Question about domain dispute

C

CiscoInside

Gawd
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
546
I have a client who had their web site designed by someone a few months back. He also registered the domain under his account. He has been unresponsive to any e-mail or call from my client, so they now wish for me to do maintenance, etc to their site. Everything was paid to him, but he simply wont respond to them at all. So now they have a website not getting updated because of this.

What are your recommendations for getting control of the domain? This is a business, and their business name is represented by the domain. I contacted secureserver.net to try to transfer the domain, with all the proper business materials but they said either the current registrant has to do it or legal action has to be taken.

While we can take legal action, I wish to do this quicker so they can get on their way. He has not provided any finished materials of the website, nor given ftp access to it. Its hosted on his own server. They have fully paid for everything. The website is up, but its just going to sit there because they have no access whatsoever.

What do you guys suggest?
 
I suppose if you don't have the code or even access to it, and can't control the domain, it makes it hard to do much of anything technically.

Maybe you can contact the Better Business Bureau or a local newspaper to shed light on the kinda shady practices this web host/developer employs?

Basically, it looks like your client may have to contact a lawyer, to first send a letter to the web host/designer to see if that will motivate them.

Are there any contracts or anything signed as far as deliverables that your client has with the past web host/developer?
 
Very similar scenario as this thread. There's not a lot you can do. Mistake number one was letting the "designer" register the domain, you're now at the whim of him. If there's no contract stating that he was registering it on your client's behalf then it is in his name, and he's the owner of the domain- period.

The only recourse at this point is to get the lawyers involved. Simply getting a letter from a lawyer may be enough to light a fire up under him, but sometimes that won't work either. If he's not responding and nobody has any access, there isn't a quicker way; and once you go the legal route it won't be quick either.

Realistically, just getting the domain transferred won't solve your problem unless you're going to throw away the existing site and start over. It doesn't sound like you have any source code or anything. It's a shame that so many people fall into that trap of letting the designer register it for them; it's a bad idea on so many levels and you're just going to end up in a position like this eventually.
 
Yup, your screwed with out the owners info.

This is why i tell people that if someone has to do a site for them, register EVERYTHING under their name and info, heck call the hosting company to get them to help you if you don't know how to do it and then give the webguy his ftp access and be done with it.

Do they have a written contract for this person doing the work for the site or was it just a verbal agreement.

i would take all correspondence from emails print it all out and go talk to a lawyer or something.
 
It's generally not that bad if the registrar is responsive. You can contact them and demonstrate that you own the material and the site -- that it's a corporate site and the corporation is the authority that owns the trademarks, copyrighted material, and so on. Normally, it doesn't take more than a couple letters on letterhead from an officer of the company.

What did the registrar say when you contacted them?
 
I'd try calling him on the clients behalf. I've heard of times when someone does freelance stuff like that (or other) and they die or are in an accident. Find out if he's trying to give you the shaft or if he just isn't able to answer the contacts.

I had a firearm transfer go to crap because the FFL dealer died... A year later, I'm waiting for the business to get their FFL again to finish.
 
If you could somehow get the domain name back, you could at least point the nameservers to a new host. You'd still have to rebuild the site from scratch. What a bummer...
 
Really need to try to reach out to the registrant yourself and see if he will respond. secureserver is godaddy so they will not do much unless you make a legal request or have some strong supporting info.

Are they paying this guy directly for domain registration and webhosting? If so you are really at his mercy if he does not respond and a lawyer is about the only approach.

Whatever is decided I would download the site now so you have a copy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top