A South African au pair agency misrepresented placement and refused to refund fees, how can I protect future applicants?

The long answer

There isn't an au pair regulatory body specific to South Africa, but there is the International Au Pair Association (IAPA). If the agency in question is a member, you can lay a complaint with the IAPA. You can check if the agency is a member on the IAPA website: https://iapa.org/our-members/.

The IAPA head office is in Germany. Here are their contact details:

• IAPA

Tel: +49 89 20189550

Email: info@iapa.org

Getting your money back:

It seems that au pairing is often considered a cultural exchange, rather than a typical employment relationship, in many host countries. 

The agreement between you and the South African au pair agency, is a service agreement for placement rather than an employment contract. The agency acts as a "middleman" or labour broker for the placement. 

So, although the agency is contractually obligated to act in good faith and offer the services promised (e.g., a placement with a certain stipend), they are generally not responsible for enforcing payment in a foreign jurisdiction. Their primary responsibility often lies in the initial screening and placement process. 

However, as a consumer of the agency’s placement service, you should be protected under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Section 41 of the CPA prohibits suppliers from using false, misleading, or deceptive representations when marketing goods or services. You are entitled to receive the service as promised, which includes placement on the terms initially agreed upon. 

When the supplier (au pair agency) cannot provide the promised service, you as the consumer have the right to demand a remedy, which can include a refund of the fees paid. These fees can be – a R1,500 sign-up fee, a R2,000 profile fee, and a R3,500 placement fee, in addition to a R1,000 training course fee.

To significantly reduce the placement salary is a material change from the initially advertised and agreed-upon terms, which constitutes a breach of contract. 

What is not clear to me from your email is whether you and the au pair agency had signed an actual contract where the placement salary was specified.

So what can you do at this point?

The first thing would be to seek legal advice on whether you have a strong enough case to demand a full refund of the fees paid. The key to this would be any documentation (emails, contracts, advertisements) that proves how much the promised original salary was. 

You could ask Legal Aid for assistance. Legal Aid is a means-tested government organisation that must assist people who can’t afford a lawyer. These are their contact details:

• Legal Aid

Email: communications2@legal-aid.co.za

Tel: 0800 110 110 (Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm) 

Please-call-me: 079 835 7179  

You could also approach The Black Sash, which gives free paralegal advice. These are their contact details:

• Black Sash

Email: help@blacksash.org.za and info@blacksash.org.za

Tel (national office): 021 686 6952

Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865

Wishing you the best,
Athalie