Ok, as i was starting my hosting company a few months back i was having a few technical problems as i got those all worked out this guy says in private message that he lost his host today and he asked me to host him

he said you have full server all to yourself and nowhere near full so it wont hurt and i can only afford 40 USD a month but i need 100 gigs of traffic and 700 megs storage so me being the nicer as i try to be in most things such as mirror files for urbanterror.net and the6thfloor.com etc...

so he asks me to start up his hosting that paypal costs to much for over seas then he said they did'nt take his CC number and then he did'nt know about western union but he does now.

and so he sends out a money order or cash one supposedly to me.

but either way its been 1 1/2 month later and i just suspened his account and he pmed me on icq and is all furious at me, but comes to find out he got a server and said he only needed 2 more days for dns to resolve and he needed to get his files from my server.

so should
a.) i turn back on his account and get cheated the money i earned at dirt cheap price. and he take his files and run to his server and never turn back to say thanks or anything.

b.) keep his account suspended until i recieve the money ; or he western union the money.

He tried to put a guilt trip on me so i want to know you guys opinions on what i did was right or wrong.

Zac Holley

Extend courtesy only to your best customers.
If you know you have a bad client, you're wasting your time trying to please him.

he owes you money

1 1/2 months later dont give him his files until u have payment

and if he says he sent a money order ask for the western union # and call western union

they can track and see if there is one

dont give him anymore until he gives you the money

if hes leaving already and needs 2 days for dns to change did he tell u that no

hes F*****g you over and id wait till u got money

thanks for the advise

i will show him this thread to see I am not the only one who thinks this way.

Obviously you are angry and have a right to be. However, you really need to direct your anger toward yourself and toward steps to prevent this in the future. You need policies clearly defined in your TOS or Contract for services.

As to this particular customer at this point:

The odds of you ever seeing a penny are extremely slim.

You probably have no contractural agreement as to what you can or can not do in this situation unless you have an agreed upon TOS or contract. However, the reality is you can probably get by doing whatever you want due to locations and jurisdictions. However, all you can get out of holding files is revenge and you have to decide if thats really worth it.

Even bad customers can influence potentially good ones with accusations and charges however false. If you had a chance to get paid, it would be one thing. However, given this situation, I would just zip and send his files to him.

Yes, he is "getting one over on you." However, you are remaining honorable and decent even in the worst situation. And, you have learned a valuable lesson, which will lead you to not make this mistake again where the costs could be even greater.

when he ask for 100 gig of bandiwdth i would have turn him away , not too many site need 100 gig of bandwidth

I'll give someone the benefit of the doubt on a $3.95 a month plan, heck it's $3.95 ya know?

But something like this? Cash upfront baby.

Kick yourself in the tail first, then tell him "cash on delivery" or rather "delivery on cash" :D You owe him nothing and next to nothing.

ya dixie its a site about a TV show and has like 2-6 gigs a day all totalling 100-110 gigs a month

and he says he spent 10K on advertising but begged me to host him and I did so i told him to western Union me the money and i would turn back on his account

he said i send money order its the anthrax problem why your company loses mail so i said goto western union then and send the money its instant and he said i can't afford 25 dollars and that would be 160 dollars for 45 days of hosting i said well considering you have done about 150 gigs thats a really fair deal and yet he is furious at me

Originally posted by ************
and he says he spent 10K on advertising but begged me to host him and I did so i told him to western Union me the money and i would turn back on his account


$10,000 Advertising Budget
$40 Hosting Budget

No comment

was I right or wrong?

You were wrong. You should never have set up his account before seeing payment. Continuing to host him for 45 days without seeing a penny is just absurd.

As far as shutting down his account goes, that was right. But it came 45 days too late.

cperciva : believe me i have learned a lesson from this. All the promises that it should be there in days etc.. i knew this site is important due to all the traffic it got.

but gets a point where you just lose trust in somone after not seeing mail in 6 weeks.

I have to tell you because a previus bad experience.
Do not give him anything before he pay

I'm still waiting $900 from a customer

I would keep the account suspened until the funds arrive.... you have been nice enough to keep the account open for this long.

Originally posted by ************
he said i send money order its the anthrax problem why your company loses mail

One month+ is absolutely ridculous for that. Though is it a physical cheque you're recieveing? If not, I see no reason anthrax issues should hold up an electronic transfer.

I smell something funny.

I'd say his a host hopper and most probably going to do it to this other place his moving to now...

I suggest you DO NOT him him/her! Your server will be as slow as hell and it';ll suck up HEPAS of bandwidth better used for other customers.

PS: Do you have anything to do with coolfreeforums.com?

I have just one thing to say:

"You agree that we are not obligated to release any of your property, including without limitation, information and other material stored on our computer hardware or on our network, until you have paid all amounts due us hereunder. You further agree that we, at our sole election, are granted a lien on your property in our possession and have the unrestricted right, but are not obligated, to sell such property to satisfy any amounts due us hereunder and that you will continue to be obligated to pay any balance not satisfied by such sale, if any. You also agree to obide by the provisions outlined in our 'Billing Policies'."

If you let him in he will most likely RUN with the money he owes you. But if you keep him away from his account till he pays you have a better chance of seeing your money.

I'm willing to bet if you give him access now you will never see you money. :D

well you tried to be nice, and he took advantage................just tell him that your server crashed and the files are gone.........and tell him that if he wants em back he is gonna have to pay the $1000 fee for a backup.......................................and if you know where is he going next it is probably a good idea to warn the host.........

good luck

ugh ... sorry to hear this.

This is why I don't create any accounts till their credit card has been processed ( and since I process them myself, thats easy ;) ). One reason why I decided not to go w/ a automatic account creation.

Truly sorry to hear this - don't turn his account back on until he pays - tell him that western union has nothing to do with the anthrax letter problem also - simply tell him money now.

plus, from running fan sites before - you don't spend 10000 on advertisements - if his fansite was that big, he'd be a member of like doubleclick and he'd get advertising through them for much cheaper than 10000

I must agree with the general thought here. He screwed you and what would you gain in helping him out anyway? Like most good webmasters he should've had a backup of almost everything anyways.

Hmmm, you know this thread is 5 weeks old?

Originally posted by NexDog
Hmmm, you know this thread is 5 weeks old?

I Love it when old threads get resurrect. :D

Me too. :rolleyes:

I think the record is a 5 month old thread risen from the ashes.........

I've seen much older ones on here ressurected.

Threads should be automatically locked after a month or something.

Originally posted by bitserve

Threads should be automatically locked after a month or something.

How about after a month of inactivity? Err...maybe I should make this suggestion in the suggestion forum :D.