A Birmingham-based recruiter has warned that "spamming" could lead to trouble for both companies and job-seekers.

Joanne O'Neill, a divisional director at Katie Bard in Waterloo Street, part of the Angela Mortimer Group, claims a trend in unscrupulous agencies taking CVs off the internet and pushing them to companies without interview is undermining the industry.

Ms O'Neill said the problem had arisen in niche recruitment but was now spreading.

She said: "Most recruitment firms are reputable and do a good job for their clients but this is a trend which is growing and it is causing widespread concern.

"We, for example, spend a great deal of time and effort - and therefore money - inter-viewing and assessing candidates and matching them with job vacancies. That not only helps them but greatly increases the chances of producing a good match for the client. Job seekers often post their resumes on the net on different websites and we are finding that companies are just lifting them, and sending them straight for interview with clients with no level of assessment.

"This is not only unethical but also unprofessional and it is causing problems - and often heartache - for everybody involved in the equation."

Carol Stone, of Birmingham-based law firm Shakespeares and a member of trade body HR Legal, said the practice had grown rapidly in recent weeks.

She said: "The number of speculative CVs that appear in my mail box from agencies that I have never dealt with or heard of is on the increase. There have been times when interviews have taken place that it has become clear the candidate has never even met with the consultant. The relationship between consultants and clients is crucial because it is important that they know the business and can actually match the candidate with the nature of the business. It saves everybody time and inconvenience.

"It is simply money for old rope that they would look to charge us a fee of 14 to 15 per cent of the candidate's annual salary when they have simply lifted the CV off the internet."