Reply to: Advice regarding day rate needed! Is agent trying to fleece me?!?

[BlasterBates]

Some will I have had several clients who accidently on purpose (!!) show me the exact amount on the invoice they are paying to the agent so I can get a better deal from the agent!!

That is because the market rate has risen and therefore they are effectively raising your rate to prevent you from leaving. The agent is more or less irrelevant, they compete with each other for the smallest margin. In a difficult market, clients rarely wait long to enforce rate reductions across the board. There is only one "real" determinant of rate, and that is supply and demand.

[uk contractor]

What a client won't do is squeeze the agent's margin for the benefit of the contractor.

Some will I have had several clients who accidently on purpose (!!) show me the exact amount on the invoice they are paying to the agent so I can get a better deal from the agent!!

[BlasterBates]

Market rate goes up and down and is whatever a contractor will accept. If there are a lot of contractors applying for a role then the market rate goes down. If the agent's margin is high then that is a temporary phenomenon because the client hasn't figured out what the market rate is, and when he finds out will push the rates down to squeeze the agent's margin. What a client won't do is squeeze the agent's margin for the benefit of the contractor.

[uk contractor]

This is the sort of dirty tricks they play. Rate is everything right now. 2 days ago I was speaking to an agent about a role @ £xxx a day. While I was on the phone to him I noticed the same agency advertising the exact same role on Jobserve again using slightly different wording & the rate had dropped £70 a day in the space of 10 minutes! So I asked him was it the same client (yes) was it the same role (yes) are you dropping the rate because you know you can get away with it & or know there are way more candidates than roles (yes!). They also had the same role on another site with no rate to see how low they could get away with. He was totally unapologetic about it and just laughed when I said it was a little underhand. I passed anyway am happy to let someone else do it for below market rates!

[LondonManc]

If the £50 is a game-changer, go with B unless A can match it. Don't dismiss B, though, until A is signed and sealed and you're on site.

[RSoles]

So I have just bet 3 other people for one position - contract A. .....

Another agency contacted me regarding contract A but they seemed to be offering more...up to 475.

Is the agent lying?

Probably. Have you considered the possibility that the second agency is actually representing one of the contractors you beat, and merely wants to queer your pitch?

[washed up contractor]

IME, agents that advertise a job with a far higher rate than others after candidates have interviewed for the role are just cv fishing.

The other thing IME is it is usually newbie or relatively inexperienced contractors who fall into this 'Ive seen my role advertised at a far higher rate than I was told about. Should I try and re negotiate?'

[BlasterBates]

At the end of the day you negotiated 400, who knows what margin he is on, he probably put you in at a lower rate than other competitors to get the contract. It isn't like he pushed you down to 400.

What you can do is tell him that you now have an alternative offer of 450 and risk losing the current contract. I don't see that the agency is "fleecing you" as he has offered you your requested rate. It is generally not received well if you raise your rate when everything has been agreed, so be polite and show humility about it.

[rocktronAMP]

Only go with B is you are sure that is what you want.

I reckon its 50/50 on if they will offer you more.

Personally I would go to Client A and let them know why you are going. Though its a high risk strategy. You could be marked in the trouble maker box.

What is the length of these contracts?
Read the state of the market threads today, because it is pretty dire out there, it's much better to be in a position of invoicing and billing in 2017. If contract A is offering a 6/12 monther and contract B is only a 3 monther then probably take A - I know NLUK would probably nip my head about the notice period, but still ...

What is your "gut" feeling telling you about the people you may be working with?
Are they nice folk to be doing business with? Only your interview experience will tell you.

What is the environment or work area? Are you in basement or viewing the outside forest with nice windows?

Are they going suck your blood or not?
They pay more contract rate, but you have to work 9am-6pm and but often times 9am-7pm
Some clients want their value and then some more ...

Are you going learn a brand new skill with A or B?
Which one of these client will teach you cloud or dev ops or business skill or brand new programming language?

Lastly, will you enjoy the gig?
Perhaps, you might know of mate, ex-colleague in the past, who already works at A or B, or they might have beer in the office on Fridays, share war stories, or maybe there is a chance for remote working, or even flexible working... What is the value-add for you?

Only you can decide

[SimonMac]

is it likely that if I go with contract B, the first agency will pull the job from me or will they try to offer me more?

Depends what there other candidate is like, you will get abuse from the agent either way, if they know you are after more money they may come back to you, but as the best you could hope for is matching the £450 a day from Contract B why bother when you already have the rate you want agreed, if you are holding out for £475 though I would get the and not hold my breath

[Northernercontractor]

But what benefit would it be to the agency to lose me and having to source the position again as the client is looking to onboard someone asap? Apparently I am exactly what they are looking for as stated by the agent. Hmmmm its a gamble

[BrilloPad]

is it likely that if I go with contract B, the first agency will pull the job from me or will they try to offer me more?

Only go with B is you are sure that is what you want.

I reckon its 50/50 on if they will offer you more.

Personally I would go to Client A and let them know why you are going. Though its a high risk strategy. You could be marked in the trouble maker box.

[Northernercontractor]

is it likely that if I go with contract B, the first agency will pull the job from me or will they try to offer me more?

[northernladyuk]

So I have just bet 3 other people for one position - contract A. The client was happy with my interview and could tell at interview they wanted me onboard.

Initially when I had spoke to the agent about contract A I had agreed on a rate of 400 but between the time speaking to the client and the time of setting up the interview I also had other interviews. Now I am in the fortunate position of having 2 job offers. However contract B is offering 450 but I prefer the contract A who offered 400 as their culture seems better and it would be a better fit.

Another agency contacted me regarding contract A but they seemed to be offering more...up to 475. When I have challenged the agency on this they simply said that that agency shouldn't have advertised at that rate as they are not taking into consideration the commission.

Is the agent lying? What is going on? If I push for more on contract A will I lose the contract? There is only one role and I filled it so would the agency want to lose me? They had also put forward another candidate who lost out.

I spoke to the director of the agency on Friday for contract A and our conversation left me feeling somewhat confused as ****. First of all he said he will need to go back to the client to ask for more as they are a business and also need to make money and they arent stupid! Then he said you have the other contract anyway so it doesnt matter. Then he finished up by saying `look we will work something out` Can anyone shed any light on this situation????

Different agencies may offer different rates. I landed my first gig directly with the client who then gave me a list of agencies to talk to. First one offered 375 pd, second offered 500 pd and I took the 500.

[SimonMac]

Ignore the £475, advertised rates != actual rates.

You have to decide if Contract A is what you really want, if you can be swayed by £50 my money is on no it's not really the dream gig, so go for the more money that is on the table.