Agencies Lie

[NibblyPig]

Get a call recorder app on your smartphone and don't worry about confirmation emails.

I have one of those it's pretty useful.

Mostly when I make a doctors appointment and immediately forget what time it was upon hanging up.

[Eirikur]

Why not get put forward at £425, nail the interview, get offered the role and then accept at rate of £500?

I was put forward at £475 (or rather that was what the agency said they were going to do), nailed the interview and got the offer. Only the offer was £425.

[SlipTheJab]

I was put forward at £475 (or rather that was what the agency said they were going to do), nailed the interview and got the offer. Only the offer was £425.

Sounds like the 475 was always a made up number, agent was probably hoping once you for the role you would cave, good on you for telling him to shove it for wasting your time. Maybe drop a line to the client thanking them and explaining why you can't accept their offer?

[LondonManc]

Sounds like the 475 was always a made up number, agent was probably hoping once you for the role you would cave, good on you for telling him to shove it for wasting your time. Maybe drop a line to the client thanking them and explaining why you can't accept their offer?

+1 - that said, it depends who is trying it on.

Agent could simply be buttering up the client - ooh, it's a buyer's market, we'll be able to get them for less than they're saying they want and all the other horrible tulip we try and avoid.

However, it could be the client playing hardball. Either way, it's not a good way to start a business relationship as you don't know where the deception lies and will have to deal with both parties.

[SlipTheJab]

+1 - that said, it depends who is trying it on.

Agent could simply be buttering up the client - ooh, it's a buyer's market, we'll be able to get them for less than they're saying they want and all the other horrible tulip we try and avoid.

However, it could be the client playing hardball. Either way, it's not a good way to start a business relationship as you don't know where the deception lies and will have to deal with both parties.

True but in either case the agent is at fault for not being upfront and wasting the OPs and clients time (as the OP was never going to accept £425 by the sounds of it), people don't like having their time wasted (especially clients short on time interviewing people who will never accept the rate on offer), can't hurt to mention it

[WTFH]

About 12 years ago I was contacted by an agency about a perm role. They were struggling to get people in for interviews and were the sole supplier for the company. Agent asked me if I was interested in going for it, I said yes and let them know that I'd expect around £60-65k (given the role description, that was about market rate). They said that was OK and put me forward.
First interview I breezed through.
A few days later the agent phoned and said they liked me. Agent wanted to know why they liked me so much, I said it was because the agent's job description wasn't what they were looking for, but they needed a different skill set that the agent didn't normally deal with.
Second interview involved the client flying the CIO over from the US to interview 2 of us.
Breezed through that too.
Next day the agent phones to say they would like to make me an offer... £35k


A bit of a row ensued where I said "all along I told you 60-65 and you said yes".
They increased their offer to 37.5


Total waste of my time and the client's.

[SlipTheJab]

About 12 years ago I was contacted by an agency about a perm role. They were struggling to get people in for interviews and were the sole supplier for the company. Agent asked me if I was interested in going for it, I said yes and let them know that I'd expect around £60-65k (given the role description, that was about market rate). They said that was OK and put me forward.
First interview I breezed through.
A few days later the agent phoned and said they liked me. Agent wanted to know why they liked me so much, I said it was because the agent's job description wasn't what they were looking for, but they needed a different skill set that the agent didn't normally deal with.
Second interview involved the client flying the CIO over from the US to interview 2 of us.
Breezed through that too.
Next day the agent phones to say they would like to make me an offer... £35k


A bit of a row ensued where I said "all along I told you 60-65 and you said yes".
They increased their offer to 37.5


Total waste of my time and the client's.

BTW did you drop the client a line thanking them and pointing out why you're rejecting their offer?

[MrMarkyMark]

FTFY

BTW did you drop the client a line thanking them and pointing out why you wouldn't get out of bed for such a derisory sum?

[WTFH]

BTW did you drop the client a line thanking them and pointing out why you're rejecting their offer?

I did, a few weeks later.

[LondonManc]

True but in either case the agent is at fault for not being upfront and wasting the OPs and clients time (as the OP was never going to accept £425 by the sounds of it), people don't like having their time wasted (especially clients short on time interviewing people who will never accept the rate on offer), can't hurt to mention it

Not necessarily; you don't know for certain what the client has told the agent. It could be the good old "market rate" which means "as little as they can get away with". If the client thinks they should be paying less then they'll try it on, without the agency's involvement/agreement. If the client ask the agency to put on "expected day rate", then that's seen as a negotiation.