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Recruiter Problem: Last minute change
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Jaspercat



Joined: 05 Nov 2012
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:51 am    Post subject: Recruiter Problem: Last minute change Reply with quote

Hey folks,

So I just got my visa from the consulate and I am due to leave for Korea in two weeks. Up until now my recruiting company has told me that the school will pay for my flights upfront but today I received an e mail saying that the school's policy is to have the teacher pay for the flights and to be reimbursed later. Now I am travelling from Scotland and flights are almost �1000 (about $1500) from where I live, I need to have money to last me until my first pay check but to be honest I doubt my funds will stretch to that. Had I been told before now I would have purchased tickets long before now when they were cheaper.

If I can't afford it, and I already have my visa sponsered by this school, what can I do? Are there actually any options open to me? I stand to lose more than the recruiters or school. I 100% understand it is not the school's fault, and I now know going with a recruiting agency is risky business and will not be doing it again. I don't want all the money I have spent already to go to waste (transcripts, visa costs etc are expensive in Scotland).

Any help or advice would be great!
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YTMND



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Personally, I would not go with them. Find another recruiter, find another school. Make a statement that they cannot do this. And that's my "policy".
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newb



Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Will you ever trust your recruiter?
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Jaspercat



Joined: 05 Nov 2012
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unfortunately it is not that easy. Had I known beforehand I'd be getting so much hassle from this company I'd have avoided them but I already have my visa, they have all my documents, the school is expecting me and practically everything is in place for me leaving Scotland. If I could use the visa without going with the recruitment agency and school then I would (I got loads of other job offers on my own AFTER getting this job) but I can't. So I'm sort of stuck. If I scrape funds together I'll be going but if I don't isn't there anything I can do to save myself so many losses? I've spent about �400 (over $600) so far, and it'll cost me the same again to go through the whole process. I don't have that kind of money to waste. Sad
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newb



Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cut your losses and get a new recruiter before they put you into a deeper hole.
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figshdg



Joined: 01 May 2012

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Explain the situation to the recruiter. Some recruiters will often pay for the flight.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Easy.

Tell your recruiter that you don't have the money.
No ticket = no teacher.

Order new documents.

Wait 90 days for your visa to expire and start applying again.
It's not as though it was a public school job (where reimbursement is the norm and you could depend on them to actually repay you).

Any hagwon that will do that to you before you start is not likely to improve much afterward.

.
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PREEST



Joined: 20 Jan 2013

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 2:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dude, you gotta get out man, don't take this position. If they do this to you ladt minute nefore you have even left your country, think about what they will pull on you when you get there. I wouldn't take my chances, you can't trust them.
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Squire



Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 3:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds dodgy. �1000 for a ticket seems pretty steep though. I seem to remember one way from the UK to Incheon (Emirates, via Dubai) was about �400. Return around �700

Okay, you mentioned you were planning to go in two weeks. I just searched Expedia for flights leaving 14 days from now (Sun 24th) and you can fly from Edinburgh to Incheon for 725 USD. That's �458. That flight goes via London and Shanghai, and takes less time than flying via Dubai. Looks like a decent deal. The three days after that all cost about 1000 USD for the same flight, as does the day before (the 23rd). In any case, even if those Sunday tickets are gone when you try to book you shouldn't be paying �1000, you probably wouldn't have to pay any more than two thirds of what you mentioned in the first post
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jcd



Joined: 13 Mar 2012

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You could contact the school and explain to them that the recruiter didn't mention that you would have to pay for the flight. It might mean an uncomfortable ride from the airport, assuming they even give you one, but who cares you'll more than likely never hear from them again.

Does the contract say anything about flights?

I recently sent my documents to a recruiter only to be told that they wanted someone to do a Japan visa run. I couldn't do it, so the school hired someone else, and my documents were stuck with the recruiter.

I think some recruiters don't tell recruits and schools everything, because they are competing with other recruiters and they don't want to lose the business.

If you say you can't pay, I would be surprised if the school started over with a new employee.
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kinship



Joined: 24 Jan 2013

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 4:39 pm    Post subject: Re: Recruiter Problem: Last minute change Reply with quote

Jaspercat wrote:
Hey folks,

So I just got my visa from the consulate and I am due to leave for Korea in two weeks. Up until now my recruiting company has told me that the school will pay for my flights upfront but today I received an e mail saying that the school's policy is to have the teacher pay for the flights and to be reimbursed later. Now I am travelling from Scotland and flights are almost �1000 (about $1500) from where I live, I need to have money to last me until my first pay check but to be honest I doubt my funds will stretch to that. Had I been told before now I would have purchased tickets long before now when they were cheaper.

