Can I be held accountable in this case

I assured a client that I would have their order fulfilled within 24 hours. During that 24 hour period, I was mistakenly banned from DP. I spend some trying to clear this up with the moderators, after which, I sent my client his articles as soon as I was able to sign back into DP. Now the client is withholding payment saying I did went back on my promise of 24 hour turn around time. I have explained the situation but he refuses to pay? Am I at fault here? I know I partially am, but my client must understand the circumstances.

 

Not at all, the slight delay that he shows is not anywhere near enough to stop payment on the works, regardless of the circumstances IMHO.

He's simply trying to get out of paying which in my opinion is extremely low and sleazy.

 

Actually your client doesn't have to understand anything. It's your responsibility in EVERY transaction you make on DP to get off-site contact information. If you don't get an email address, phone number, etc., that's just poor business. Take it as a learning experience. And as I told your client privately, moderators will under no circumstance discuss ban information with them about another member. So if you had private communication with a moderator that proves it was a mistake, then you need to forward that to the client, and let them make a judgment call. That said, if they refuse to pay, I would suggest not delivering the content, or selling it in another outlet (unless of course your contract specifically states that they own the rights and don't have to pay if you don't deliver within 24 hours).