Hello

 

I have a bit of a dilemma, I'll give you the story!

 

Do you think this sounds right and fair?

 

A web designer agrees to a job for a client for a total fee of £3000. The agreed time frame is 3 months for the completed project. He takes a deposit of 50% (£1500).

 

During the design process which takes him almost 6 months he creates three photoshop designs of a home page only, no other pages are designed. He doesn’t do any coding at all. All three designs are static flat images.

 

After the design process is finished the designer realises that his technical skill isn’t enough to finish the job so he pulls out.

 

He tells the client that the design process had cost £1200 so he will refund the rest of the deposit which is £300. So he still wants to charge the client 40% of the total project cost even though nothing has been delivered.

 

Keeping in mind that all that he has done are three flat images of proposed home page designs and that it’s taken him 6 months do you think the client should accept this or argue that he should refund more?

 

I've been told by a friend of mine who is a freelance web designer that legally he can only charge the client 5% of the total cost but I can't back this up.

 

Any advice would be great.

 

Thanks

Was there a contract outlining payment and work that was required to be completed?

 

If there wasn't a contract then its gonna be a hard struggle.

Yes there was a proper contract. What he now wants to charge for is the design phase. Here's from the contract:

 

Phase 1 - Planning, Content Creation, Wireframing & Design - £1,087.50

 

The only thing is that he has not even completed the design part of this phase.

 

The content creation and wireframing has not even been started.

 

Here's also from the contract:

 

Timeframe

We estimate the timeframe for web design and development to be 8 to 12 weeks.

 

The contract was signed off in November last year...

Its got to depend how design was defined I suppose?...

 

You probably do have a point with timescale and content creation though.

 

I'd have a look at some rememdies for breach of contract here.

 

I think the threat of small claims court would probably stir some action out of said designer. However, before you do. Make sure you can prove the breach of contract beyond any doubt.

This all said... and best of luck with sorting it out.

 

If the client is now looking for a company to take over and who will actually deliver great results, feel free to send them my way. (telephone and email available by PM)

Thanks a lot for the help. I'll keep you in mind when they want to start the project over again.

Thanks a lot for the help. I'll keep you in mind when they want to start the project over again.

 

take it easy. Best of luck resolving the issue.

Indeed, good luck.

 

For me alarm bells would have been ringing as soon as I found out the guy was going to be doing both the design and the build. It's extremely rare that someone is good at both the design and the coding.

Indeed, good luck.

 

For me alarm bells would have been ringing as soon as I found out the guy was going to be doing both the design and the build. It's extremely rare that someone is good at both the design and the coding.

 

I totally disagree; many freelancers are equally adept at both design and development. Obviously one area may be stronger than the other, but to say that it is rare to find someone who is good at both is not quite true in my opinion