Web Developer Issues

[barry18]

In April I was given a quote for a project which was 173 hours. I agreed to it and they started in April. There was one person assigned to the project and in August 2011 I arranged a meeting with the developer and the owner of the business to discuss the length of time of it.
I was told on arrival that the developer no longer works there and to apologise about the length of time they would do certain number of issues currently wrong on the test server free of charge and the rest would be billed at. We went through a report which I had done outlining exactly what needed doing. The owner said he would do 23 issues free of charge in a 2 week timeframe if I would not take further action (which I agreed to). He also stated the other outstanding work I would be billed for. Between 18/4/11 and 12/8/11 182 hours had been done which I had paid for.
To this date only 6 issues have been resolved.
Before the developer left he did another 24 hours development time which I have been invoiced for. From looking at the progress report there has been work I have been billed for where there is nothing to show for. There has been no answer to any of these questions as of yet.

I have been told that no work will be started until this invoice has been paid. I have already paid 8.5 for the 182 hours already. The owner has also gone back on his word about doing the 23 issues free of charge by saying now he will give me 18 hours free when we both know the 23 issues will take more like 40-50 hours to do.

They have gone way over the original time quoted. This project has not been completed within what can be considered a reasonable interpretation of the original quote, nor has it been completed anywhere near to the original schedule, nor have they supplied a functioning website to my specification.

I would like to know everyone opinion and advice?

 

[fisicx]

Where is the delevoper? Are they UK based or do they outsource?

It seems unlikely that they are going to complete the project even if you do pay. Is there even a wireframe website you can use?

 

[barry18]

They are a UK company.

 

[ITsoldUK]

what type of website were you after?

you can find me on facebook "wisemans webdesign"

im trying to expand my portfolio and offering cheap websites with free .co.uk £100 setup and then £4.99 per month. dont pay until you are happy with your site

I think with the OP's experience, cost will not drive him into your hands I am afraid. He has been badly burned...in both cost and experience unfortunately. But I wish you luck as you develop your portfolio.

I would strongly suggest going with an established company with a track record he can research.

HTH

 

[fisicx]

They are a UK company.

That doesn't necessarily mean the developers are in the UK. Many UK companies will outsource to India or the Philippines. Experience has shown that the Indian developes are great a the sausage factory stuff but cannot deliver bespoke, which may we be why your isn't complete.

What exactly have they delivered so far? Do you have a functional website with feature missing or do you just have a set of layouts?

 

[sludgate2]

Did you sign any form of agreement with them ?
I personally would withdraw from the company and go else where.
I had similar issue with a company doing a web site for me 3 months on and nothink but bills ....I had signed a contract ...to which they did not follow so I issued them with a refund notice ....eventually i got the refund went else where to another company i had recommended and they are doing a fab job

 

[barry18]

I signed an agreement which inidicated 173 hours for the project. did you seek legal advise?

 

[barry18]

Hi I have a test server but I would say only 60-65% has been completeted. There are alot of features/issues which need fixing.

 

[sludgate2]

No I didnt seek legal advice I just emailed advising they had gone against the agreed documents (attched them),and attached an invoice to the value of the return.
I kindly requested a refund and gave them 14 days todo this and suggested if this is not adheared to then I will take the case to court.

They refunded on the 14th day and I imagine they did this as dodgey companies dont like publicity prevents them from realing in more innocent ppl.

You could goto your local CAB tho you will gain free legal advice there

 

[fisicx]

Hi I have a test server but I would say only 60-65% has been completeted. There are alot of features/issues which need fixing.

Can you get everything off the server?

It's very unlikely they will ever complete the project so all you can really do is export the site/database and find someone new.

 

[cmcp]

That doesn't necessarily mean the developers are in the UK. Many UK companies will outsource to India or the Philippines.

Nothing to do with the delivery with the project, the deliverables and agreement isn't with the staff it's with the UK company so they need to be picking up the pieces.

 

[fisicx]

Nothing to do with the delivery with the project, the deliverables and agreement isn't with the staff it's with the UK company so they need to be picking up the pieces.

I agree but if the UK company doesn't actually employ any developers and outsources to India (or wherever) then the coding just isn't going to get done. The OP can bang the table as hard as they like but the deliverables won't get delivered as there is nobody to do the delivering.

 

[cmcp]

What? You've got nothing to base that on. You're just making stuff up based on generalisations. Good logic!

 

[fisicx]

I'm not saying the coding has been outsourced overseas but this is typical on the many clients I've had over the years where sites are delivered that don't work or are incomplete. When we investigated the actual coding in all cases was carried out overseas. In every case it was the bespoke elements that caused the problems.

This may not be the case here but it seems very strange that the loss of a single developer from the company means that the project will not be competed. The demand for the invoice is a red herring.