Dozens of students in Almaty have reported falling victim to an unscrupulous company that promised to arrange seasonal work in Europe. Young people were offered jobs on farms and in warehouses in Germany, but after paying for the services, the trips never took place. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to the victims, the cost of processing ranged from 750,000 tenge. The company promised employment in fruit and berry picking, as well as in the hotel service sector. However, after receiving the money, the departure dates were repeatedly postponed, and then contact with the company's representatives virtually ceased.
"Before signing the contract, I went there and talked to all of them. The company seemed normal. I didn't contact the police because they kept putting me off. Now I demand that they return the money. And I want to warn other people not to fall for their tricks," said one of the victims, Gulmira Kablanbekova.
Among the company's clients was 21-year-old student Irangaiyp Kairatov. After finishing his first year, he planned to spend the summer holidays working on a farm near Bonn, Germany. For the trip, his parents took out a loan and transferred 750,000 tenge to the company.
However, later the young man was informed that there were no more vacancies. Instead, he was offered to postpone the trip to the next year or choose work in Poland or the Maldives.
"As a vegetable picker. I said: I don't care what job I do. I just wanted to visit the country, see the world. I received a message saying there were no places, vacancies were gone. They offered me an alternative to go in a year to the Maldives or Poland, but I didn't want to. Because I wanted to fly this year," said Irangaiyp Kairatov.
The company Job2Day places responsibility on partners from Kyrgyzstan. According to company representatives, they were supposed to ensure interaction with employers but failed to fulfill their obligations.
"They worked directly with employers, as far as I know, factories and farms. He simply, roughly speaking, refused his obligations, that is, he does not provide a refund. We are now resolving the issue with him," said the company's executive director, Miras Orazgaliev.
When asked about the timeframe for refunds, the executive director replied: "This period is approximately calculated from 3 to 12 months," he concluded.
The students do not agree to wait such a long time and intend to seek a refund. According to them, they plan to file a collective complaint with the police in the near future.