Employment agency asking for administrative fee

[mrbushido]

Hi all, so basically the story goes:

Early July 2020 - Applied for job on a job portal for a position posted by a recruitment firm. Went for interview. Subsequently got a verbal confirmation from recruiter, the same week as the interview, that the company intends to hire me, pending background check(credit rating, etc).

Early August 2020 - Got a call from the recruiter saying that the official letter from the employer is out and that he will be emailing me the offer terms and document for me to sign after the call.
After which, he sent me his agency application form, with a employment services agreement with this clause:
PERMANENT / CONTRACT (UNDER CLIENT PAYROLL) POSITION
Upon your being selected and offered a position with our client, you MUST notify ********* of the position, salary including allowance offered and the commencement date. Upon being issued letter
of appointment by our client, you must provide a copy (fax/email) to ****** for confirmation and our billing purpose.
You agree to be employed for a period of _______ months subject to a minimum of three (3) months (hereinafter referred to as the ‘minimum period’ ; or (b) you are terminated by your employer for
conduct inconsistent with the fulfilment of the express or implied conditions of your service within the ‘minimum period’; or (c) you have been continuously absent from work for more than two days
during the “minimum period’ without prior leave from your employer or without reasonable excuse or without informing or attempting to inform your employer of the excuse for such absence resulting
in your services deemed terminated, you shall be liable to pay us the sum equal to one hundred percent (100%) of your offered first month’s gross salary.
If you did not turn up for work or reject the job after confirming acceptance (either with ****** or client) of the job, including verbal acceptance, you shall pay to ****** an administration fee equal
to one hundred percent (100%) of your offered first month’s gross salary

The recruiter called me a second time that day and tried to persuade me that it's a must to a sign this clause as it helps me "secure the job". I then asked why it was an agency form and not a form from the employer itself.

He told me that will come when I start work in September. So basically, other than the interview, I have not had any point of contact with the employer. No letter of offer from them. The "offer" was basically an email from the recruiter telling me their client has offered me a position with the details.

I felt something was off and fishy, especially the no official offer letter and the "verbal agreement" portion but was pressured by him to sign the form, as I was keen to secure a job.

Fast forward to September, I have decided not to proceed with this position and now the agency has just emailed me asking me for one month's salary as a administrative fee,
"under the terms of our Employment Services Agreement, you shall be liable to compensate ******** an administration services fee equivalent to 1 month of your offered first month basic salary if you reject the job offer after confirming acceptance of the job (either with the client or ********).

And they ended off saying that if I do not pay up by the date specified, they will proceed with legal action and I will be liable for legal fees as well.

Anybody has similar experience and/or able to give advice?

what a scanner

Someone I know is going through something similar and been taken to small claims court.
Can we connect to discuss your experience?
[email protected]

Chris