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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    6,990

    Client refused to Pay

    Got a dear clients whose previous 2 web admin ran off. The domain registration passwords at their hands. Now prob is they asked us to hand over the domain registration passwords which we dun have, as we are not the admin contact. Admin contacts are the previous 2 admins. Making use of this they refuse to pay us and said we are in breach of trust etc and so on and so forth. Can I sue such idiots?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Posts
    390
    Sue them for what? Don't you require them to pay in advance?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    6,990
    Yeap and no, they cliam that their admin guys are gone they are having prob with their accounts, therefore let them delay : (

  4. #4
    Give them a specific time frame, say one week. At the end of that if they haven't paid cut them off.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Duluth MN
    Posts
    3,863
    Technically, you are not responsible for the relationship between them (the paying customer) and whomever they allow access to their account (the admins). You have it within your full right to suspend the account for non payment, or you can be a nice host and gain the trust of your customer by helping them out. However, don't be too nice. Charge an interest fee, or bill them for the extra time you spend helping them get ahold of their domain again.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    96
    Correct. Its not your problem.

    How much money are we talking about?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Posts
    599
    Use some creative persuasion, like

    http://www.pixd.com/godkitten.gif

    Jokin, Jokin. I should put that in my client area though... haha

  8. #8
    Originally posted by interneat
    Use some creative persuasion, like

    http://www.pixd.com/godkitten.gif

    Jokin, Jokin. I should put that in my client area though... haha
    That is so wrong.

    Anyway, I can see it from their side because if they can't access things they need for the site, I can understand them not wanting to pay. However, if you're not getting paid, you aren't responsible for providing a service.

    I would just let them know that you are not in control of the domain name and do not have information to access it. Only the domain admin contact can do so, but tell them that if they can get it transferred you'd be happy to host them or you can register a new domain for them under their name and continue to host them.

    Otherwise, it's time to pull the plug.
    www.square-network.com www.squarenetwork.com
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Posts
    75
    Am assuming the domain name registrations were done by their 2 admin guys, and not 2 of yours who are no longer with you...

    Advise them you are their webhost, and their domain name was not registered with you; as such, you are in no position to help them. That your fees are due, and if payment is not received in a resonable period of time (say, 2 weeks), you'll be taking down their site.

    Direct them to an example of a page that you'll be putting in place of their site, a nice big page that says "XYZ.COM has been suspended due to non payment for hosting services", with an email and phone number for them to contact you.

    Could further advise them they need to chase down, and if necessarry seek legal recourse from their previous admin blokes to recover the domain name - assuming it's important to them. As it is right now, they most probably will lose it if it isn't renewed when the registration expires...
    Last edited by slowmail; 04-13-2004 at 06:33 AM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    6,990
    I am the one who do the registration, but normally once we do the registration, we send to the company admin guys the domain userid and passwords we dun keep for obvious reasons. I am their web host. Registration with Opensrs u need to fax the owner info etc to change the admin contact, then send the passwords, already told them long time ago and repeatedly. They still owe about US$1k and send me about 10 emails of insults 2day. Hard to sue, they are not in Singapore, legal fees more than that easily. Have shut down all their sites. Hosting owed since Dec 03. Is there anyway I can get Opensrs to freeze the domains that was still not paid for?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    6,990
    I persuaded the previous admin to give them whatever they can, they transfer all these domains out to a USA host. Whatever they cant get out remain, which I have shut down. They claim they wanted ftp passwords I refuse to give. And that if I have given they would have paid. In fact I did send them the passwords, it was about a month later after their demand for passwords that they said I did not send (that was when I chase for payment again). I mean they owe the money for a long time beyond the hosting period. They are paying for the previous cycle, I had to give in to their demands again and again to get the money bit by bit, thank goodness it is left US$1k but I really feel fedup of these clients.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Posts
    75
    Wow... for USD$200 per month, sounds like they're buying a mighty lot of hosting from you. I guess with that kind of $ involved, you'd most certainly have tried your best to help them.

    Ever so now and then, you'll meet a client thats more work than they're worth, and you're better off letting them go...

    I use enom for my domain name registrations, and am not exactly familar with how OpenSRS works. They probably just wanted their ftp passwords so they can move their data to another host - on one hand, it wasn't altogether unreasonable for you to hold onto it, but on the other, you did allow them to stay on for as long as you did... It could have been an amicable parting if you just allowed them to get everything of theirs, and to move on.

    But I'm skeptical on your claim that their domain registrations have not been paid for; I'd assume that was one of the first things they did pay for right from the start, and it's webhosting fees that are due.

    My impression? Either you're a host who doesn't have his act together, or are overwhemled by the number of customers you have - and that you really should hire more staff...

    Good luck!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    6,990
    Prob is I am quite lax about payments, trying to get my acts together : ( They paid US$40 for about 80 domains not US$200/mth.....have given them whatever I can, ftp passwords etc except domain passwords which i dun have. They have probs with their previous previous admin and the previous admin. How do they expect me to get something they failed to get from their own employees?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ellesmere Port, Wirral, UK
    Posts
    1,540
    Give them 30mins access to their files for half of what they owe you, for the full amount back it up and put on a public ftp.
    BTi-Hosting.co.uk High quality hosting, low low prices.
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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    93
    Customer is just ignorant about Internet services. It's complex for those not in the field. They probably think your not doing your job even though you are. I suggest apologizing for there troubles but explaining that person x,y,z in there corporation is who they need to contact for the domain.

    If they agree to settle a certain amount with you then you should offer to burn the site on a CD and ship it to them, or even e-mail them a big zip file if the site is small.

    Just an FYI about ignorance in technology. I used to provide computer tech services. Installed a simple application. Client then complained computer was freezing and wanted me to come and fix it for free. Which is resonable if I screwed it up but when I asked how long the computer had been freezing they said around 3 months. Well before I ever touched it! They could not understand why I would touch the computer and it would not be working perfectly in every way (even though they never informed me of that problem). Bottom line is the customer was not trying to take advantage of me they were just extreamly confused and uninformed when it comes to computers in general. So I did my best to apologize for whats not my fault but had to be firm in explaining that the two services (software installation of QuickBooks) and a computer OS or hardware malfunction that causes freezing is a seperate issue and would have to be billed seperately if I were to look into the causes.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    407
    I would be as nice as possible and say you feel for them and that sucks and all that and then nicely end it with a statement saying that due to the cost of the bandwidth and space they are using you will be force to shut down all their sites if you do not pay in 7 days.
    Alvin

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    6,990
    Quite true, but I write enuff to explain to them in layman terms to fill up a book, my last email is Good Luck with your New Host.....

    Guess it is their New Host that needs luck : )

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