Agencies - Do they have any regulatory body?

Agreed, the REC and APSCO are a joke and whilst they 'field' your complaint, short of you catching out the agency in writing basically LYING, or recording their phone call where they promised you the earth and delivered naff all, the REC and APSCO are about as useful as a wooden frying pan or an ash tray on a motor cycle.......

All they do is have cosy cuddle ups with their members and send out communications to them on 'industry trends' and all that gaff. But they don't do any serious investigation on complaints that lead to a result for the contractor. Why would they ??? The agencies fund their existence !!!!

Just because an agent is a member of REC or APSCO doesn't mean they are any better or worse than anyone else.

You are better of complaining to Trading Standards or someone who has some teeth, not either of those lot......

[SueEllen]

Is their an ombudsman for these bandits?

Not all are bad, I know - but - I am sick of dealing with wide-boys.

REC

However as the evidence is purely their word against yours in most cases then I don't think you will get very far.

If you have a third party involved to back you up or something in writing you may get somewhere.

[The Agents View]

I'm surprised at you guys not mentioning the REC.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation has reputable agencies as members. You complain to them if the agency cocks up.

Don't go with an agency that's not a member.

It's not legislative and I'm not sure how useful it is but it's someone to whom you can complain if you have a problem.

It's quite a big deal amongst us to be honest - The REC is the only "genuine" way we have of saying "we're not complete cowboys" - A complain to the REC is taken very seriously (in my experience at least) as nobody wants to lose their REC status.

As previously mentioned though - it's not illegal to be a wide boy, its also not illegal to pass over your details without response if you're not good enough for the roles you're applying for, or belong in PermieDom. It's poor form, and crap marketing, but in no way is it illegal.

And remember - for every wide boy recruiter, there are 30 cowboy contractors.

[ubiquetor]

There is no Ombudsman or regulator as such for agencies but they are subject to the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and related legislation which is enforced by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills which will follow up complaints involving possible breaches of any relevant rules and regulations (although they do not have any jurisdiction in contractual disputes as such).I used it once and the outcome was satisfactory.

You can google them at UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | BIS | BIS

[cojak]

I'm surprised at you guys not mentioning the REC.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation has reputable agencies as members. You complain to them if the agency cocks up.

Don't go with an agency that's not a member.

It's not legislative and I'm not sure how useful it is but it's someone to whom you can complain if you have a problem.

[doodab]

Is their an ombudsman for these bandits?

Not all are bad, I know - but - I am sick of dealing with wide-boys.

Is their an ombudsman, or an Offxxx, or something like that if not then someone needs to draw up agreed standards and give them a charter to follow.


in fact can you fill in the blank off???????

There is no ombudsman or regulator that I'm aware of but they are subject to a number of laws.

[northernladuk]

Is their an ombudsman for these bandits?

Not all are bad, I know - but - I am sick of dealing with wide-boys.

Is their an ombudsman, or an Offxxx, or something like that if not then someone needs to draw up agreed standards and give them a charter to follow.

Even if there was they can't do anything about 'wideboys'. Its not illegal or bad practice so pointless really

[ContractorNW]

Is their an ombudsman for these bandits?

Not all are bad, I know - but - I am sick of dealing with wide-boys.

Is their an ombudsman, or an Offxxx, or something like that if not then someone needs to draw up agreed standards and give them a charter to follow.


in fact can you fill in the blank off???????