Bear in mind that the job of the recruiter is to try and get yer wee pink arse delivered to one of their schools, so of course they're going to seem nice. Don't let them hand you a Mersey trout!
Every job in China is a roll of the dice. At least try to not start in a place where the dice are loaded against you.
Sounds like Aston really is terrible to work for. I've been talking to their Canadian recruiter based in Dalian a fair bit and he genuinely seems like a nice guy. But working for Aston sounds just like working Public School in Korea in that if you care about what you're doing too much, you'll just get your heart broken. You say to 'give it a miss' due to constant contract violations (which is standard practise in Korean Hogwans), so where on earth is good to work for in ESL in China apart from Kens English and Perfect English (both based in Changchun).
Turnoi, I have to assume you're being satirical?
The Aston I know offers heavy class loads, pay that's unremarkable at best, rancid apartments that you have to share, bloody awful texts, and your occasional wee bit of bald-faced swindling. Are we in the same universe?