slanderous or truthful comments/quotes on website

ChicoMendez

hi

i have a buddy that entered into a contract with someone he considered a friend... for this reason he did not actually get a paper contract signed. therefore the contract was only verbal - however there is a big email trail of the 'client' agreeing to the fee and admitting libialty for the work etc etc

my buddy actually showed me all the emails and the whole situation get rather ridiculous , which the client contradicting himself on many many occasions- and refusing to answer why he would do this

it has come to the stage where the client is offering to pay 50% of the agreed amount despite 90% of the work being completed. my buddy will accept this i think cos he cant take a big hit

questions :
1) if my buddy was to bring this to a solicitor would the emails be of any use?

and more importantly

2)he wants to register a web domain (clients name .com) and post the whole affair up there (and seo it big time) - could he be taken to court for this - if he is only writing the truth (facts) ? and if they are direct quotes from the email exchanges ? i told him to just drop it but he wants this 'client' to get whats comming to him - and to rightly piss him off!


tnx

colm_c

Without a contract signed the water is a little cloudy, the best option would be to contact a solicitor and ask them for advice. It might be that a simple letter to the client will give them a push to pay for the rest of the work.

An alternative (kinda mean though) is to not give the client access to the work until all bills are paid - i.e. take it offline until then.

Eoin

There was a thread recently in the business management thread about non-paying customers, could be worth a read.

Here's a similar story, also based in Ireland - came across this site nearly 10 years ago I think: http://www.alliedirishbanks.com/

I wouldn't go down that website idea personally. No matter how frustrating it is for him, it could reflect badly on him if it does get the publicity that he hopes it to get.

Also, I'd be slow enough to register an address that could be seen to be the home page of the business or person in question. I know that .com address ownership is a fuzzy enough area, but it could add to the other person's argument should they try and take legal action about the site.

ChicoMendez wrote:

i have a buddy that entered into a contract with someone he considered a friend... for this reason he did not actually get a paper contract signed. therefore the contract was only verbal - however there is a big email trail of the 'client' agreeing to the fee and admitting libialty for the work etc etc

Same thing happened to me, although I didn't have the luxury of an email trail and unfortunately the whole website project was cancelled, so withholding service wasn't any use like colm_c suggested (though I wouldn't consider it mean at all, if the client is being a dìck).

If nothing else, these experiences have taught me to get sign off on the exact specs of a job, and a strictly defined payment structure. Hopefully your mate will do the same from now on.

ChicoMendez

thanks for the advice lads,

i don't know what a solicitors letter will do as this 'client' has been through some big disputes with past colloborators ... he seems to be a difficult character - funny actually asi read through the clients mails- he admints in one mail (early in the time) that he is difficult to work with.

well the real problem and reason why he was being so stingy with the cash was he had business issues for which he could not launch the site for 6 months - and for this reason he suggested he pay 50% of the fee and get the site (until such time as he could kick off again) when john my buddy said - pay what u owe and you get the site - he started contractdicting his previous (very happy with the site) mails saying he was not happy with the work... gut wrenching stuff.

thing is john is not sure wether he is going ahead with the project - but he wants to recup some of the loss and leave the fecker fiddle around with the site himself

the last twist was in december he offered
-50% of the fee(5000) and 1000 euro termination fee = 3500

and then after getting back finally (to 6 unanswered mails) last week he reckons he owes only 1500

(he may have alzhiemers!)

either way i think john has learnt his lesson about getting things on paper first (even if its with his mother!)

tnx

Laslo

Moral of the story... get a contract and a PO. :rolleyes:

ChicoMendez

indeed!

quick question about domains.

if one selects the privacy option so no one can see the contact details for a domain - how can the someone find out the owner ? is there anyway?

H3LLg0d

yes in future, same as i do for a client i cant meet in person.
E-mail them the form and have them fax it back to you with a signature
as for the website idea would be a big no no ,it;s your friend will look childish and unprofessional and may have the opposite effect directed at him

if one selects the privacy option so no one can see the contact details for a domain - how can the someone find out the owner ? is there anyway?

No information of the registrar will show up
if you do a whois of the site it will appear private registration
then again you could just use fake information

seamus

Contract or no contract, your friend is entitled to be paid for any work which has thus far been completed.

If the option is available to him, he can withhold any products of the work - e.g. if he's designing a website, then he does not need to provide any part of the developed site to the client.

If he has already provided part of the work to the client, he cannot "reclaim" it. If he is providing a service (e.g. if web hosting is part of the work), then he can withdraw that service immediately & indefinitely.

Registering a website is probably the worst course of action he can go for. It will do nothing for his professional image, and may lead to trouble. Data protection would dictate that he may not be permitted to post certain pertinent emails (or details). There's also a dispute process for domain names where a company can dispute a domain which has been deliberately registered so as to create a negative image of the company - e.g. if I register adidas.ie with the intention of telling everyone that Adidas are an awful company.

The legal route is his best option. Get him to talk to a solicitor and discuss his options from there, and if it would be worth the hassle.

In accounting terms, taking the hit is known as a "Negative Unplanned Fee Adjustment"
It's usually used in a case where a company goes bust before the entire fee can be recouped, or where the cost of getting the cash in court would outweigh the benefit.