Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with agency

Can I negotiate rental agency tenant-changeover fees?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:12:42 -0800

I live in London in a flat of three, and someone wants to move out. We have someone else ready to move in. The lettings agency wish to charge £150 for swapping a person over, and £100 for admin fees. Can we dispute this, for a more reasonable fee? The fees were similarly massive when we moved in (and we paid 6 weeks rent as deposit). When I visited the building we ended up saying yes to, the agent actually never came down (the janitor let us in). In fact, the first time I ever actually saw the agent was going into their offices to sign the contract and collect the keys.

While I understand that credit checks must be done, and some phone calls must be made, I fail to see the justification for paying half a months rent to change some names on a piece of paper when I found the other tenant. £100, that's going to sting but it's doable. But £250?

Two options seem to present themselves:

1) Try to negotiate, asking them for an itemised breakdown of these costs and making a case for them to reduce the fees for good tenants who have paid all their bills on time and never broken anything or asked them to do anything or fix anything.

2) Go straight to the Landlord. Do this actually have to be done through the Agency? Problem is in this case the 'Landlord' is a big company and I'd expect they'll just want the agency to handle it and will happily pay whatever they're being extorted for, in turn.

The person moving in is having a hard enough time getting 6 weeks rent, plus one months rent up front together, without high fees adding to the troubles.

Thanks!

Need money now thankyou.

drjimmy11 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:50:15 -0800

What are some good tech-centric temp agencies in L.A.? Hi! Yet another in my long series of job-trauma questions.

I'm currently between jobs- I'm a web/software developer, specializing in flex/AS3 but with years and years of doing html/js/ajax/php type stuff too. I have a pretty strong resume, I like to think, going back about 10 years.

I'm currently getting contacted by a lot of recruiters and going on a lot of interviews, but it's a very drawn-out process. Basically I need a gig to bring in some money now- cutting up PSDs or whatever is fine, I'm not proud at this point. I'm curious if anyone knows any decently reputable agencies who could get me something like this soon. Specific names of agencies are appreciated, referrals to specific people are even more appreciated. (meMail me if you like).

(I'd also be interested in where I can advertise myself as a flex freelancer, but I'm more inclined towards W2 right now for a few reasons.)

Thanks!

Desire to Become a Travel Agent

VC Drake — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:57:16 -0800

I'm interested in becoming a travel agent. How do I become one and find a job? I have a Bachelor's degree and some graduate school and I'm in my 40s, so I'm experienced in the world of work. For some reason, I just have no idea how to break into this industry. Any ideas or reference websites for more information would be appreciated.

Denver Temp Agencies

moonroof — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:52:44 -0800

Best temp agencies in Denver? I'm looking for temporary work in Denver and have no idea what agency to go through. Has anyone had positive/negative experiences with any particular agency? I don't have any particular skills, I'd probably end up doing office work, if that helps.

Canadian definition of products for donation purposes

acoutu — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:12:14 -0800

Canada Donation Filter: Can you donate a productized service and have it count as an in-kind donation to a charity? Services are exempt from in-kind donations under CRA rules. But what about the donation of a tangible product? For example, what if a freelance writer provided a tangible product, such as a finished article in Word format? This is not a service, since it's an actual "thing". Or what if a consultant donated a report and not the services involved in developing that report? Or if a graphic designer donated a newsletter template or finished newsletter? These things could be sold on a website -- lots of consultants sell templates, ebooks, reports and such on demand.

It's unclear to me how these products would be treated under tax laws. For example, if you donate an ebook, which is a product, would that be eligible?

When I read CRA definitions, they seem not to get into how they define products, other than for capital or personal use. And certainly something like an oil change or haircut is a service and not a product. And CRA would not want volunteers to start writing off all the time they spend working in hospitals, at ticket booths and so on. But I am not talking about volunteer time. I'm talking about donation of an actual finish product. Is a report or ebook like a handmade wooden table, if there is a market value for the finished product?

