August 25 or that their profiles were inactive. It was the worst experience of my life.I wasted my time and money on this agency. They give a lot of different versions to the au pair and the families. My LCC has never made contact and is not responding to me. I only met her once outside when the family asked to speak to her. She does not respond to my messages. I am currently staying with an LCC. I pay for my food every day because there is nothing in the fridge. I am on the verge of depression.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/02/2022

  We deeply regret this au pairs negative experience with the program.  These allegations are quite concerning and it is important to note that in working closely with this au pair for some time, there are some significant discrepancies in what has been represented in this posting and our understanding of the version of events that have transpired thus far.   We have reviewed every concern that has been raised in this case including those relating to the family and the LCC.  Our staff has been communicating every day with Ms. ** Wadi and has worked diligently to be responsive to every need that has been expressed including preferences in hotel accommodations and resources that have been provided to cover any food expenses.  We urge Ms. ** Wadi to provide our team, who communicates with her daily, with documentation of any additional expenses she believes she has incurred. We continue to try to support her in the matching process, however,she has declined over 30 connection requests thus far.  We will continue to support Ms. ** Wadi in the hopes that she can have a more positive experience moving forward.   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/02/2022

  Hello,
  
  
  Thank you very much for your answer. All this is completely wrong. The family where I was did not respect the program. I worked more than 45 hours and the baby was put in my room without asking me. I had no space and was treated like an employee. I was cleaning and doing chores that didn't fit into the program. Attached are the proofs that I sent to the agency. I can't put all the proofs but I have hundreds of them. Several times I asked my *** for help and they answered me days later telling me that they were busy even though it was an emergency. I then tried to contact ****** (RCM) to whom I also sent all the evidence. My rematch began and I later found out that the family lied about my experience with them and that the agency posted this on my account even though they had the evidence of what I had experienced. I called my agency in ****** and they told me that normally I had to sign a transition document with everyone's comments. I never saw anything and I found out about it while looking for new families who sent me my comment. (Also several proofs). It was written that I had problems with headaches which was absolutely false and that a medical secret has no business being in plain sight on my profile. I had to fight to have that removed and they left all the other things that were wrong. Afterwards I had to call the emergency number because neither the *** nor ****** answered when the family made me understand that they wanted me to leave their home. The emergency number put me ** in a hotel. Later I received a connection from a family that was interested. They asked me to come and meet them in *******. I was in ********** before that. I went to see them and what the agency forgot to tell me was that this family was not ready to have an au pair and was only considering the offer. The agency was perfectly aware of this but made me lose a week of rematch. Afterwards the family I met told me that they loved me but that unfortunately they were not ready to use the services of cultural Care. The family told me this one evening and said that they had other families to introduce me to and their ***. That morning ****** pressured the family to send me back to ********** without having time to meet the other families. (There was also a lot of evidence of the lack of communication that was done to me). I arrived at 00h in ************* and I discovered the hotel that ****** had reserved for me. A hotel where the recent comments all indicate problems of security, cleanliness and cockroach. I refused because I was afraid and I preferred to pay my hotel and my cab. I told ****** my feelings and she clearly wrote me that she could not do anything because the hotel was already booked. I called the agency to get a refund for the night I paid, they told me they could not do anything. ****** did not answer me until the next day at about 2pm and suggested that I go to a ***. I accepted and I was happy because I thought that this *** could help me to find a new family. This *** never helped me or even talked to me. I ate outside every day because there was nothing to eat at her place and I shared a room with another au pair. We slept together in the room on mattresses on the floor. The sheets were dirty and not clean (Photo attached with date). I stayed 1 week like that. It was just after I filed a complaint that ****** called me to find a hotel. Same thing for my ***. She only contacted me again two days ago after I told them I wanted to file a complaint about the horrible support. For connection requests, every connection I received, I emailed the family directly to speak with them. The agency sent me each time families that either they were looking for an au pair for much later while I have to find as soon as possible, or he had already match or he was not ready. Recently and I even have the testimony of a host family that wanted to match with me. My *** never called her so the family tried to contact her to get information about me. They refused 2 of my matches and several families because they changed their rules without notice and without telling anyone (you will also find a copy of an email from a family). Many things happened to me but it is so hard to write. Please let me send you all the evidence. 
  

