Internal Audit

[NotAllThere]

I was on one contract, and the client wanted their one of the carbons of their timesheets to go to the agency, to accompany the agency invoice for payment. I asked the agent, and he said, no, no problem, just send our timesheets, you'll get paid. We don't need the client timesheets.

6 weeks after that contract got a call from the agent.

"Are you not at the client"
"No"
"Oh. You're not there any more. I don't suppose you've got the carbons of those client timesheets?"
"No, I left them at client site".
"Oh no, they won't pay our invoices without them. We've not been paid."
"Oh that's a shame. I have".

I kept him in suspense for a while, before explaining I hadn't left the client, that I'd got an extension on the contract through the same agency(!), that I only worked a 3.5 day week, which is why I wasn't at client site, and that the timesheets they needed were safely in my desk, and I would send them to the agency on Monday.

[dmini]

Mines done that recently - after Id been there for quite a few weeks. As half my contracts had been through that agency recently, they were quite happy to get a reference off one of their previous contracts - so in my case definitely not fishing

[Sockpuppet]

Are agents really that dodgy that they need their own internal audit teams?

Had an agent call me "Er..can we have a reference from your last placement. Its required by internal audit team".

Er...I've been at the present clients over 6 weeks. Its a little late for that isn't it.

I mean what are you going to do even if I get a bad ref? To be honest it didn't sound like they were fishing for clues/leads.

They could have been.