When I worked for a charity some years ago, I did note that my boss did some sort of write off for donations of services by using some sort of definition of products. But I have no idea whether that was legit.

Note: If you're in the US, please note that your tax laws are different. I understand that, in the US, services can be donated at fair market value. But, in Canada, we can only donate products.

He Took the Money and Ran

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:11:16 -0800

What to do about an Outlaw Agent? I work in a creative field. Let’s say for the sake of discussion I’m a graphic designer. I had an agent who would procure for me the occasional commercial gig. The agent had fallen quite behind on payments and he insisted that the clients had not paid him yet and he could not pay me until they did, which is understandable for a small company. I finally contacted the clients and asked about my invoices. They said the invoices had been paid months before. I left the agency immediately, sent a cease and desist for my works on the agency’s website and an email requesting a full accounting of what the agent owed me. I calculated this to be around $5,000, but it is likely more.
The agent skipped town (NYC) and continues to run the agency remotely. He does not respond to my emails or phone calls. It has been two months.
I would love to recover my money but am feeling this is unlikely at this point since I can’t afford a lawyer. I figure the next best thing would be to see this taken to the next level and I would like to press charges. I know for a fact that this agent has done this to several other designers to the tune of thousands and thousands of dollars. I’m not sure what I can press charges for or even how to go about doing it. Do I contact the NYPD? The FBI since he’s conducting his shady business across state lines? Help me, criminal minds of Metafilter!

I want to fire my temp agency

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:40:52 -0800

I work through Kelly Services in a long-term temp position at a huge multinational. I got a phone call today from Kelly Services saying they were giving all professional employees at the MNC a 5% pay cut, effective June 29. What can I do -- besides walk? Though, of course, Kelly Services is claiming that the MNC directed the change, a manager (not my own) at the MNC tells me that is not the case at all. MNC (at least, at this location) has a hiring freeze, but employees have not had pay cuts or layoffs. I would walk out over this, but I have to feed my kids.

I think my boss might be willing to work with me to get around it. My employment is at-will. How would I become an independent contractor? Or come in through another agency? How would I find out whether that is possible? This being a MNC, I can't imagine I'd get too much help from HR, but if I can figure out how to do it, I believe my boss would be willing to undergo some hassle to get this done for me.

Secondarily, another time Kelly Services did something dodgy, with our vacation pay, someone filed a class action lawsuit and I got a notification in the mail that I was part of the class unless I opted out. Is it possible to fight this pay cut? How? Is it significant that we are all getting individual phone calls, but nothing in writing?

Please assume I know nothing at all about negotiation or employment law -- because I don't. Thanks for any advice you can give me. Throwaway email: firingkelly@gmail.com

Best British Brand Builder

ruelle — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:42:24 -0800

Please recommend 8-10 British design agencies known for their stellar brand identity book (work) especially for conservative entities such as solicitors. Many thanks. What should I be looking for in choosing a design agency?
How is brand identity work quoted?
What kind of service should I expect from the chosen agency?
As the client, what can I provide/do to make this process as efficient as possible?

The work would not be about creating a new image but in unifying an existing corporate ID (ie: making sure the adverts look like the business cards look like the stationery).
If we like the results, we may consider a long-term relationship. ie: brochures, website design by the same team.

Any suggestions how to go about this?

Not to be confused with NannyStateFilter.

grapefruitmoon — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:46:18 -0800

NannyFilter: What agencies are best to work for, from the nanny's point of view. My work-children are about to outgrow me. It's time to find a new gig. I found the first one via Craigslist, and that was cool, but I'm thinking that this time, I'd probably be fiscally better off going through an agency. (The money and gradual lack thereof has been the one disappointment of my job.)

I'm wondering what agencies are best to work for, if there are any that are shadier than others, etc. Any experiences welcome, but I'm ONLY asking about the experience from the NANNY'S point of view. If you got a great nanny through an agency, that's awesome, but I'm already a (hopefully) great nanny and I'm really interested in hearing how nannies have experienced agencies.

