Gostudent.com

To Whom
It May Concern:
Go Au
Pair is an Au Pair agency designated by the U.S. Department of State to match
young foreign applicants with Host Families in the United States to care for
their children.  As the sponsoring
agency, Go Au Pair screens and selects both Host Families and Au...

Pairs as
program participants according to selection criteria stated in the regulations
of the U.S. Department of State, provides Au Pairs with training in child
development and child safety prior to their placement with a Host Family, assists
with the visa process and travel arrangements, and monitors Au Pair
participation throughout the program, including the physical location, and
progress and welfare of the Au Pair. 
This is a cultural opportunity for the Au Pair, Host Family and their
children, and is meant to be time of growth, learning and experience.  Go Au Pair is always disappointed when either
the Host Family or Au Pair do not have their expectations met.  We strive for all placements to end
successfully from both the family and Au Pair’s perspective and also for all
parties to have a positive cultural experience. 
Go Au
Pair addresses each complaint of Mr. [redacted]’s complaint below.
1.     “I expressed concern what if the au pair does not wish to
continue, or if we are not satisfied with the au pair. I was comforted that if
the match does not work out I can use their service again to rematch, and in
the worst case there is a portion of the fee I can get back based on how long
the au pair was living in my home.” The [redacted]
family requested to end their placement with their current Au Pair and to re-match
with a new Au Pair traveling from China. The [redacted] family was allowed to use
our services again to rematch, and a portion of the fee they paid for their original
placement was returned to them in the form of a credit that was applied towards
the agency fees for their new Au Pair traveling from China. That credit was
based on how long the original Au Pair was living in their home.
2.     “Goaupair is charging us an additional $2800 to rematch
in additional to the initial $8300 I already paid. They claim this was in one
of the appendixes I signed. There is an entire page of small print in that
mention of a fee “””4.3 We may request a new Au Pair (“New Au Pair”). Go Au
Pair will provide assistance to find a replacement Au Pair for the Host Family.
We understand there is no guarantee a replacement Au Pair will be found. If We
match with a new Au Pair, We may be eligible for additional credits that will
reduce the costs of the New Au Pair (“Re-match Credits”).
Go Au
Pair confirms that this is the exact wording in our Host Family
Agreement-Appendix A regarding our Replacement policy, which is in the same
size and font as the rest of the Agreement. 
The Agreement states if the Host Family matches with a new Au Pair they
may be eligible for additional credits that will “reduce the cost” of the new
Au Pair. This means that a portion of the fee paid for his original placement
will go back to the family, and be applied to the cost of the family’s new Au
Pair. This was relayed to Mr. [redacted] by representatives at Go Au Pair, and
confirmed by Mr. [redacted] himself in his statement. The calculation of fees as
stated by Mr. [redacted] of $2800 is not an accurate number; however, Go Au Pair
did require additional fees for his new placement, as the portion of fees that
he received in the form of a credit were less than the fees required for a new
12 month Au Pair placement, as Mr. [redacted] had already received one Au Pair placement
from China, and two months worth of child care services from that Au Pair.
3.     “I’ve asked specifically about this scenario multiple
times to two different employees at goaupair. This practice is intended to
deceptively squeeze more money in the case a match does not work out.”
Go Au
Pair has a number of practices in place to help a match be successful; however
Mr. [redacted] declined to participate in some of those practices, which could
have assisted his family in being successful in his placement, and avoid going
into the rematch process. 
Go Au
Pair does not hide the rematch process, as it is stated in his Agreement that
he is eligible for a credit that will “reduce the cost” of a New Au Pair.  Because the cost of a new Au Pair is
contingent on the new Au Pair’s status, and the eligible credit is based on how
long the original Au Pair is with the Host Family, an exact rematch fee cannot
be quoted.
Mr.
[redacted] was also sent an email by his Placement Coordinator at the time he
informed us he wanted to rematch with his Au Pair, which stated the following
“A credit based on the weeks remaining in your placement will be applied to new
program fees for your next Au Pair,” indicating to Mr. [redacted] that new program
fees are applicable, and his credit will be applied to those fees. A specific
credit amount was also presented to Mr. [redacted] to indicate the amount of money
that would be given as a credit it to him towards his new placement.
Since
this complaint was made, Go Au Pair and the [redacted] family has been able to
come to an agreement and the [redacted] family has agreed to pay for their new
placement and adhere to the replacement policy moving forward.
Sincerely,
Tanna W[redacted] Go Au Pair