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If you give him the files, you lose $76.
Talking to a lawyer these days cost $200/hr. You can write off the $76 and
get rid of a headache - he's not worth it. If you give him the files,
he'll most likely go away quietly and you can better service your good
clients.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2000 1:02
PM
Subject: Off Topic - termination of
website, overdue account
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
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