Complaints

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:03/18/2025

  Type:Order 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.

  My client is ************ ******. On December 26, 2023, *** ****** entered into an agreement with Au Pair International (the "Agency"), under which the Agency was to provide a qualified au pair in exchange for payment. The Agency was explicitly aware that *** ****** required an au pair with sufficient experience to care for his infant child.Pursuant to 22 CFR *****, the Agency was prohibited from placing an au pair with *** ****** who had less than 200 hours of documented infant care experience. Despite this, the Agency presented a list of purportedly qualified candidates, including ********* ******** ("Ms. *********** However, shortly after Ms. ********* arrival in the ************* and placement with *** ******* family, it became evident that she did not meet the required qualifications. Her only experience with infants under two years old consisted of teaching English, playing, and feeding a child "a couple of times"a clear failure to satisfy the statutory ************** was the Agencys non-delegable duty to verify that Ms. ******** met the legal and contractual qualifications before placement. This responsibility did not and could not shift to *** ****** or any third party. By failing to ensure compliance with federal regulations and misrepresenting Ms. ********* qualifications, the Agency materially breached the contract and engaged in misrepresentation.Accordingly, we seek assistance in obtaining a full refund of $9,500, which includes all payments made under the contract related to Ms. ********* as well as reimbursement of my client's legal fees incurred to date.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/12/2025

  Au Pair International (API) appreciates the opportunity to respond to the complaint submitted on behalf of Mr. ************ ****** regarding the placement of au pair ********* *********
  
  We take all concerns seriously and remain committed to full compliance with U.S.Department of State regulations, as well as to transparency and fairness in our business practices.
  
  Infant Qualification and Regulatory Compliance
  Under 22 CFR *****, an au pair may be designated as infant qualified if she has at least ************************************************************************************* ******** met this requirement at the time of placement, with 410 documented hours of child care experience involving children under the age of two. This included care for children approximately 1.5 years of age.
  
  We understand that families may personally interpret the term infant to refer to much younger children (e.g., newborns), but for regulatory purposes, the designation of "infant qualified" includes care for children up to 24 months of age. Ms. ********* experience therefore fully complied with Department of State guidelines.
  
  Matching Process and Host Family Responsibility
  It is important to clarify that API does not assign au pairs to host families.Rather, we facilitate a mutual matching process in which families review multiple candidates and independently select the au pair who best fits their needs.
  
  Prior to matching, Mr. ****** had full access to Ms. ********* application, which included the specific ages of the children she had previously cared for, a breakdown of her child care experience hours, and multiple references. This allowed for an informed decision-making process. It is the responsibility of the host family to review a candidates background and determine whether they meet the familys individual expectations and comfort level.
  
  At no time did API misrepresent Ms. ********* qualifications. Her infant qualification was factually accurate and based on documentation reviewed and approved in accordance with federal program regulations.
  
  Refund Request
  We have offered the host family the full contractual refund as outlined in our Host Family Agreement, as well as at the time of confirming the match with their selected au pair. We maintain that Au Pair International is not in breach of contract or regulatory obligations. However, as always, we remain committed to upholding the terms of our contractual agreement with Mr. ******* Any refund or credit due will be administered in accordance with those terms.
  
  We remain available to address any additional questions and to work toward a resolution consistent with our program guidelines and policies.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/27/2024

  Type:Product 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.

  I have had the same negative experience ***** others with this business, where they are withholding thousands of dollars I paid to them and refusing to refund it and also refusing to respond to any communication. I will ne seeking legal council to file a lawsuit if the BBB is unable to help. In March of 2024 I paid Au Pair International $3000 for a deposit for one year of au pair agency fee. The invoice I was emailed explicitly stated that I would receive travel information fory au pair as soon as I paid the invoice. The company put off sending travel information and did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls for over a month. The company then cancelled our contract just two weeks before the au pair was scheduled to arrive,( per our contract, yet I hadn't received any travel information yet). The company hasn't responded now about a refund for over a month, except one email fraudulently stating that I received tracking for a refund check, however I never received tracking nor the refund. They have since refused to respond to communication asking to receive the refund a different way since the "check" they allegedly sent seems to be "lost". I initially paid electronically and they refuse to respond as to why I would not be refunded via original payment method. It seems I am due interest at the current rate on my deposit that the company has been holding, as well as the full amount of the original deposit payment due to their failure to fulfill the service that was paid for.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/10/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to mediate this situation. I would first like to confirm that the email address ************************* which was used upon registration as a host family,was added to the ***** tracking site, which does normally send notifications of shipment and delivery.
  
