TO cope with the increasing cost of living, many households today are two-income families with the husband and wife both working. To manage their homes, including taking care of the children, families hire maids.

These days, though, it is not only expensive but also problematic to employ maids.

The National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) continues to receive a lot of complaints on the issue of hiring maids. Loss suffered by consumers due to problems with their maids amounted to more than RM2mil in 2015.

The most common issue is of the maid running away, which entails getting a replacement for which the consumer has to pay an additional fee. This is because of the unfair nature of the contract between the consumer and the maid agency where, if the maid runs away within three months (or depending on the time frame stated in the contract), the owner has to pay additional fees.

The agreement between the maid agency and the consumer appears to be one-sided and favours the former. Many maid agencies only provide three months’ warranty in the case of runaway maids. Once the warranty period expires, the agencies will not take responsibility for any liability or obligations arising.

Another major complaint by consumers is the poor service provided by some maid recruitment agencies. It appears that the maid is often incompetent in doing domestic chores or caring for a child. Furthermore, if consumers want another maid in exchange for the incompetent one, they have to wait for long periods. They are not even told how long they have to wait and the reasons cited for the delay include the need to apply for visas, medical vetting and various immigration issues.

In some cases, consumers who get fed up of waiting will ask for a refund. Some complaints received by the NCCC are lodged against agencies that refused or were reluctant to comply with the request for a refund.

From the complaints seen by the NCCC, it looks like the agencies have been stating terms and conditions which only protect their own interests and liability. Therefore, consumers are advised to read the terms and conditions thoroughly to ensure they get a fair deal.

Those who are facing problems of this nature or have any questions are advised to get in touch with the NCCC at www.nccc.org.my or call 03-78769000.

SHABANA NASEER

National Consumer Complaints Centre

Source :- http://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2016/11/01/refer-maid-complaints-to-the-nccc/