If I can't afford it, and I already have my visa sponsered by this school, what can I do? Are there actually any options open to me? I stand to lose more than the recruiters or school. I 100% understand it is not the school's fault, and I now know going with a recruiting agency is risky business and will not be doing it again. I don't want all the money I have spent already to go to waste (transcripts, visa costs etc are expensive in Scotland).

Any help or advice would be great!


Ignore what the others have said, they do not have to pay the expenses that come with their 'advice'. Last minute changes and instructions are normal for Korea, it is good you are getting to know about it now.

The best thing to do is to pay for the flight come here and then talk to your employer about getting the reimbursement early or an advance.I have known hagwons to give advances because it helps them as much as it does you.

There is no use starting out on a bad foot which is what the other advice amounts to.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Last minute changes are common..

but something like this is not a "simple, last minute change."

He was told ticket up front.
He accepted the job on that basis.
He made arrangements on that basis.
I assume the contract reads "prepaid ticket" and not "will reimburse".

I'll stand by what I said.

Any hagwon that starts off in breach of their contractual obligations won't improve with time.

I'll wager long odds that the tax rate is 3.3% and you won't get NHIC or NPS pension either (in spite of what the contract may say).

No ticket = no teacher.

.
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CentralCali



Joined: 17 May 2007

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 6:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Recruiter Problem: Last minute change Reply with quote

Do yourself a favor, OP, and simply ignore anything kinship posts. It's almost miraculous how wrong he is.

kinship wrote:
Ignore what the others have said, they do not have to pay the expenses that come with their 'advice'. Last minute changes and instructions are normal for Korea, it is good you are getting to know about it now.

The best thing to do is to pay for the flight come here and then talk to your employer about getting the reimbursement early or an advance.I have known hagwons to give advances because it helps them as much as it does you.

There is no use starting out on a bad foot which is what the other advice amounts to.
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kinship



Joined: 24 Jan 2013

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Do yourself a favor, OP, and simply ignore anything kinship posts. It's almost miraculous how wrong he is.


You have to forgive Cali as he is quite jaded about Korea and he ignores the fact that his attitude affects his employment.

Quote:
Any hagwon that starts off in breach of their contractual obligations won't improve with time.


That is not an infallible or across the board result. Not every hagwon owner is bad and there may be legitimate reasons for the change.

Quote:
I assume


That is where you make your mistake. As I have seen westerners get advances from their hagwon employers I am not speaking through my hat. It all depends upon the type of owner he was employed by.

Not everything a hagwon owner does is a conspiracy or diabolical plot against the westerner but OP the choice is up to you. Tompatz and Cali both have biased viewpoints against the hagwon owner while I have a more positive one.

If you take the view that all the hagwons are out to do is screw you then you will probably be screwed. Employment here is relationship based and if you show trust, then it is easier to work with the changes and see that the Korean employers can reciprocate.

Again, it is your call. You have heard both sides and like everything else in life you you never know for sure what will happen. If you have the money to absorb the costs of the delay then you might feel inclined to go that way or if you do not like spending money twice for the same thing, especially since you have a job, you might not.
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CentralCali



Joined: 17 May 2007

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kinship wrote:
You have to forgive Cali as he is quite jaded about Korea and he ignores the fact that his attitude affects his employment.


Hey, liar! How am I "jaded about Korea"? How does it affect my employment? Be specific.

Quote:
Quote:
Any hagwon that starts off in breach of their contractual obligations won't improve with time.


That is not an infallible or across the board result. Not every hagwon owner is bad and there may be legitimate reasons for the change.


It's fairly obvious that a hagweon owner that begins an employment relationship with dishonesty is, in fact, a bad hagweon owner.

Quote:
Tompatz and Cali both have biased viewpoints against the hagwon owner while I have a more positive one.


How are we biased against hagweon owners? Be specific.

I have a bias against dishonest people. For example, I have a bias against you because you are so dishonest Satan himself is probably stunned. If you care to search my posts on this board, you will find a few instances where I have actually defended hagweon owners. Unlike your asinine "The foreign teacher is always wrong/the Korean is always right" black and white view of things, I criticize those in the wrong and support those in the right.

Quote:
If you take the view that all the hagwons are out to do is screw you then you will probably be screwed. Employment here is relationship based and if you show trust, then it is easier to work with the changes and see that the Korean employers can reciprocate.


Yeah, right. Rolling Eyes And how is the hagweon owner refusing at the outset to honor contractual obligations showing trust? Oh, yeah. In your viewpoint, he's showing trust by doing that because of two reasons: 1-he's not a westerner, 2-he's Korean.

By the way, liar, nothing is affecting my employment negatively as I am, in fact, employed. I am curious about one thing, though. How many subjects have you managed to be absolutely incorrect about in your short visit (this time) on this board? No doubt, it's a record.
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