Claiming work experience as a contractor-- is it worth the hassle?

[northern sunshine]

I have about 3 years of work experience. For my first year, I was interviewed by Company B, but due to head count restrictions, Company B hired me as a contractor through Company A. Later, Company B hired me on as a full-time employee, and I've been working for them since then.

My only contact at Company A was my HR manager. I have several pay stubs, the original employment contract, the original job listing (with job responsibilities), and tax records all showing that I was hired and paid by Company A, but I do not have faith that I'll be able to get a letter of experience from my manager, as she was never particularly cooperative. I've already reached out to her via email so at least I have a record that I tried to get a letter, but the last contact I had with her was 2 years ago, so things may have changed since then.

I've been with Company B as a full-time employee for more than 2 years now, and I qualify for FSW with or without my experience through Company A, as the points awarded for 2 and 3 years of experience appear to be the same. For CRS, I should score 456 without including the year I worked as a contractor, and 481 points with it.

Here are my questions:

1. When I list my employment history in my profile, do I list myself as working for Company A for 1 year and Company B for 2 years, or as working for Company B for 3 years in two different positions? I believe the former is correct, but I wanted to ask.
2. If I can't get a letter from my former manager, can I use what I have (see paragraph 2) along with a letter of explanation to validate my work experience with Company A?
3. Is it even worth going through the hassle of proving my experience with Company A for an extra 25 points (456->481)?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[bellaluna]

The last draw was at 444, so maybe not.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...ntry/become-candidate/rounds-invitations.html