No signed timesheet - no actual contract!

[JCinCUK]

Hello all, first posting here on this board. Established contractor so I understand the fundamentals, asking for a friend whose English isn't top notch.

He basically went on site with no signed contract, just an email chain from a consultancy firm (Intermediary) in Jan, the end client is a household name literally (housebuilders) to put together a data warehouse. He was asked to leave about 3 weeks in, despite delivering on the bulk of stated objectives at the time.

Been going through the email chain he sent me, no mention (yet) of a rate, but the Intermediary asked him at the end to complete an 'Activity Report', so as to "Secure what is needed from End Client". Inexplicably matey sent these just a couple of weeks back, and, surprise surprise, has had no reply, despite a read receipt.

I appreciate this is all a pigs ear, but what's the best approach to getting some money out of this firm? Matey has a baby on the way and I'd like to help him out.

Ta

[stek]

Not on a Tier 2 visa is he?

[JCinCUK]

Not on a Tier 2 visa is he?

Nope, he's a Pole so presumably doesn't need one. He has a UK ltd and associated bank account.

[Eirikur]

name and shame consultancy and end client

[Lance]

Write a letter.
Write a sterner letter.
Raise a case with the small claims court.

To be honest I don’t think he’s got a cats chance in hell without some written agreement. Is there anything? An email agreeing a rate or similar.

The threat of court may loosen up some money as it could potentially cost them more to defend than cough up.

[northernladuk]

name and shame consultancy and end client

Nope. The consultancy and client aren't the only and arguably, not the biggest failing here. What would naming and shaming prove?

[ladymuck]

Not many legs to stand on here. Plenty for your friend to learn from.

I know turning up on site implies the contractor has agreed the terms of the contract but does accepting him on site also have the same implication for the client?

Does he have any evidence of what work he did? Emails between him and the client, meeting minutes where he's listed as an attendee - especially if he's assigned actions.

Need to work out who is at fault here. It could be the agency (it certainly feels that way based on the information given), with the client thinking all was above board. Or, it could be the client pulling a fast one and colluding with the agency (I can't see how the client could do that without the agency knowing). You would have to work out who needs to be sued so, when he fills in the small claims form, it gets sent to the people ultimately responsible.

[JCinCUK]

Not many legs to stand on here. Plenty for your friend to learn from.

I know turning up on site implies the contractor has agreed the terms of the contract but does accepting him on site also have the same implication for the client?

Does he have any evidence of what work he did? Emails between him and the client, meeting minutes where he's listed as an attendee - especially if he's assigned actions.

Need to work out who is at fault here. It could be the agency (it certainly feels that way based on the information given), with the client thinking all was above board. Or, it could be the client pulling a fast one and colluding with the agency (I can't see how the client could do that without the agency knowing). You would have to work out who needs to be sued so, when he fills in the small claims form, it gets sent to the people ultimately responsible.

The email chain starts with the Intermediary who intro'ed my fried to the end client, but annoyingly I can find no hard proof of which (Client or Intermediary) was supposed to pay him. I would have to assume the Intermediary and bill accordingly until they can prove otherwise. My man also neglected, before they disabled his account, to forward to his private email any correspondence from his work proving he had been involved, or in meetings, or even just cc'ed grrrr (though I can forgive him this particular oversight as some places I've been have very strict rules regarding forwarding to non-client, non-supplier addresses.)

I have also checked out the Intermediary on Companies House, they're long established but look fairly small, I would guess not more than around 10 staff max.

I don't think the end client are in collusion (though stranger things have happened), I suspect the Intermediary/Agent has been paid for the 3 weeks and is basically happy to keep all the money in the account until either they go bust or matey somehow forces them to cough.

[jmo21]

He basically went on site with no signed contract, just an email chain from a consultancy firm (Intermediary) in Jan, the end client is a household name literally (housebuilders) to put together a data warehouse. He was asked to leave about 3 weeks in, despite delivering on the bulk of stated objectives at the time.

Been going through the email chain he sent me, no mention (yet) of a rate, but the Intermediary asked him at the end to complete an 'Activity Report', so as to "Secure what is needed from End Client". Inexplicably matey sent these just a couple of weeks back, and, surprise surprise, has had no reply, despite a read receipt.

I appreciate this is all a pigs ear, but what's the best approach to getting some money out of this firm? Matey has a baby on the way and I'd like to help him out.

Ta

email chain in Jan, sent invoice in Sept/Oct - when was the work done?

No mention of rate in the email chain? What did your friend say about that when you asked him?

How do people get themselves into these situations?!

[BrilloPad]

Matey has a baby on the way and I'd like to help him out.

Then tell him to forget it and move on.