Surely it all boils down to your contract with your customer, possibly
determined by terms and conditions of hosting etc posted on your website
??
Regards
Lance
On Fri, 27 Oct 2000, Mike Kovacich wrote:
> Sorry for the off-topic subject but I have an issue that came up of importance
> to ISPs who host websites and it is domain registration related.
>
> We recently terminated an account who got hosting and dialup services from us.
> Many friendly emails were sent, phone calls with promises to pay the overdue
> accountand re-faxing the invoice, termination was the final remedy. I thought as
> a service provider I have the right to do. No payment, no service. I feel I am
> not obligated to provide or continue to provide internet services with a
> customer in bad standing. In the past when we lost a client to another ISP, we
> have in the past assisted the process when the account was paid in full.
>
> Rather than paying the amount owing he decided to move the domain to another
> ISP. We disabled FTP access and email access to the domain and dialup access
> immediately upon finding out his desire to move the domain. We did not hold back
> transfer of the domain, we responded within 12 hours after receiving the request
> for transfer from Netsol as we were the administrative contact on the domain.
>
> He claims since we terminated the account, we should pay for moving his domain
> Netsol charges, and loss of business. By the way the site has been moved for a
> week and the site is still unreachable at the new ISP. He claims that he owns
> the data on our servers and we must allow him access so he or his new ISP can
> download his site. Apparently he did not backup his own website. We were not
> paid or contracted to any site design or backup his business data, just hosting
> and dialup.
>
> He is now also claiming that we are responsible for reconstructed his website
> for $5000 he says a contractor is charging and wants me to pay it. The site was
> maybe a $300 or $400 site. I have talked to a lawyer but I'm also trying to
> research this further in case this comes up again.
>
> He came into our showroom and was verbally abusive to me personally and the
> business in front of two customers. I do not want to give him access to our
> servers fearing he may attempt electronic abuse.
>
> Is the data sitting on our servers, property of the ex-client who is trying to
> get out of paying $76.93. Are we responsible to give ex-clients access to our
> servers. Are we as ISPs responsible to backup and make available whenever
> current or ex-clients want copies of their website ?
>
> I was willing to let his new ISP get FTP access once the account is paid by
> certified cheque only, and that the ex-client sign a form stating both parties
> are no longer under any financial obligation to one another. He refused to sign,
> I refuse to give him FTP access.
>
> I do understand that ISPs cannot holdback domain transfers, we did not, but are
> we also responsible to for ex-clients poor business practices of not backing up
> their own website? I cannot believe a court of law is going to force ISPs to
> keep files on all clients, in case the screw up and loose their data with their
> new ISP. This is not common sense but stupidity unless I'm missing something
> here. Sorry for the length of the post, your comments are welcome.
> --
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
>
