I have a client who has requested a refund on his hosting. He paid his hosting in August 2006 which is for 12 months in advance until August 2007. I have obliged the client telling him to send his bank details to me in order that I can refund the money. Instead of sending me his bank details he sends me an email saying that if I turn off his hosting he will have his team of lawyers on to me. I then asked for his bank account details once again and then......I turned off his hosting. (1. the guy is a d*ck and 2. dont threaten me off the bat with legal action and 3. the guy is a d*ck) Of course he was not happy about that I turned off his hosting and email and he came around to my house (as he found out where I lived) and stood outside my door at 10pm at night ringing my doorbell disturbing myself, my wife and my 12 month old girl. He suggested I "come down and discuss the issue of turning off his hosting 'face to face'" or I will "see what happens". To be honest I live in Spain, the Costa del Sol (aka Costa del Crime) and I come across thugs everyday so I am not too bothered that he is threatning me in such a way but of course its annoying all the same. However I would like to know or get a rough idea of whether legally its "okay" to simply refuse patronage on certain grounds. I understand the laws are different everywhere but what would this situation be in your country, legally of course. Can I just turn off a client AFTER he has demanded his money back? Is requested a refund not a sign that he wants to cancel the services?
Well, it definitely looks like you are not offering free web hosting accounts and thus for those people who want to use your services, they need to pay. If they ask for their money back then they are not entitled to services. However, although you are not obligated, it wouldn't hurt to provide a few days for them to move their sites. Make sure you keep the email correspondences and also the bank transfers for the refunds. No one is able to touch you legally since you are not doing anything wrong here.
If he wants his money back then turn off his hosting and give him his money back. You've got no legal obligation to host people for free.
I discussed it with my lawyer and basically he said, becasue he is avoiding giving his bank account number in order to return the funds it still means that he has paid for the year and is entitled to the service....however....I can send him a legal notification (here is called "burofax" via the post office) informing him that his services will be turned off this coming Friday 1st of December. Yes it means until then I have to turn his services back on (which I am not happy about but will suffer for now) but at least I will have a legal document showing that I have turned him off and informed him in the proper legal manner. Hmmmmm..... I wonder how long I should take to answer the emails requesting that the domain name be transferred away?
You don't want him to show up at your front door again do you? Just let him transfer the domain and be done with him. Zen
As you’ve already stated that this person is a waste of your time, I would suggest that you spend no additional time in an effort to capture some form of retribution. This is great advice! Best wishes, Kimmy
Ah, I think I misread your initial post, if he has not received the refund yet then you be obligated to host until he does get it. If he was at your door, you could have paid him and make him sign an acknowledgement form of the receipt of the money and agree to have the account cancelled at an appointed time.
the way i see it is a refund request is different than a cancelation of service request. Say you cannot pursue a refund until he cancels his service through you. Then once he cancels his service shut off his hosting. Then refund him the money for the remaining time on his contract(unless your contract protects you from this). Be sure to take your sweet time refunding his money. Give him a chance to get arrested for trespassing on your property(not sure how it works in spain). Eitherway it sounds like you got your hands full with this guy. Don't have to much fun!
Can't you get a lawyer? You're practically in knee-deep trouble already, might as well prevent potential further losses. You might want to get a different address for your business next time, too. Keep your home and business separate.
I have a lawyer on retainer already and he has already advised me to turn the hosting back on and that he (my lawyer) will send him (the client) an an offical letter telling him that he is going to be cut off as per his (the client) wishes. (the refund) Apparently, I could actually cut him off if I had a good reason to but I would have to give him some form of notice, a "fair amount" of notice (say 24 hours). Yeah, in regards to the address issue, yes, its always a good idea to keep things seperate but unfortunately this guy has been a "client" for a few years now and has known where I live pretty much from day one. There is a good saying which holds true in this instance... "Familiarity Breeds Contempt". I am 36 y.o and am still learning this one. Some other sayings that everyone should remember....... "Give them an inch, they will take a yard" "If its not signed, its not defined" "What comes around goes around" "If its too good to be true it usually is" I should really have these tattoed on my forehead!! lol.
Sometimes I would turn customers off because they just annoy me, and yes I can do that because my TOS specify I can kill any account whenever I want and/or feel like it Read your TOS and see what it has. On your case, I would certainly close the account and not refund the money back. Peace,
lol your just mean. Well if their his TOS than surely he would know whats in them? but yeah i would make sure to but in a few things allowing you to turn of accounts without reason.