I am not being paid - what do I do?

[PurpleBA]

Invoice payments are three weeks behind and I have been told that funds have not been released from the client and no date as to when when payments will be made. Client says issue is with the agency they send the money to, and then the agency dishes it out to in my case, a payroll company who then pay me.
Midway through the contract I was moved from the agency (where I was on weekly invoicing with payment the following week) over to a payroll company (which is weekly invoicing with payment 5 weeks later). New contracts were signed but I never received a declaration to opt out of the agency regulations. By default I assume I am opted in so does this mean they, the 'payroll agency' cannot withhold payments because they are waiting on funds from the client?
Is there anything I can do to shimmy payments along or is it a case of suck it up and wait to get paid?
Appreciate any advice and if you need to know more please ask.

[Lance]

you need to read, carefully, everything you have signed up for. That will tell you when you should get paid. If that doesn't match what's happening take it up directly with them.
It's too early to start any debt collection or dunning, but if you know what you should be getting and chase them forcefully you stand a better chance.

[northernladuk]

Find out exactly who is making commission for you being on site. Keep phoning them and escalate until you get an answer..

If that fails tell them at a certain date you are going to stop coming in. They may feel they can ignore you while they are earning their commission but they will take notice when there is the possibility their money will dry up.

If they don't pay by that date you apologise to the client and stop coming in until its sorted.

Whatever you do, do not try and sort it by email!

[GhostofTarbera]

Payroll agency won’t pay you until they get paid - end off - read your contract, this will be in bold

[jk3838]

I once, ended up on a gig where agent wanted to pull me out as (small company) client not paid them for 2 weeks.

Client said, we're six weeks off getting paid from his end client, and if I go before the job is complete, they might not get paid at all, so I agreed to work the six weeks 'working direct'. Eight weeks later, job done, completed two weeks before, still not paid anything so left, but money would be forwarded once my client got it

Took me six months to get the money (and only by going to the clients home address every week and collecting cheques that bounced half the time)

I had this a second time, didn't get paid, client blaming agent, agent blaming client and due to the above, no patience for working without pay on time.

When it got into second week, I told the client ''really sorry, but agent not paying me and I'm not prepared to go any further into a second week 'working at risk' and so am leaving site right now but happy to return when it's sorted''

Rang the agent on way out to say ''I'm just leaving site, your job to sort it out with client on my behalf, happy to return with immediate effect as soon as it's sorted''

By the time I got home agent called to say it had been sorted, and by the time I'd had a coffee, money had been transferred

Drove back to work and told both parties I was booking the off site time

[simes]

Great story.

Right way to do it in my opinion, irrespective of who knows whom and the relationships involved.

Clarity can have a way of cutting through the fluffiness. Well done.