Cultural Care, Inc.

Dear [redacted] and [redacted],
 
We are in receipt of your letter and would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns.  We apologize for any disappointment you have experienced while on our program whether that was with the experience of hosting an au pair or with any interaction...

with our staff and representatives.  As you know, we cannot guarantee that every placement will be successful, but we are committed to working with all program participants to navigate the sometimes challenging process of transition should a given match prove to not be a long-term possibility. 
 
Part of the process of being able to assist in the best way possible is for Cultural Care to have all parties provide an honest and upfront overview of their concerns at the time of transition.  As stated in your letter, you did not come forward with all of your concerns until after your most recent au pair left your home.  However, following this meeting you did reach out to your LCC to clarify the challenges you had with [redacted].  While it is clear that she was not a compatible match with your family due to a number of factors that you have detailed, the concerns you have raised do not preclude her from being able to participate in the program.  While we respect your family’s decision to not continue, we take exception to the suggestion that Cultural Care has acted inappropriately throughout this process.   
 
As you know, this program is a federally regulated program and the payment of au pairs each and every week is detailed in your host family agreement as well as covered during both the interview and the orientation meetings as a program requirement.  Biweekly payment is not permissible and Cultural Care is not at liberty to make any such exception.   At the time of your exit meeting, Cultural Care was made aware that [redacted] was asked by your family if she would be willing to accept a biweekly payment as it would be helpful to your family’s cash flow schedule.  However, this arrangement was not endorsed by Cultural Care and we were only made aware of this at the time of that meeting.  If you have any records which confirm otherwise, please do bring them to my attention.    
 
With regard to the presentation of [redacted] to other families, we have reviewed your concerns.  There is a great deal of documentation confirming the ongoing and outstanding balance on your account.  Additionally, [redacted]’s immediate removal from your home at the time of your transition was due to a still unpaid balance at that time.  Therefore, reference to “financial reasons” is a valid issue at the time of that presentation.  We do recognize that we could have specified this a bit better and have taken steps to address this moving forward so that greater sensitivity and less ambiguity can be given these kinds of situations.  However, we made your family’s contact information available as a part of our disclosure process so that a prospective family has the opportunity to hear a first-hand perspective directly rather than only from Cultural Care. 
 
Lastly, you have referenced the incident involving a disagreement you had with your former au pair, [redacted], on the day of your surgery.  This incident has been addressed and [redacted] has taken responsibility and apologized for his inappropriate choice of language during his interaction with you.  This was fully disclosed, including his acknowledgement of his role in the conversation, during the rematch process.  While things became heated, at no time was there an accusation of violence having taken place. 
 
While we regret the experiences you have had, we stand behind the steps we have taken as an organization to address the concerns you have brought to our attention both during and after your program participation.  We continue to look for ways to improve and have taken note of your concerns.  However, we highly object to your characterization of Cultural Care as being dishonest and putting children in harm’s way.
 
The request for $8080 is denied and no payment will be made at this time.
 
We wish you the best moving forward and regret that it is with this degree of frustration that you depart the program. 
 
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Senior Vice President
Cultural Care Au Pair

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business. The director of customer service did contact me on Thursday, July 6th. She apologized for us not having the best experience with Cultural Care. She then stated because our experience was unique she we would be willing to give us a refund within thirty days. If the refund is received like expected then we have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #[redacted]. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
Regards,
[redacted]

We regret the family feeling
unsupported in any way during their time with the program, however, we simply
do not agree with the description of events they have provided.  Given the sensitive nature of the concerns
that were raised during the course of the placement and the involvement of CPS,
we will not provide further comment.
In an effort to provide
closure, a specialized refund was offered to the family.  This offer was certainly not “small”.  Quite the contrary as it represented a 100%
refund of every unused program week left on their account and totaled nearly
$2000.00  This money was not
contractually due but was offered to them in the spirit of customer service.  The family, of course, has the right to
decline this offer.  Should they change
their mind, our offer remains available to them.

Ms. [redacted] spoke with Program Director [redacted] yesterday regarding Cultural Care's refund policy and the available options. At the close of their conversation, Ms. [redacted] stated that she would escalate Ms. [redacted]'s concerns to a manager. Ms. [redacted] is meeting with her manager,...

[redacted], today and Ms. [redacted] will then personally reach out to Ms. [redacted] to set up a time to discuss the issues which Ms. [redacted] outlined in her Revdex.com complaint. Cultural Care hopes that we can work directly with Ms. [redacted] to resolve her concerns.

