Worrying trend of Indian agents

[nomadd]

yeah just got a call from one of the Indian agencies......offering £180 a day for AIX in Manchester.....considering that there is someone offering £500 a day in Bournemouth for AIX.....and most are offering between £350-450 they are quite below the market.

Yep, my old role at Barclays in Knutsford has come up with them again. Mr Techmahindra is pitching as low as just 38% of the rate I was getting when I worked there 4 years ago. A 62% pay reduction in 4 years. Someone, somewhere, is making a lot of money (like this poor soul: N. R. Narayana Murthy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[ChimpMaster]

One of the lads I work with is thinking of going for one of these pathetic rates, right up to getting the contract paperwork, and turning it down (before signing) on the grounds he thought it was £180/hr not per day!

That'll learn 'em!

I would bet that that the Bob agency doesn't have any in-roads to the client and is simply fishing for cheap labour to try to sell to said client. I doubt they'll ever be able to draft a contract, let alone come up with an offer.

[phillrow]

Yep, my old role at Barclays in Knutsford has come up with them again. Mr Techmahindra is pitching as low as just 38% of the rate I was getting when I worked there 4 years ago.

Yes I have seen the old Knutsford gig's are coming up again.....got a little stuffed around with them last time. Was told that the role was/could be based in London. Seems that there are also some Barclays adds with the job being based in London, but as soon as you ring the agent they start asking your about your "flexibility" for being based in in Knutsford.

[nomadd]

Yes I have seen the old Knutsford gig's are coming up again.....got a little stuffed around with them last time. Was told that the role was/could be based in London. Seems that there are also some Barclays adds with the job being based in London, but as soon as you ring the agent they start asking your about your "flexibility" for being based in in Knutsford.

TBH, I didn't mind the Knutsford site. Nice place. The issue is that they want you to do a "London job" for about 1/3rd of the market rate when they place you up there. And let's face it, Knutsford is a dammed expensive place to stay, unless you fancy slumming it in a B&B, which isn't for me.

Last time I was there, there was a large house being rented out opposite the site. There was a "flood" of Indians emerging from it each morning - about 10-15 of them. Guess that's what you are competing against for Barclays roles in Knutsford these days...

[tractor]

Sub continent sub agents

Had two call me so far. One was immediately id'd as useless and dispensed with, the second not so.

What was worrying is that to all intents and purposes, some of them look domestic, with a London tel and a fronting (usually accountant) in London also.

Second one actually wanted me to sign a contract by return to say that I WOULD etc.etc.etc IF I was offered anything - this was BEFORE we even had the discussion on rate lol.

Now I keep my bargepole away from the phone just in case.

I agree the trend is worrying though but perhaps it's a glimmer of hope. Realistically, they could mess it up so badly if any client ever did touch them.....

BTW I did look at their contract and it was the biggest load of stitch up you could ever imagine. I would have struck out at least 60% of the clauses.

[cojak]

A London telephone. Have you not heard of VoIP?

Half the world has a London telephone number these days.

[SueEllen]

What was worrying is that to all intents and purposes, some of them look domestic, with a London tel and a fronting (usually accountant) in London also.

It would actually look more realistic if they didn't have a London telephone number particularly an 0203 one.

[eek]

It would actually look more realistic if they didn't have a London telephone number particularly an 0203 one.

0203 is basically a range of numbers for IP phones. If I see one it usually puts me on alert before they even start talking. I'm glad my ip phone number is so old that its starts 0207.

[craig1]

0203 is basically a range of numbers for IP phones. If I see one it usually puts me on alert before they even start talking. I'm glad my ip phone number is so old that its starts 0207.

I know one genuine, quite large company based in London using a 0203 number and they got very huffy when I mentioned to them that 0203 numbers just make me think their calls are either a spam or junk call.

[SueEllen]

0203 is basically a range of numbers for IP phones. If I see one it usually puts me on alert before they even start talking. I'm glad my ip phone number is so old that its starts 0207.

Not necessarily - the actual dialling code for London is 020.

London telephone numbers are suppose to be written 020 7123 4567 or 020 8123 4567 This means in London you can miss out the 020 if you are dialling from a landline.

Any new business or new resident in an area where there isn't a free 020 7 or 020 8 number gets given a 020 3 number. When they run out of 020 3 numbers then they will be doing 020 4 and so on.