   

   

   

   ***** El Wadi

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We obtained the services of Cultural Care last spring and matched with a Au Pair who arrived in July. The $9,000 fee was paid upfront. We followed all matching guidance that were presented by CC and took great pains to give our au pair an accurate picture of what our home life is like. We live in a small beach town in californias central coast. She was offered use of our vehicle during her off times and several other perks. We had many conversations before she arrived and believed that all parties were comfortable and excited about the new arraignment. Our au pair preformed her duties to our satisfaction and we welcomed her with open arms. She is a bit socially immature even at ******************************************** our area. We noticed that she seemed blue and when we initiated a conversation during our weekly check in. She told us that she felt she would be happier in a city and wanted to rematch. Our LCC was helpful in this situation but when she tried to rematch us, she was informed the company policy had changed without notice and that we would not be eligible for a rematch until January. This is because cultural care took in too many families, took their money up front and was then unable to fulfill their contractional obligations. It is pure greed and highly unethical. We have the recommendation of our au pair and the rematch was not made because of any mistreatment, or personality conflict. Unfortunately, she simply didnt have the self awareness to know what sort of place she would want to live. This has left my family without care as we prepare to open our business in less than two weeks. We followed both the letter and spirit of the guidelines that Cultural Care laid out. Unfortunately, Cultural Care had chosen to overload their system out of greed and has left us in an impossible childcare situation. This is fraudulent behavior and this company should not be trusted to facilitate such a delicate part of peoples lives. Buyer beware.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/02/2022

  We have been communicating directly with this family and recognize that this had been a very difficult experience for them.  We have offered special financial consideration for their situation as well as access to an interim care option for their review.  As we continue to review and monitor conditions closely we will let them know if circumstances shift such that we can open up more immediate placement options to them. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/29/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We used CC for our au pair placement. I am a physician and my wife works full time so we are dependent on reliable childcare. We had an excellent US nanny working with us full time prior to our au pairs arrival with the understanding that our au pair would become our primary childcare taker.Our au pair arrived in June and clearly was not comfortable driving in the US despite many video conversations prior to her arrival where she affirmed her ability to drive. We paid for driving school so she could be licensed. Since she was not able to drive we incurred significant additional cost because another care provider was necessary until she could be licensed. We had multiple conversations with our au pair and LCC to make sure that a one year commitment was doable and she felt happy and supported. She acknowledged all of those and said she was happy. We even discussed possibly extending at the end of her year. This led us to feel comfortable with our US nanny accepting another position. One week later our au pair asked for a rematch. She said this was common amongst au pairs so they could get a broader experience. We were shocked. We reached out to CC customer service who stated due to supply and demand issues we would not be able to rematch with an au pair until 1/2023. There was absolutely no transparency regarding this complete lack of au pairs. We are also prohibited from connecting with in country au pairs who are actively seeking rematch due to supply issues. We are only allowed to seek a match with out of country au pairs with earliest arrival in 2023. The host family is holding all the risk and CC takes no accountability. We are now in a situation where we need to scramble to find care. We feel taken advantage of by CC. I dont think they care about the plight of the families at all. I would ask for our full refund given the 3 inability to provide a rematch for 3 months.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/30/2022

