Stomper still waiting for maid 4 months after paying agency $1,600: ‘Feels like being held hostage’
Four months after paying a maid agency $1,600, a woman is still without a domestic helper.
Stomper Vicky had asked for a refund, but was rejected.
The payment was made in November 2025, with Vicky selecting an Indonesian maid. When the maid arrived in Singapore and underwent an X-ray, she was found to have a 6cm by 6cm lesion on one lung and spots all over the other lung.
“Needless to say, the helper failed to get medical clearance from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to work in Singapore,” Vicky told Stomp on March 5.
“More than two months from the date we were supposed to have a helper on board, the agency is still unable to provide a similar replacement. Instead, it is sending us biodata of candidates who are much older or without similar working experience while holding on to my payment. It feels like being held hostage.”
The Stomper said the agency refused to give her a full refund. “Instead, they are burying us with words that amount to no resolution,” she lamented.
But Vicky persisted, and the agency eventually offered her a 50 per cent refund. This is based on a law where if a maid is terminated within the first six months of employment, the agency must refund at least half the service fees paid by the employer if the refund conditions are met.
The Stomper questioned whether she should accept the lower amount.
“Right from the start, I did nothing wrong,” she said, rejecting the offer.
“They sent me someone with a serious medical condition, who failed MOM entry requirements. It wasn’t even like I actually had a helper deployed to my household whom I then rejected.”
Vicky told Stomp that she has written to MOM for clarification and received a reply on March 6 that there is a “pending investigation” into a possible breach of the Employment Agencies Act.
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson for MOM said on March 27 that the ministry is aware of the dispute between the Stomper and the maid agency.
“We are investigating the complaint made against the agency,” added the spokesperson.
Stomp has reached out to the maid agency for more information.
Vicky said: “I hope other employers would not have to go through what I have gone through with such an agency with unreasonable practices.”
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