While we regret this family's continued disappointment, no further refund is due and we consider this matter closed.

The response to my complaint is rejected due to multiple reasons. There is no such mandate by the federal government stating the stipend is required to paid on any specific date. The federal government determines the weekly rate. Prior to starting a bi-weekly payment arrangement I called cultural care customer service and I spoke with [redacted], my the LCC- current program director about it. We were told as long as the appropriate dollar amount was paid and the Au pair was in agreement with the schedule this was NO problem. Our family also disclosed this in every interview we had (with the LCC) prior to our Au pairs being welcomed into our home. We have paid all four of our Au pairs this way and it has NEVER been as issue. Being that Cultural Care is the only party involved that would make a profit and that we are aware there is additional monetary bonus paid to the LCC it is very clear that this misrepresentation was made intentionally. Stating that there has been an ongoing balance with you agency is also a "smoke in mirrors" attempt at skewing information. Being that we were on an extended payment plan it is expected that we have a balance. I did not make the last payment knowing we were no longer going to be in the program and that we would not be eligible for refund. There was an issue with CULTURAL CARES book keeping with how the credits were applied which made my account balance much higher and that was handled with the Cultural Cares account managers and is no reflection of the reasons our family left the program. In addition - the up front information we provided during the exit interview was omitted when introducing [redacted] to the new family. I never stated I felt that she did not belong in the program however a company that is in the business of providing child care should never be so callous and fail to provide full disclosure to potential families. Regarding the Au pair that used poor language and was violent- It was disclosed that he was violent being as though he threw uncooked meat while yelling and swearing at [redacted]. This is not simply "poor language". Simply providing a phone number to prospective families is not enough when your introduction of a family is so skewed. The [redacted] Family read [redacted]s introduction as her being a great Au pair and our family being dead beat and leaving the program because we were broke- just as Cultural Care wanted it to be read in order to continue making money. To stand behind a practice that misrepresents the Au pairs, families, and  relevant circumstances is simply a disservice to trusting families. I am in no way further effected by this however these practices have caused much issue in our household and having to go into transition multiple times. The training that the Au pairs receive and information and message they get on what the program is from Cultural Care, is much different than when the family is told to expect. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Management attempted to discuss the family's experience on the program, but when the term 'concerns' was used the family declared that unfair allegations were being made against their family.  They further went on to state that they would pursue all avenues to obtain at least $8000.  They referenced discussions with lawyers and the many attorneys within their circle they would be engaging with.  It was at this point that we asked that legal counsel be in touch directly.  While we were hopeful that we may be able to have a productive and mutually beneficial conversation, it seems that the family will be seeking closure through the legal system.  We will be happy to comply with any legally served requests for information and remain available to place counsel in direct contact.

The [redacted] family accepted [redacted]ose as their au pair in early February. Ms. [redacted] was aware prior to her arrival that she would not have a car to use at the [redacted]’s home, however after living with the [redacted] family for a while she began to feel isolated and decided she wanted to move to a...

family where she would have use of a car. On March 22, Local Childcare Consultant [redacted]artnett contacted the [redacted] family to arrange for a meeting with them and Ms. [redacted] regarding Ms. [redacted]’s requested departure, and [redacted] said he refused to meet, that he was recording the call and would seek legal action against Ms. [redacted] and Cultural Care. Ms. [redacted] left the home the following day, and on April 4th Cultural Care processed a contractual refund for the [redacted] family. Cultural Care understands that the [redacted] family was disappointed in Ms. [redacted]’s decision to leave, however there were no serious concerns raised by the family or au pair during their time together. Ms. [redacted] did not misrepresent herself on her application; rather she changed her mind and decided that she did want access to a car during her year in the U.S. The [redacted] family chose not to meet with Ms. [redacted] to discuss Ms. [redacted]’s departure, and Cultural Care subsequently processed the refund that was due to them according to their contract. We wish the [redacted] family the best in finding childcare that suits their family’s needs, however, no further payment is due.

We unfortunately disagree with this description and conclusion
regarding the events that transpired and the characterization of the actions of
our organization.  During the last conversation
between your family and our organization, you confirmed your understanding that
no further refund would be due and also confirmed that we should anticipate follow
up from legal counsel.  We will await
this outreach and respond accordingly.

