Are Employment Agencies Getting Worse reducing pay?

[nobodys fool]

Only recently I had Reed look to pay me below the bottom of what they's quoted to get me to attend the interview for a job and then try to skim additional margin for paying me on Ltd Co. basis rather than PAYE.

 

Now I have Randstad who have decided they got the pay rate wrong on a job I started after signing a contract at that rate and they've looked to cut the rate by 20%

- they even attempted to backdate this and claim that I had to pay them back (something they've now backed down from).

- are insisting that they had the right to make such changes immediately and without agreement (even backdating for time worked prior to notification). Whilst there are contract terms allowing them to move me to other assignments or to terminate an assignment, they did not explicitly do so, despite being asked several times if they were going to do so (to which they did not respond),

 

It looks like I may need to go down the legal action route, although the amounts to gain are relatively small compared to the time and costs involved in pursuing such action.

In the meantime, I'm working under protest and looking for another job; I hate the fact that I'm making the agency money until then.

 

Any advice beyond avoiding dodgy agencies and consultants appreciated.