AIESEC International
Reviews and Complaints

AIESEC is a non profit organization. They send students abroad in exchange programs for volunteering purpose and charge certain amount of fee after selecting the candidates. I have been mislead by AIESEC member and was asked to pay even before assigning projects I dint get projects also as per my preferred dates I need a refund and there is no response from AIESEC India when i complained and asked for refund. The member name is Ahilan Rams.

Here is an email I sent the main AIESEC office back in 2014:

— 2014 —
I'm a student from University of Windsor who feels as though the branch in Windsor has not only failed to live up to any of its promises but also did not return my refund. I'm extremely upset and disappointed with how these people have conducted themselves. I registered in summer 2011 as an EP to go to places like Japan and Europe for internship opportunities and development experiences.

I had cleared the interview for getting entry into this and I followed the instructions for getting started with this program. What I found out shortly was that countries like most in Europe, Japan and Korea by enlarge did not show any preference for students from Canada (This was specially true for Japan, where there was quite evidently a barrier for people from this country).

Around the time I was nearing the end of my term as an AIESEC member, there was a change in the organization membership and new members had arrived. I had asked for a refund earlier but the old structure never followed up with it and left it to the new members who had been appointed. The new members informed me that they would find me a EP themselves if I granted them access to my account.

Nothing ever materialized and eventually, and I was informed in the ending days that there is nothing that can be done for me in regards to any future EP opportunities without me having to put in another 400 dollars. I had requested my refund again until, now I didn't receive it.

I have perpetually been approaching their office for two years to obtain my refund but it seems that it would either be "sorry, we are busy right now", or a dismissive "we will look into it and provide you an answer next week".

I have already made contact with Tamara on regards to this but she didn't reply.

So my request to you is simply providing me my refund. As of now I'm in Toronto and if needed, I will approach your office for further discussion. "

— 2014 —

This organization caused me great harm by luring me into a false promise of providing proper facilitation for entry level experience opportunities, which consequently resulted in not only calling for time away from actual career development initiatives, as well as hampering the progress of completing my University degree, but also ending up leaving me with the same empty resume I had, before I registered to the program (for that very purpose in the first place).in today's competitive world, failing by such investments have extremely devastating effects on the long run, especially for young individuals that are still in the progress of integrating and settling in this country.

It also leaves a very bitter taste of being conned by a group that is allowed a platform of trust and legitimacy in Academic Institutions with no regard to the potential harm it can cause students. This has to be one of the most insidious scams to ever gain International recognition.

The most desirable resolution of this complaint would be to be given full refund the amount that was given for false promise to provide adequate facility and certainty of an Exchange Program. Its comparable to a young child paying for math tuition and having the Math Tutor tell him that the only service he can provide him are borrowing of his text books despite advertising that he would teach his clients so well that they would pass the Math Exam with flying colors. Utterly immoral, reprehensible and inexcusable.

I make this complaint in order to get the accommodation fee back and get this problem solved.

I am an EP in the project held by Aiesec LC Marrakesh call “Marrakesh is your next destination”(MYND).

I am from China, together with me another girl is also in this project. I crossed half a globe to join this project only to find out that the LC is fooling me around with beautiful promises that never realized and all those excuses I am fed up with.

The first night I arrived in Marrakesh (13th Jul), my friend and I give the accommodation fee( 100 Euro per person, so 200 Euro in total) to the LC without any doubts.

We didn’t live in the EP house because there was no tape water that night and we lived in hotel ever since then.

In a week we followed all the activities they arranged and still lived in hotel. But we find out it didn’t fit us well and we decided to quit. Everyone has the freedom to choose, right?

After we make our request to quit and get the accommodation fee back, they promised to come to give us 200 euro back. But when we actually met on that day, they gave us a whole bunch of excuses and finally arrogantly announced that they didn’t take the money without any guilty. What a shame and pity to see the AIESECERs be like that.

Furthermore, we sadly get to know that they return the money to 2 Portuguese EPs who quit the project. So I think the problem here maybe more than the money. And ever since that unpleasant meeting, the LC didn’t reply to us anymore. No matter what messages I sent to them, they just ignore them. It’s hard to believe they are people from such a brilliant organization which gathers all the excellent students around the world—AIESEC!

And we are asking help now, both from Moroccan side and Chinese side.

Last and but most important, we know Aiesec is the world largest student organization, we trust Aiesec as we trust our dear relatives. 200 euros is not so large amount of money but we want to see a true Aiesec with justice, fairness and sincere guarantees to every EP.

Please reply me as soon as possible (Email and Facebook, both no problem)

Best,

Shiyang Jin(Jenny)

Shuyang Li(Sophie)

Hello,

My name is Burak Gökhan AYAZ. I applied for an internship at AIESEC Russia, ENGEC-GUAP (which is one of the AIESEC organizations in St. Petersburg) in March 2011 and spend 200 dollars for paper work, 210 dollars for visa and 400 dollars for plane tickets. According to my contract, I should've been working at a summer camp with kids and my food, transportation and accomodation expenses were to be paid by ENGEC-GUAP.

