Contract Rate Change In Term

[NickNick]

An agency I once worked for cocked up in this same way when i got a rate increase that I'd asked for, and didn't notice till three months down the line. Rather than come clean about it and tell me, they just called and told me that I owed them X (plus VAT) for the period.
I told them where to stick it and left it at that. Heard nothing rmoe about it until I discovered later that they had fired the person responsible for the cock up. (They'd done it for a whole bunch of contracts)

[BrilloPad]

An agency I once worked for cocked up in this same way when i got a rate increase that I'd asked for, and didn't notice till three months down the line. Rather than come clean about it and tell me, they just called and told me that I owed them X (plus VAT) for the period.
I told them where to stick it and left it at that. Heard nothing rmoe about it until I discovered later that they had fired the person responsible for the cock up. (They'd done it for a whole bunch of contracts)

How long did you last at the gig after that? Have you used the agency since?

[NickNick]

How long did you last at the gig after that? Have you used the agency since?

I dropped that agency about 2 or 3 months later and stayed on site for another year or so. The agency also attempted legal action over the golden handcuffs clause, which I just ignored. They came back with the usual "You'll never work again once we tell all our friends about this" line, and now, 18 months down the line they are trying to court me for contracts again.

[TheFaQQer]

We're talking 40 quid a day here...& in my I see it that the agency are going to have to go back to the client & admit their cockup anyway, they might as well do so in my favour.

I'll be having a growl at the agency tomorrow & will keep you posted - just fed up with being messed about by people!

What's the percentage difference (roughly)? £40 on £800 a day, is kind of different from £40 on £120 a day.

If the difference is significant enough to be more than the agency getting a better rate for you (e.g. you agreed £100 a day, the contact says £140 a day) then I would expect that the contract could be declared void as there was never a clear intention to create a contratc at that rate.

If the difference is a minor one, then you could argue that the contract is valid, and they should pay you the "agreed" rate.

I guess it comes down to having a contract that was agreed between both parties - this hasn't happened in this case, though.

I would negotiate it to a lower figure than you are on at the moment, but higher than originally suggested - if the agency is going to be losing money on it, then they will get rid of you as soon as possible.

IANAL, YMMV etc. etc.

[Orangutan]

I think the key thing here is that the pimp is making a loss - and as several have already said - that is not going to carry on for long.
Accept that miskates can happen, offer to meet them half-way.
You get £20 more per day and they still make a (small) profit.
You come out looking professional, pragmatic and not a complete ars*.

However, don't ever expect that if it were the other way around (the contract was less than you agreed, but you signed anyway) that they would be as pragmatic.

[Turion]

However, don't ever expect that if it were the other way around (the contract was less than you agreed, but you signed anyway) that they would be as pragmatic.

Any contractor worth his salt will read the contract before signing. However, if I had signed for a lower than expected rate (without having agreed to this in advance) I would expect it to be rectified immediately.

[TheVoice]

Well, the news is, I made it clear that should the agency terminate me I would invoke my termination fee clause within the terms of business & as I have already commenced on site, this would be at 95% of the full booked amount.

The agent has now agreed to keep paying me the rate they put in the contract & which both parties signed, the client has agreed to pay a higher charge rate as they say they're very very pleased with what I'm doing for them.

Win-win & no contracts are broken.

Seems sticking to ones guns works - especially when you have a termination fee