Nanny agencies- do you just choose one or multiple?

[Missmidden]

I am just embarking on the search for a nanny for the first time and intend to use an agency. I have spoken to two and they both sound good and have comparable fees but am not sure if I have to choose one or can use both.

The main thing I am unclear on is what would happen if the nanny we employ was registered with both- which agency would we end up paying? (That is assuming that local nannies looking for work would register with more than one agency, but I have no idea if that is the case)

Any thoughts gratefully received, please, before I sign any agreements with the agencies.

You can use as many agencies as you like but perhaps 1 or 2 is better and the agency who introduces you to nanny is the one you pay

Yep the first agency to send you the nannies details so introduces them to you is the one you pay. May be worth joining a couple as round here there is one main agency (among many) who seem to get all the jobs but some nannies don't like dealing with that agency but will happily deal with one of the next biggest in the area, so if they see you job with both some nannies may only go for it with agency b but if you only advertise with agency a you may lose out on some great nannies.

Hope that makes sense, that's what I advised my current family to do when looking for my replacement and they found someone through agency b who the jobs fits perfectly but who would not of applied if through agency a.

Thanks for your responses. I shall go with both then, as I hadn't considered the scenario you describe, eeyore, but it makes a lot of sense.