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School doesn't want to give me contract til I arrive (scam?)

 
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Goldmeyer



Joined: 04 Sep 2011
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:32 am    Post subject: School doesn't want to give me contract til I arrive (scam?) Reply with quote

My husband and I received job offers for Al Worood Academy in Abu Dhabi on 9/7. A recruiter located in Dubai advertised it, interviewed us over the phone (for 1hr). Now my husband and I are having doubts and wondering if all this is a scam.

1st of all, we have had an impossible time getting a hold of this woman. She never returns emails and when we finally do get a hold of her on the phone, she claims never to have gotten our emails along with the attachments of documents etc....

Problem is my husband just graduated last month and just received his Letter of Completion this last Tues 9/20. So on Wed we Fed Ex-ed our degrees to a courier to us in Washington DC to get our degrees authenticated quickly and Fed Ex-ed to the school. The school should receive them by Oct. 2.

We never received official Contracts from the school (only 2 pg. Offers of Employment with very brief details). We have asked over and over and over again for the contracts through phone and email. They promise to send it and never do. What gives? Should we be suspicious? or are they being stubborn and not wanting to send us the contracts without getting our degrees authenticated first?

Another woman we talked to from the school 2 days ago said that they want us to fly our there first and THEN they will give us the contract to sign. IS THIS NORMAL??? Should we go without seeing the contract first?


Last edited by Goldmeyer on Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:03 am; edited 2 times in total
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It's Scary!



Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 823

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is you last question intended to be rhetorical?

It's usual to see what you're getting into before the trapdoor shuts!
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helenl



Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 1202

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my experience you don't get the contract until and unless you pass the security checks, including fingerprints, usually a police report from your home country and medical (done in UAE) so that you are eligible for a visa. You usually get an offer letter which outlines the basic terms and conditions or perhaps the offer letter with a copy of the contract for you to review - either one will stipulate that the offer is invalidated if you fail the medical or the security checks
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Goldmeyer



Joined: 04 Sep 2011
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Helen,

We did get Offers of Employment back on Sept. 7. but they were only 2 pgs. long and everything was explained in VERY brief terms. There is NO info on the class we would teach, hrs, etc. only salary info and benefits.

We asked the lady at the school to email us details about the job itself: she said she would but never did. We asked the recruiter as well and she also promise she would, and never did.

You mean most people just go without seeing the contract first? How many people do you know who have done this?
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goldmeyer wrote:
You mean most people just go without seeing the contract first? How many people do you know who have done this?

I worked in the Gulf from 1988 to 2001... 4 different employers (all legitimate universities in Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE) and I never saw a contract before arrival. It was always a one or two page offer letter. In fact, in Kuwait I never was given a contract in English and this was at Kuwait University. Of course, I didn't bother to push the issue either.

The difference is that I knew the employers were dependable, and knew teachers already there so that I knew that they kept to whatever was said in the offer letter.

VS
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dunteslin



Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Posts: 20
Location: australia

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 3:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whatever you do, DON'T pay your own way to the UAE. If they do send you tickets, then you are probably OK over the contract. And they should also send visas on to you. Good luck!
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Goldmeyer



Joined: 04 Sep 2011
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:03 am    Post subject: Packed my bags! Reply with quote

You guys are great! I was hung up on the contract thing and was almost considering rejecting the offer because I was scared that they were hiding something by not providing a contract first but after reading your advice(s) (why isn't there a plural for advice??) we've decided to bite the bullet, and go for it! We packed our bags and are going to be flying out tomorrow as soon as we get the tickets they promised us. Scared, anxious, excited, sad, happy, worried, relieved, hopeful...you name it, I'm feeling it!
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