Reply to: Agency payment schedule - no morals?

[Mordac]

Can anyone tell me if im in the wrong or not by thinking this agency has no morals.

If you're looking for an agency with no morals, just pick one at random.
If you're looking for an agency with some morals, best of luck, but it's not how I'd choose to spend the next 30 years...

[jamesbrown]

agency has no morals

Let me stop you right there.

[NotAllThere]

I would never have become a contractor without a good warchest.

Coward! I became a contractor with a £5K debt, back in 1995... But I was unemployed at the time.

Can anyone tell me if im in the wrong or not by thinking this agency has no morals.

No agency has morals. I didn't need to read the rest.

I agree with the others. Anyone who hasn't got a decent level of savings after ten years contracting only has themselves to blame. In my case I made sure all my debts were paid off and I built up reasonable savings before I started enjoying my wealth. 25 years later I still maintain enough to live on for twelve months with no work, and have substantial savings and investments in various places for my retirement.

[BrilloPad]

I can't believe you didn't have a credit card or something to pay to commute to a new job ? Couldn't you have borrowed a bit of cash of relative or a friend ?

You really are in the wrong place to be looking for sympathy lol

But the right place to give us a damned good laugh!

[BrilloPad]

By the time you moan your MP (they don't care), local paper (no story) & their granny you'll have been paid. Not really the agency's fault you p1ssed all your money away.

Lets be fair. He spent quite a bit on expensive holidays and big nights out. The rest he p1ssed away...

[BrilloPad]

LOL ....my god, you two probably work for the agency!

NLUK works for HMRC (well work is a very strong term). I work selling payment schemes - I hope one day to make as much commission as OG did on the Dutch Antillies one...

[dx4100]

I can't believe you didn't have a credit card or something to pay to commute to a new job ? Couldn't you have borrowed a bit of cash of relative or a friend ?

You really are in the wrong place to be looking for sympathy lol

[Whorty]

LOL ....my god, you two probably work for the agency! like i said, i asked for peoples opinion on the agency and im the one getting scrutinised! ha ha, this is bizarre! I did want to know peoples opinion on here because a couple of other contractors i had spoken to said they would have been furious and would have approached the local MP's of the agency local area and where i live, along with the local newspapers in both areas but i thought that was a bit much, it appears no sympathy from most people on here. Right im off, ill check back on here tomorrow, before i end up wasting my evening potentially bickering on the internet.....

Taking the emotion out of this, what you're asking is for the agency to take on a financial risk; they almost certainly won't have been paid yet by the client, so by paying you early they are taking a financial risk on your behalf. Had you a long term relationship with this agency, and they place you at lots of clients and therefore make good fees from you, then they may take the risk. But it sounds like you've only performed this one short contract for them so why do you think they are morally obliged to risk their own money on you?

Re your financial situation, and this is going to sound really preachy, but you need to start to look at your finances in a more mature way. Build up a warchest and don't spend every penny on luxuries. 10 years of contracting you should be very well off and not running out of cash within a month.

Like I say very preachy, but I don't think you'll get much sympathy anywhere if you tell people you spent all your cash on a holiday and you're upset that someone else is not taking a financial risk on your behalf.

I really hope you have enough cash left over for VAT and Corp Tax (assuming you go through a LTD). And if so, why couldn't you take a director's loan from your company until your invoice has been paid?

[ravenshaw]

Can anyone tell me if im in the wrong or not by thinking this agency has no morals.

I have been contracting for over a decade, so im not new to this game believe me.

If, after contracting for over ten years, you still believe that an agency should adhere to some kind of moral code, then you are still incredibly naïve.

[CosmicWave]

Legally, the agency are on the right. Its per contract.

Morals? Well...

So you busted all your cash at that point, and did not have money to even fund your travel for the commute?
Given that, it can be clearly inferred that you have spent away all of your upcoming VAT dues and the Corporation tax accrued funds that you should have kept ready to pay to the government?

Don't get me wrong, but spending away these funds (I mean, VAT is not at all your money, you know that, right???) also means no morals!

Given all that, the agency not paying earlier to you than what the contract says, is not more immoral, whichever way you cut it.

[KinooOrKinog]

LOL ....my god, you two probably work for the agency! like i said, i asked for peoples opinion on the agency and im the one getting scrutinised! ha ha, this is bizarre! I did want to know peoples opinion on here because a couple of other contractors i had spoken to said they would have been furious and would have approached the local MP's of the agency local area and where i live, along with the local newspapers in both areas but i thought that was a bit much, it appears no sympathy from most people on here. Right im off, ill check back on here tomorrow, before i end up wasting my evening potentially bickering on the internet.....

By the time you moan your MP (they don't care), local paper (no story) & their granny you'll have been paid. Not really the agency's fault you p1ssed all your money away.

[likewise]

Personally I hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

But when I mess up(like getting married AGAIN) I at least blame myself and don't project onto others. You should look to yourself first. I don't see why the agency should do anything to help you. Which leads onto NLUK's comments.

LOL ....my god, you two probably work for the agency! like i said, i asked for peoples opinion on the agency and im the one getting scrutinised! ha ha, this is bizarre! I did want to know peoples opinion on here because a couple of other contractors i had spoken to said they would have been furious and would have approached the local MP's of the agency local area and where i live, along with the local newspapers in both areas but i thought that was a bit much, it appears no sympathy from most people on here. Right im off, ill check back on here tomorrow, before i end up wasting my evening potentially bickering on the internet.....

[Old Greg]

Where has my money gone?! LOL.....10 years, ive enjoyed myself, nice car, new house, and plenty of holidays, i try and keep some saved but generally it never takes me more than a month to six weeks to find a new contract, and this virus combined with my contract ending just before it all started and me paying off a holiday in one, has become a perfect storm.

I just came on here to find out what people thought of an agency doing that but i find myself defending the fact i dont have a load of savings, bizarre.

You should have got a log book loan.

[BrilloPad]

Where has my money gone?! LOL.....10 years, ive enjoyed myself, nice car, new house, and plenty of holidays, i try and keep some saved but generally it never takes me more than a month to six weeks to find a new contract, and this virus combined with my contract ending just before it all started and me paying off a holiday in one, has become a perfect storm.

I just came on here to find out what people thought of an agency doing that but i find myself defending the fact i dont have a load of savings, bizarre.

Personally I hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

But when I mess up(like getting married AGAIN) I at least blame myself and don't project onto others. You should look to yourself first. I don't see why the agency should do anything to help you. Which leads onto NLUK's comments.

[likewise]

Where has all your money gone in the last 10 years?

I spent most of mine on divorces. But still had no cashflow issues. I started with 3 month warchest - after 10 years I had about a 2 year warchest.

To be fair, I did use the Old Greg Dutch Antilles scheme and I was not asked for back tax until year 11.....

Where has my money gone?! LOL.....10 years, ive enjoyed myself, nice car, new house, and plenty of holidays, i try and keep some saved but generally it never takes me more than a month to six weeks to find a new contract, and this virus combined with my contract ending just before it all started and me paying off a holiday in one, has become a perfect storm.

I just came on here to find out what people thought of an agency doing that but i find myself defending the fact i dont have a load of savings, bizarre.