Agencies that go bust and fail to pay you

[malvolio]

Remind us all what the maximum compensation under that scheme is, v8gaz. Just for laughs.

Boo

£7500, roughly two weeks for the average gig. Which realistically is about what you should be exposed to at any one time if you can manage it, which you can't if you're on monthly billing of course.

But it's a helping hand, not a lifeline. It's also free.

HTH. BIDI

[cojak]

£7500, roughly two weeks for the average gig.

Really? Whose average are you quoting?

In contractor terms that's definitely middle to senior manager's average rate.

hence another £3K from the bill.

All he has lost now is a good night out

Is the PCG only interested in this type of 'freelancer'?

[malvolio]

[QUOTE=cojak;1835852]Really? Whose average are you quoting?

In contractor terms that's definitely middle to senior manager's average rate. [quote]

£450 a day across the whole industry (not just IT contractors remember) including all those overpaid banking types and IMs? Possibly a little high as an average, but if so it's three weeks (or more) cover rather than two. From memory (always an unreliable tool in my case...) £450 is about the average PCG member's rate, but the level of cover is presumably dependent on the cost of the insurance deal that underpins it

Is the PCG only interested in this type of 'freelancer'?

Not at all. Tarbera lives in a parallel universe and only occasionally touches down in ours...

[cojak]

Really? Whose average are you quoting?

In contractor terms that's definitely middle to senior manager's average rate.

£450 a day across the whole industry (not just IT contractors remember) including all those overpaid banking types and IMs? Possibly a little high as an average, but if so it's three weeks (or more) cover rather than two. From memory (always an unreliable tool in my case...) £450 is about the average PCG member's rate, but the level of cover is presumably dependent on the cost of the insurance deal that underpins it



Not at all. Tarbera lives in a parallel universe and only occasionally touches down in ours...

In that case can I have one of those calculators that must come from the PCG??

In my reckoning 2 weeks work is 10 days. £7500 divided by 10 makes £750pd. £450 multiplied by 10 makes £4500.

Or am I mistaken in in these things?

[malvolio]

In that case can I have one of those calculators that must come from the PCG??

In my reckoning 2 weeks work is 10 days. £7500 divided by 10 makes £750pd. £450 multiplied by 10 makes £4500.

Or am I mistaken in in these things?

Picky picky... Calculator and fingers now consigned to the bin...

Anyway, it's £7500 maximum, and it's free for Plus members, and it's to help you out rather than completely safeguard your commercial losses.

[NickNick]

Picky picky... Calculator and fingers now consigned to the bin...

Anyway, it's £7500 maximum, and it's free for Plus members, and it's to help you out rather than completely safeguard your commercial losses.

I might be wrong here, so apologies in advance, but isn't it also split across all contractors claiming when an agency goes bust. So it's 7500 max when you are the only one claiming?

[DirtyDog]

I might be wrong here, so apologies in advance, but isn't it also split across all contractors claiming when an agency goes bust. So it's 7500 max when you are the only one claiming?

I think there used to be an aggregate limit, but looking at it this week, I couldn't see anything that said that any more.

The £7500 is net of VAT losses.

[MicrosoftBob]

Really? Whose average are you quoting?

In contractor terms that's definitely middle to senior manager's average rate.



Is the PCG only interested in this type of 'freelancer'?

No some of us are lowly code monkeys

[Safe Collections]

I am sure I'm not alone in being in the situation where I suddenly stopped receiving regular payments of my invoices and after repeated chasing was fobbed-off with a massive sob story of how the agency had enormous cash flow problems but they were being re-financed and I would get paid within a month. Having chased repeatedly via email and phone calls when the time was up I then discovered the agency had done an overnight bunk leaving creditors everywhere. I am now due to go to a creditors hearing next week, probably to be told I will not get anything of the £14,000 they owe me. I am now facing bankruptcy of my own company.I was considering a charge against the sole company director for fraud but my legal advice says it is unlikely to succeed. Anyone been in the same situation and managed to get a result? Please help!!

So just to be clear, the agency has now gone into liquidation and a creditors meeting is being called for next week?

Unfortunately in this instance the chances of you recovering any funds are almost nil in our experience

As Craig1 states it is theoretically possible that you might be able to convince the insolvency practitioner overseeing the liquidation that some kind of malfeasance on the part of the director means he is personally liable for the company debts, but again in our experience this outcome is extremely unlikely. In practice all a dodgy director has to say is "I thought I could trade out of it" and that is pretty much that.

Even in cases when HMRC take an interest it rarely results in a director being disqualified or forced into using his own assets to cover losses.

We should also mention that some unscrupulous "collections agents" now target creditors of insolvent businesses making claims that they can make a director liable, in return for a hefty upfront fee. Our advice would be to treat any such claim with extreme caution.

As far as PCG insurance goes, we have unsurprisingly crossed paths with contractors who have needed to use the cover. Whilst it rarely covers the full amount lost, £7.5k at a time like that can make all the difference to some businesses.

So attend the meeting, fill in the forms and make the claim, but don't expect to see any payout and avoid anyone who promises they can help as long as you pay in advance...

[v8gaz]

Remind us all what the maximum compensation under that scheme is, v8gaz. Just for laughs.

Boo

7,500 more than he's getting now. Hilarious, eh?