India - Beware of Maid Services

1. They take money in advance with promises to return if they do not find a suitable maid for you.

2. They do show you people for they are genuinely trying to provide a search service.

3. If ask for a return of the deposit, they just keep promising of doing it. You may be helpless as you belong to a different city.

4. Go yourself to get the money back. You will be given a cheque for the refund, it could be a post-dated one as they may claim to be short of funds for the moment. 

5. You wait for the period and deposit the cheque in the bank only to find after a few days that it would bounce. This despite the fact that you have informed them that you are going to en-cash the cheque. 

6. They have to maintain an image, so they make a part payment on being questioned. 

7. Obviously you would have to make several attempts before you get the remaining money. 

8. Meanwhile the staff may try to get personal with you, and may ask money for their own business venture. You have to do this in secrecy as the other staff of the organisation should not know. 

9. Sometimes they might even claim that they have alighted people on train to reach you. You trust his words and wait at the station, only to learn that the people you are expecting have not arrived. 

This is a post for people depending on online services in India. Our particular case is from the city of Pune in Maharashtra. It's strange in this land that banks take no action against such people who issue cheques that would bounce. I will post the details of the service provider shortly.

More on this in my blog:
http://tostruggleistoliveinindia.blogspot.in/2014/03/indian-railways-and-two-missing-ladies.html