Agent gone bust

[dack]

My agency has gone bust so myself and 9 other contractors have kissed 1-2 month's money goodbye.

However, many of us have not submitted several invoices because of payment problems in the past. My client can only pay on receipt of an invoice from the creditors which can only be produced upon receipt of our time sheets.

If we refuse to send the our timesheets, can the creditors legally force us to do so?

I know we won't' actually see the money but I'd rather the client had 2 months free service than sending the money into the agency's debt 'pot'.

[malvolio]

Don't send anythign to the agency. You are on the list of trade creditors ans will be a long way down the receiver's priority list. Do try and get your timesheets signed off by the client as proof of work done but hang on to them. Also, talk to the client: they may take you direct, they may hand you off to another agency, they may do nothing - but if you don't ask you will certainly lose out.

Don't forget any PCGPlus people will have insurance against losses from agency failures

Which agency, BTW, others would probably like to know...

[dack]

The agency is Pendragon.

We all have several signed timesheets and hanging on to them till out options become clear.

Reading some older posts on here it seems that the administrators will pursue all money owed and if we refuse to submit timesheets, they can even come on site to see clocked working hours (we have a clocking system here).

[Growernotashower]

Which Pendragon?

[DimPrawn]

The agency is Pendragon.

If this is Pendragon based in Bristol I'm surprised. Have done loads of contracts through them in the past and they were always very switched on.

[dack]

http://www.pendragon-is.com/

Been with them since 2002 and we're spot on for about 4 years. Payments starting going random about 3 years ago.

[SuperZ]

If this is Pendragon based in Bristol I'm surprised. Have done loads of contracts through them in the past and they were always very switched on.

I`m not surprised one bit, predicted it in fact. Had an good experience in the past (with late payments though which later got worse) but also became more 'aware' of their practices

GOod luck to all those involved

Just after month end too, when all those invoices would have been submitted........

[RichardCranium]

My agency has gone bust so myself and 9 other contractors have kissed 1-2 month's money goodbye.

Although this has not quite happened to me (I left a Plexian gig about a month before they went down the pan), I was at a ClientCo some years back where it happened to my colleagues. It hurt.



However, most of them stayed on and were transferred to another agency. Although they all lost at least one month's money (and one bloke lost about 5 months because he liked saving up his timesheets and invoicing twice a year) a handful of them are still at that client site.

Eventually you find a way to accept what has happened. One way is to say the rate we contractors get includes a small %age to compensate for risks like this.

And as for it happening just before Xmas: it could be worse. It could have happened just after Xmas when the bills start rolling in.

[dack]

I'm more angry with myself for not taking firmer action when the payments began to be consistently late.

But no good looking back, the bitter experience will ensure it never happens to me again.

[Jet Setter]

I had a friend do about 20 grand 6 months ago when her agency went bust. The company were prepared to pay her directly for the amounts that they hadn't sent to the agency but because invoices had been raised they had to pay the creditors pot and she didn't see a penny.

Anything you can do to avoid having an invoice raised will at least give you a small hope of seeing some of that money.