The following letter highlights the problem:

"I recently posted a job vacancy on freelancers.net, looking for a developer to help develop an online business gift website. I was deluged with replies (300 at a conservative estimate) which, as I expected, varied in seriousness from well up to scratch to downright laughable. After I’d spent a few gruelling days reading through all the replies and eventually contacting a developer who seemed ideal, then briefing him and requesting a formal quote, the guy disappeared as work was about to begin!"

Another problem is that many freelancers are far too over-zealous on the follow-up approach and can cause considerable nuisance to the very people they rely on:

"I have already had a couple of bad experiences from it (contractedwork.com) and have had to change the email address I was using. The quality of the bids I received varied from the outstanding to the outrageous. You would not believe the number of bids I have received from companies that supply URL’s that lead to 404’s or – even worse – someone else’s work".

The same client goes on to explain how he has managed to pick-up four “stalkers” who “haunt my every move on MSN Messenger” as he made the mistake of giving away his Hotmail ID and now can’t shake them.

The Quantos Consultancy does not use freelance sites or recommend them to clients. The Quantos approach is always based on developing long-term relations with clients where we can really get to understand their business and provide long-term advice and services tailored to requirements.

Individual freelancers can be great but clients always run the risk that the freelancer is not actually available when you need them or that their specialist area of expertise isn’t the best one for the task at hand. Of course you could always try and find another freelancer but Quantos solves that problem by providing a ready-made network of professional specialists that are fully vetted and integrated into a seamless whole via the quantos.co.uk website. In fact this is an understatement as the Quantos network is a closed, members-only network of like-minded and paid-up professionals who can only join after a lengthy pre-selection, interview and approval process.

If you’re a client looking for a particular skill-set that you can’t quickly locate, let us know what it is and we can look via our own contact network for you - and see if we can integrate a new specialist into our network for you.

Alternatively, if you’re an existing freelancer or consultant with more than 5 years professional experience in a specialised skill or sector not already covered on the website and you would like to consider joining The Quantos Consultancy – avoiding the pitfalls highlighted above - please call Colin Hiom on 07958 695444 or email opportunities@quantos.co.uk. and we’ll see if we can create an opportunity for you.