  Thank you for the opportunity to address these concerns.  We will be reaching out to the family today to discuss further and explore options for them including a refund.  We are hopeful that we will be able to reach a mutually agreeable solution.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/23/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I paid for an au pair contract for an au pair for 5 months. the au pair was removed from my house due to not coming home at night o rcontacting me and being available for work, using marijuana when illegal for her to do so, and continuously not being available for my kids. She also lied and stated that I did not pay her, and I provided my electronic transfers to her and showed company that not only did i pay her, I paid an extra week in the beginning and also a full week the last week when she only worked one day.I asked for a refund since she was removed after one month, and I was refused a refund since i had an outstanding balance of ******. A payment that was agreed upon by them to pay by end of extending the au pair (in october). I was invoiced this when the au pair was removed and when i stated i did not want a new au pair, I was refused a refund due to this balance. I was then refused another replacement au pair.I am looking for a refund for the months I did not have an au pair.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/10/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Agency toured our home in January 2022, approved us to host an au pair through their agency, and collected $8,795 from us in March. We were to have an au pair to provide childcare from 4/29/2022 - 4/29/2023. The au pair did not have the represented childcare or driving experience. When I brought this up, the agency removed my family from the program on 7/22/2022 and only offered a partial refund of $4,095. This is after we received 12 weeks out of 52 promised weeks of childcare.The agency claims there is mold on the windows and blinds of our home. I have had ******** *********** professionals come and inspect and verify there is nothing out of the ordinary in our home. Further, we have brand new construction - pictures attached of our ADU/additional dwelling unit - that we are about to move into. Every bit of our ADU has recently passed inspection and building codes. The agency will not allow us to host in our existing home or brand new home under the claim of mold on the blinds of our existing home. I believe this is a pretext for keeping 40% of our money invested into the project. We have successfully hosted multiple Au Pairs through AuPairCare.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/19/2022

  
  We received a complaint regarding unsafe living conditions of the home and upon additional review and evidence provided which confirmed that the environment was not suitable for an au pair to remain, they were subsequently removed from the program. 

  
  According to section 8 of the host family agreement that the family signed, "Cultural Care has the right to end Host Familys participation in the program at any time if it determines that the au pair is in an unsuitable environment, or if the Host Family is in violation of the ********************* Regulations, the Cultural Care program rules, or the terms of this Agreement or the ********************* Agreement. Host Family acknowledges that Cultural Care has complete and unfettered discretion to utilize whatever methods it deems appropriate to assist it in making this determination. In the case of any termination of this agreement and removal of Host Family from the program pursuant to this paragraph, the Host Family shall not be eligible for a program fee refund or a replacement au pair."

  
  While program removal rendered the family ineligible for a refund of any kind, a contractual refund was issued in the amount of $4095 on 8/3/22.   No further refund is due.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/19/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]

  The resolution that I do not get a full refund and the agency does not have to provide a reasonable basis for our removal is not acceptable. We have *BRAND NEW* construction that has passed every standard. Cultural Care allows far inferior housing for au pairs, and approved our housing in January 2022. It's clearly a pretextual reason for keeping my money. This goes against the BBB standards of "the right thing to do."

  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ***

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/22/2022

  We have received a number of photographs which show a clearly unacceptable living environment.  Weve been informed that other previous au pairs from another agency have raised similar complaints.  As a program sponsor, we have a responsibility to ensure that the home that an au pair is actively placed in, regardless of any future construction that *** be in progress, is appropriate and should there be a change or a report otherwise, a review is conducted.  Upon review, the information and evidence we received about the condition of the home at the time of hosting made it clear that we had no choice but to remove the au pair from the home and end our relationship with the host family.    

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/06/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  Merchant is viciously dishonest. I am attaching the screenshot of our previous au pairs with another agency. Both attempted to call merchant to vouch for us. Neither complained about our hoprr. ****** was never responded to by ********. ****** is now visiting us on her vacation. ***** did speak to ********, but ******** was simply trying to get information on whether we had been removed from the other agency. We were not and BBB can verify with the other agency. ******** has told me that their decision is final, no matter what evidence I present that their reasoning is untrue. Merchant does not have unfettered ability to act in such bad faith. 
  
