Cultural Care, Inc.

Revdex.com:
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.
After several attempts to part ways with the au pair program, and being told I would basically forfeit all money paid, it seems capricious and arbitrary that you can choose to sever our relationship at any time, on your whim The only thing that resolves this for me is a full refund, as you have provided sub-standard care, prohibited me from moving forward in my search for an au pair, and, at your own admission, caused me stress and anxiety relating to my children
*** ***

Revdex.com:
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.
We dispute that the au pairs were in any legitimate danger. Our daughter did scratch the au pair, however she was never in any serious physical dangerWe clearly stated in the description for *** that she has autism and has tantrumsHer behaviour at times is more like a two year old (also known to bite, scratch, hit, yell, scream, runa wayetc.). For the record our daughter does not bite, I am just referencing these behaviors as what is typical for a child that has tantrums. Our daughter is not aggressive, she has autism, which is a social emotional disability. If you don't serve children with autism, you should refund our money, because the bottom line is you are cancelling the contract, and not us
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
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 # ***
The response provided by Cultural Care Au Pair is inaccurateCultural Care Au Pair's representatives agree to the sequence of events describing the two au pairs that they provided us with, including the bite inflicted on our younger daughter by the second au pairThe au pair admitted to biting our child, both to us and to representatives from Cultural Care Au PairCultural Care Au Pair offered us a "settlement agreement" that would have released them of all liability while serving as a gag order for $1600, not a refundThere has been no mention of reporting the incident as described and acknowledged by both cultural care and by us
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
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 # ***..
The company's response does not address the concernIt is a very simple complaintThe agency promised to provide an au pair with INFANT QUALIFICATIONSThey did not provide an au pair with these qualificationsThey are responding to a separate concern that I had raised via email about the legitimacy of the au pairs referencesSetting this concern aside, and assuming her references were valid she still was not INFANT QUALIFIED as promised My request for a complete refund is that the company told me that the au pair they were sending to me would have INFANT QUALIFICATIONS and she arrived to my home without obtaining these qualifications
Regards,
*** ***

The ***/*** family hosted two Cultural Care au pairs and received a total of eight weeks of childcare between these au pairsBoth au pairs requested to leave the home for the same reason: they stated that one of the children was physically aggressive toward themIn this case, it was determined
that due to repeated allegations of physical behavior by the child toward the au pairs this was not a suitable environment for an au pairAt no point did we state that we could not place another au pair in the home because the family has an autistic child; we are not moving forward because of the aggressive physical behavior both au pairs experienced while in the homeCultural Care Au Pair is disappointed that we cannot move forward with placing a new au pair in the ***/*** family home, however our first priority is the safety and well being of all program participantsWe do not believe that an au pair is the appropriate form of childcare for the family’s needs at this time.The ***/*** family is not eligible for a refund as they had not paid the minimum amount required at the end of their programThe family chose an extended payment plan and per the financial agreement that was signed when they joined the program, they had not paid enough toward the program fee to be eligible for a refund.We wish the ***/*** family well and we hope they find suitable childcare that meets their family’s needs

