5 Star
0
4 Star
0
3 Star
0
2 Star
2
1 Star
4
0 Reviews 6 Complaints
- 1 out of 5
User submitted media
Write a review on Cultural Care Au Pair
Cultural Care Au Pair overview
Cultural Care is a member of the International Au Pair Association (IAPA) and proudly recognizes their “quality seal of approval.” The Cultural Care Au Pair team works closely with the U.S. Department of State to ensure that au pairs are treated fairly and provided with a high-quality experience during their time abroad.
Read less
Cultural Care is a member of the International Au Pair Association (IAPA) and proudly recognizes their "quality seal of ...Read more
Address
1 Education St., 02141, Cambridge, United States
Website
Phone
$ Monetary Loss
0
View
815
Disorganized and Overpriced
Still waiting to find out when my au pair will arrive. My assigned contact doesn’t have answers and hasn’t been able to help. It’s been really hard to plan anything with so little information. To make things worse, the travel team booked a flight without checking with me first—I had to cancel it. I’m still in the dark about the actual arrival date. Communication has been poor throughout. For the higher fees this agency charges compared to others, I expected more reliable service and better support. That hasn’t been the case.
Unusable App and Poor Vacation Policies
Cultural Care’s new app makes their services almost unusable, especially for parents with children under 2. We’ve since switched to another agency and found that Cultural Care’s vacation policies are also less favorable compared to other programs.
Unethical Practices
I hosted an au pair for 9 months, and suddenly she requested a rematch without notice, claiming she didn’t have full access to a car. This wasn’t a requirement in the agreement, and we had already assisted her in getting her US driver's license. It seemed like she was just waiting for the license to abandon the contract and find a family in a better location. I requested a refund from Cultural Care, only to find out that once you host for more than 60% of the year, you’re no longer eligible for a refund. Instead, they offered me a credit for hosting another au pair within the next two years, which I don’t intend to do. Essentially, they kept almost three months' worth of fees. When I tried to find an au pair for a short-term rematch, I discovered another clause stating that once a match is made, we’re required to take all the remaining months of the au pair’s contract. This made it impossible to find someone with just three months left to match with us. Cultural Care seems to have structured their contract in a way that allows them to collect fees twice—once from the host family when the non-refund period begins, and again when the au pair is rematched with a new family. This feels unethical and possibly illegal, as it misrepresents the agreement and leaves the host family unable to fully use the service they paid for.
Unclear Fees and Inefficient Service
There’s zero transparency with their fees. We’ve asked multiple times for a breakdown, but they refuse to provide it. I later found out my au pair is being charged around $2,000, with the agency claiming it covers her fees in her country. What are all these fees for both hosts and au pairs? This is our 6th year and 2nd with this agency, and it’s by far the least efficient one we’ve used. The new app is a joke and makes the whole experience even worse.
The program is exhausting—long shifts, barely any personal time, and the stipend is extremely low, especially if you're placed in a high-cost city. Some of us are caring for three kids, which makes it even worse. HF seems more focused on having a cheap nanny who also handles housekeeping, thanks to the vague “light cleaning” expectation. If the pay were fair, maybe it would be worth it. But it’s not. They should base the stipend on the number of kids or hours worked—something that makes sense for both sides.
Unprofessional and Unhelpful
Cultural Care Au Pair is absolutely terrible. They don't care about you at all; they only care about money. If you have an issue, don't expect any help—they'll ignore you. I finished my year early because I wanted to return to my home country. I spoke with my host family, and we agreed on a date for my departure. Then, my host family was told that if I finished early, they would receive a refund from Cultural Care. We both agreed to that, so my last working day was set for March 28, but my flight was booked for April 13. Cultural Care then demanded I change my visa status, which would cost $420, or they threatened to report me to the U.S. Department of State. Even though my flight was already booked for two weeks later, they refused to let me stay. When I asked for help on how to change my status, they told me, "We can't help you with any of that; it's up to you." This is by far the worst agency I've ever dealt with. All the money I paid them was completely wasted!