InterExchange — Local services in New York

We used InterExchange for two years (well, we signed two contracts)...the first Au Pair lied a lot. About what the kids ate, about the kids going in the pool without her, about cleaning up, about picking up the kids. Constant lying. Then she asked for three extra weeks vacation, on top of the several weeks she had already had (also in excess of her contract). Inter Exchange just kept telling me to work it out with her and keep her. Disaster. Then, even better, when she left me they pawned her off on another unsuspecting family. They were smarter than me and terminated early.

Second au pair, fine from the start...until, also asking for lots of extra vacation when it was not convenient. The agency is super clear that the au pair gets 11 days vacation (which is not enough so we always give a few extra weeks off when we can). However, the au pair is not supposed to ask for extra time when child care is needed. Second au pair, same story. Basically said she was going home when we needed her to work. No discussion. We terminated the contract and InterExchange refuses to give us any of our money back. They suggested the au pair owed us money for the termination but gave us no way to collect. So for several thousands of dollars in fees to InterExchange, we were convinced to keep sub par child care for a year...and then told to go swing when we had another issue with "flexible" child care the next year. They over promise and do not deliver. For the amount of money, I would expect some courtesy.

Lastly, they are being sued by au pairs for violating contracts too. So it is not just host families that get taken advantage of...google the law suit. No one wins except those that line...

I cannot recommend Au Pair USA by InterExchange aupairusa.org . In our case they have done a half-fast job (lack of communication and follow up), acted unprofessionally and denied our host family application stating that they don't believe our family would benefit from an au pair. Although it is stated on their website, they DO NOT accept kids with special needs. I have requested from them (in writing) multiple times to provide me with their grievance procedure and was ignored each time. I recently got a hold of one of their VPs, who refused to give me their CEO’s name, which is ridiculous because it’s public information. Instead, he said that since I was able to find him, I'll be able to find the CEO myself. I wasn’t even trying to change their decision, but to get clarity and to provide feedback. the VP laughed (without exaggeration) at me and was defensive during our whole conversation instead of trying to be impartial and to at least attempt to understand the situation. At this point I am going to wait and see if their CEO will respond to my voicemail and will update this review if she calls me back. There are about 16 other Au Pair J-1 agencies in the US and as you can see from other people reviews, Au Pair USA by InterEchange is not the...

If you want to be an Au Pair, run away from this agency! They have few families and bad families. They have more Au Pairs than families. I had a rematch in the last month of my first year and didn't get a family, even though I had been online for a long time.

Every person I talk to who has been an Au Pair with this agency only has negative things...