New Contract dilemma - need some urgent advice please?

[DevUK]

Your age and future career aspirations (and whether there's headroom for promotion in the perm role) would be a deciding factor for me, but on the face of it from what you've said, I'd take the perm option all day long.

You might be in the wrong thread!?

OP - you've got caught up with some 'internals' here in terms of the agent/client relationship. Your position is really simple, you've been presented with a contract. For all you know that contract still stands. So I would say expect to begin the contract as normal on the date agreed. However, it does sound a bit shaky. I would expect to start, but prepare for it to go tits up.

Re correspondence with agent B - I wouldn't be happy with anybody ringing me up to tell me the contract I've just signed is being negotiated again (which is effectively what's happening, as far as you're concerned). Doesn't matter that it's with a different agent the contract is still the same.