Website build incomplete - Advice on Not paying the remaining cost

[JJWinst]

Hi Guys,

Looking for legalities surrounding me not agreeing to pay for a website build which went wrong.

I have paid 40% of the overall cost however work has now stopped as I am not happy with how it looks/functions.

The build was meant to take 14-18 weeks and it has taken 6 months to get to where I am up to today. I have asked for certain features which they have tried to charge extra for and I am overall dissatisfied with their service.

They have tried to say to me they believe the site is 80% complete so want another 40% payment to "release files" - I don't need any of the files I just want the domain name which they so kindly registered.

Can someone tell me where I stand in holding my ground not paying?

 

[ethical PR]

Depends what it says in the contract you signed.
I presume you have a paper trail outlining why you aren't happy with the look/functionality and why it doesn't meet the brief in terms of the design brief you agreed with the web designer and the technical brief in terms of the functionality.
You can also refer to your contract in terms of them being substantially late in terms of when it was agreed they would deliver on the site.

Write to them and explain why you feel it didn't meet the terms of your contract in terms of the design brief, technical brief and length of time it took to get to this stage.

I'm not quite sure why you allowed them to registered the domain name, but, if, as it seems you are indicating that you are not seeking to recover your deposit, it's worth trying to handle this situation as diplomatically as possible, however frustrated you might feel, in order to facilitate them signing this over to you.

 

[Cambridgeshire Website Design]

I have spoken to www.nominet.org.uk about this issue in the past and 100% you can get your domain name from your website design company. Nominet told me companies should always register in the clients name and if there is a dispute the company would lose.

 

[monaghan]

Refer your supplier to the 3rd point in section 2 of nominet.org.uk/become-registrar/registrar-agreement/good-practice-terms if you get no joy and you have some documentation to show that the domain was registered at your request, then Nominet are usually quite receptive to dealing with this sort of issue.

 

[forsteri]

A few years ago I had a similar issue with a firm authoring a DVD for me that did not match what I had asked for. They just kept on getting things wrong and after giving them much time and many chances to correct, I had to take the job elswhere to be done all over again.

After a few months of them refusing to discuss the issue and threatening legal action if I did not pay in full £1000 (and with-holding the master tape) Clare Kaudeur of Clarkmans Solicitors did a free assessment and then at a fixed fee (around £250 I think) got the firm to accept they were entirely in the wrong and to cancel their invoice, around £1000.

I had kept all my email correspondence so I could fairly easily refute all the lies they tried on about what I had said or asked for etc. I also had a brief technical report done by a retired video engineer expert, confirming the technical fault.

I have no connection with Clare Kaudeur but I would recommend her wholehartedly. I 'found' her on this forum. I didn't even need to visit their offices - it all was done via email.

 

[forsteri]

Here is the thread ID that tells more of the story with much more detail.
161999 (Can't seem to be allowed to post the actual URL itself, sorry)