Agencies to avoid....

[Tank]

Avoid Coal IT

Late payment issues. A number of contractors at current client site have November invoices that should have been settled 08/11 that are still outstanding (others through the same agency have been paid).

Emails to the payments team not being responded to. Do get contact / responses from the Agent who can only advise he is doing what he can do get payment through as soon as possible.

Will continue with the email / dunning process whilst maintaining contact with the Agent (who I really do feel is doing his best to sort).

Just posting as a heads up as I see Coal are still posting vacancies.

[nozmeister]

AIUI Coal had problems with paying HMRC VAT last year, sounds like they are still problematic...

[Tank]

Update for completeness

November invoice now paid.

Client severed relationship with Coal and all handcuff clauses waived.

New agency now in place.

[northernladuk]

November invoice now paid.

Client severed relationship with Coal and all handcuff clauses waived.

New agency now in place.

Great feedback. Thanks for the update.

Out of interest did you see any grief or problems around the handcuff? The agency didn't try it on with you or anything?

Nice rate rise since the new agency didn't have to do any work?

Did you recheck the new contract for ir35?

[happlessBeaker]

Late payment issues. A number of contractors at current client site have November invoices that should have been settled 08/11 that are still outstanding (others through the same agency have been paid).

Emails to the payments team not being responded to. Do get contact / responses from the Agent who can only advise he is doing what he can do get payment through as soon as possible.

Will continue with the email / dunning process whilst maintaining contact with the Agent (who I really do feel is doing his best to sort).

Just posting as a heads up as I see Coal are still posting vacancies.

The same story with Coal IT. Receiving the time sheet a few days late and Christmas is their excuse for not paying November invoice. Mails are not answered or the parts you are asking for the payment are ignored deliberately. I will raise the issue with the client at the first opportunity. Consider contracting through them as your last option just before begging in the streets.

[Tank]

Great feedback. Thanks for the update.

Out of interest did you see any grief or problems around the handcuff? The agency didn't try it on with you or anything?

Nice rate rise since the new agency didn't have to do any work?

Did you recheck the new contract for ir35?

Thanks NLUK.

No issue with the removal of the handcuff clause. Suspect that was down to pressure from the client who have been really good. Understand they want to keep resources but they also made sure people leaving at the end of the year had their payments from the agency secured.

No rate rise as COAL didn't have to do any work either. I got the role due to contacts I'd worked with before (was asked to help out for a month last November and still there).

Have reviewed new contract and all fine to me (plus the actual working practices are very on-side).

happlessBeaker - Hope you get things sorted soon.

[happlessBeaker]

Thanks NLUK.

No issue with the removal of the handcuff clause. Suspect that was down to pressure from the client who have been really good. Understand they want to keep resources but they also made sure people leaving at the end of the year had their payments from the agency secured.

No rate rise as COAL didn't have to do any work either. I got the role due to contacts I'd worked with before (was asked to help out for a month last November and still there).

Have reviewed new contract and all fine to me (plus the actual working practices are very on-side).

happlessBeaker - Hope you get things sorted soon.

Thanks Tank. Your feedback's were really helpful.

[Brenning]

I've found a company called "Square One Resources" to be utter tulip. Posting plenty of contract ads on Jobserve that exactly match my skillset. Applied for a couple, agency phoned me on all occasions, talked through requirements, all seemed good. They didn't let off who the contract was with though. Never heard anything back from any of them, yet I still see the same agents from there posting the same / very similar ads on Jobserve. Can only assume they are CV harvesting, strangely enough when I checked for one of the agents posting the job ads, he wasn't on LinkedIn, which I find very odd...

[northernladuk]

I've found a company called "Square One Resources" to be utter tulip. Posting plenty of contract ads on Jobserve that exactly match my skillset. Applied for a couple, agency phoned me on all occasions, talked through requirements, all seemed good. They didn't let off who the contract was with though. Never heard anything back from any of them, yet I still see the same agents from there posting the same / very similar ads on Jobserve. Can only assume they are CV harvesting...

Hmm. That's not the safest assumption. And avoid them because they have a slightly dubious but common marketing tactic? Wish I could be that picky.

[I just need to test it]

Square One have been around for a while. I have used them lots of times and never had a problem with them.