I'm looking for jobs in Providence, RI. I do not currently, but will have, my own car. I am certified in CPR, I have a BA in studio art, 10+ years childcare experience, solid references, clean criminal background check, I'm up on all of my vaccinations, etc. I'm used to the normal "screening" of nannies and meet all the criteria and yes, I'll provide a DNA sample in the baggie. ;)

Where to find a comprehensive list of US Governement Agencies

davathar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:05:24 -0800

I'm building a component to a website that lists Federal, State, and Local government agencies for people to contact. I know that there are sites out there that have this sort of feature already for their own campaigns. Where can I find one or multiple lists to combine that contain Governmental Agency names, descriptions, and contact information?

Online ad business, what's the forecast?

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:31:16 -0800

Is now a good time to get into the online advertising business for an "interactive" agency? What's the forecast for this industry? I am a usability professional working for a consulting company (tech industry), which probably only has enough cash on hand to make it into 2010 without layoffs. After that, I'd be pretty high up on the list of people to cut based on my experience and time at the company if things continue to go south.

On the bright side, I've been offered a job for an interactive agency in a usability role. They specialize in Website Optimization (SEO, whatever you want to call it)--but are a full service shop that does design, usability testing and coding as part of the complete offering.

Couple of questions:
1. What is the forecast of the online ad business?
2. Is now a good time to be changing career paths?
3. How do usability folks typically fit into a company like this? Will I be marginalized? Constantly fighting with Marketing folks?
4. Professionally, does a usability engineer with marketing experience make me more attractive?
5. The work would involve using google analytics to manage online advertising campaigns--and of course making sure sites are functional and usable. How much of this business is snake oil?
6. Should I just stick it out with my company and hope for the best?

throwaway email: interactive_question@yahoo.com

To what collection agency did Blockbuster send my account?

mikeo2 — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:58:54 -0800

Apparently, I owe a blockbuster debt of $38 to a collection agency. I feel I've been screwed but that is irrelevant. I just want to pay the debt and never do business there again. The problem: The agency called last month when I was traveling, I didn't want to deal with it then, and now I've lost their number. How can I find out what collection agency they sent me account to and pay this debt off? Note: I have asked at the store and the employee told me, "the collection agency will call you back"...

How can I tell if a staffing agency is reliable/legitimate/not a scam?

EvilKenji — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:24:24 -0800

How can I tell if a staffing agency is reliable/legitimate/not a scam? I replied to a Craigslist ad and was called back by a staffing agency for an interview. I googled the staffing agency and they do have branches in many large cities but I don't have a lot of experience with staffing agencies and I'm not sure what i should be looking out for. They said they don't charge a fee for job placement, are there any other methods staffing agencies use to squeeze money out of job seekers? I know many staffing agencies charge the companies they hire people for and not the job seeker, but I also know that some staffing agencies take a cut of job seekers' pay checks., What are some things I should look out for to make sure I'm not paying any unnecessary fees or anything like that?

How to find agency responsible for a web site?

seeminglee — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:25:53 -0800

Which interactive agency is responsible for designing adobe.com? And ultimately, what is the best way to find out who did what? I haven't been able to come up with a good query for these kinds of searches, and I thought that there *has* to be some kind of database online which shows agency-client line-ups. You'd think that these things would show up in AdAge's DataCenter but it does not - or perhaps I've missed it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

What a way to make a living...

ticktockdoc — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:41:08 -0800

I have questions about finding a new job whilst working my current one ~~and hating it~~. And changing careers. And what to say to recruiters so that I don't end up in an office environment like this again. And questions about references. Sigh. Oh and guilt. I questioned last week about calling in sick while Boss was on hols, (but really came into the office, wherein I looked like I was mitching...) I relaxed [thanks everybody for advice!]. However. Coworker later said he'd asked her to spy/keep an eye on my days off while he was away and report back to him. Considering I was genuinely sick and it was my fifth sick day [all with certs] in 18 months, his behaviour is unacceptable IMHO. He is naturally suspicious [expolice officer] and angsty about his recent [3months] promotion to office manager, but getting someone I work with to spy on me? No. I've had longstanding problems with the work environment that I've always let slide. Until now. Time for a new job.

