cudedesign

Thanks for the response. To clarify I am not taking the design agency to court to reclaim my 50% deposit, they want to take me to court for the remaining 50% which would be due once the work is completed.

Hi, I run a web design agency and we recently outsourced some design work to another agency. To start work I paid 50% of the total fee. It was a relatively straight forward job but it seemed to drag on a lot longer than expected. Several times I made it known I was not 100% convinced by the process or work. After 4 weeks and very little work being done I requested we cancel the job and receive a partial refund. The design agency refused and I had no choice to persevere with the process. Three days before the deadline we began to receive the work however items were missing and not done correctly. 9 days after the deadline and receiving amendments which were still not 100% correct I decided to cancel the job. I will not be using any of the work. I have explained my issues with the work and pointed out why the job is incomplete. The agency are now threatening legal action if I do not pay. There is no contract and I will not be using the work. I have tried to negotiate and reason with them but I have had no joy. How should I move forwards? Anyone else been in a similar position? How would this be handled in court as I am unhappy with the quality of work. All advice welcome! Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the reply. The website is complete and we are signing off today and this system has only been mentioned yesterday so I have made it clear there will be a charge. Any one know a rough ball park figure for such work or someone competent to do it?

Hi Guys, We are just finishing up a Prestashop website when our client has asked how they will be managing stock control other than using Prestashop's normal system. They have now signed up to use Epos Now HQ, anyone have any ideas how/if this can be integrated? Or what is the purpose of it? We have never spoken about this integration however the company have sold it to our client and has told them we will know what to do with it.

Quick update: Have not been able to get hold of the client however their solicitor has agreed to that they will be paying £100 p/w until the total amount has been cleared. First payment to be paid on Monday so fingers crossed!

Thanks Fuzzy. I have written to them now stating I can charge them a late payment fee etc and have now suspended the account. I am the client will now get in touch. The client seems to think they can take me to court for loss of earnings while the website is down which I think is ridiculous.

Hello, Thanks for the responses, I was away last week and thought I was getting somewhere with the client. The deadline to make payment was 5pm 21st October and at 4pm I received an email stating that they believe I am owed £100 but as a good will gesture would pay £400. - They also tried telling me they had made a payment earlier on in the year but having requested a date to check they are unable to tell me. Again they cannot provide a reason why they will not pay the outstanding amount. On the 22nd I spoke to the accountant and he asked what figure would I be happy to settle at and I offered two options: Option One: 50% payment and they gain access to their website etc. Once the remaining 50% is paid they will gain access to their second website. Option Two: £100 reduction from the total fee if the total amount is paid immediately. Having spoken to the account 3 times since then he has been unable to speak with the client but says he is aware of the offer I have made. I really don't want to suspend the website but have been left with no choice when they seem incapable of communicating.

Thanks for the advice! The account was originally suspended and we then agreed 50% and the website would go live while we discuss the remaining 50%. We traded a few emails where they demanded access details but would not tell me why they would not pay the remaining amount. Last Tuesday I gave them 7 days to provide a valid reason or pay, if they do not pay I said their account would be suspended again.

Thanks again, really good advice. I gave them 7 days to resolve the matter last Tuesday so if they still don't make a payment I shall be left with no other choice to suspend their account.

So far they have not provided a reason why they are witholding payment, I have asked them nearly 10 times now. After paying 50% they requested information regarding SEO for two months which we sent straight away. They now say they want me to go to their office to explain what it all means. I have asked them to email any questions and I can explain but their answer is always the same 'we need a meeting, tell me when you will be in'. Basically he is pissed off he is not in control of this situation. From our conversation on Friday it is clear he just wants to meet me and have a go, I had to end the phone call as he become abusive.

That is a very good analogy! What is a suitable amount to charge for interest? Do you charge a % per month? Thanks for your very good advice!

Thanks for your replies. I am pretty ok with going to court etc however my concern is what steps I take from here. The website has been fully paid for however the client owes money for the SEO work which we carried out. Am I in my right to refuse them access to the backend of the website? As they are refusing to pay me am I in my right to suspend their account? Currently they owe for 2 months SEO on their website and they have not paid for their domain name.

Thank you for your good advice. I am of the same thought that I should not give them any access till their account is cleared. Should I still suspend their account and put their websites offline? I really do not believe a meeting will solve this matter. Firstly it will cost me £££ to get there, secondly he only wants a meeting because he is pissed off that he is in this situation. I have asked multiple times: why is the payment being withheld (no answer) and what is the subject matter of the meeting (to explain what SEO work had been carried).

Hi Guys, I did post this is a different area of the forum but I think this is a more appropriate place. I am currently having an issue with a client in which we are owed for several different jobs. As it stands we are owed for business card design, 2 months SEO, domain renewal and 34% of a final fee for a project. We have sent plenty of reminders and were promised 50% of the payment about 5 times but never received it. I became suspicious when the client had their IT guy ask me what we had access too, then he told me they were moving offices and finally said he had trouble paying because they had been knocked on a job. After waiting 2/3 months we notified them that their account would be suspended.....still no response. As a last resort we suspended their account. Once the client realised their website had been suspended he accused us of blackmail. -------------------------------------------------------- After a few days I suggested that they make a payment of 50%, we would reactivated the account and we can discuss the remaining 50%. They agreed and that part went smoothly. -------------------------------------------------------- Currently they want access to the backend of their website (which they have paid for but owe us for the 2 months SEO), access to the domain name (part of the outstanding invoice). Of course once they have access they will move the website and knock me for the remaining amount. I have informed them that we cannot give them access till we have come to an agreement. -------------------------------------------------------- 2 weeks later they still have not provided me with a reason why they will not pay. They even acknowledge they are not denying they owe me it, however they want a meeting. The client rang me yesterday and the message of the phone call was basically 'I want a meeting to see if you will talk to me like you do in your emails. If you do you can have your money'. No good can come out of having a meeting as there is nothing to discuss. He accepts he owes the money but will not pay unless I meet him in person, which is hard, because as he know, I am not located in the UK. He is now threatning me with court action! -------------------------------------------------------- So what do I do? Is it ok for me to deny him access to his website even though he has paid for it but his account is in arrears? Can I still suspend his account? Any good advice would be great!

There is no contract.