Poor Agency Rates! (Name & Shame Section!)

[James McLauchlan]

Of late there is a plethora of purported ROV agencies having popped upon the scene that seemingly think there is a quick buck to be made off the back of the ROV industry. The rates on offer are often abysmal by industry standards.

As the ROV Industry is unregulated there is very little in the way of preventing this scenario from continuing.

We are hearing of rates less than they were 5 years ago. Should you be offered a less than reasonable rate for a job feel free to add the name of the agency, what was on offer, position. location etc.

In addition (often) personnel are asked not to discuss the rates with others. This only suits those paying the rates and not those receiving them.
So, by way of addressing this inequality, feel free to post what you know in this thread.

Something along the lines of:

Agency: ABC Agency
Office based at: Town/Country
Work Location: Where in the world
Position: ROV Sup.
Rate: USD/GBP/Euro per day.

Add or adjust the above accordingly to suite the job/worksite.

To give this thread some credibility try to stick to the facts. Also, freely discuss any posted rates.

Strict rules:

• Naming of company = OK (post will remain live)
• Naming of individual persons = NOT OK (such posts will be deleted/edited by admin)

[Andy Shiers]

Like it ! 😈

[rov_er]

Job offer received on 26 June by email

Agency: InDepth-International
Office based at: Guildford/UK
Work Location: UAE
Position: ROV SPV
Rate: USD 720/day.

[liddelljohn]

As some memebers on here already know i personally have had a major issue with well known UK agency and an Umbrella company and a completely botched contract ,,,,, I may end up several thousand pounds out of pocket ,,due to others incompetence at the very least, it might be illegal and a breach od contract law , I will know by late next week if I have to resort to law to sort out the problem …. The contract was a Norway Job from may ,

To be fair the agency concerned is playing ball as they admit they got it all wrong and they probably dont want to be dragged through the mud or courts and are prepared to make up any losses ! but the umbrella company so far is not co-operating …….until they do the agancy and me cant close the matter .

I have also to report another agency has been exemplary in their handling of another Norway job completed this week , rate for job was great and tax situation was handled well and payment was within 48hrs of end of job , so some of the agencies are up to the mark .

[liddelljohn]

Rov_er that agency are being silly as That contrcat will pay $800 per day for sea eye supervisors ,,,,and may people know it .

its for NPCC ,,,

[rov_er]

So why not mentioning the Agency name Liddelljohn?
I think it would help others to know which agencies are doing bad or good.

[K2]

LiddellJohn

Have you checked your contract? It is the norm (with agencies I have used in the past) for them to pay all salary and expenses then claim it from their client. If the client does not pay then it is up to the agency to deal with it not you. In fact, it is nothing to do with you since your contract is with the agency. This protection is one major reason guys like us use agencies in the first place.

You should put this agency’s name here for sure. Guys have bills to pay, families to look after so to go offshore under the impression they are being looked after by an agency then to suffer loss of earnings is a major issue.

I had similar with one UK agency until I pointed out their contract that they wrote and we’d both signed. They paid soon after. Do not mess around where money is concerned. This is the reason we endure all this offshore BS in the first place.

WTF is it with agencies these days? So much has changed over recent years. Gone are the days of happy loyal contractors and good agencies. All I hear about now is how agencies are screwing contractors over.

Stay safe

😉

[liddelljohn]

K2

yes my contract clearly states day rate , travel day is say rate and all expenses ,food ,taxi s etc covered ,and clients will and have paid all , (I checked with Them), and signed by Agency directors , and as far a i am concerned that is the contract i worked for ,,

but Umbrella company and agency both botched the Noggy tax and also the umbrella company issued a new contract at a lesser rate !!!!!!also they both misinterpreted the new HMRC directives ,regards to an expat ,they tried to charge me the wrong noggy tax rate and also added UK taxes ,,,even though I have certified tax status in Thailand and a Noggy tax number and certificate from Norways tax office .The Noggy tax office has been helpful by the way with clear concise info on my behalf .There wer other issues with the way the contract evolved after I was onboard ,all in all a cluster fuck , and i have been contracting since 1984 in telecomms and other industries befor ROV and i thought i had seen all the screwups and scams .

from conversations I have had with both parties this afternoon (Friday ) it looks as If I have won the battle to get what i consider i am owed ,,,i have given both companies a severe reaming and the Clients i did the job for are also not amused either they like getting feedback on poor agency performance .

probably after the weekend things will be clearer .

[T-Boy]

It is the norm (with agencies I have used in the past) for them to pay all salary and expenses then claim it from their client. If the client does not pay then it is up to the agency to deal with it not you. In fact, it is nothing to do with you since your contract is with the agency. This protection is one major reason guys like us use agencies in the first place.

Unfortunately NOT the norm.

Global Energy/Marris do not pay their contractors expenses until they have received them from their client. BEWARE, when the client is Saipem, this could up to 3 months later!!!

[James McLauchlan]

I’ve just been dealt a suprise on expenses.

Orion Engineering (Agency – UK based) have just advised that it is their ‘policy’ not to pay VAT on expenses. I’m chasing it up as this is the first time I have ever experienced that!

VAT is nothing other than sales tax. Does that mean they would also not pay the sales tax element incurred in other parts of the world!

If I pay for something in full (including VAT) and it is a valid expense then it should be re-embursed in full IMHO!

It’s not a lot of money, but the principle needs tackling. I will take it up with them for sure.

[Deepanshu]

Agency: Subnet services
Office based at: UK
Work Location: Don’t Know
Position: ROV Sup.
Rate: 700$

[Etienne Demers]

Agency: Atlas
Office based at: UK
Work Location: Malaysia
Position: work class ROV Sup.
Rate: 900USD

Although some can argue it is a good rate. It is lower than going direct for the employer. Normal rate in Asia for locals should be circa 1000USD.

[Etienne Demers]

Orion Engineering (Agency – UK based) have just advised that it is their ‘policy’ not to pay VAT on expenses. I’m chasing it up as this is the first time I have ever experienced that!

This makes no sense whatsoever. I am sure they only informed you of this after you submitted the expenses right?

Thanks for the warning.

Agencies like that should not be allowed to operate.

[James McLauchlan]

Orion Engineering (Agency – UK based) have just advised that it is their ‘policy’ not to pay VAT on expenses. I’m chasing it up as this is the first time I have ever experienced that!

This makes no sense whatsoever. I am sure they only informed you of this after you submitted the expenses right?

Thanks for the warning.

Agencies like that should not be allowed to operate.

Yes it did happen after the event. Although it seems they have been doing this for some time (in the UK), it’s just that I haven’t been working through them for long. Many on here might not have heard of Orion (from an ROV perspective) but they are a large well established global employment agency. Not going to disappear in a hurry that’s for sure.

For many years in this industry I’ve always had expenses paid in full. There was never any discussion about sales tax being deducted!

Once I get better feedback I’ll respond.

[liddelljohn]

Orion are VAT registered and expenses are a legitimate charge which they have to pay out to you the contractor in full including any VAT which they can legitmately claim from the client for your services , thats the legal situation and orion are idiots ,,they can also get VAT refunds for expenses ,its not rocket science

They had a very bad reputation in the 1990s when i work in the telecoms sector . doesnt seem to have changed much

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