[cybabe]

Hi

I don't know what to do suppose my maid will go to POEA for body chk in Philippine on today , just got her call and said the money was stolen in the bus so now she don't have any money to come to HK. Im thinking if she can provide me the stolen report from police will it be a risk to send her money for the chk up ? Or i just employ another maid instead ?

[joannek]

it depends where you found your maid. there's actually no way of knowing whether she lied about being the money stolen or not, even if she has a police report. in the philippines, the police are pretty corrupted & having a police report probably doesn't mean much.

are you willing to go through all the hassle of looking for another helper? and do you have the luxury of time & energy to do that again? or you would rather trust her this time & hope that's what happened & keep an eye on her when she arrives? will you be able to stay home & observe her to tell whether she's reliable & honest? are you willing to take the risk of her being a dishonest person & then firing her when she's with you?

[bekyboo44]

If you are inviting someone to live in your house and take care of your child/ren you have to trust them and you have to be able to believe what they say.

It's amazing the number of people who complain and complain about not trusting their helper to tell the truth etc. and then go and leave their children with the same helper all day!

If you do not trust your helper, it will not work.....however if you think that trusting her is something you can do in time, then it is worth considering keeping her.

But if you are going to doubt and question everything she tells you....then it might be a good idea to consider someone else.

[cybabe]

Thanks all for the advise

I found this maid in xpat web site with good command from her previous employer for the child care. I direct hire her without agent seems there is not secure and wasting time. My husband said its better waste the money and hire another one instead this time through agency co. I think will be better. I just can't believe that why she say this it seems this is a common excuse for asking money of couse if she don't have money she can ask directly without lie. She mention that her handbag was stolen by someone in a bus ? I think I do not trust her how come she can have passport and the paperwork still on hand if the bag was stolen? So now should i go to immigration to inform them about this issue ?

[bekyboo44]

I think it's important to remember that you will have to learnt to trust any helper you hire. In a lot of cases the helper is trustworthy, buy the employer themselves can find it difficult to trust someone that is essentially a stranger and that is understandable.

Personally I wouldn't trust an agency further than I could throw them- I think that it is important to meet the helper, to introduce her to your children, and to speak to as many of her former employers as possible. Most employers will be more than happy to give a positive report on the helper, if they can.

As for the details of her situation.....that's difficult to say. Maybe her passport was on her person and not in her bag- there are too many maybes for anyway to start accussing someone of lying etc.
Maybe she found it difficult to ask for money....again just too many maybes.

[peainpod]

Is this the US$100 POEA fee that the employer is supposed to be responsible for? Or just the body check fee (which I think is quite a bit lower.)

Anyway, I'm surprised that your maid asked you to wire the money to her in the Philippines, instead of just asking her family or friends there to help her out? Perhaps you could ask her that question when you next talk to her? After all, she might have just called you in a panic without considering the alternatives. (And once she arrives, if you are reimbursing her for the fee, she can then send it back to the person who lent it to her.)

I remember from another post that you were quite keen to have your helper start as early as possible. Can you wait that long for a new helper, if you have to start the process all over again?

[cybabe]

Not only this she is asking for around HKD2000 in total .She say to me no one can lend $ to her. She did call me today and say her sister lent her some money and she will sort things out. My husband already signed with agency to look for a new maid I feel a bit sorry for her if that is true story but seems this is a best way to do for a long run. I have a part time maid at the moment ONLY for day time so if the new maid come early that will be a relief.

[joannek]

yes, it is very tough to trust someone whom you have never met to stay in your home & leave your beloved children with her.

I find hiring a helper thru an agent a lot easier. there are so many trivial things that one has to know in order to hire a helper. then you have to go to the consulates & get all the paper work done, and make all those calls (local & long-d), get the helper to do the body check (find a lab!), pick her up from the airport.... the list is endless. i just rather pay for some company whose expertise lie in this area. and then, if the helper doesn't work out in the first 3 mths, you can always just pick another one & someone will do all those nitty-gritty things for you all over again.

anyway, good luck with your hiring another one.