Revdex.com:
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 # ***
If there was an email correspondence stating these conditions, can Cultural Care please forward the original email? Neither of our email servers received this notificationIn referencing Cultural Care’s suggestion of $refund, this figure does not align as a correlational increase to the amounts previously offered and expressedIn all communications with Cultural Care, they have exhibited conflicting messagesAttached are email correspondences from *** ***, program director; below are direct quotes from the emails:Date: 4/20/ “If you wish to place your account on hold you will have an estimated amount of $to use towards another au pair which would be approximately weeks of childcare.”Date: 4/23/2018 “Please note that your contractual refund will still remain $3,with a special refund of $1,223.22. This is a total refund amount of $ 4,which is 80% rather than the standard 60% that we offer as a contractual refund.” In other words, Cultural Care has indicated: 60% refund = $80% refund = $A 20%-40% refund increase (i.e100%) from the previous offers is closer to $6115.73.= = = As *** *** stated on 4/20/and the math exemplifies, a 100% refund for unused program weeks amounts to $6115.73. We appreciate your time in this matter; however, our position still stands for a full, comprehensive refund of $as Cultural Care advertises grossly statements and misleading promisesAnother example can be found directly on their website: (*** “PROTECTIONCultural Care Au Pair is a government-regulated program, meaning there are guidelines in place designed to protect both families and au pairs during the exchange yearIt also means that au pairs travel to the U.Son a legal J-visa, allowing them to stay in the country (and with your family) for up to two years.” In contradiction to their advertising as well as the evidence from both of our Au Pair experiences, Cultural Care Au Pair provided zero protective factors for our familyMoreover, neither Au Pair indicated that they were unhappy in our home; *** stated in a single meeting (on 4/with the LCC present) that he would be ‘happier’ to go back to his LA family and that this was already decidedIf Au Pairs are unavailable for a rematch, are host families allowed to persuade Au Pairs to their home? Obviously, the LA family had these privilegesWhy were they given special preference? Why was our family victimized? And how does Cultural Care Au Pair plan to prevent these types of hardships? We expect to be reimbursed 100% of our contribution towards the program fee, which was $due to the deception, maltreatment, advertising, and so on.
Regards,
*** ***

I will accept the businesses refund for services not provided and damages to car that we were not allowed to collect from the au pair if Cultural care accepts the changes we have made to the attached waived. We believe we should not waive our rights to receive a refund for services not provided and we were prevented from receivingWe will only waive our rights if additional compensation fro damages is provided. Thank you for your assistance with this matter
*** ***

Revdex.com:
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 belowRegards,
*** ***

We regret any frustration this family experienced with our discounting and the difficulty they experienced in trying to get this resolved. I can see that, according to our system, this was applied this morning and so the dispute should be considered closed though we sincerely apologize for
this overall experience and the path it took to get here

We continue to regret the family's disappointment with the program. When speaking with their Program Director, they stated that they were unsure of what they wanted to do and would get back to her. They did not update their profile for matching to begin and when the Program Director reconnected, they said that they were so disappointed by the screening process that they did not wish to try again. In speaking with the Director of Customer Service, the family stated that they were concerned about when a new au pair could be secured for them and they did not want to interview any overseas candidates given the situation and they could not risk another failed placement. The host father confirmed that very shortly after the au pair left that they had secured new childcare. We fulfilled all of the screening requirements and were unaware of any falsification during this process. We offered the family an additional refund and continue to stand behind this offer, but again, we will not be issuing any refund in addition to this offer. Once the family submits the required paperwork to process the additional payment we will expedite this on their behalf. We wish the host family well and regret that they ultimately decided to leave the program

While we regret the disappointment
expressed by the *** family, the screening of this au pair was consistent
with regulatory requirements and the information contained within her
application was provided by the au pair directly. She spent over months with this family and
after her
departure, efforts were made to work with the family to find another
au pair but the family became unresponsive.
The host family agreement contains the refund policy and was signed
prior to welcoming an au pair to their homeThe total paid in program fees
fell below the threshold required for a contractual refund to be
processed. The complaint indicates payment
of $6672, however the total amount paid to Cultural Care was $3295. We’d be happy to review if there are any
questions regarding payments posted to this account. While no refund is due, should the ***
family wish to return to the program, we would be happy to discuss their
experiences further and see if there could be some sort of adjustment made to
their account in recognition of their frustration. We are hopeful that they could have a very
positive program experience but understand if they do not wish to participate

Cultural Care was not made aware of any alleged safety concerns regarding Ms*** prior to this Revdex.com complaint and request for an additional refundMs*** parted ways with the *** family because she was unhappy with her lack of access to a car and the *** family chose not to meet with their Local Childcare Consultant to discuss Ms***'s departure. We take these allegations very seriously and would like to explore them furtherA member of the management team will reach out to the *** family to discuss their concerns

The timeline of events as described in this complaint are
incorrect. At no time was the family quoted an incorrect refund amount.
While it is correct that at one point there was a temporary error on their
account reflecting an incorrect credit, this was fixed proactively and was
not
a factor in the calculation of their refund. The family chose to include
this incorrect credit in their own calculations and then asserted that this is
what they are due. It is important to note that, contractually, the
family is not due a refund at all as they paid less than the minimum threshold
required to be eligible. However, given their time on the program, an
exception was made waiving this threshold and providing them with a refund
totaling $1978.68 Once we receive the signed paperwork necessary to process this, we will issue the refund

