Recruitment agency collected money from me, and did not issue Official Receipt

Good morning! I need legal help po regarding the placement agency that processed my documents. They collected Php15,000 from me for processing fee. I told them its ok po, basta bigyan nyo lang ako ng resibo para mareimburse ko sa company (direct hire naman po kasi ako, I applied while I was here in KSA). The guy from the agency said they are not giving OR for processing fees, pero nung araw na nagbayad ako, I insisted for the OR and the guy told me, sabihin daw nya sa boss nya na bigyan ako ng resibo.

A day before my flight, I went to the agency to get my passport and documents. There I met the manager and asked her the OR, but she said she cannot give and gave many excuses. And when I really insisted, sabi na lang nya, "sige I charge ko na lang yung company mo, then pickupin na lang ng asawa mo yung 15k dito." since ayaw ko ng gulo, i just relented. After that, nakwento nung kasama ko na paalis na nung siningil sya ng 15k, he refused and called our employer here in KSA. After that, sinabi na lang sa kanya nung agency, "sige, kahit 5k na lang bigay mo, pang abot lang dun sa mga tao na magprocess. Wag mo na lang sabihin kahit kanino lalo na sa company mo na may binayaran ka".

Last week, I came to know that as per the agreement of the agency and our company (I happen to work on Recruitment dept by the way), she would not be collecting any processing fees from the candidates, and charged my company additional cost because he did not collect anything from us. It's very clear that she is doing a lot of illegal things, that's why I emailed her to pay me immediately, because I doubt that I would have my money back once she is paid by the company. Her last email today, she gave a breakdown of all her cost justifying the fees she gave. eto po yung email nya:

I think there is something that you don't understand why we only collected P5,000.00 from ____. That amount was paid to ______ as "Royalty Fee" which is part of documentation and I paid for the processing & insurance out of my own pocket which costs P10,000.00. We charged you for the processing as I don't have enough money to pay for your processing. I am not the owner of the agency. I am just the Marketing Representative. The agency does not issue official receipt for the processing as the payment goes directly to POEA and Saudi Embassy and for other miscellaneous fees. The agency only issue official receipt if the applicant pays "placement fee." The amount we collected from YOU is not a placement fee, therefore, no receipt can be issued.

This is where your money goes:

Visa Processing = 2,150.00
POEA Processing = 2,800.00
OFW Insurance = 6,192.00 (USD 144.00)
Royalty Fee = 5,000.00

TOTAL = 16,142.00

Your payment = 15,000.00


Just want to ask the following:
1. Is she right in telling that since it is not a placement fee, then she cannot issue a receipt? Can I file a legal complaint against her?
2. Is there such a thing as "Royal fee" for processing papers for those going abroad?
3. I want to know how much does the processing fees really cost, since I highly doubt her figures.


salamat po ng marami. God bless...

Different law all together, if she says the fees goes to Royal fee then there's no way you can find it in Saudi Arabia exactly how much as the receipt is just a stamp on the documents she processed for you so this must be the reason why she can't provide you any official receipt, and if there are any fees, it will be written all in Arabic. They do have some fees there that can reach this amount. In fact if she has what we called WASTA to speed up your processing then this amount of SR 1,300 is not much. I think you just have to be grateful that you have a job. I am a flight stewardess with Philippines friends this is how we know this stuff.

if these were paid to other entities, then those entities should issue receipts, particularly the poea and visa processing. your remedy will be to file a complaint at poea or a small claims case

hi marklim,

i happen to work dati sa isang recruitment agency deploying workers to ME.
here is what i know.

visa proc fee is around usd40
poea fee changes every month, makikita mo sa oec mo ung actual amount
ofw insurance usd144 for 2-year contract
royalty fee - no such thing

since nalaman mo na wala naman palang dapat bayaran ang mga workers hired by your company, ibig sabihin lahat ng ginastos sa yo ng agency ay bayad/babayaran ng ksa employer mo sa kanila.