Hi,

We made a deal with a local software developer/web programmer guy for a new website, agreed on a cash price with 50% to be paid upfront and site to be finished for end of feb. We have a mutal agreement signed + quotation sheet listing everthing.

After a few months and many meetings + excuses, we still have no site and have not even seen any sign of the coding, we heard from him via text couple of days ago saying he will have to pull out on doing the site and refund us the money.

He proposed in a meeting with coming onboard of our new site project for 30%, we turned him down in the end and to go ahead with the original cash payment, so this might be part of the reason for him backing out, or for charging such a low price for doing the work.

So here we are, 3 months wasted with no new site, loss of potencial earnings etc and not forgetting all the stress!!


Do we have any rights to sue or anything along the lines? we haven't accepted any refund or made any contact with him as of yet.

Regards

Tom
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What does the contract say about termination? As there is a written contract that would need to be examined first and also what are his reasons for withdrawing now? Suing for anticipated earnings is very risky and a lot will depend on your answers to the questions above.
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Loss of income would be very tricky,how many sites are made and never make a profit?
How could you prove your income lost?

For example if you were making 2-5k a day via the site and the hosting crashed then this could be a clear loss of income.

However trying to sue somebody for income not yet recieved will be hard.

Maybe consider pulling out of the project and ask for say a 10% of total fee goodwill payment from them,and seek a reliable web programmer.

Out of curiousity what type of site was it for?
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It was a cash deal so he could avoid paying tax.

I would be very careful Tom re. the above it could land you with more problems than you already have. Get the money off him and contact one of the fine web people that we have on this forum.
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I think a chat with one of the legal eagles on here will help...from my studet days if there is offer/acceptance/consideration then you have a contract, which I would suspect is broken due to non delivery....so small claims, I would say.
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If it's a good project don't waste anymore time. Instruct someone new on the design and ask for your money back.
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Many thanks for the replies guys, the claim for loss of earnings is probably not doable, but I'd hate for him to just refund & get away with it, so if it's possible to claim for whatever the amount, I'd be happy with that! I hate people who pull out of business deals! especially when it's an entrepreneur who had a company in the pass that supposed to have turned over ?m I read!

Here's a preview of the mutal agreement:
ht tp://img178.imageshack.us/img178/8300/mafd3.jpg

Delete the space between the two T's in the link, wouldn't allow me to post the full link.

Thanks!

Tom
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Fair enough Tom, although another here that would put it down to experience, get my money back and focus energy on getting the site up with someone else.

What sort of coder/developer were you looking for?
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The agreement is not a contract to work on a project together to completion. It is a version of an NDA/confidentiality agreement which continues to bind both of you in respect of the other's confidential information.

It provides for no obligations on the working to conclusion of a project sadly, so all you have to litigate on is word of mouth and agreement, not one for the courts in my view. Get a complete refund of the monies paid and consider yourself lucky not to have gone further.
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I see, Thanks once again for all your replies, very helpful forum!!

I will go ahead with getting the refund tomorrow and won't waste anymore time on him.

brownie - PHP etc, had one person PM me, but more are welcome to contact me if able to help.

Thanks

Tom
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If it's a good project don't waste anymore time. Instruct someone new on the design and ask for your money back.

Totally agree.

Post on the Tenders forum here. You'll be inundated with offers.
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Please message me with your requirements and I can provide a price.

I have dedicated servers, full SQL 2005 Database, SMS Services and .Net 2.0 web functionality.

In addition, I have SEO consultancy and can provide a price for the work.

Other than that, there are plenty of other web coders here who can do similar.

Regards,

Daniel.
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