  Now it makes sense that Merchant must cull host families as Merchant has overextended their agreements. See attached. Further, ******** makes false claims to consider all of our monies paid by host families forfeited and return less than half of what we paid for a year of childcare. The same happened to consumers *********************, ***********************, and *********************************. How dirty Merchant plays, to induce families to invest their hard-earned money to their bottom line, and then remove families from the program without actual cause and not refund their payment.
  
  We were not present in our home and had not been for three weeks during ********'s removal of au pair due to the construction. During our construction, now complete, we left home and offered ********'s au pair many chances to travel with us to avoid the construction. She chose to stay at the construction site and leave garbage and dirty dishes everywhere. I had made many complaints to Merchant about au pairs lack of cleanliness and work ethic. Many of these complaints are in writing  Additionally, au pair had asked me many times if she could stay with us a second year,and those requests were submitted by me to Merchant. Au pair's relatives had stayed in the same living situation with us by choice for many weeks. Au Pair only chose to leave and make false accusations when I told her I wanted to fire her. Further, au pair stole from me on her way out. The items that ******** made her return were destroyed by her before mailed. ******** claims to have removed us for the mess that their au pair created.  By all objective standards, our home has passed every inspection and is perfectly suitable to host an au pair. The many good faith attempts by us to resolve this with Cultural Care were not met with any good faith intention from the Merchant. 
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/04/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  2022: our family worked with CC to hire an au pair to join us and help with the care of our two children. Before the au pair arrived we explained and she acknowledged that our family was very covid conscious and that part of her duties would be to be the primary daytime caregiver for our infant son for three weeks. On the third day following our au pairs arrival in July 2022 (Day 4), she tested positive for covid. Our LCC, Laara ******, would not allow us to let the au pair isolate in our home alone, so that our whole family including our infant son would not contract covidshe encouraged us instead to imagine how our au pair would feel. When we asked her whether she had given any thought to the health and financial implications of our entire family contracting covid and why she was prioritizing the mental health of the au pair over the physical health of our family, Ms. ****** was unable to provide a coherent or substantive answer. Day 6: we learned from another host family that it was not uncommon for au pairs that contract covid to be placed in hotels. When we spoke with Ms. ****** she confirmed this. (Why hadnt she mentioned this on Day 4? ) Days 4-7: the au pair was placed in a hotel at our expense. Days 7-8: the au pair quarantined in our home until she received a negative test result. Days ****: the au pair shadowed my husband in the care of our infant son. Day 10: the au pair announced that she was unable to be covid conscious because she didnt care about covid when she was in her own country and that was unable to care for our infant son. Ms. ****** supported the au pair in her decision to leave and simply said that she had a ***** start because of covid. She dismissed our concerns that an au pair who could not care for an infant being responsible for the care of older children who are more challenging. Day 11: at our request the au pair left our home. Day 12: we requested a full refund. CC offered a 60% refund. We continue to seek a full refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/11/2022

  We have reached out to the family directly to speak further about their experiences.  The ***** prevention measures that each family adopts are very personal and can vary greatly.  We respect that a family with any immunocompromised members or unvaccinated members of the household would wish to maintain very strict protocols for all those who enter the home.  While the au pair may have thought she understood and felt prepared for the precautions that would be required of her upon her arrival, it would appear that the reality of this experience felt different once she was there.  She has expressed that the precautions, having ***** so soon after arrival and the intensity of this experience overall made clear to her that this would not be a compatible match for her in the long term.  The concerns of the *** with respect to the au pair being left alone were expressed in an effort to help the family understand that arriving to a family and within days being left completely alone could lead to unintended consequences that could be negative at such an early stage in the placement.  This was in no way expressed to dismiss or diminish the familys valid personal health concerns but was a consideration that the *** wanted to ensure was made as they determined how to proceed.  After speaking with the family, the Director of Customer Relations has extended an offer for a specialized refund which the family is currently reviewing.