The legendary outlaw Robin Hood used to steal from the rich to give to the poor, unlike the new form of low life that appears to be preying on the poor in the UAE to make themselves rich.
Targetting those who have lost their jobs, in the UAE, and are desperate to find a position a letter, in 7 Days, a free newspaper distributed in Dubai, states these despicable people are charging fees for none existent jobs.
One must realise how desperate and prepared to clutch at any straw these job seekers will be as they and their family have to leave the country, within 30 days of their visa, which is obtained through their employment, being cancelled.
During the current recession, a number of recruitment agencies have sprung up overnight in the UAE. Their main aim is to catch gullible job seekers and make a quick buck out of them…
I am one of the victims who got caught in this trap.
When I saw an advertisement for a new company in a leading newspaper, I called and went to the office.
After promising a job within ten days, the female Customer Relations officer told me to give copies of my passport and photographs.
An elaborate document was given to me to be filled in and I was charged dhs100 in ‘processing fees’.
Next day a man working there called me and invited me in for an interview. He also said if I passed the interview, I would need to pay dhs300 as ‘job placement charges’. At the interview, he and another man said there was a job for me at a company in Jebel Ali free zone and that my letter of appointment would be ready within days…
They told me the salary and the benefits and that the employer had given this company the full authority to recruit. They even told showed me receipts of payments made by other clients.
I never heard from them again and each time I call the office, they notice my number.
I used other phones to contact them and those who answer my call say they will call back within two hours but they never call.
The man who interviewed me now says that the so-called employer does not have a vacancy after all. When asked why they charged me for a job placement he laughs and puts the receiver down.
This organisation employs people from many different nationalities.
Each time I call a different employee answers the phone. And they pretend they do not know each other…
Please publish this so that more job seekers do not fall prey to these underhand, corrupt agencies and also I urge the law enforcement authorities to take speedy action against them.
Victim
Dubai
Hopefully, this letter will spark the authorities in Dubai into action and they will stamp out this practise and severely punish the perpetrators, regardless of nationality. There is no excuse to prey on the weak and letters of this type do enormous damage to the reputation of the UAE where inaction would be seen as condoning theft from the weak and vunerable.