Love a good Mexican Standoff with the Agent

[d000hg]

Should have let them drop you and gone direct!

[FatLazyContractor]

Psalm 213:69 - Anything and everything one does to demolish an agent is morally right.

[psychocandy]

Good on you OP. I've had the same once. It helps if you're on good terms with the client otherwise agent will play one off against the other.

I had agent telling client I was blackmailing them etc. and asking for more money off them. But same as you I knew the cut lol.

Lot to be said about fixed margins. I understand everyones in the game to make money, agencies as well but when its lies all around to screw the largest margin by the agency it pissed me off.

[DodgyAgent]

He'll be phoning the client everyday with a list of cheaper contractors, trying to get you out and his margins up.

The only good agent is a dead agent.

"DA" now stands for "dead agent"

[DimPrawn]

He'll be phoning the client everyday with a list of cheaper contractors, trying to get you out and his margins up.

The only good agent is a dead agent.

[Fandango]

On Friday it was the last day of my inital 3 month contract with the client, I'm on a project that's due to go live at the tail end of this year so i knew they wanted to keep me. So a week and a bit ago I'd contacted the agent to say that the intial contract was up shortly but that there appears to be an extension on the table and that he'd need to sort out the paper work, however over that week and a bit no contact from agent and on the last day still no sign of paper work.

So Friday morning I informed the ClientCo IT Director who was requesting my extension (and i get on really well with) that i'd be having a little "negotioation" with the agent regarding their cut as they'd been particualrly useless, and any change would easily be absorbed by their current margin, however as a headsup they may try and pass it on. He said go for your life as long as end result in no change in what ClientCo pays.

So an email was duely fired off to pimp saying my rate for renewal had now gone up £20/day.

Unsurprisingly the pimp was on the phone like a shot, saying this was not possible as they'd agreed the renewal with the client at the same rate, and that they were making nothing on me.

I pointed out the completye lack of work done on behalf of the agent to secure the extension and unfortunately that was the rate, take it or leave it, so off he trotted to the account manager with mutterings of "not posisble", "replacement contractor".

An hour or so later i receive an email back saying they were able to do £10/day but there was no way they could do £20. I politely declined saying it was £20 or nothing.

Another phonecall from him a short while later and he's adament that there is nothing in their margin, when i pointed out that my role at ClientCo was to migrate the finance system and knew they were making £60/day on me he went a little quite, he then said that basically they had to bank role me till the client paid, when i again pointed out that i could see the client pays them before they pay me he had nothing. He said he didn't think it was possible as they have minimum margins to meet and would have to speak to the account manager but he'd be looking for a replacement for me.

3.30 i drop him an email to say i'd be finishing at 4pm and i need to know whether to let the IT Director know whether or not we'd be able to reach an agreement and i'd let him explain to the IT Director why £750+vat and month isn't enough commision for him.

3.58, email from pimp confirming extension at requested rate, strangley it didn't have kind regards on the bottom

I think i'm off his xmas card list