&gt;&gt; Contract tech workers sometimes believe agencies insulate them from a defaulting client.<p>This is true.<p>In one of my last contracts I was working alongside a guy who was contracting for them directly. He eventually walked out when they failed to pay (again!)<p>Agents are scum, but as someone that doesn&#x27;t have a vast network (most of the people I&#x27;ve worked with are still in the same perm position years or even decades later), and who doesn&#x27;t live in London, I&#x27;m afraid I don&#x27;t see that I&#x27;m going to be able to live without them any time soon.<p>Instead I&#x27;m actually trying to build relationships with the agents I have worked with that have found me appropriate work and who haven&#x27;t f*cked up in any way. They are few and far between, but they do exist.