I got Back Stabbed by an Agent(!)... your help welcome

[TykeMerc]

I wouldn't be doing the end client a favour just walking away. They would end up with the cheapest, naffiest contractors - as they have given too much control to the agent.

Can the client be made to subtly feel like they are on the hook for withdrawing the offer - and therefore its in their interest to get it on track?? It is clear as day - that the offer was withdrawn by the client due to the agents misrepresentations - doesn't the client have a duty of care?

1. From what you've said the client-agent relationship appears to be completely normal.

2. No way is it clear that the agent misrepresented your case, that's just your opinion. The client has absolutely NO duty of care towards you and by now they're probably very happy they dodged the bullet with you. No doubt they've already sourced a suitable person for the role if it's in any way urgent.

I'm sorry to be harsh, but from what you've said in this thread you've behaved in a very stupid way. To be charitable you've been very naive and in all likelihood Big Client PLC have now got a very firm memory of you being nothing but trouble.

You will learn that the agents and the clients owe you absolutely nothing, it's up to you to impress them to obtain business and up to you to negotiate your contracts to your satisfaction.
Hopefully you will lose these weird ideas that when things don't go to plan ALL you can do is politely walk away and look for the next gig. You have no come back on the agents unless you have incontravertable proof that they owe you for properly signed off and invoiced work or they have libeled (sp?) you in a clear manner.

Give it up this contract is well and truly dead and buried and it's quite possible your reputation with Big Client PLC is unrecoverably doomed.

[lambrini_socialist]

...

absolutely. bonkers.

[pmeswani]

<snip> the end client conducted the interview and is clearly concerned about having the right person. Your are right; the best method is to get a working relationship with the client first. Problem is, most agents tie you up for a year and put all kinds of restriction clauses upfront - you have to sign up to them before you get a look-in (you can sign a new contract later to over-rule the last - but its never that easy).

You are assuming that you are the only candidate who is capable of doing the job. How do you know that you were not the cheapest option by the client?

I wouldn't be doing the end client a favour just walking away. They would end up with the cheapest, naffiest contractors - as they have given too much control to the agent.

You are not doing yourself any favours by pestering and pressuring the client to giving you the contract after it has been withdrawn. In business, if you lose a tender, that's it... game over for that contract... move on. Companies have to do a cost / risk analysis when taking on new resources / products / etc. They have done the assessment and taken the necessary action. By you questioning the company's judgement only shows that they have made the right decision by withdrawing the offer.... albeit led by the agency. Some of the agents t's & c's are lead by their client. So if you start to challenge it after it has been stated it cannot be changed... you are only shooting yourself in the foot.

The spat with the agency was due to their terms. They were not willing to be flexible. They needed to justify killing the contractor offer to the client - saying that the contractor is not accepting their silly terms it not going to reflect on them well. The only way out was to have unaccountable verbal conversations with referees and report back negatively. The agency requests for verbal references came suddenly and increased once the terms disagreement started -also around this time, they re-advertised the role.

What you see as being silly, is what the agency and the client as being necessary. If you are not able to agree the terms or successfully negotiate the terms, then walk away. It is not your responsibility to dictate the terms set out by the company who wants to take you on.

The agency also suggested going back to the client and asking for more money to sweeten it. I said "No" - it was another set up.

Issue I have:
Is the client manager decided to egg me along a couple of weeks ago in a conversation and stated that I should stick with the negotiations, when I mentioned the challenges to him. I also have some emails from some of his workers about logistics previously - so we had some contact. The manager then killed the contract when the agent went out their way to to put the knife in through one meeting in which they made their false accusations about my dissatisfaction with the contract.

Burden of proof. Can you prove neglect by the agency? I doubt it. Move on.

Moving forward:
I have sent a letter in with the chronology of what happened to the client. Other than sending it in, I wonder if I can make the client think again about killing the offer? I know the relationship is with the agency, however I would be working on the client site, I would be guided by the client, I was interviewed by the client and therefore the relationship would have been with them as well (the agency is just an employment business). I also took the advice of the client to continue negotiating (and wasted weeks!).

Can the client be made to subtly feel like they are on the hook for withdrawing the offer - and therefore its in their interest to get it on track?? It is clear as day - that the offer was withdrawn by the client due to the agents misrepresentations - doesn't the client have a duty of care?

The client does not give a monkeys. He has probably found someone who can do the job. Move on... Move on.... Move on.

[ratewhore]

Instead of continuing on this pointless crusade I suggest you do something more productive like searching Jobserve and applying for some new contracts.

I said that on page 2...

[Ravello]

Shanti - absolutely. bonkers.

8 pages of people telling you the same thing Shanti and it still hasn't sunk in! Please keep the thread alive though and let us all know what happens, and how much time you spent on it in total...

[PM-Junkie]

8 pages of people telling you the same thing Shanti and it still hasn't sunk in! Please keep the thread alive though and let us all know what happens, and how much time you spent on it in total...

money

He/she is, after all, running a business.

[DS23]

money

He/she is, after all, ruining a business.

[Ruprect]

8 pages of people telling you the same thing Shanti and it still hasn't sunk in! Please keep the thread alive though and let us all know what happens, and how much time you spent on it in total...

IMHO Shanti is a big troll and you have all been feeding him/her for too long.

[shanti]

8 pages of people telling you the same thing Shanti and it still hasn't sunk in! Please keep the thread alive though and let us all know what happens, and how much time you spent on it in total...

Very depressing reading isn't it? How we allow the middlemen to get between a willing employer and a willing worker (and then set their terms).

[NotAllThere]

Very depressing reading isn't it? How we allow the middlemen to get between a willing employer and a willing worker (and then set their terms).

Aha. I see where the problem lies.