Deposit for maid service?

[FireMedic]

Hey everyone. I was looking for a maid service and found a live in for 11,000 baht a month. The mamasan wants me to do an 11,000 baht "security-type" payment up front as a guarantee. Once we terminate the maid, I get the money back (yeah right!) I asked the mamasan if she guaranteed the maid if she stole or broke something....of course the answer was no. I then asked if she could take a check from the bank but not cash it....then she said no because she needed cash for the office.... When I asked her how she planned to give me the money back if its used in the office I was met with hostility and frustration, common when people are caught not telling the truth. Any help or advice? Or maybe any references for live in maid services?

[MadMac]

One word: ridiculous.

[Pvassana]

I wouldn't try any sort of deposit for any maid service whether live in or daily visits for cleaning. It's unheard of. What I've seen are cleaning maids belonging to the condo or apartment complex who provide extra cleaning service to residents that need them. They come as needed at the specified time. I would be wary of anyone else as their is no such thing as background checks or references for this type of work. Good luck.

[FireMedic]

Yeah I figured.....I have 2 choice....my neighbor wants me to buy a Burmese slave, which I politely refused. He has several. It's just weird the mamasan is acting or referring to the guarantee the same as a rental agreement. I don't know....just weird feeling I guess.

[MadMac]

It's difficult to find someone for a reasonable price. Thais would not do it, so you may have to get someone from the neighboring countries. Not all are slaves and abused. We have a burmese lady here every now and then, she's happy to do some extra work, 100B/hour. But that's in Chiang Mai.

[tonray]

Why anyone would need to give a deposit is beyond me. They should provide you with a bond to protect against theft or shoddy work.

Plenty of ladies who will clean your condo ..just post in Thai in the local Big-C message board,....you will get many calls.

[MadMac]

Why anyone would need to give a deposit is beyond me. They should provide you with a bond to protect against theft or shoddy work.

Plenty of ladies who will clean your condo ..just post in Thai in the local Big-C message board,....you will get many calls.

Sure, for a "small" fee, not necessarily reasonable

[PT4]

I then asked if she could take a check from the bank but not cash it....then she said no because she needed cash for the office.... When I asked her how she planned to give me the money back if its used in the office I was met with hostility and frustration, common when people are caught not telling the truth.

​

​Good thinking. Thank you, FireMedic, for posting that description.

[blackcab]

Recruitment agents often charge 1 months salary as an agency fee. I'm guessing that's what she was after. She just went about getting it the wrong way.

She certainly didn't find the maid for free.

[bino]

Recruitment agents often charge 1 months salary as an agency fee. I'm guessing that's what she was after. She just went about getting it the wrong way.

She certainly didn't find the maid for free.

It wasn't presented as a fee, but rather a refundable deposit.

Perhaps if it had been presented as a recruitment fee that wouldn't be refunded, as opposed to the BS deposit that he knows won't be returned because it will be spent immediately, it would have made more sense to the OP.

[lamyai3]

Yeah I figured.....I have 2 choice....my neighbor wants me to buy a Burmese slave, which I politely refused. He has several. It's just weird the mamasan is acting or referring to the guarantee the same as a rental agreement. I don't know....just weird feeling I guess.

More often than not, migrant labour is used here for this type of work. Your use of the word slave doesn't really reflect how things are here in terms of migrant workers, and they may well be enjoying better employment opportunities than they'd ever find in their own country. At the end of the day any mistreatment would be in the hands of the actual employer, so if they do a good job and you on your part treat them decently, in what way is that exploitation?

[FireMedic]

Sorry, the mamasan fee was 2000. But again it's a maid service with an office. And by "slave" I mean he told me in detail how he gets them and has them illegally purchased and transported across the border without proper paperwork. I would gladly take a Burmese girl with a passport or proper paperwork, but in this case, I couldn't.

[blackcab]

Recruitment agents often charge 1 months salary as an agency fee. I'm guessing that's what she was after. She just went about getting it the wrong way.

She certainly didn't find the maid for free.

It wasn't presented as a fee, but rather a refundable deposit.

Perhaps if it had been presented as a recruitment fee that wouldn't be refunded, as opposed to the BS deposit that he knows won't be returned because it will be spent immediately, it would have made more sense to the OP.

You sound like an echo.