Legal Advice on contract issues with Agency

[WTFH]

I've been pointed towards a reputable local business that apparently specialise in B2B contract matters and disputes, so hopefully they can provide the help needed.

What part of the UK are you in?

[ukcommando]

What part of the UK are you in?

East Sussex.

[ukcommando]

Best of luck, of course, but it's not merely about "work done", it's about "work done to the required standard defined in the contract". The client may disagree that you have met that requirement. And that is outside the scope of the agency to determine; the fact that your contract is quiet on the deliverables is not a good sign..

Doing work to appropriate standards is not an issue. The landscape in the end client is dire, almost without any good governance or standards. In my case, the issue is more that my work wouldn't be of the kind that pops out neat little boilerplate docs on a weekly basis. But would it deliver solid results within the contract term, absolutely!

Also the scale of the technical landscape meant that an initial discovery phase to get a grip on the best way forward was acknowledged at the outset to be a task that might take "months". But the client contact changed from the original tech manager, to someone who didn't understand any of that, but seems to be pulling all the strings now....

Denying me the opportunity to even have a conversation that might enable realignment of expectations or the opportunity to remediate (if the client insisted that was needed) is the big issue here. Conversation with the client was only via a "project lead" on the consultancy side, and I have no confidence that they even understood the subject under discussion at a high level, let alone act as a reliable conduit for any comms.

[WTFH]

East Sussex.

You could try speaking to the dispute resolution team at these guys:
https://www.gardner-leader.co.uk

[ukcommando]

You could try speaking to the dispute resolution team at these guys:
https://www.gardner-leader.co.uk

Thank you

[ukcommando]

Good Morning All, I thought it would be a good idea to update this thread, which started when my contract was wrongly terminated in early November. The contract was meant to be a consultancy, SoW based, arrangement where the Agency, playing at being a consultancy, engaged with an end client without the need to assess arrangements under the Intermediaries Legislation. A few others also had their contracts terminated in the same period, but only one other found themselves not being paid at all. To sum up the situation, the Agency ignored us and the LBA's that we sent from our companies, they even went so far as to send us threatening letters in Jan which only strengthened our resolve. So we engaged solicitors and threatened Court Action. End result, they offered to settle and we were both paid today. Was it worth it? Absolutely! For me the money owing was well into 5 figures (plus VAT), and the cost to me of legal help was just into 4 figures (plus VAT). I've been in this business a long time, and I have never encountered such a disgracefully unprofessional mob as this Agency. Nor are they some small business, their accounts claim a £193m turnover in 2024. They are definitely a company to steer well clear of...

[Ketto]

Well done on not letting them get away with it, sounds like a good outcome. What does the company name rhyme with??

[ukcommando]

Well done on not letting them get away with it, sounds like a good outcome. What does the company name rhyme with??

.....Go

[ladymuck]

Always nice to get a bit of closure. Well done on fighting your corner and getting a settlement.

[ukcommando]

I just don't like bullies and for a company with such a huge turnover to treat small consultancies like this is just disgusting. I was NEVER going to back down. I have a wide network, and quite a few of those have been keeping abreast of developments, and the self harm to the companies reputation really makes me wonder why they ever thought it advisable to behave like this. They didn't even produce an argument of any substance for their position. Shocking really.