Have you ever bypassed the agency?

[NetContractor]

I recently got called about a contract.

When the agent called about the role, I told him my current and required rate. He said he would see what he could do, but didnt suspect that the client would go that high.

I did an interview, and immediately got offered the job.

The agent then offered me the job and considerably undercut my requested rate. I spoke with the client and found out what the agent quoted them. The agent then called the client and tried to increase their rate despite making a VERY comfortable profit in the first place.

The client then called me. THey where upset that the agent had tried to increase the rate, and where threatening to walk away, even though they really liked me. We had a chat and decided to deal direct bypassing the dishonest agent.

I have never done this before. Has anyone else? It doesnt feel good, but if I hadnt neither of us would have gotten the contract.

[malvolio]

I recently got called about a contract.

When the agent called about the role, I told him my current and required rate. He said he would see what he could do, but didnt suspect that the client would go that high.

I did an interview, and immediately got offered the job.

The agent then offered me the job and considerably undercut my requested rate. I spoke with the client and found out what the agent quoted them. The agent then called the client and tried to increase their rate despite making a VERY comfortable profit in the first place.

The client then called me. THey where upset that the agent had tried to increase the rate, and where threatening to walk away, even though they really liked me. We had a chat and decided to deal direct bypassing the dishonest agent.

I have never done this before. Has anyone else? It doesnt feel good, but if I hadnt neither of us would have gotten the contract.

Do it. If the agency is preventing you and the client working together by failing to agree a rate that you and the client find acceptable, they would have a hard old time proving they have suffered a material loss. However, make very sure the client is sufficiently on-side to tell the agency to bog off, and get a decent B2B contract of your own in place - the PCG has some you can use.

[NetContractor]

get a decent B2B contract of your own in place - the PCG has some you can use.

I did use the PCG contract. The contracts on there seem very good and IR35 friendly.

[Integrity]

I recently got called about a contract.

When the agent called about the role, I told him my current and required rate. He said he would see what he could do, but didnt suspect that the client would go that high.

I did an interview, and immediately got offered the job.

The agent then offered me the job and considerably undercut my requested rate. I spoke with the client and found out what the agent quoted them. The agent then called the client and tried to increase their rate despite making a VERY comfortable profit in the first place.

The client then called me. THey where upset that the agent had tried to increase the rate, and where threatening to walk away, even though they really liked me. We had a chat and decided to deal direct bypassing the dishonest agent.

I have never done this before. Has anyone else? It doesnt feel good, but if I hadnt neither of us would have gotten the contract.

The agent, by the very nature being a middle man, has two clients. They are there to act on your behalf, and on behalf of the end client. They work for you, you don't work for them. If they are not capable of acurately representing your business interests, don't use them.

[ratewhore]

The agent, by the very nature being a middle man, has two clients. They are there to act on your behalf, and on behalf of the end client. They work for you, you don't work for them. If they are not capable of acurately representing your business interests, don't use them.

hmmm, not sure I agree there. I would say that the agent has a client and a supplier. After all, the client is paying them, you are not!!

[rootsnall]

Do it. If the agency is preventing you and the client working together by failing to agree a rate that you and the client find acceptable, they would have a hard old time proving they have suffered a material loss. However, make very sure the client is sufficiently on-side to tell the agency to bog off, and get a decent B2B contract of your own in place - the PCG has some you can use.

I'm sure it has been answered many times but I don't remember seeing a clear answer. Who would the agency pursue in this case for their cut, the client or the contractor ? I would think the client but ?

[DodgyAgent]

The agent, by the very nature being a middle man, has two clients. They are there to act on your behalf, and on behalf of the end client. They work for you, you don't work for them. If they are not capable of acurately representing your business interests, don't use them.

You are trying to set rules as you think they should exist which is "bolloxs" and which is why people like you need agencies. Your terms of engagement are built on dogmatic attitudes that fail to reflect the realities of business dynamics.

If the client and the agency are dealing direct then that is entirely the fault of the agency. If the client feels it is necessary to go direct then the agent has completely lost the plot in terms of communicating with the two parties or understanding what is going on. If the two parties dont believe the agent adds any value then the stark reality is that he probably doesnt. stuff the agent I say.

[rootsnall]

You are trying to set rules as you think they should exist which is "bolloxs" and which is why people like you need agencies. Your terms of engagement are built on dogmatic attitudes that fail to reflect the realities of business dynamics.

If the client and the agency are dealing direct then that is entirely the fault of the agency. If the client feels it is necessary to go direct then the agent has completely lost the plot in terms of communicating with the two parties or understanding what is going on. If the two parties dont believe the agent adds any value then the stark reality is that he probably doesnt. stuff the agent I say.

Dodgy, have you ever been cut out of the loop ? What did you do ?

[DodgyAgent]

Dodgy, have you ever been cut out of the loop ? What did you do ?

I have, but not often. In hindsight and in all cases I will say that I probably deserved it. Usually it was as a result of being lazy and assuming that events would turn out as I assumed that they would.

One example was that a contractor that left a contract rang me up and asked a hypothetical question about going back to a client and using me as the agency and how much would I charge. I said a low amount on the basis that it would be a new client and therefore an opportunity for more business.
what the sneaky little s**t failed to tell me was that he was planning on going back to his/my previous client (three months after leaving) and had schemed with the project manager to both get around the "cup tied" clause and get a stonkingly low margin. These two conniving gits took the view that "I could afford it", which in my view was not the point.

I ended up going above his head and I argued that our contract was not unreasonable and that it was not an issue of money but a matter of honouring a legitimate business arrangement between two companies.
The contractor argued that I had agreed a rate and it should not matter who the client was . I replied why then not mention the client in the first place? I also said to the manager who believed that "I could afford it" that so could his retail organisation afford for shoplifters to nick stuff from their stores so why should I report anyone I saw stealing?

The upshot was that I got my higher margin (9%) because the client valued my services enough to uphold our agreement. On the other hand if my position with this client had not been so strong then they could have given me the flick and I could have done nothing about it. So it was only because of the efforts that I had put in with this client over the years and that I had another 20 contractors on site that gave me any leverage.

Quite often contractors return to places I have placed them and they have gone direct, but usually after 9-12 months. When this happens I contact them and wish them luck and let them buy me a drink, the end result is that whenever they need to hire contractors themselves I usually get first crack.

[DodgyAgent]

Do it. If the agency is preventing you and the client working together by failing to agree a rate that you and the client find acceptable, they would have a hard old time proving they have suffered a material loss. However, make very sure the client is sufficiently on-side to tell the agency to bog off, and get a decent B2B contract of your own in place - the PCG has some you can use.

Forget it. agencies will threaten but will never sue over such a trivial deal.