I plan using many different job agencies. Do I tell them the real reasons why I'm leaving, or do I make up something generic like 'I need a new direction'?
I also want to avoid ending up in a similar office environment, where the work ethic is beyond unreasonable, how do I stress this without sounding lazy or unwilling to work? I feel recruiters will focus on only finding me a position so they can get a comission, etc. During any interviews I attend, I'm really going to make an effort to suss out the prospective employer/office/etc.

Background reasons why I'm leaving also include:
a) Lunch hour is NOT observed [you only get to leave the office/take an hour if all the work is done. If it's a busy day, no lunch break for you. You're allowed to pop to the shop to get a sandwich, 5mins max]. If the no-lunch happens for 5 days of the week, then tough, we're busy.
b) Coworker [fellow admin, aged 45], who's been there 20+ years has to do every. single. task. herself. and is infuriatingly know-it-all, patronising and an utter workaholic. She's known not to take lunch/tea/bathroom breaks for the full day if there's dictation to type, and expects the same from you.
c) I start at 9:00. I do NOT want to feel guilty or late if I arrive at 8:30 or, shock horror, 8:50! It's not my problem that Boss has been in since 7:30 or that admin coworker likes to arrive at 8:00 [she should start at 9:00 too], flys through all the work for both of us, then brag about it.
e) If coworker is on leave, I've to do BOTH sets of work - which one person can't physically do. But then I look incompetant when the situation is reversed and coworker can do the work [by forgoing lunch/tea/bathroom breaks/breathing]

So far, I've kept the peace and played along. The money is good for a 25 year old who never went to college [raises hand] and there are many people who'd die for a regular, long-term 9-5. But spying? No. Being worked to the absolute bone? No.

I'm starting a night-time honours degree in Computing which will last three years. Any tips on what *type* of offices an admin/touchtypist might apply to, given what I'm learning at night? I'm good with and interested in computers, but have no formal qualifications [that's what this degree is for].

Also, references. The old boss is in a new line of work [loss assessor], but regularly speaks with new boss [loss adjuster]. Old boss was awesome and I know will give me a super reference. But I don't plan on handing in my notice until I have a job offer in writing. I've to work a month's notice [ugh] and hope to get a decent reference from new boss too. How do I handle that one? "Old boss? Will you give me a reference and not tell new boss I'm actively looking for a new job, even though you'll meet new boss on inspections?"

And... any help at the lingering guilt over not being able to hack a work environment like that? I feel coworker [and boss and other staff] look down on me for not being in 10 places at once. I'm trying to shrug it off and know deep down I'm a very good worker. And I'm being proactive by seeking out a better position. But there's this guilt still.

What is it like to work for an agency?

Solomon — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:38:00 -0800

What are your experiences of working with a UK temp agency? How does the concept work? Is there anything I should be aware of before I sign up to one? I'm looking to try a variety of jobs, so I figure this would be the best way to do that while still being employed somewhere.

I'm basically looking for any kind of "insider information" that you can provide me with. All aspects of agency work welcomed.

Tales From Agency Life?

producerpod — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:46:51 -0800

PR/Marcomm Filter: What's it like to work for a PR/Marketing/Ad agency/firm? I'm currently a jack-of-all trades comm person, working for a small non-profit. I'm considering my next move. I do everything here - copywriting, speechwriting, graphic design, web coding/design, newsletters (print and e-newsletters), annual reports, brochures, one-sheets, you name it. I'm constantly busy, but there's nowhere to go, promotion-wise. My experience doesn't seem to be specific enough for a lot of the corporate-type marcomm jobs out there ("5-7 years experience in the healthcare industry") so I'm considering all my options.

So what do you have to say about the day-to-day life of your average account exec? And where could I go from there?

p.s. I spent 10 years in an editorial role in the broadcast news industry, which is why I'm leaning toward the PR route.

