| A rogue domestic helper agency
I’m having trouble with a domestic helper agency that owes HK$1400 to the daughter of my Indonesian wife (a lot of money for her). Has anyone on Geoexpat heard of any similar experiences or can anyone advise me on the best way to extract this money from these cheating scumbags?
Four weeks before my wife’s 21 year old daughter, (an Indonesian domestic) was due to finish contract with her outgoing employer, she registered with an agency in Mongkok who said they would find her a new employer. Shortly afterwards, this agency said that someone had signed her contract and she then had to pay them a HK$3000 ‘signing fee’.
However, when my wife’s daughter subsequently tried to get details about her supposed new employer, she was unable to get any information and was never shown a new contract to sign. It wasn’t until 3 weeks later, just before her contract and visa was due to expire, did this agency tell her that she must go back to Indonesia and wait while the agency would supposedly process her papers. With no sign of any employer, it became clear that she had paid HK$3000 for nothing.
She went back to this rogue agency with her mother (my wife) to ask for a refund, which they promised her. After several visits and excuses they refunded $1600 but still owe $1400. I then became involved as we thought that a Gweilo face might frighten them into promptly refunding the rest of the money. But I have called them a number of times and visited twice and I’m getting similar treatment “The boss is in China” or “We don’t have the money now but we’ll transfer it to your account later”, or some other pathetic excuse. They are taking the p**s.
Very luckily, just before her visa expired, my wife helped her daughter sign up with a few reliable agencies, one of whom found her an employer who has now signed her. Apparently, other Indonesian maids who also used the same bad agency were not so lucky and they had to go back to Indonesia without being refunded. The Domestic Helper Support Centre in Jordan has since told me that this often happens, and the Labour Department here frequently close down such agencies who then reopen under a new name.
Can anyone advise me on the best way to deal with this agency?  | 
