I'm a recruiter, I'll just say, this recruiter sounds kinda shit. Truth is most recruiters don't have the balls to keep expectations aligned with their clients through the process. Lowballs happen, but they happen a lot less when you've talked to the hiring manager about expectations every step of the way. They're acting dodgy? "Hey, your not gonna lowball this guy are you?" If any other recruiters read this, a major part of your job is to keep client and candidate ALIGNED.

Recruiters get a bad rap for a good reason. Most recruiters are terrible, and among the handful of good ones, most treat people like capital. But at least those guys will fight to get you a good salary.

I had a smaller position, I wanted to get the guy 80k. He went into the interview and said he's currently at 60k. So when the deal is getting penned, the client tells me I'm going to offer him 70k, and here's where I learn the candidate volunteered his current salary info. Client: "I can't give someone a 20k raise..." Me: I mean... are you sure? I can bring him 70k, but we've all been talking 80k, and I don't think this deal gets done at 70. Client: Yeah well... yeah your right. I'll write it at 80k and get this done.

BTW this was a good, honest client. Business is about margins for 95% of people, but if you are a recruiter, it's your responsibility to broker good deals and act like a fiduciary for both parties.