Reply to: Never thought it will happen to me...

[Taita]

I did miss that bit. Even more worrying. So agent turns down the opportunity to make some money and washes his hands of the entire deal?

Not being funny how many people have had this? Agent says dont worry about me, you crack on and go direct and I wont take a cut - its all for free all the work I've done. Never going to happen.

More like agent can see something fishy and knows the client ain't ever gonna pay anyone for this work...
And true to form client is acting like best mate saying yeh no problem it'll be sorted. Id be wondering what agent knows that I dont. Have they got an mo of doing this sort of thing?

No. Agent is unlikely to have turned his back. International contracts are complex. Agent tells client to pay him a one-off finders fee ( no on-going contract problems) and leaves you and the client to sort it. Unless you get control now, you WILL lose out.

[psychocandy]

FTFY

Cant argue with that although I like to alternate traps.

[Antman]

A) Work still outstanding + save money = too risky because we need the work done so don't want to upset contractor too much.
B) Work all done + save money = lets chance it sod the contractor he spends most of the day cracking one off in trap 2 nowadays.

FTFY

[psychocandy]

That is not true. I find that they appreciate a job well done and pay promptly.

Not saying they don't pay just that clients are interested when there's work to be done. When its all done they're not so much and sometimes cost takes over.

Like I said about OP - they want something off him at the moment so there's an incentive to sort it out IF he makes them. When the work is done there is zero incentive - it doesn't matter how much he moans they may not care - they've got what they wanted out of him.

Not saying OPs client will but if it goes on too long......

A) Work still outstanding + save money = too risky because we need the work done so don't want to upset contractor too much.
B) Work all done + save money = lets chance it sod the contractor we're not paying.

[psychocandy]

Aren't you doing this at the moment??

lol no.

[Old Greg]

Also, EVERY single client in the world loses interest once the work is done. Focus switches from getting the work done to saving as much money as possible then.

That is not true. I find that they appreciate a job well done and pay promptly.

[Batcher]

I don't work without a written contract.

+1.

I always tell them my PL & PI insurance doesn't cover me to be onsite without a contract in place.

[Contreras]

Never heard of this happening ever.

You say this is a large company? and you are on-site without any paperwork? So they have given you logins? No confidentiality clause, no intellectual property claim, no real idea who you are except for your CV.

I call total bull tulip on this one. You sir are a sock puppet and a liar.

Sounds plausible to me. The OP hasn't said they omitted some form of identity check, only that they have no contract. Happens all the time. Working without a contract is fine if you accept the risks, but typically that would be for minor pieces of work and where the client already has a track record. Plenty of threads on here with tails of woe about non-payment and no supporting contract.

OP is naive to believe that the matter will resolve itself without kicking up a stink. Better to be gunning for it now whilst there is still some leverage in terms of the work still to be supplied. Wake up and smell the coffee, or it'll only come to a head once the job is done/canned, the budget is spent, and you're looking at legal action in a foreign jurisdiction.

[northernladuk]

Must be mad. No chance in a million years I'd do that. Not even a day without something like an email.

Aren't you doing this at the moment??

[psychocandy]

Wow, just left for a day and it exploded.

So, to clarify: it was supposed to be a vanilla contract, me -> agent -> client. Because the work itself was of international nature and outside EU, signings stalled a bit because agent did not know how to bill correctly, suggested a few umbrellas/accountants, but none of them could actually help (mostly because they had no experience abroad). Then the agent took his cut from the client and said he is pretty much done here and I'm free to work directly with the client or whatever, don't care anymore. So I come in and start working, client is happy with me and with everything, except all agreements me and client have are still coming from the initial offering that the client made. The client seems to be in no hurry to straighten things out (pretty big organisation, things tend to take a while in those), but is happy with me, my work etc. Given the company's size, position in the market, public image etc I doubt they would not pay me, but still I'm getting increasingly uneasy about it. Maybe, as ChimpMaster suggested, I'm a charity, maybe I'm just too stupid and gullible, or maybe I don't want to make what I believe to be unnecessary fuss - only time will tell.

I doubt they would not pay me - dont you believe it!

Don;t want to make an unnecessary fuss - Are you mad? Expecting payment is not making a fuss? No wonder they like you.

Tell you what on your way home, pick up £100 worth of shopping, wheel it out the door, then wait for them to drag you back in. Then tell them, don't worry you'll sort it out with them in a few weeks honestly. Do think then they'll say ok we don't want to make a fuss go on then?

Also, EVERY single client in the world loses interest once the work is done. Focus switches from getting the work done to saving as much money as possible then.

I've had gigs where the rate was huge, they paid shift allowances etc for nights etc. All geared up towards the completion of a project - money no object at all. Once the project was delivered all they cared about was getting rid of the contractors as soon as they could. In most cases, shaving a week off the end of their contracts just to save a few quid.

My point is once they've got what the want they'll be even less keen to worry about your payment situation. At the moment, they can fob you off and totally ignore you and you're still playing ball with them and works getting done. Thats all they want at the moment. Imagine trying to get them to sort this out when they dont need you any more? No chance.

[TheFaQQer]

The client seems to be in no hurry to straighten things out

If you had a supplier doing the work for free without anything to back up what rate they thought they were going to be paid, why would you be in a hurry to sort anything out?

[psychocandy]

Hang loose, I did a three month contract without a scrap of paper, and quite a few where I was working for a week or two without the paperwork.

There are loads of contractors who've either have been terminated at a moments notice or haven't been paid because the agency or client went bankrupt, and they all had a "PCG approved" contract.

Must be mad. No chance in a million years I'd do that. Not even a day without something like an email.

[mrv]

Wow, just left for a day and it exploded.

So, to clarify: it was supposed to be a vanilla contract, me -> agent -> client. Because the work itself was of international nature and outside EU, signings stalled a bit because agent did not know how to bill correctly, suggested a few umbrellas/accountants, but none of them could actually help (mostly because they had no experience abroad). Then the agent took his cut from the client and said he is pretty much done here and I'm free to work directly with the client or whatever, don't care anymore. So I come in and start working, client is happy with me and with everything, except all agreements me and client have are still coming from the initial offering that the client made. The client seems to be in no hurry to straighten things out (pretty big organisation, things tend to take a while in those), but is happy with me, my work etc. Given the company's size, position in the market, public image etc I doubt they would not pay me, but still I'm getting increasingly uneasy about it. Maybe, as ChimpMaster suggested, I'm a charity, maybe I'm just too stupid and gullible, or maybe I don't want to make what I believe to be unnecessary fuss - only time will tell.

[SueEllen]

I'd assume only with a written contract in place.

I don't work without a written contract.

[DiscoStu]

The contracts are to protect you if the client isn't going to go bankrupt and decides for other reasons not to pay you.

This is why you need a written contract or at worst an email saying what the agreed rate is with the full name of one of the people n who is responsible for the contract.

PCG+ membership now gives you a payout if either the client or agency goes bust.

I'd assume only with a written contract in place.