Oh hai~I can haz umploymentz?

sully75 — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:01:19 -0800

I just finished a 3 month temp assignment. I'm in the great state of Maine. Can I collect unemployment? I just finished a 3 month temp assignement. It was miserable, but that's another story. I called my temp agency to see if they had another assignement and they said they'd get back to me. From my experience assignments around here are few and far between. I should note that the assignment ended, I did not leave voluntarily, even though I was planning to anyway.

The complication is that I've had a longstanding 1 month vacation planned, starting in 2 weeks.

So can I collect unemployment? Will this piss off the agency and make them never hire me again? Will they just try to stick me with a stupid assignment so that they don't have to deal with the unemployment? I've never collected before in my life so don't have any ideas about this.

Do I have to repay my (soon to be former) employer?

sharkweek — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:39:12 -0800

My (soon to be former) employer wants me to repay a portion of my continuing education budget. What are my options? I am a web developer in Portland, Oregon. I have been working at a medium sized interactive agency for 18 months. I have accepted an offer at another company, and given two weeks notice.

In March, my current company paid for me to attend SXSW. Our employee handbook states:

Participating employees must continue to work at [AGENCY NAME] for six months following completion of the program or event. Otherwise, they must reimburse the company for 75% of the amount used.

This is a very recent addition to the handbook, and this is the first opportunity they've had to enforce it.

I have been a model employee. I have consistently received exemplary performance reviews. Everyone in the office speaks glowingly of me and my skills. In numerous cases I have worked long stretches of overtime with little to no bonus compensation. My company likes to pride itself on the fact that they pay "industry standard rates". However, my salary has been between $20K-$15K less than the average web developer with my skill set and experience makes in Portland. Consequently, the amount they want me to repay ($825) is a significant amount to me. The company has also faced some financial difficulty recently, and was forced to layoff a portion of the staff.

I understand their position of wanting to set a precedent. I also acknowledge that employees could use their continuing education budget to learn a new skill, and get a better offer at another company. In my case, my new employer has been trying to hire me well before SXSW.

What are my options? Is this line in the handbook enforceable? Should I approach it as a "financial hardship" and ask them to forgive it? Should I forget it and essentially work my last two weeks for free?

Help me remember this detective comedy film from my childhood!

jspierre — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:18:37 -0800

I am trying to find the title of this film I remember scantily from my childhood. I do remember belly-laughing at this film when I was a kid, but can't remember for the life of me more than just a few details. Here's what I know (or think I remember)... I don't know the year, but probably the film I remember is from the very late 70s through perhaps the first couple of years of the 90s. It was a movie about a guy who was enrolling in some sort of "detective school" which was actually a scam being run by what I think was a con artist in a run down building. I think in the end it led to the main character actually solving a crime or mystery of some sort and, of course, figuring out that the detective training he attended was a scam.

I'm not very sure about any of the details except that I remember that it was really funny to me (at the time), oh and I remember a scene toward the beginning where the Lead is first brought into the detective training program and he is offered "hor douvres" of peanut butter on crackers by a very intimidating black woman who then charges him for the one he takes - something like six dollars. Then, she offers him a soft drink for which she demands additional money.

I think the word "Tourist" may have been in the title, but I'm just grabbing at straws there from what my fragmented mind remembers.

Any help anyone could give me on indentifying this childhood favorite would be greatly appreciated!

Anonymous CRA tipline?

tomcochrane — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:13:26 -0800

I'm searching for an anonymous tip line for the Canada Revenue Agency... A little while ago I heard about a phone number you could call to anonymously report people who you believed were skipping out on properly reporting their taxes. My searches of the CRA website and Google have proved fruitless. Anyone have this number?

IT would be nice to work at home

rhizome — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:57:54 -0800

I want to be an IT mercenary, how do I get started doing freelance/contract SysAdmin/Programming? I've decided I'd like a more flexible schedule and start making motions toward being self-employed and working from home. My skills are along the lines of "Senior Sysadmin" and while I am learning more programming techniques (design patterns and OO) most of my experience is in hardcore Linux and Windows admin.

