This describes my experience exactly. When I worked at an ad-tech startup a few years ago we wasted so many hours dealing with SRED consultants, writing things up, writing specifications... flowery language. IMHO big company stuff when we needed to be writing code and iterating fast to produce product, instead.

And in many cases there are web development or design agencies claiming and getting SRED, achieved purely by hiring consultants who know how to spin things.