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 # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
Cultural Care has continued to not take responsibility for miss representing the skills of its Au Pairs and fradulantly not providing us the reasons for [redacted]'s first rematch. To add insult to injury Cultural Care advertised [redacted] for placement in a third family as it refused to fully refund us as well as the previous family for services not provided and access to services denied but for which Cultural Care had collected payment as well as the physical damage and cost incurred by both families while [redacted] lived with and worked for the families. We continued to request proper refund of services not provided, the $300 of the deductible we were not allowed to collect from [redacted] and told by the LCC as [redacted] was allowed to walk out of our house will all of her stuff without payment that Cultural Care would take care of it and compensation for damages and or refund for the fees paid for time when we had au pairs that were not qualified and properly screened by Cultural Care and miss represented that they were qualified and screened. Cultural Care has acted fraudulently and not in good faith. 
Regards, [redacted]

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 # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
  When reviewing this company, it’s really hard to know where to start. I guess I”ll start with DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! If you are reading this and have not made your decision, you have been warned. I wish I would have come here first and read some of the reviews, which are very similar to the experience we had as well. While I could write for some time regarding my experience, I’ll try to stick to some highlights to keep it simple. To start, from the company to the au pairs, this company breeds a culture of lies. I put this first as while they see it as a minor nuisance, it is critical to have trust as your child/children’s well being is on the line here. They are not only accepted, but expected. One of our local contacts (we had two) told us when we brought it to her attention that our au pair basically lies all the time, she just said that the girls don’t want to go home if they do something wrong, so you can expect lies. The lies ranged from crashing our car to the tune of just under $3,000 (she just said it wasn’t me even though she had the car in her possession the whole time), to making noises as to pretend she was interacting with my child while she was texting, to hiding her phone at times when she wasn’t suppose to be using it, breaking many of the agreed upon house rules, you name it. Cultural Care even caught her in a lie themselves (as it’s hard to prove lies, I get that) and they simply said they talked to her about it after the split and it was a learning experience for her. S0…..we told them she lied, they personally caught her later lying, and pretended that this was an isolated incident. As other’s have stated, the lying comes from within the organization as well. They were not truthful in the transition of the former au pair and what really happened. I’m guessing this is due to 1) They just want to make money by replacing her 2) Many of people working at Culture Care are former au pairs, and generally side with them regardless. They lied as to why the person was no longer in the home, telling people who were interested in her transitioning that we were not open to calls. We were happy to speak to any families and let them know our experience. We did not feel like we had true representation. Yes, there is someone you can call. That being said, we did not feel represented in any form or fashion. This of course is so important as there are going to be issues that do come up over time and without a champion of your cause, your only recourse is to transition all while Culture Care keeps your money. They have another girl they can place again into a new home and they do all the can to rush you into picking a new one to keep you as a client. Also, we had two au pairs over a 8-9 month period. The screening they do is very inadequate and both of the au pairs actually told us this was well. The first one basically said after a week that she simply didn’t want to do childcare anymore. While that wasn’t great for our circumstances but at least truthful. That being said, she thank us, said we were amazing to her and told this to the Cultural Care team, and said that if there was no child care involved, she’d want to stay with us and be our friends. WOW. The second one stated it felt like a job. While we want to be a family as much as we can, looking after our child is a job to a certain degree. There’s no way around that. I believe the exceptions are not set up from the beginning between Culture Care and the au pairs. They expect an experience more like a vacation and yes, we asked the hard questions in the interview but found out later they will say anything just to come to the states. Ultimately, the company fails in many ways. The screening is inadequate, the expectations they set up don’t seem to be in line between the families and the au pairs, the lying cultural they simply turn a blind eye to are just a few things. Overall, it was a miserable experience. As I stated before, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! A complete refund.
Regards,
[redacted]

This family continues to express their frustrations and we do not feel it is in the best interest of all involved at this time to continue to refute all of their claims.  The bottom line is that we do not nor can we block any family from contacting the State Department at any time.  This program is highly regulated and has been for nearly 30 years, the suggestion that we are self-regulated is simply not true.  We continue to wish this family the best and hope that they will find closure as they move forward.  Despite our efforts, we have been unable to resolve their outstanding concerns and while this is unfortunate, we appreciate that there are some matters upon which we have differing perspectives.

