When an agency underperforms, your rights depend on the contract you signed. Start by documenting the gap between what was promised and what was delivered, raise it in writing, and review your termination and exit clauses. You may have grounds to renegotiate or to leave for breach. A qualified attorney can tell you what your specific contract actually allows.
What counts as underperformance
Underperformance is not the same as a slow month. It is a sustained gap between the services the contract obligates and what the agency actually delivers: promised promotion that never happens, chat coverage that lapses, reporting you cannot get, or communication that goes silent. Disappointing results despite real effort are a business risk; failure to do the contracted work is a different matter. This guide is part of the working with agencies hub.
A bad month is a risk you accepted. Unfulfilled obligations are something your contract may let you act on.
- Step one: document the gap against the contract, with dates and evidence
- Step two: raise it in writing and ask for a specific, time bound fix
- Step three: if nothing changes, review your termination and breach clauses
- Step four: get professional advice on renegotiating or exiting
- Step five: act on your contractual rights, exit cleanly, and protect your accounts
Audit promised versus delivered
Before you raise anything, build the case on paper. List what the contract obligates, what you have actually received, and the evidence for each gap. This turns frustration into a record an agency, or a lawyer, has to take seriously. Lean on your contract clauses as the standard you are measuring against.
| Area | What was promised | What to gather as evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Promotion | Specific reach or posting activity | What actually ran, and when, versus the commitment |
| Chat or management | Coverage hours and response standards | Gaps in coverage, missed messages, fan complaints |
| Reporting | Regular, transparent results | Requests for reports and what you did or did not receive |
| Communication | Defined points of contact and responsiveness | Unanswered messages and timelines |
Raise it in writing, ask for a fix
Put your concerns in writing, reference the specific obligations, and request a concrete fix within a defined window. Writing matters for two reasons: it gives a willing agency a clear chance to correct course, and it builds the paper trail you will need if you have to escalate. Keep the tone professional; the goal is leverage, not a fight. The collaborative side is covered in working productively with your agency.
Review your exit and breach rights
Your leverage lives in the termination clause. Check the notice period, any cure period the agency gets to fix problems, and whether sustained failure to perform counts as a breach that lets you leave. Whether underperformance rises to a legal breach depends on the contract wording and your local law, so this is the point to get advice. The exit mechanics are in how to exit a bad agency contract, and the bigger decision in when to leave an agency.
- You have documented the gap against specific contract obligations
- You raised it in writing and gave a defined chance to fix it
- You have read your termination, notice, and any cure period clauses
- You know who controls your accounts and have secured your access
- You have taken professional advice on whether this is a breach
This guide is educational and not legal advice. Contract and consumer law differ by location, and only a qualified attorney can assess whether your agency has breached its agreement.
Considering a switch
If the relationship cannot be repaired, our agency help page covers how to evaluate alternatives and move on without losing momentum.
Find an agency- Your rights come from your contract, so read it before you act.
- Separate a bad month from a failure to do contracted work.
- Document the gap, raise it in writing, and ask for a time bound fix.
- Review your exit and breach clauses, and get professional advice before leaving.
More in this path: the working with agencies hub, when to leave an agency, and agency contracts: clauses that matter.