  I also would like to confirm that the Meretzky family was declined to move forward as a host family with our agency after background and reference check information was completed, which is required prior to an arrival of an au pair to a host family.
  
  In addition, the ******************** paid the initial program fee by ACH check, which we are not able to refund to.This is why a refund check was immediately issued and sent via ***** to refund the family. ***** Tracking is available here: ********************************************************************************************.
  
  We have confirmed that the check was not cashed, and we are working with ***** to see what happened with the shipment. We did ship the check to the address that was listed in our email confirmation, however, the tracking information shows delivered to a different address due to an incorrect address.
  
  We would like to issue a refund check as soon as possible, but we are not comfortable sending via regular **** mail, which is why ***** was selected. ******************** requested it be sent to a PO Box, but we are not able to issue this in a trackable way. Since the payment was not made with a credit card, we are unable to post a refund back to a credit card.
  
  I have attached the email information that was sent to ******************** about API not moving forward with her as a host family due to her background check and references that were provided,in addition to a timeline of our communication attempts. This attachment also includes the ***** tracking information, which indicates that the address the host family had on their application was incorrect and it was re-routed to a different address. This is concerning, as the host family applied to host at the address of *********************************************************, which is where the refund was sent. After the fact, she indicated that it was not her address, which concerns us that she applied with fictious information to host an exchange participant.
  
  Again, we are eager to issue a refund of the entire program fee that has been paid to us, however, we need a trackable way to send the refund to the customer, since previous attempt failed.
  
  Please let me know if you need any additional information. 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/13/2024

  Hello,

   

  We have resent another check for the $3000 payment, Check 5235, to the ** Box previously supplied by *************************** ** Box 1195, Ashland, OR *****. I have attached the tracking receipt for the envelope that contains this check.

   

  *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/16/2024

   
  Complaint: 21766406
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I would not expect any ethical or integrous response from a company who habitually takes money from clients and refuses to refund them after failing to provide contracted services, and still this libelous response is a new low for ******* International. I have attached documentation showing that their claims are without merit and merely false attempts at character defamation to attempt to justify their unethical practices. Here is a timeline:

  
  2/28/2024 - I receive an invoice from the company stating Please remit payment at your earliest convenience. Your au pair's travel arrangements will be confirmed upon receipt of invoice payment by API.
  3/9/2024 - I paid the $3000 invoice but received no travel arrangements as promised per our contract. I also provided references on these dates. 
  3/11/2024 - Company conirms receipt of my payment and states someone wil be in touch with you shortly However I never heard from the agency regarding the status of my ******* for over five weeks. 
  3/26, 3/27, 3/28 - I receive a series of aggressive emails pushing me to pay an additional $6,000 even though the agency had not fulfilled their part of the agreement and would not answer emails asking as to when my ******* would be able to start.
  3/28/2024 - I provided additional reference information. The reference clerk claimed they would get back to me early next week However I never heard from them again. 
  4/16/2024 - I reached out to the agency again with no response
  4/18/2024 I reached out to the agency again asking for a status on my au pair before paying another $6,000. 
  4/19/2024 - Agency sends an email with a list of false reasons why they are terminating our contract. They refuse any additional communication and have refused to provide a refund for over two months. 

  
  The company has a clear history of making excuses for taking family's money and refusing to refund it, despite failure to provide services. Additionally their communication is poor to nonexistant. They refused to respond to my communication providing actual documentation of their false allegations. For instance, I did move on April 15th, just days before they terminated our contract and allegedly sent a refund. I have attached a screen shot of my lease at the prior residence to show it wasnt a fictious address. Additionally, I had provided further documentation that years ago, Id obtained a civil protective order against someone not related to my family, yet they libelously insinuated that someone related to our household had a restraining order against them. I was also up front from the start that I was obtaining ******* services for my new baby, not my older child who does not live with me currently. Furthermore, they falsely stated I had a criminal history, which was actually a 6 year old traffic violation which wasnt a criminal issue as there were absolutely no charges, warrants or arrests. The only criminal in this situation is the ******* International VP *************************************. 

  
  This business is using a number of fabricated lies and excuses in order to avoid refunding my substantial deposit. They only sent me a tracking number on May 15th, a month after allegedly sending a refund check, so I have no way of verifying whether a check was in fact sent. Since they didnt send it via certified mail requiring a signature, it is unlikely that whatever letter they may have sent contained a $3000 check. The company is not trying to find or reissue the check, nor attempting to issue an echeck which was my original form of payment. The company has refused any communication in the matter for over a month, and are using postal issues as an excuse for their unethical and business practices. 
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************