We regret the host family's continued dissatisfaction with this process. On 1.21.15, Director of Customer Service *** *** spoke with the family directly to review the refund policy and to confirm that the refund policy applies in this situation. As a customer service gesture, Ms*** offered to provide a fulll month of program fees as a credit should the family decide to return to the program at a future date. However, we are unable to provide an exception to the standard refund policy. The au pair unexpectedly left the program and while we understand that this is extremely frustrating, it is a possibility and we stand at the ready to provide support to find a replacement au pair. A family's decision to not engage in this process brings our relationship to an end. The *** family has been in possession of the refund check issued several months ago, but has stated that they have not cashed it as they believe the policy does not apply in their case. Ms*** confirmed that she continues to believe that the policy does not apply and would be indicating this on a follow up posting to the Bureau. We wish the *** family the very best moving forward and regret that we will not be able to provide replacement services for them. We consider the matter closed with respect to any further refund

The increased offer was made
verbally to Mr*** and he stated that he first wished to discuss this
further with his wife before having the Program Director submit this in writing
along with the necessary paperwork to process the specialized refund.
Shortly following that, we received notice of the Revdex.com complaint
It’s important to clarify that
the credit amount of $reflects what would be available to the family
for use should they move forward on the program. However, this total
reflects both weeks that they paid for but did not receive as well as a $program
fee discount that is not eligible through a refund but is only applicable as a
credit. Therefore, the amount which reflects actual program weeks paid
for but not yet received is $and this is the specialized refund that
has been offered to the family.
We have not misrepresented the
program and while we understand that what has taken place with both au pairs
leaving was not the desired outcome, neither the host family nor the sponsoring
agency can control an individual au pair’s comfort level or decisions. We
take exception to the accusations made by the *** family about our
organization and our practices. We appreciate that they are disappointed
and we have worked to provide a significant exception to our policy. We
are unable to provide any further additional refund and will await confirmation from
the family that they wish to proceed with the offer we have made. In the
meantime, we will process their contractual refund of $3,669.29 Should
they confirm their acceptance of the increased amount, the difference will be
refunded upon execution of the required paperwork

We have reached out to Ms***'s counsel and he does not dispute that he is her attorney and represented her in this matter. We have requested that he reach out to his client to clarify this matter

We have spoken extensively with the *** family regarding
their refund request. When we last
spoke, they indicated that they had engaged legal counsel and a letter would be
forthcoming. At this time it would be
most appropriate for communication on this matter to take place
between our
respective legal counsel

Revdex.com: I have over unanswered phone messages in the last months...They refuse to take or respond to my calls....I am out and only got days of service, and no other Au pair was provided...we will accept a portion of our money back as a mutually acceptable soloution
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 belowRegards,
*** ***

We
regret any frustration experienced by this host family and hope that we will be
able to clarify some misunderstandings represented in their complaint. In October of the family indicated that
they wished to withdraw from the program and we informed them at that time of
the process
for doing so. Upon not
receiving the necessary paperwork, a staff member followed up and provided the
form to the family to complete. Last
week the family called in and they were, again, provided with the refund
request form. The family reached out to
a staff member and provided an overview of what they believed to be the refund
calculations which were incorrect. That
staff member responded with a detailed overview of the correct contractual
refund calculations. That staff member
also requested the opportunity to speak with the family to review this live. Moments later the family submitted the form
and the contractual refund is currently being processed. We have acted in accordance with the
agreement signed by the family when they joined the program and while it is
regrettable that now they do not feel this is appropriate, the policy is
clearly stated in that agreement. We
wish them the very best moving forward and remain available should they wish to
contact us directly with any questions

Cultural Care Au Pair has thoroughly reviewed this case and we maintain our positionWhen presented with safety concerns, we must take them seriouslyWhile this decision is a difficult one, we felt it was necessary given the information providedWe continue to wish the ***/*** family well, however this decision is final