Are agencies worth it?

[Echobelly]

Anyone used an agency for au pairs? It seems an awful lot of money for finding fee, so does it save you enough trouble for that compared to advertising yourself? Do you think you're more likely to get people who don't let you down at the last minute and who last the course?

It sounds like agencies have had a big drop in applicants, but there still seem to be plenty of people on au pair world.

I also notice that agencies tend to demand specific criteria of a placement, so presumably if you go through them your AP would be disappointed not to get exactly what they were told to expect.

Hello Echobelly,

Last year I was looking for an Au Pair for my two DC. A friend recommended Little Ones London and they were so efficient in finding me an Au Pair that fitted to my criteria. I still have the same Au Pair to this day!

I'm not sure on other agencies but Little Ones offered a 3 month placement. www.littleoneslondon.co.uk/

I have friends that used other agencies such as Care (www.care.co.uk) and Imperial Nannies (www.imperialnannies.co.uk) and were equally satisfied.

Hope this is useful for you!

Thanks! I'll look them up

Gave them a call, but was a bit shocked they were about 3x as expensive as other agencies I'd already seen and thought were on the pricey side. If they'd find me au pairs for the next 3 years for that money that'd be OK, but found it too much to take a chance on.

(That was Little Ones I was referring to)