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www.originalvolunteers.co.uk
www.originalvolunteers.co.uk

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3.7 3 Reviews

Original Volunteers Complaints Summary

2 Resolved
1 Unresolved
Our verdict: With a good resolution rate, Original Volunteers generally handles customer issues well. However, it’s important to be proactive. Familiarize yourself with their processes and services. Reading through various customer experiences will provide valuable insights into how they handle complex issues.
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Original Volunteers reviews & complaints 3

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J
3:37 am EDT

Original Volunteers volunteering morocco

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to make a complaint about the volunteering experience in Morroco. I went to volunteer on the 29th July to the 13th August. Within this time I was only given the opportunity to volunteer twice as all projects were cancelled whilst I was out there. I was assured throughout the trip that the projects would return the next day and to wait at the house for further news. The projects did not go ahead and this meant that we were left waiting for hours before we were informed that it was cancelled. I do not think that this is at all acceptable. Not only could I not
Volunteer which is why I booked a trip with you but then there was very little communication regarding what was going on.

I was also informed that I could not go to the baby orphanage in my first week as I would get the opportunity the following week and there were limited places available. Due to the projects getting cancelled I never got to go and this was a large reason that I chose this trip.

Also because there were no volunteering running I had to withdraw a lot of extra money in order to give myself something to do for the day and not waste all the money I had spent on flights and accommodation.

I would like compensation for this trip as it was not the volunteering experience that I had paid for and my registration fee returned as I do not think I will be attending another trip with you. I do not understand why there is not a plan in place should certain parts of volunteering be cancelled and why the communication regarding it was so poor.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Jessica Kirton

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D
7:03 am EDT
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Original Volunteers unethical behaviour

I recall reading a post about Original Volunteers and what they get up to behind the scenes but dismissed it before booking my trip. However, it turns out the accusations were right about them not acting responsibly and putting profits first. You can look up "Beware Original Volunteers and similar companies" on the gapyear.com website. Basically, Original Volunteers don't look after their hosts and withhold payments. I experienced the scam myself first hand, and my host family said they never received the payment agreed on. My host family had several years of unpaid fees. This is so dishonest and against the ethos of volunteering. People wanting to volunteer overseas should steer well clear of them and find programs they can contact directly. This will save you a hefty £125 registration fee as well!

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1:21 pm EDT
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Original Volunteers Volunteering services

I chose this company to help me with my travels. I decided to take a gap year after university and I wanted to do something constructive, all the companies I researched were extremely overpriced and because I was saving my own money from working in retail, I did some research and spoke to them directly and they seemed, pretty legitimate.

So everything was sorted I paid all my costs (125 pounds for joining fee + 250 pounds for the project in Tanzania). I chose two locations which were available from their website, I already had my tickets, purchased from STA Travel so I only really needed them to sort out my volunteering whilst I was staying in this countries.

Before I made any payments, Rachel Lewis, would call me 1500 times a minute to check whether I had everything sorted and if I needed any guidance, and when I could make the payment. After the payments had been made I did not hear from them again, other than very detailed e-mails with information that was not updated as frequently as it should have been.

My problems began as soon as I arrived at my first destination. Upon arrival, the airport pickup was not there as they said it would be and when I contacted the numbers that OV had given me (this was around 6am East African time, so around 4am Western Time) they said they could not locate me. It turned out that OV had told them that I would be at Mombasa Airport as opposed to Nairobi, and they had my travel itinerary so they knew where I would be arriving. The company did not contact me at all before travel to check that everything was set up and to be frank I do not think that they cared. The person I spoke to said that they could not do anything about that situation and that I needed to speak to OV for them to sort me out.

Upon arrival I was told that the volunteer house that had been out of use for over 5 months and that volunteers had been staying at the White Castle Hotel (the Kenyan welcome pack from OV stated all volunteers had to stay at the volunteer house). To make matters worse, not only did they not tell me the volunteer house was out of use, Emma also lied to me and told me there were another two volunteers already at the supposed 'volunteer house'. It turned to to be only me and absolutely no project to volunteer, as the Grandsons of Abraham Rescue Center was recruiting street kids and so there was nothing for me to do.

One day on my lack of volunteering I was out doing touristy things as a way to kill time and I was robbed and beaten near Fort Jesus. When i repported the incident to OV they completely ignored my pleas, screened my calls and refused to refund me my monies. Luckily I had payed via paypal and they found in my favour.

The second project I had with OV in Tanzania, I contacted the projects directly and did end up working with them and they explained that they have had problems with OV for years! All the money OV takes from you claiming it is for the projects is a LIE, the project manager told us they never transfer the funds, which confirmed what I had been told in Kenya by the manager there. I fundraised on gofundme.com for the Tanzanian project for some construction their are currently undertaking, because I felt extremely bad for them because they were surprised by how much we said we paid and the **nothing** they received.

I have police reports of items lost and explaining how I was beaten. I want compensation for the lack of enjoyment the company put me through, for their negligence and the harm they put through whilst relying on their misrepresentation. But most important of all I to prevent them from fooling other young travelers based on their cheap prices, I think it is unfair and unsafe, the time I was robbed could've been much worse than it actually was.

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Is Original Volunteers legit?

Our verdict: Complaints Board has reviewed Original Volunteers and concludes it's largely legitimate, assigning a high trust rating. This suggests that interactions with Original Volunteers's website can generally be considered safe, allowing users to proceed with a degree of confidence. Trust in Original Volunteers's services, but remain informed and cautious.

Original Volunteers earns 78% level of Trustworthiness

High Trust Suggestion: Original Volunteers evaluated with 78% trust by Complaints Board. Safe for use, yet remain cautious with personal data.

We found clear and detailed contact information for Original Volunteers. The company provides a physical address, 3 phone numbers, and email, as well as 4 social media accounts. This demonstrates a commitment to customer service and transparency, which is a positive sign for building trust with customers.

Originalvolunteers.co.uk has a valid SSL certificate, which indicates that the website is secure and trustworthy. Look for the padlock icon in the browser and the "https" prefix in the URL to confirm that the website is using SSL.

Originalvolunteers.co.uk has been deemed safe to visit, as it is protected by a cloud-based cybersecurity solution that uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to help protect networks from online threats.

According to our analysis, Original Volunteers appears to be offering travel services on their website. While many travel companies are legitimate, it's important to be cautious and do your research before booking a trip to ensure that you are getting a good deal and not falling victim to a scam.

Several mixed reviews for Original Volunteers have been found on various review sites. While some customers have had positive experiences with the company, others have reported issues with their products or customer service. It's important to read and consider a variety of reviews before making a decision to purchase from this website.

However ComplaintsBoard has detected that:

  • Originalvolunteers.co.uk has relatively low traffic compared to other websites, it could be due to a niche focus, but could also indicate a potential lack of traffic and popularity. The originalvolunteers.co.uk may offer a niche product or service that is only of interest to a smaller audience.
  • We found that the website for Original Volunteers is very young, indicating that it may be new or recently launched. It is important to exercise caution when engaging with new websites, as they may not have established a trustworthy reputation yet and could be more vulnerable to security risks.
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Contact Original Volunteers customer service

Phone numbers

+44 16 0328 0702 +44 75 5400 2930 More phone numbers

Website

www.originalvolunteers.co.uk

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