Parents please beware - gumtree shocking news

[hinnigan01]

Parents please be very wary about looking for a nanny privately on sites such as gumtree etc. Its sadly quite easy to fake references, especially if parents are unsure of what to look for : here is the shocking article, the comments below the article from people are very true.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2237486/Red-Saunders-Chilling-words-paedophile-advertised-babysitter-Gumtree.html

choose an agency that follows strict codes of practice and are members of organizations such as ANA. These agencies make sure that their clients get to see all the nannies documents that they are seeing too, and it's these agencies that top nannies choose to represent them when looking for a job.

You're right there are poor agencies out there too, but excellent ones are out there and really do look after the client and nanny.

Be careful is the message I was just trying to originally say.

All employers are also required to check thoroughly as to identity as you need to be satisfied the person you take on is entitled to work here. he should have had a P45 from previous employer and to get the CRB check you need to see at least 3 types of identification. If you are thorough you will not get someone who is pretending to be their brother. Good points about first offences, that is why you need to be so very careful. CRB would not have stopped many of the perpetrators of horrible offences - I'm sure Jimmy Saville would have come up clear.

Anyone can run an agency, they are not regulated and don't have to follow ANA or REC codes of conduct.

Maybe it would be better if all childcare workers were registered in some way, but that would cost and ultimately parents would pay, yet some parents want low cost childcare.

How would you propose parents find nannies, babysitters, aupairs? Are agencies really that good (see thread about sitters).

Hinnigan01 you run a nanny agency so are hardly a disinterested party in this are you?

hinnigan01 - I wonder if you run a nanny agency. Maybe you should declare your interest when posting things like this.

There is already a thread on this.

Daily Mail recycling old news:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/in_the_news/a1594726-Paedophile-babysitter-filmed-child-abuse

Why should jining an declaring her interests, maybe she's just speaking from experience, can't see her plugging her buisness

Nannynick s/he does run an agency which doesn't preclude him/her from posting on this topic of course but it's a bit disingenuous to start a thread blaming Gumtree (and by extension free advertising) and set up agencies as the best solution for childcare when many people on here have had different experiences.

Dam quo to correct hinnigan not jining

They could have said something like: As a nanny agency owner and former nanny I feel agencies offer...

Them owning an agency may make no difference to their view but it may be why they started the discussion.

Are agencies any better - any horror stories of nannies from agencies?

thank you theEnthusiastic Troll, you're right why should I declare my interests? I am only speaking from experience and wanted to let parents know the dangers out there, I most certainly wasn't plugging my business and only talked about agency's when asked directly a question regarding them.
But I should have known from past experiences if anyone can knock an agency down its NannyNick. The thread has now been turned from a concerned poster worried about the dangers out there and trying to warn parents to keep safe to a lets slate agencies thread, Nanny Nick believe it or not I do have a heart and that is why I started the post. The sooner excellent agencies with great reputations and ones that do belong to ANA and REC are recognised for doing good in the childcare recruitment world the better. So we can work together to try our best in stopping these horrible acts happening. I wasn't intending to making it an agency v gumtree thread, just a much needed warning. Anyway as NannyNick is now sharing his very strong opinions...I'm what Duncan Bannatyne would say ... I'm out!!

'I am only speaking from experience and wanted to let parents know the dangers out there'

You're not speaking from experience, you're speaking from a Daily Mail article. Unless one of the families in that article is yours?

'I wasn't intending to making it an agency v gumtree thread'

You might want to re-read your op. You know the bit where you said 'Parents please be very wary about looking for a nanny privately' or the title where you name Gumtree.

'you're right why should I declare my interests?'

Because it would be honest to.

This was nothing to do with Gumtree or private advertising. Trying to make it about that is ridiculous. I think your motive in posting this is clear. I expect agencies are losing a lot of business to Gumtree, what with it being a good place to find a nanny for about £20 rather than the hundreds that agencies charge. I think you're scaremongering and I think it's in very bad taste.

Agencies are not infallible. I think this man could probably have duped them too it be may have been put off by the level of checking. All that means is that parents need to do the checks agencies do and demand to see ID.

Registration is not infallible either but at least if it's conpulsory And someone is caught they can be struck off.

I agree that the only person to blame is the person who committed the crime. I just think that parents when hiring a Nanny need to be careful to fully check and vet the person they are thinking of leaving their children with. Its a reason why I would use a Nanny Agency especially one that is registered with ANA (Association of Nanny Agencies) as they take on the responsibility to check all applicants documents and verify references.

If this is a backdoor way of steering people towards very expensive agencies as the only way to recruit safely, I'd like to point out that there are plenty of ads BY AGENCIES on GUMTREE encouraging them to get in touch.

It is no gaurantee that going through one is going to mean you're safer. They may do no better a job than you would checking refs etc. And at least if you're doing it yourself you know whether they are relying on only mobile nos and yahoo email addresses, which is a major way people fake references.

I'd do it myself every time.

Sorry - not I'd fake references !!! But I'd recruit myself every time. [bgrin]

My ex nanny got her current FT job through an agency. Questions to me were no more detailed than I'd ask - even less so in parts - and also they were like: would you MIND if osmeone hiring her wanted to speak to you? I said to them: If they DIDN'T want to speak to me directly, I'd find it strange. They thought this was funny. Big name agency too.

BUt I guess that's how they ensure their 'value add'.

Gumtree aren't to blame

It's the man fault for being a pervert and also to a certain extend the parents If they didn't double check info

Even going through an agency you need to double check refs etc yourself

This man gave fake ref/id (his brothers) assuming they looked similar - maybe always ask for a passport or driving license

Gets harder with refs for ladies as my older ones are in my maiden name as is my nneb certificate and newer ones in my married name - guess a wedding certificate takes care of that

As a parent, I wouldn't trust Gumtree or any agency to do all the checking. Gumtree is simply a place to put an ad. They provide a mechanism for that communication. They are not in control of and do not own the content (within reason).

As a parent you can outsourse the tast but not the responsibility for your children.

Not Gumtree's fault! Parents should have checked more carefully. I would always advise anyone looking for childcare to check everything out and ask to see original certificates.

Stop reading the daily fail .....