In an effort to resolve this matter and to clarify any remaining concerns, a senior member of our team will be reaching out to the family today.  We hope that this will result in a resolution of any outstanding issues.

We regret that the family has left the program with such a disappointing impression.  As a cultural exchange program, there are some unpredictable factors that came come in to play including an unexpected decision on the part of a host family or an au pair to end their participation for a...

variety of personal reasons.  We stand at the ready to provide support to all parties including replacement support as was done in this case when the family welcomed a second au pair.  It is important to clarify that in no way do we consider that a completion of 60% of the program would be considered a completion of the program by either party.  The refund policy is being a bit misrepresented here as it simply provides a threshold at which no refund is due but is not a reflection of an assumption of a completed term. We would like to have a member of our management team speak with this family to discuss their experiences further and we are hopeful that we may find a mutually agreeable way to bring this outstanding matter to closure.  Please expect outreach from a Director of Customer Service.

Cultural Care has reviewed Ms. [redacted]’s Revdex.com complaint as well as the contact that she and her au pair had with our staff regarding the flight. We found that the level of customer service and responsiveness was not consistent with our usual standards. We apologize for the confusion surrounding the...

flight and the lack of follow up with Ms. [redacted], and will be refunding the $249 flight fee. [redacted], Vice President of Account Services, will reach out to Ms. [redacted] today to resolve this issue.
?

We have repeatedly extended an offer to speak with [redacted] family to review the details we have regarding their experiences and we were informed that should we not consider a full refund, they were unwilling to have that conversation.  We did not refuse a refund outside of the contract, but simply requested the opportunity to speak directly in order to clarify some areas of confusion and to address many details that we have been informed of that are contrary to what has been represented in their Revdex.com complaint.  While we believe that a productive conversation would have assisted in bringing this situation to closure, the [redacted] family has confirmed that they will not speak with us directly and, instead, have decided to pursue their case through the court system.  While we find this disappointing, we respect that this is their decision and will move forward accordingly. We respectfully request that the Revdex.com close this case and allow it to proceed through the legal system.

We regret the
family’s frustration; however we have clarified as recently as 7/2/15 that no
refund is due.  While initially checking the
account it was believed that a refund may be due, however, upon further review
of the amount of time used on this program term (over 7 months), the...

family
exceeded the amount which would render a refund possible per the host family
agreement.

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 # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
The agency knew of the infection in [redacted] foot within a week of her being in my home, not several weeks. She needed two trips to the doctor and she did not see significant improvement to her toe until four weeks on the antibiotic. The point is she came unhealthy, knew it was not permissible to come unhealthy and she lied to [redacted] where and when she acquired the infection. This goes to my point about [redacted] character. She began with us and the agency once in the states as being dishonest. When [redacted] said she wanted to leave [redacted] said twice she would fully refund my money (The 3K down payment). I expected the offer to stand because just two weeks we and [redacted] decided to remain working together [redacted] breached her obligations and breached the protocol in the contract and booked her flight home. There are supposed to be mediations to discuss changes, and issues that cannot be resolved by the host family and the au pair. [redacted] never leet the agency know she was leaving, I did. This was unilateral and not within the protocol either party contracted to. In regard to my son's health. [redacted], and our LCC [redacted] were aware from our host year with our previous au pair of my son's diagnosis. I made it clear to [redacted] that the au pair was in no way any bit more responsible for [redacted] than she would be for my other three children. The au pair is not responsible for doctor visit, any additional care or precautions, or dispensing any medication. I would have been happy to provide more forma information had I received the HIPPA forms I requested and the names of the medical consultants reviewing my son's medical information and diagnosis. HIPPA is a protection afforded to us all by the federal government. I was only seeking hat we are all afforded for my son. I never said I would not provide the information. I did just request his privacy be respected and the proper protections afforded. I called the local police department after [redacted] left because she took the phone with her. As she did not pay for it, it is not hers this is considered a theft. A police report has been filed and they were actively seeking her and my phone. The officer indicated he was seeking to obtain a warrant. The au pair left the house without any notice. This again breaches all protocol and stipulations mutually agreed to in the contract. The day she left I asked [redacted] how we were going to resolve the outstanding balances she owed me before Feb 3, which was to be her last day with us. She was always treated kindly and respectfully. We even had our former au pair write a letter to [redacted] indicating what her experiences with us were to like so you may understand how outrageous the accusation is that there was reason to be afraid as [redacted] put it to me. [redacted] was paid by her own consent half stipend for three weeks and full stipend for only half a week worked. She agreed to this as a way to begin paying for the damage to the car. This was agreed to by us both and never contested by [redacted]. [redacted] never once responded to any of the weekly inquiries from [redacted] if she worked more than 45 hours or was paid her stipend negatively. I know so because the issue was never raised to me until she walked out of my home without any indication she wasn't returning. [redacted] had ample opportunity to tell anyone particularly her LCC she hadn't been paid if that were indeed true. I spoke to [redacted] the second week of January teller her [redacted] booked her flight home. I late learned her flight home wa set for the middle of February. She had every opportunity to leave early January if she was so unhappy in our home or was not being paid or being treated unfairly. She chose to stay even when she had the opportunity to leave. Her story is contradictory. Again it is hard to hear she was uncomfortable to be with us in any way. She used the gym membership we paid for twice the week she left and many times while with us. As stated previously, she did not look so frustrated or uncomfortable as she was enjoying our resources. She used out car for personal use and she left with many gifts we bought her. Is it possible [redacted] left the way she did to avoid her financial obligations? I am open to hearing how you would like to resolve these issues so we both may have closure. The best way to contact me is my using my mobile, [redacted] 
The opening of my letter states the amount I was expected to pay to pay. My letter clearly states what I expected refunded and why. I need to know what the business is willing to refund and within a reasonable time.  Regards,
[redacted]

