Reply to: Agent Incompetance Costs Me Thousands - Options?

[MortimerBellends]

Well sure, but I probably wouldn't ask that in a contractor interview, more likely to query things like that after offer.

Exactly but then you'd be in the same boat as me

This has nothing to do with the agent, claiming they are incompetent is like saying the sky is blue; its a give.

What failed here is your due diligence checks

Due diligence where?

• Job Advert - Check
• Discussion with agent - Check
• Job Spec - Check
• Interview - No (see above)
• Post Interview - Check
• Job Offer - Check
• Contract - Check
• Start Details 4pm day before - Hang on, what's this new location?

[SimonMac]

Brief Details - I obtained a new contract, gave and worked my notice at old contract only to find out at 4pm on Friday that I couldn't start the new contract on Monday. Why? The agent got the location where I'd be expected to work wrong by 150 miles!!

Can anyone offer advice or point me in the right direction for actions I can take to seek recompense?

I still had 3-4 months left on my current contract so depending on how long it takes to find my next contract and how the terms compare on the next contract, the potential losses will be quite significant (£60K).

To make matters worse, the agent showed no compassion for their negligence, totally focused on themselves and their end client. Even had to gall to moan about having to work late on a Friday as he now needed to find someone else for his client

TL;DR

This has nothing to do with the agent, claiming they are incompetent is like saying the sky is blue; its a give.

What failed here is your due diligence checks

[jmo21]

Unless the location is local (so may as well go in for a face to face and suss the place out, you are interviewing the client as much as they are you) an obvious question for the client at interview would be along the lines of "I've been told the location I'll need to come to on day 1 is [what agent provided], how close is the nearest train station, or is there on-site car parking?".

Just basic questioning about anything worth knowing or unusual about going on site (how easy to find, local issues with traffic to avoid, security process, wait at reception for someone, ...) should uncover a mix-up in location pretty quickly unless you were unlucky and miscommunication continued throughout.

Otherwise you may turn up at client head office as detailed in the contract and be told no need to have made the journey it's a 100% WFH contract and all comms are via Skype and email.

Well sure, but I probably wouldn't ask that in a contractor interview, more likely to query things like that after offer.

[MortimerBellends]

Unless the location is local (so may as well go in for a face to face and suss the place out, you are interviewing the client as much as they are you) an obvious question for the client at interview would be along the lines of "I've been told the location I'll need to come to on day 1 is [what agent provided], how close is the nearest train station, or is there on-site car parking?".

Just basic questioning about anything worth knowing or unusual about going on site (how easy to find, local issues with traffic to avoid, security process, wait at reception for someone, ...) should uncover a mix-up in location pretty quickly unless you were unlucky and miscommunication continued throughout.

Otherwise you may turn up at client head office as detailed in the contract and be told no need to have made the journey it's a 100% WFH contract and all comms are via Skype and email.

Those are good suggestions, avoids the candidate looking unprepared when asking about Start Date/Duration/Location/Rate at an interview given they are supposed to have seen a job advert, had discussions with agent, probably read a job spec etc.

[MortimerBellends]

One assumes that you would have been a project resource for the defined period of the contract and that management of the project would have been reliant on the project resources being available for it's duration.

Notice period or not, the project has to now re-resource an open position which will, in all likelihood, impact on its delivery.

That too me is the point of a contract notice period. If a resource can't be replaced without impacting delivery then that notice period should be longer. As it is, I don't believe this is the case as I gave a heads up at THREE times the notice period BEFORE I'd secured anything else. I'm really not the mercenary you seem to believe I am.

[Hobosapien]

I'm not sure how much more you can do than ask the agent where a role will be located before a telephone interview, which I'm sure you did, so I can understand how pissed off you must feel.

Unless the location is local (so may as well go in for a face to face and suss the place out, you are interviewing the client as much as they are you) an obvious question for the client at interview would be along the lines of "I've been told the location I'll need to come to on day 1 is [what agent provided], how close is the nearest train station, or is there on-site car parking?".

Just basic questioning about anything worth knowing or unusual about going on site (how easy to find, local issues with traffic to avoid, security process, wait at reception for someone, ...) should uncover a mix-up in location pretty quickly unless you were unlucky and miscommunication continued throughout.

Otherwise you may turn up at client head office as detailed in the contract and be told no need to have made the journey it's a 100% WFH contract and all comms are via Skype and email.

[wattaj]

I gave and served my full notice period as per contract so what's your point here?

(Actually gave them a heads up three times my notice period cos I'm such a nice guy )

My point, for clarity, is that you were contracted for a period of time and chose, for whatever reason, to not complete that contract... one could argue, without having further information as to your reasons for doing so -- reasons which may be entirely reasonable -- that you reneged on your earlier commitment.

One assumes that you would have been a project resource for the defined period of the contract and that management of the project would have been reliant on the project resources being available for it's duration.

Notice period or not, the project has to now re-resource an open position which will, in all likelihood, impact on its delivery.

Inconvenience all around IMV.

So, again, you might well ask "what's the point of the contract?".

I'm not going to judge, but I do think that you should take the lesson from this experience and quit whining.

HTH.

[BlueSharp]

What does your lawyer say?

[jmo21]

Telephone Interview

I'm not sure how much more you can do than ask the agent where a role will be located before a telephone interview, which I'm sure you did, so I can understand how pissed off you must feel.

Did the agent give no indication of why it had changed?

I wonder if the location is really difficult to recruit for, and they have tried to be sneaky in hoping you'll just take the role anyway.

[MortimerBellends]

I'd be pretty pissed off too that it took til the working day before to find that out.

Thank you

How exactly did the agent come to tell you it was in a different location? eg. did they find out late themselves, and have to phone you to tell you. Did it come up in conversation (eg Agent: so which hotel are you staying in 150milesaway-town).

When they sent me the starting details, you know, who to ask for at reception etc. Also included an address that I queried

Did the contract itself come through very late?

Contract was in place before I gave notice but states the wrong address as 'Location for services to be delivered'

I must admit I would always assume the job will happen in the location of the interview unless someone specifically told me otherwise.

Telephone Interview

[MortimerBellends]

If it was me. I’d have driven the 150 miles, told the client that the agency has ballsed up and ask them for some help.
One help would be for more £££
Another would be to work from home the majority of the time.

As already stated, it might as well have been on the moon, so driving 150 miles wasn't an option.

To be clear, it was 150 miles from the contracted location NOT my home location

Obviously, there were discussions, no extra £££, some offer of future wfh but when you can't do the initial week(s) on the moon then this doesn't help

[MortimerBellends]

You bailed out on an existing contract in order to jump ship onto another that seemed to be more attractive... so, you might well ask "what's the point of the contract?"

I gave and served my full notice period as per contract so what's your point here?

(Actually gave them a heads up three times my notice period cos I'm such a nice guy )

[Snarf]

It does to me.

To be fair, it's better than the alternative of just not turning up at all.

[Old Greg]

I dunno, rocking up on day one and asking for more money doesn't seem a great idea.

It does to me.

[Snarf]

But that's the business like way to behave. It's not for everyone.

I dunno, rocking up on day one and asking for more money doesn't seem a great idea.