Re: M-Trading, Saudi Arabia

MK Trading what a joke! This is one take on a scam, whatever you want to call it. Do not sign up with this company. I was stupid enough to do this, and do I regret it. My gut told me not to do it, but I would not listen to it, so I paid the ultimate price, and this is a shortened version of what happened to me.

I refused the job at Hail university, (employed by MK trading and not the university directly) because I had to pay for the ticket and visa (this is a warning sign and I did not pay attention to it). I then decided to go ahead and take the job, but MK Trading would pay for the one way flight and this would be deducted from my first salary. I arrived in Hail on September 24, and was dropped off at this hotel of sorts. I was given a plastic key to room 403, and upon entering the room I went to the fridge to get some water, but there was nothing in the fridge, and it was not switched on. I then went down to the lobby and asked the person who was in charge for some water and he gave me a cup of water. I asked him if there were any washing facilities (washing machines and dryers) he stated NO. I then asked him if they had an ironing board and an iron, and he once again replied NO (all of this according to Tamim AL-Ansary would be in place upon arrival). The following day nobody from the trading company or the university contacted us and this went on for a few days. Finally on the 29th we were asked to meet at this building that was going to be used for the English program; it was across the street from the hotel (the hotel was going to be were we lived for the duration of our stay). On the 29 nothing happened; it was to introduce themselves, and we had to go back the next day to get questions answered. At this point I had been living on bread and jam as I had no money (I was under the impression that MK Trading would give us an advance on our salary). On the 30th it was just another get together and to explain the course, which was a joke. Anybody could have done that. Maybe that is why they hired people who do not have teaching degrees? Some questions were asked about MK Trading, but they were unable or they would not talk about it, and MK Trading were not present. One of the direct hires approached me and asked if I had any questions, so I asked him to tell me the truth. He did, and he did not paint a pretty picture. You would not get paid for at least 2-3 months, there is no medical, the hotel is where we are will be living for the duration of our stay; the list went on and on. He then told me about the special classes they had after finals last year, and some of the teachers had not been paid as of yet, and they all left. That was 4 months ago, so what recourse do they have none.

One person had money sent by Western Union, but he could not get it as he did not have Saudi ID, and you can not send money out for the same reason, but MK Trading would send it for you at a price. At this point my friend and I decided to leave, so we booked the flight for the 4th of October. We spent 20 hours in the airport in Bahrain as we wanted to get out of Saudi for fear that M Trading might try to stop us if we stayed at the airport in Saudi.

I dont want to bore you with the details, but this is true, and yes everyday I woke up thinking that it would get better and my attitude was positive as I wanted to stay there for at least one or two years just to make the money, but I lost money. Please stay away from MK Trading; they tell you what you want to hear. Their emails to you are very good, but they have double meanings, and when you speak to them in person on the phone you cant understand them. One final thing if you look at the pictures of Hail University, it is very beautiful, but in real life it is a skeleton. The picture is what it will look like in 20 years maybe. One final, final thing: this is October 5th, and they still do not know that my friend and I have left as Daniel Bowles Director E.L.C. sent my friend an email on the 4th October which is below.

From: Daniel Bowles
Subject: Re: apologies

To:
Cc: "Eid Haisoni"
Date: Sunday, October 4, 2009, 3:55 PM
Dear

What you have been told about M-Trading is probably basically true about their record, which is very poor, though it is equally probably exaggerated and so far the indications are that the situation has now improved. If you are still here, please come to see me (office no. 110).

If, however (as your message implies), you are already back in Thailand, I am sorry you have left without discussing the problems but I appreciate your notifying us.

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Bowles
Director, E.L.C.

This site has a lot of info on these people:

http://www.tulbah.org/

Re: M-Trading, Saudi Arabia

M Trading has been great to me. They helped me get my visa to Saudi Arabia, after several other outfits had tried and failed. They hooked me up with a good university, got me a beautiful place to live, and advanced me money and tickets so that I could get to KSA with my family--it would have been very difficult to do any of this without M Trading's financial help. They have never failed to give me a salary advance when there were delays in getting paid. TM Trading has always treated me well, and their staff is friendly and personable.

The contractors who are so bitter and angry about M Trading usually have lots of rage that they direct all kinds of places--M Trading just gets the brunt of it.

Saudi Arabia is a challenging place to live, and even well-traveled people take a while to adjust to life here. Sadly, some people NEVER adjust. They just take their rage out on everything--their sponsor, their school, the students, their co-workers, and the local people who drive them, fix their toilets, and try to set up their internet.

Read the comments of the M Trading bashers carefully, and then ask yourself: What kind of experienced adult sits in an airport for three days waiting to get picked up?

That's pretty funny!

Read carefully when a poster bashing M Trading tells you he/she relied on "students" for "help." Is it ethical to directly or indirectly involve a student--frequently someone not yet an adult--in your little employment dramas?

There's a reason that things don't work out for these bashers. They likely have a string of failed placements behind them, or are very immature. Some are so poorly qualified that they are simply overwhelmed by their teaching tasks, and take it out on those around them. They scream, they cry, they draw up petitions, they threaten to file lawsuits, and they make lots of false statements. They ruin faculty meetings with their endless complaints. They constantly disturb other teachers by demanding you join their little cabals. They try to draw others into their little spirals of negative, self-destruction. I was really shocked when one such person included me in an M Trading-bashing letter without EVER asking my permission (which I would have denied). Another claimed they were "speaking for me" because I was "too terrified to speak up for myself"--an utterly false statement.

I had to make a formal complaint about it. Sad....

M Trading is a good group of folks, and my experience with them has been very positive. I would recommend them to anyone seeking serious work in the KSA.

Little crybabies can go set up laughable websites.