I have just moved to The Sail from a larger apartment and at around the same time my former Filipina helper left for home. I have decided against hiring another live-in helper (I dislike the term 'maid') because of privacy reasons and also because my new apartment doesn't have that much space.
I do however need some help with household chores. I'm wondering if anyone knows any reliable housekeepers that they can personally vouch for or recommend?
I tried hiring a part-time housekeeper through an 'agency' last month and was told to remit the 'agency fee' of $188 to a bank account, which I did. Then, the agency sent me two young Burmese girls, one of whom had huge hoop earrings and was dressed like she was going clubbing. They told me they were 19 but seriously one of them looked 17. I was told I had to pay them $15 an hour each.
I also asked if they were legally allowed to work in Singapore and one replied that she had a student pass. I didn't want to get into trouble with the law so I sent them home. Besides, they didn't look like they could do any housekeeping work anyway.
I called the 'agency' again and told them about the problem. They said they could send me a replacement housekeeper but I would have to pay another agency fee of $188. This sounded extremely screwed up, so I said no and demanded my original $188 back, and was told that it was 'non refundable' and that they had already performed their stipulated service of 'referring' a housekeeper to me (WTF!!)
I don't ever want to go through this kind of nonsense again with dodgy agencies, so I'd really appreciate if someone could recommend a reliable, legal and preferably English-speaking housekeeper?
Has anyone else had similar experiences with dodgy 'agencies'?
