BEWARE OF AIEP—BEIJING!!!!!

If you are contacted by a company called AIEP, located in Beijing – run. They will offer attractive packages to entice you, but it’s a lie. AIEP stands for Australian International Education Program…however this company is in no way connected to Australia. The head of the company can’t speak a word of English, and they have never even heard of TEFL before. So, if you’re an EFL teacher who takes your job seriously…they won’t. A simple search online will reveal that they have no website. If you ask them for a link to their website, they will send you a non-functioning link.

I’m not the only person who has had difficulties with this company. The experiences of other colleagues plus online reviews show that. However, I can only write about my experience:

*Accommodation was provided, so I asked for photos of the flat. They sent me photos of a totally different flat. When I arrived, not only was the apartment totally different but was disgusting and crawling with bugs.

*Water and power were routinely shut off without warning, and I was told this was just normal. I was never warned about this, and wasn’t prepared. This happened so frequently during my first month that I was slammed with 2 bad colds and a bad flu because I was unable to wash.

*During the interview process, I was told I was going to a city. When I arrived in Beijing, I was presented with a different contract to sign, which had the name of another school in a small village. I was told there were no jobs in the city that I initially signed a contract for. (To be honest, I count myself lucky I only had to sign two contracts. I know other teachers who’ve had to sign more, each time being shifted to another location and their salary lowered.)

*AIEP will promise to reimburse you for all the costs related to getting your Z visa. When I arrived in Beijing, they refused. I had to argue for 2 days to get the money owed to me. (It’s lucky it was only 2 days.)

*My first month, my assistant bought some shampoo for me (Pantene Pro-V) which turned out to be counterfeit. After a week I was left with no choice but to shave my head. I made both the school and the company well aware of what was happening, and was consistently met with suspicious questions about my hair washing habits. AIEP was convinced I’d both damaged my hair and then shaved my head on purpose. I stayed at the school for 9 months, and after my hair grew back a bit, I thought things were fine. The school, unknown to me, hated it and me and refused to pay AIEP for my services. AIEP directed their anger about the school’s lack of professionalism towards me, making both my personal and professional life extremely stressful, and unpredictable.

*I know of two specific incidents wherein AIEP hired a registered pedophile and a man convicted of manslaughter. The manslaughter criminal was actually my neighbour. He would steal food from my kitchen and spread slanderous rumours about me.

*My aircon unit exploded above my head while I was sitting on my sofa. I had to stay in the flat for about an hour trying to put out the fire…with no fire extinguisher. Needless to say I was a panicky mess, and had to miss afternoon classes to deal with that. It took two days to get a man in to look at it, but more importantly, no one could understand why I was such a nervous wreck, and they were furious I missed work. “exploded right above my head” was not an English phrase anyone seemed to grasp.

The conclusion of all this comes to one simple fact: They will NOT honour your contract or you. AIEP is not a company run by professionals. They are borderline criminals who will threaten you and exploit you, following only their own desires based not on any sort of facts, but rather superficial fancies, childish whims, and gossip.