Sysadmin functions seem to me to be in-house, but am I being too narrow here? I'm learning Ruby/Rails right now and have plenty of HTML/CSS/perl/PHP awareness, would that be better to focus on as far as contracts go? I don't have resume-level experience as a web programmer and I wouldn't want to have to start fresh on the ground floor at $10/hr. However, my sense is that web programming is much more amenable to remote work and freelancing than shell scripting, performance tweaking and monitoring.

I know about Metafilter Jobs and Craigslist gigs and those things, but the offerings can be a little slim for the level of work I'm talking about. Are there agencies who specialize in this kind of thing (rather than the typical headhunter staffing agencies)? Does it make sense to plan to take longer contracts rather than shorter ones? Is there even a choice there? I'm stuck!

My money went "poof!"

medea42 — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:27:53 -0800

What can you do if a collection agency "loses" your payment? I have an outstanding hospital bill I've been paying off for about two years now. I've gotten my financial and health life together as much as I can, and so I'm finally closing the door on that horrendous phase of my life. Unfortunately, the collection agency that my last hospital bill went to isn't quite so helpful. My original bill was under $200. I called for a final balance today, expecting to hear something that was $50 or less and was shocked to find that my final balance was still over $100. When I probed, I found that the last payment posted was in November - and I've sent in several incremental payments since then that have yet to be credited to my account. I used a billpay service at my bank, so I don't have copies of checks, but I do have the amounts deducted from my bank balance. I called my bank and they did give me trace numbers on the checks - all but the most recent one HAS cleared, so that money is sitting in the collection agency somewhere.

Does anyone have any insight into what may have happened here, or what I might have to do about it?

Agree to agree

paulinsanjuan — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:17:01 -0800

Help me find the right non compete, non disclosure agreement. We have a client that is asking for specific work which we have found from an outside source. We would like to make sure this outside source does not go after our client directly. What is the appropriate agreement to present?

There aren't any trade secrets or any major pieces of information involved other than our own business plan and workflow.

Ive found non solicitation agreements, different non compete agreements, and non disclosure of business plans.... which one is best for us?

Never use AAA!

slow graffiti — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:50:18 -0800

Help me protect my credit report from corporate idiocy. I have been a AAA member for roadside assistance for several years. This year, I moved before it was time for annual renewal. Despite setting up mail forwarding with the post office, their three letters reminding me to renew never made it to my new address. They do not call to remind you to renew, ever.
About a month after my membership lapsed, I called for a battery jump. They didn't tell me on the phone when I called for a tow truck that my account had lapsed and I assumed everything was fine (that service is free for members and exactly what I had it for). Now, two months later, I finally get a letter forwarded from my old address telling me I owe them $50 for the battery jump and I have one week to pay or it goes to a collections agency. I explain to them that I missed my renewal and their letters due to a move and it was their fault they didn't remind me on the phone at the time of the battery jump, or I would have renewed right then. They didn't tell me I would be billed for the jump on the phone, and of course I never saw a bill. I offered to renew on the phone with the collections person today in return for having the $50 charge erased, but no dice.

So, I really don't want to suck it up and pay them the $50 because it's their fault and they wouldn't accept a very reasonable compromise (I offered to pay late fees on the renewal, whatever), but what kind of impact will it have on my credit if I don't pay? Is there a really good reason other than annoying phone calls not to let this go to collections? Should I try going through someone else at AAA first? I've read the previous AskMes on this, and answers range from "suck it up and pay" to "dispute it with your [State Bureau of Consumer whatever]" to "just ignore the phone calls from collections agents." What's best in this case, for my credit score and my sanity? I've read that even if I pay now, it might still show up on my credit report, and then I'm screwed over twice! I've never been late with any other bill or rent, ever, so I have good credit now (I checked and nothing bad showed up as of today). I'm in CA.