I arrived in St. Petersburg in 11th of July (at this point I have to mention that nobody came to pick me up from the airport for two hours and they didn't answer my calls), went to a camp with my own means (paid 220 rubles for train ticket, even though transportation supposed to be paid by the organization). Spent five days there, completed my first shift and came back to city. Then on Monday, 18th of July, I had to be departing to a camp which I will be working but nobody contact me to give information on the issues like when will we depart, from where etc. Whenever I tried to contact people from AIESEC ENGEC-GUAP they kept ignoring my phone calls and e-mails. Now it's been 6 days and I'm paying for accomodation, food and transportation from my own pocket and I ran out of money. Still, when I demand from them to refund this money so I can survive here, they keep ignoring me.

In short, AIESEC Russia, St. Petersburg, ENGEC-GUAP didn't fulfill its part in our contract and imprisoned me in St. Petersburg, I'm living on my own expenses for 6 days, they do not contact me and ignore me whenever I try to contact them and now I ran out of money so I will be staying on the streets with two luggages with me.

And here is a copy of the invitation letter they sent me: http://www.sendspace.com/file/4fb6r1 Please note that they say "Our committee will provide him with means of supporting himself and accomodation" And they still refuse to refund, or maybe to say "they ignore my demands on refunding" would be more accurate.

Anyone from AIESEC who reads that compliment please contact me as soon as possible, I desperately need help. My e-mail address is bgokhanayaz[at]gmail.com

To briefly present my case, I suscribed to the services for an AIESEC development internship in for the sum of CAD 400 dollars, in late 2005.

After being given access to the AIESEC database, I accepted an internship in India. The clause in my contract with AISEC mentioned
clearly that no fee would be reimbursed if I would accept the stage. Or
I was waiting that AISEC Laval University, Quebec City branch, would provides me with some training in fundraising, because I did not have access to financial support for the ticket to India or the cost of accommodations). Finally, before leaving I had to pursue a so-called formation on intercultural behavior that nobody offered me. In short, I received absolutely no follow-up.

I would stress that AIESEC students with a scientific or business profile generally have all their expenses paid during their internships and enjoy
opportunities in all the large multinationals around the world. This,
to my sad misfortune was not my case at all.

For all these reasons I feel a strong frustration and a sense
bitterness while I had at that time no financial means to
do an internship, which might have been detrimental to the career choices that I've done later, in the precipitation. I believe that the money I spent did not have a tangible return for services that I could have expected.

I thave tried to have to have recourse to the Ombudsman of the Laval University, and I was advised to lodge complaints in Ontario since the siege of AIESEC Canada is in Ontario. I tried to contact them, but they reject my request, stating that I had signed a contract mentioning that I had breach the contract.

I do not know what to do. I beg you to please give me your support, because I really feel I have been victim of prejudice. I would like to know how I can
enjoy your support or join me if you encountered the same problems.

Pour vous presenter mon cas brievement, j'ai, suivant les conseils de ma
direction de programme de Maitrise en Etudes internationales (IQHEI) souscrit aux services de l'AIESEC pour un stage en developpement pour la somme de CAD 400 dollars. Ce stage faisait partie integrante de mon programme de maitrise et credite (6 credits).

Apres avoir eu l'acces a la base de donnees de l'AIESEC, j'ai donne mon accord
pour un stage en Inde. La clause de mon contrat avec AISEC mentionnait
clairement qu'aucun frais ne me serait rembourse si j'acceptais le stage. Or
j'attendais de l'AISEC universite Laval, une formation en matiere de recherche de fonds, car aucun frais ne m'etais octroye (ne serait-ce que partiellement pour le billet d'avion ou les frais d'accomodations). De plus, on ne m'avait pas parle a temps d'une bourse de l'ACDI, l'equipe AIESEC de la branche de l'Universite Laval s'etant clairement incompetente et incapable de me donner le
moindre conseil. Enfin, avant de partir je devais poursuivre une pseudo
formation d'apprentissage culturelle, que l'on ne m'a jamais proactivement
offerte. Bref, je n'ai recu absolument aucun suivi competent.

Je tiendrais a souligner que les etudiants en profil de stage scientifique ou
d'affaires ont generalement leurs stages tous frais payes et beneficient
d'opportunites dans les grandes multinationales partout dans le monde. Ce qui, a mon grand malheur fut loin d'etre le cas pour moi.

Pour toutes ces raisons je ressens une forte frustration et un sentiment
d'amertume alors que je n'avais a ce moment aucun recours financier pour
effectuer un stage, ce qui a nuit aux choix de carriere que j'ai pu faire
ulterieurement, dans la precipitation. J'estime que cet argent debourse n'a pas
eu de contrepartie tangible en services que j'aurais pu attendre, d'autant plus
que les opportunites de stage en developpement etaient maigres et plutot
mediocres.

J'ai tente d'avoir d'avoir un recours de l'Ombudsman de lUniversite Laval qui
m'a conseille de porter plainte en Ontario car le siege de l'AIESEC canada est
en Ontario. Je les ai contactes, mais ils restent ferment mentionnant que j'ai
signe le contrat signalant que refuser un stage apres l'avoir accepte est une
rupture de contrat. Face a cela je ne sais quoi faire.

Je vous supplie de bien vouloir me donner votre appui, car j'estime avoir ete
victime d'un prejudice. Je souhaiterais savoir dans quelle mesure je peux
beneficier de votre appui et de votre soutien