AGENCY not paid me for 2 months - BEWARE

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi everyone.

i want to warn people about an agency (who I will not name on this forum) that has not paid me for 2 shifts i did for them.

I have done a few shifts for them before and have been paid fully and promptly for those jobs.

But I have not been paid for the last 2 days shifts i have done for them.
. . . . .
The first was for a local Haulier on 24 NOVEMBER. At the end of the shift i got the TM to sign a timesheet for the day and he promised to fax it to the agency. Even though the agency knows i worked a full day at the client they are giving me excuse after excuse after excuse and promise that it will be paid over ‘some time in the near future’ when the client agrees to pay them.

But this has been going on for nearly 2 months and I can not afford to be a days wage out of pocket. I think the agency wants me to forget about it and give up.

The second shift was for a stationery company and I drove a van for a day. This one was on 22 December and I still havent been paid. Am I being unreasonable here?

When the agency gave me the job over the phone, they said something like “Dont worry about not getting paid for this one because the client fills in an online timesheet and gets it to us electronically, so you dont have to get anything signed, they will do everything on that score.”

Last week i was telephoned by the agency at about 9:30 pm.

“Are you available for a 7 o clock start tomorrow at such and such a place?”

Fortunately for me, I had a 3 hour job the next day so I had to say no, but I am so desperate for the money that otherwise I would have said yes and hoped to be paid for it.

This morning I went to my bank to see if any money has gone in from the agency.

NOTHING.

SO WATCH OUT everybody. Maybe agencies are starting to go bust and guess who will end up funding them?

All advice / previous similar experiences welcomed.

Unless the moderators advise me differently, I will discuss the matter further with any of you who might wish to avoid such an agency via PMs.

LandyLad

2

I would personally knock up an official looking letter stating you will take legal action in the small claims court to recover said monies, whilst threatening in the interim to pass the details on to the local newspaper and BBC watchdog, it usually does the trick. I will not put up with Messers like that, good luck landylad.

Digressing slightly i had a car accident about 20 years ago when one of the bradford taliban ran into my car (it was his parents car and he wasn’t insured for it, surprise surprise), basically i had to pay my insurance excess to the bodyshop to get my car fixed,i then had to claim back my £400 from said taliban, months went by he never paid, the insurance company sent me some docs. to take to the small claims court + the fee of about £70,the court then sent him a summons he rang me and paid up in cash within 24hours of getting the summons. HTH

3

LandyLad:
… Even though the agency knows i worked a full day at the client they are giving me excuse after excuse after excuse and promise that it will be paid over ‘some time in the near future’ when the client agrees to pay them.

Hi LandyLad,

AFAIK, it makes no difference whether the agency got paid for your shift by the client, because your deal was with the agency.
You carried out the agency’s instructions and did the work, so IMHO you’re entitled to be paid.
:bulb: The agency are a business, businesses take financial risks in the hope of a profit. On the other hand and as far as I can tell from the info you’ve given, you’re a worker who went to work and did the job asked of you.

:bulb: In some circumstances, there are time limits for bringing a claim, so I’d suggest that you check your legal position as soon as you can.

LandyLad:
Unless the moderators advise me differently, I will discuss the matter further with any of you who might wish to avoid such an agency via PMs.

PMs are always the best plan in circumstances like this, because otherwise it would get very messy quite quickly and the topic would then have to be removed.
Thank you for respecting the forum rules in the way that you have.

:bulb: If you say roughly whereabouts in the country you are, it might save you from having to deal with a flurry of extra PMs. :wink:

4

I am in the Greater Manchester area

5

Strange !!!

The agency has just (10 mins ago) rung me up and said they will be paying me 4 hours for the November 24th shift!

I worked 7 am to 7:15 pm with a 45 minute break, which is 11.5 hours by my maths.

LandyLad

6

Worrying news! Thankfully this has not happened to me, although some of the hourly rates are almost criminally low.

I agree with writing stern letters threatening legal action if not resolved.

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LandyLad:
Strange !!!

The agency has just (10 mins ago) rung me up and said they will be paying me 4 hours for the November 24th shift!

I worked 7 am to 7:15 pm with a 45 minute break, which is 11.5 hours by my maths.

LandyLad

What did they say when you told them they owe you 11.5 hours for that shift not 4, and what excuse did they give for only paying 4 hours for an 11.5 hour shift ?

As dieseldave said whether the agency get paid or not is their problem, as long as you’ve done the job correctly you have a right to be paid.

I had this crap off an agency once, saying they couldn’t pay me until they got paid by the client :imp:
I left them in no doubt that I expected to be paid regardless of their problems getting the money off their client, it’s their client and I work for the agency.
I’ve no idea whether or not they got paid and frankly I don’t really give a ■■■■, but I was paid for the shift the following week.