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 # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
There are numerous inaccuracies and accusations in Cultural Care’s response that are fabricated and untrue. We have documentation and evidence supporting the reasons for the refund and the chronology of events leading up to [redacted]. abruptly leaving.Most importantly, [redacted]’s behavior towards our child changed shortly before she shared her intention to leave. Our family observed [redacted] not looking after our daughter during working hours, including leaving the room and not watching her and leaving the room while our daughter ate. Additionally, [redacted]eft a notebook on a hot burner nearly causing a fire. [redacted] demonstrated increased frustration, anger and irritability in our household in the days before and after her announcement to leave. Even after [redacted] was informed that she would not be left alone with our child she continued to bring our daughter into her room. [redacted] had to tell her to come out each time and after one of these times [redacted] emerged with a bruise.  [redacted] was unwilling to share how this bruise happened. This material risk to our family and daughter resulted in bypassing the mediation period, which was agreed to in writing by Cultural Care. Because of these safety concerns, our family decided that [redacted] was not allowed to care for their child or be present with the child without a family member present.Cultural Care’s response to this complaint ignores the facts. [redacted] was a material safety risk to our child and she misrepresented herself numerous times in her application. Refusal to issue a full refund will result in the family taking legal action.
Regards,
[redacted] & [redacted]

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 # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
As stated by Ms. [redacted] this morning (6/9/15), Cultural Care is unwilling to fully reimburse us for services not provided.  Here are the facts:1) Cultural Care did not perform any due diligence on the au pair they placed with our family.  This is one of the services we paid the company to do on our behalf.  This au pair is an admitted bigot and racist and has signed her name to statements as such.  Further, Cultural Care knew of this au pair's views towards Jews and Blacks (not necessarily African-Americans) and placed this au pair with our family anyway.  One of Cultural Care's representatives, [redacted] was a witness to these statements by the au pair that she did not want to be with a Jewish Family and told Cultural Care this during her initial application process.  [redacted] has already corroborated these statements to Cultural Care.2)  Cultural Care failed to perform any due diligence on our family.  In our December 2014 application to be a host family, we explained in great detail that the au pair would have daily duties related to our dogs - such as walking our dogs on a daily basis.  We were very transparent of this need in our application and Cultural Care knowingly approved our application based-upon these facts.3) The au pair they placed with our family quit in May 2015, in-writing, on her own volition.  We did not terminate her employment.4) In searching for a replacement au pair, we were told by several Cultural Care representatives that we are no longer permitted to assign hours towards caring for our dogs to the next au pair.  We were told that the 45 hour per week schedule could only be assigned towards taking care of our kids.  This was contrary to our application (as stated above) and so we had no choice but to leave the program.  As stated in our application, we needed help with both the kids and the dogs.  As such, we were forced to leave the program as the program was no longer suitable to our needs.  Again, Cultural Care approved our application based upon our needs and now refuses to give us a 100% refund on our prepaid balance
Regards,
[redacted]