Can I get my money back on unfinished website ?

[bombini]

I paid a website designer (several months ago) to design my new website but am still waiting and im starting to get a bit hacked off now.

I paid in July I think and although communication was a bit slow this was mainly down to me as I had so much going on as my baby was only a few months old then.

The problems started beginning of September when I didn't hear anything from her for a couple of weeks she then sent me an email stating that she'd not heard from me, I then emailed back saying I had replied and then re-sent the email Id originally sent to her.

I then sent a further 3 emails basically saying that one of us must have a problem with our hotmail accounts as I still hadn't heard from her ?! Still nothing so I sent a fourth email from my personal account stating Id not heard from her she then sent a reply saying she would check her pc and get back to me, this was nearly two weeks ago so I sent a further email yesterday (again no response) so have re-sent that same email today.

Where do I go from here?

 

[Ruth Mills]

Can you get her on the phone? It might be better to see if you can chat on the phone before giving up on her.

 

[~Jenny~]

I can imagine your frustration....
How did you pay for the website??

 

[Verve Designs]

If you dont have a phone number you might want to do a whois on the domain name (and keep a record of the details). Feel free to pm me if you need a hand with that.

Unfortunately this happens a lot...people set themselves up as web designers (figuring its easy) on a self-employed basis and then either bottle out or simply leg it when the reality of having to deliver hits home.

You would know this already- but keep a record (including printing out emails) of all contacts.

Legally, of course you can get your money back- they've been paid for something they've not delivered. However, in reality it's going to be very tricky to do. You might have to put it down to experience and crack on with another site- at least that would be generating income instead of a black hole.

 

[bombini]

Thanks guys,

She doesn't have a telephone number on website and requests all correpondence is via email due to being an online company

I paid by credit card so im hopeful that I can recover the money !

The weird thing is she has quite a sucessful business and has been established a while i think.

I did think it was just a problem with the hotmail account but to have a further 2 emails ignored from my tiscali account is now making me think something else is going on !

 

[Verve Designs]

Sorry..I meant to say you could do a whois on HER domain. To get a number. If its a .com domain then is a legal requirement to have contact details (phone number/postal address) on there.

 

[Ruth Mills]

Thanks guys,

She doesn't have a telephone number on website and requests all correpondence is via email due to being an online company

I paid by credit card so im hopeful that I can recover the money !

The weird thing is she has quite a sucessful business and has been established a while i think.

I did think it was just a problem with the hotmail account but to have a further 2 emails ignored from my tiscali account is now making me think something else is going on !

You should be able to claim a refund from the bank if you've paid on credit card and they haven't delivered the goods.

 

[essentia]

If you paid with a credit card you should be OK. I was in the exact same position as you well over a year ago now. The 'professional' web designer kept me waiting whilst doing more lucrative jobs even though I was spending £650!!! I waited months for a home page and even then it still was not finished. I never paid for it.

He threatened me with solicitors but realised that I could counter claim for the potential lost business my website could have got me.

The industry standard is to get a home page up in about 2 weeks - after that it is deemed unreasonable unless you have an agreement that differs. Always get the terms and conditions sent to you in an email and if they do not have any then do not go there!

I eventually learnt to do one myself.:hug:

 

[Ruth Mills]

I find it surprising that a lot of companies seem to be demanding the entire web design fee up front, before they have done any work for you.

While it would be reasonable to take a deposit at the time of booking, I do think it very unreasonable for a company to take the full fee and then not deliver the goods months into the future!
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[bombini]

Thanks again,

I am going to give it until Monday and if no response going to get the phone number and then give her a call.

I thought it was a bit odd that payment was asked up front but then I figured maybe it was because its a fairly big project she didn't want to invest the time designing it for me to back out the deal ? Anyhow I won't be making the same mistake again !

Im not fussed about the length of time its taking to design it more the fact I am blatantly being ignored

Will let you know how I get on.....

 

[bombini]

Didn't hear anything despite sending more emails and another message via her website contact form so have had to write to credit card company then I guess its just a case of waiting :irked:

 

[bombini]

Thought id update and let you know that after some initial confusion with my credit card company they have refunded me the money

I did keep an eye on her website and at the beginning of November a message appeared stating they were having problems with the website and it should be 'live' again on the 7th Nov. Yesterday when I checked they have updated and posted a statement to exlain what happened.

The gist of it is that they were unable to access their website for over a month, or there emails and that they want everyone to contact them to discuss a refund or completion of work.

I was tempted to contact them and request the website be finished but have decided just to leave it now as despite what they say they could easily access my details via the credit card company and she had contacted me before via a hotmail account before so I don't believe for one minute that she couldn't contact me or god knows how many other people.

 

[Verve Designs]

Good news that you got your money back.

I guess the moral of the story is that people shouldnt have to pay up-front entirely for this type of work.

Not having access to emails for a month is nuts...my email went down for a day last week and I was looking for a rope and a sturdy beam!

 

[Ruth Mills]

Thought id update and let you know that after some initial confusion with my credit card company they have refunded me the money

I did keep an eye on her website and at the beginning of November a message appeared stating they were having problems with the website and it should be 'live' again on the 7th Nov. Yesterday when I checked they have updated and posted a statement to exlain what happened.

The gist of it is that they were unable to access their website for over a month, or there emails and that they want everyone to contact them to discuss a refund or completion of work.

I was tempted to contact them and request the website be finished but have decided just to leave it now as despite what they say they could easily access my details via the credit card company and she had contacted me before via a hotmail account before so I don't believe for one minute that she couldn't contact me or god knows how many other people.

WTF??? Not being able to access their website or email for a MONTH??? That's insane! I'm like Carl in that I panic if I don't receive any emails for even an hour or two!

 

[jo-from-moorspa]

That sounds very fishy with the emails. Did someone not renew their hosting and domain?

Juliette, why not give someone who posts here a lot the job of doing your website. Maybe someone like Ruth

 

[clickcreations]

Sounds like they are going down the tubes ... there is a real advantage to paying with credit cards because you can claim back direct through the credit card company. Also, for the record, generally having a contact telephone number on the website is a requirement for the merchant account if you are taking orders online or by telephone.

Generally, asking for a deposit is fair enough, but full payment upfront is a bit excessive ....

Hope you get a website sorted out soon! Let me know if there is anything I can help with :-D