As far as writing letters is concerned, I agree but first I’d be either on the phone or down there talking to the boss not the driver consultant, reminding them that you work for the agency not the client and it’s the agencies responsibility to pay you.

Even in these hard times agencies don’t want a reputation for not paying their employees, it’s bad for business :wink:

8

Tacho asked
"
What did they say when you told them they owe you 11.5 hours for that shift not 4, and what excuse did they give for only paying 4 hours for an 11.5 hour shift ?
"

They said I should text them with my hours for the day in question and they would look at it again.

That was it. No mention of why only 4 hours!

There was no specific mention of the 2nd shift done for them on 22 December either.

Nearly 2 weeks ago i faxed them a copy of my day’s printout clearly showing -card in reader at 07:06 -card out at 18:57 with a 13:39 lunchtime 18 minute break then 3 mins later (I had to move the wagon in the middle of my break!!!) a break of 36 minutes. There was a good 15 mins debrief to add at the end of the day so I expect to be paid up to 19:15.

But the person on the end of the phone said
“Text us with those details on Monday and we’ll have a look at it.”

I think that this Agency is struggling to cope with normal everyday clerical matters and even if these are honest mistakes, I think that their incompetence will soon lead them into a downward spiral and they may struggle to trade past Easter.

As soon as drivers or even customers hear of this kind of thing, they will all go to other agencies. Recessions make people very very edgy.

I am wasting my time with telephone calls. I will now put everything in a letter.

But any more comments / advice still welcome.

LandyLad

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Letter is best: Not fax, text, e-mail, carrier pigeon or phone

Make it short and to the point - don’t go into too much detail about all the false promises and faxes - just state that you worked x hours at y company on z dates. Refer to whoever you spoke to by name and say that if you are not paid within [say] two weeks, you will have to go to the CAB for advice. It wouldn’t hurt to say how much you like working for them and how dissappointed you are that these problems are getting in the way of a previously good relationship.

Address your letter to the BOSS by name. Take it to the PO and get it recorded delivery and keep a copy.

10

Seems to be standard practice not to get you what you are owed.

I never received my due holiday pay when i left HGV recruitment, they have since gone bust and i am now an out of pocket creditor which means i’ll get bugger all.

The big agency at Rugby just off jnct 1 didn’t pay me holiday pay either.

Never again.

11

Got the same problem in Wolverhampton. Did some work before christmas and was travelling down to Northampton. Only agreed to do because there was a good bonus for travelling. Anyway, agency changed the bonus after day 1 but it was still good so carried on doing it. Now they are refusing to pay me the proper bonus for the first day even though i’ve got the ammount in 2 texts from the boss. They just say ‘‘Oh, sorry it was a mistake lets just move on from it’’ This after the driving consultant promised me two weeks ago that it would be paid into my account on the friday. Agencies never keep their word as they’ve got so many drivers on their books we’re just numbers but unfortunately its the only place many of us can get work at the moment!!!

12

Agency holiday pay ?

Now there’s a whole can of…

13

you say that you want to warn drivers about this agency, but it’s not exactly a warning to anyone, if they don’t know who you are warning them about.

the best advice i could give you is:
you have fists, use them. but don’t get caught.

14

Hey Limeyphil, luv that you tube of hell drivers, actually remember watching that as a kid, when truckers were men and so were the women :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

15

I agree wirh limey. The agencey took food off your table. You gave them a chance. Pop round at closing time friday and be open handed ( its just a slap then)

16

phone acas and get their advice they’re 100% and all letters you send keep a copy and send the other as recorded/signed for so there is no denying they got it.

17

How can you warn people of an agency and not name them :confused: :question:

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LandyLad:
Hi everyone.

i want to warn people about an agency (who I will not name on this forum)

LandyLad

Name and shame them. Agencies need a good kicking up the chuffa. Don’t do another minute for them and take them to a small claims court.
Post stories in every magazine and publication you can do so.

All Agencies should either pay proper wages and a minimum 40 hours pay a week with 5 weeks paid holidays nd full sick pay or be put out of the industry for good.

19

Santa:
Letter is best: Not fax, text, e-mail, carrier pigeon or phone.

Address your letter to the BOSS by name. Take it to the PO and get it recorded delivery and keep a copy.

+1.

Imperative that you send it recorded or better still registered, then they can’t say they haven’t received it.

Ken.

20

Pat Hasler:

LandyLad:
Hi everyone.

i want to warn people about an agency (who I will not name on this forum)

LandyLad

Name and shame them. Agencies need a good kicking up the chuffa. Don’t do another minute for them and take them to a small claims court.
Post stories in every magazine and publication you can do so.

All Agencies should either pay proper wages and a minimum 40 hours pay a week with 5 weeks paid holidays nd full sick pay or be put out of the industry for good.

That would be great - I have yet to have a single five day week of work from any of the ones I am with, its crippling is financially.