Unclear and hidden charges. Wouldn’t pass consumer trading standards so why is it permitted in business to business?
We were sent a rate card with reasonable rates on, 50p cheaper than our current supplier of agency staff. The manager was excited and asked for cover. On being invoiced the rates were 69% more than the rate we thought we were quoted.
It transpired we were sent the staff pay rates, what the agency pay their staff. What we had to pay the agency was hidden in small text below the numerous tables of pay rates. Further to that the charges we were to pay were an endless list of %s. When we received the invoices and had a massive shock, we queried and were finally pointed to the small print.
The representative even had the good grace to work the percentages out on a nice clear table to aid our understanding of the rates. They did not do this when we enquired after their rates, and certainly did not do this in any of their advertising or contractual documentation.
We were informed that we had signed the terms and conditions (we hadn’t, we had signed a new account form that said the terms and conditions were attached, which they were not), and that they had acted in good faith. Good faith is transparency, and being transparent about charges to customers seems to me to be about the most basic of dealings that we should expect, in this instance it appears that the hiding of key terms and charge rates is purposely vague and difficult to unpick (requiring a table of sums for their representatives to send back to us when we queried their invoice amounts).
In an attempt to negotiate this position the company took an unsurprising stance that they would not negotiate. This only leaves our ability to provide others with our experience of dealing with such a company.
I know that the Company’s response will be “these are our terms and conditions and you signed them”, but important to note that such obfuscation of key terms would not be permitted in business to consumer trading, so in my opinion the only reason you would exploit the business to business lack of protection for trading standards would be because you are a) purposely trying to deceive, b) are purposely hiding something, c) are aware that you are exploiting lack of regulation to your gain and have no interest in building business relationships, d) all of the above.
I have asked the company to update their paperwork and rate documents provided to clients if this was not an intentional obfuscation, so it would be interesting to see if they do (albeit our organisation will not be aware of it as we shall never deal with them again).