Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Running a Web Hosting Business : What to do about a non-paying Company?

[UltdNetworks]

Hello,

Recently we did some work for a company, did it professionally, quickly and efficiently. We were promised payment for our services like everyone else, the amount will not be disclosed. Anyways, we were promised payment the next day and it's been 3 days with 4-5 E-mails sent and no response. Company has not responded through our contact services via instant messenger.

However we were working on 2 of his dedicated servers and were given root to do our task. Now i'm asking what should I do. I was thinking of holding his server hostage (by only changing the root password). I do not plan to do anything malicious to the server or anything like it. All we like is to get our payment for our services which we HAVE COMPLETED.

The question here I guess is what should I do to get the message across. Should I go ahead with posting on here the real company name and ruin their reputation or hold their server hostage, or what course of action do you think I should take upon them. I do not want this to turn into anything big but I just want to be paid for my services. Thanks comments would be appreciated.

[modihost]

install a rootkit/backdoor on the server so if they chnage the root pass you can still get back in. lol

[UltdNetworks]

Like i said i dont want to be mischief or do any harm/damage to the server.

[modihost]

well not much you can do besides keep trying to contact them. i would wait a week and a half before i took any other action.

i hope a contract was involed in the whole transaction.

[blacknight]

If they don't pay you can simply name and shame... or take the server offline

[mpalamar]

I would check to see if it's legal to do any harm to his server. You probably would be held liable for any damage or downtime caused by your willful actions. Two wrongs do not make a right.

You best bet would be to send an invoice, send the bill to collections, file a civil suite for payment, or cancel your service contract with the client and restore the server to the original condition by removing only the changes you made for the client. If you can't restore the server to the it's original condition, I would choose one of the other options.

[UltdNetworks]

No, i do not own or operate nor is the server provided by any means through me. I was working with the server as a result of my services, no i will not be putting downtime or any such on his server. Most i'd do is change the root password, but doubt it will get me to far.

[Matt]

Nevermind, I misunderstood the relationship if the two parties.

[gbroiles]

Under NO circumstances should you take their server hostage, deny the customer access to their server, or interfere with their data or access in any way. That road leads to criminal charges against YOU. Best case, you get off without further trouble (or payment) and they end up paying someone else to recover root access and those guys get their future business, not you.

It's not uncommon in the wider business world for people to take 30-60 days to pay an invoice. Have you even sent them an invoice?

Did you agree on shorter payment terms, or a payment method? If this is a real business (where the bookkeeper isn't also the sysadmin, the CEO, the sales team, and the janitor) it may take a few days for your invoice to be entered into the accounting system, for the check to be printed & signed, and mailed. (and that's assuming this isn't one of those small businesses - and it's most of them - that needs to watch cash flow & runs checks when they've got funds to back them up.)

Getting antsy about payment when you're 3-4 days out seems ridiculous and is going to look incrediby unsympathetic and unprofessional if you need to tell a third party about this dispute.

Once you get 30 days past the agreed-upon payment time (and I think "net 30 days" is a reasonable expectation if nothing else was specified), then it's time to get a little interested - but that means a nice phone call/email to their a/p department, asking about your check. If that's not working, look for a collection agency, and pass this off to them - but expect it to cost you 10-50% of the invoice amount.

[Matt]

I just re-read his post and realized I misunderstood the relationship. I thought the servers were through him.

Knowing now that they are not, I agree with gbroiles, do not do anything to their servers.

I would be concerned however that you were promised the payment on a certain day. Did they say how it would be paid? Also, the fact that they are not responding is cause for concern. I don't think you should refer it out yet though, too early.

[UltdNetworks]

First off gb, the company is small. 1 person owns it and has about 30 or so customers. He's been constantly in touch with me till the day i finished and hasn't been contactable. This was suppose to be do done pay kind of deal. This was never a huge deal nor did i intend to making this a big deal. It was just a fast deal that I know he's hiding and not paying.

[gbroiles]

actually, I just read it again and missed the "promised the next day" part; I wonder who made the promise, and if they're in a position to carry through on it. (e.g., if you were talking to the tech contact, maybe they think you'll get paid the next day, but the accounting person says 'nope, we can't do that until we get some cash in the door').

In any event, this is part of the challenge of business - sometimes people pay slow (or not at all), and there's very little you can do about it, practically speaking. It's possible (but tricky) to get a lien against their property to help ensure payment - but if you're not working with amounts that include the word "thousand", it's not worth the trouble. Same thing for lawsuits.

You can tell them that if they don't honor this agreement, you won't be willing to work for them again, or that you'll need to be paid up front next time - which might work, or they might just find someone else who doesn't know about their slow-pay behavior for the next job.

[UltdNetworks]

True, i agree, like i said i'm not oging to do anything drastic to get a lawsuit against me. But the least i'm goign to do is make sure that if he doesn't pay, no one will work for him again. Piss me off when people dont pay. I know i dont have alot of choices at this point but eh.. I feel scammed

[Reality Hosting]

Was this dealing over the internet? I'm lead to believe so by what I've read so far.

Never provide work or completed designs to someone over the Internet until you have been paid. It's far too easy for them to walk off, leaving you unpaid.

[UltdNetworks]

No it's not design work, it was more services.