
When you don't pay your web developer - mark-ruwt
http://www.greentouchlandscapers.com/
======
beisner
All things considered, while this is certainly might feel satisfying, it's a
rather irresponsible move on the developer's part. Not only would this sort of
behavior turn off future clients (shows that the developer is vindictive and
unprofessional), but the dev is almost certainly legally exposed. IANAL, but
it would be trivial for the client to show in court that the dev's actions led
to quantifiable damages to their business, and might even be open to criminal
prosecution.

The correct way to resolve this depends on the contract the dev signed in the
first place. If the dev retains IP under the contract, they may be able to
take the website down, or revert it to a previous state. If not, I'm not
totally sure. Certainly the dev should refuse to perform any work for the
client, and probably should solicit legal advice (relatively inexpensive to
take a client to small claims court).

~~~
gmemstr
Recently on reddit I answered a question on the /r/webdev subreddit asking
about backdoors in websites in case the client doesn't pay[1]. Sometimes
webdevs don't quite understand how to deal with clients who don't pay, and the
real answer is get a legally binding contract. Most other devs I know don't
bother with this though, and leads to some frustrations on their part.

[1]:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/7u5965/how_to_add_b...](https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/7u5965/how_to_add_backdoor_to_client_websites/)

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nickphx
lol. A web "developer" that uses Microsoft Word -- Export as HTML..

<o:DocumentProperties> <o:Author>John Raphah</o:Author>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template> <o:LastAuthor>John Raphah</o:LastAuthor>
<o:Revision>5</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>62</o:TotalTime>
<o:Created>2018-02-06T15:35:00Z</o:Created>
<o:LastSaved>2018-02-06T16:15:00Z</o:LastSaved>

Looking at archive.org's snapshot from 2017.. I wouldn't pay this "developer"
either..

[https://web.archive.org/web/20170512143057/http://www.greent...](https://web.archive.org/web/20170512143057/http://www.greentouchlandscapers.com:80/)

~~~
CM30
Yeah, using tables for layout, a XHTML transitional doctype at the start,
inline CSS and a general lack of mobile responsiveness doesn't suggest the
most up to date knowledge of web development.

Still, I guess for the 'pay me' page, it could be somewhat assumed to be a
simple rush job given the situation involved, so maybe the dev just wanted any
old way to get a page up for this rant.

And hey, it's still more modern than this thing was:

[https://web.archive.org/web/20160322053716/http://www.webkin...](https://web.archive.org/web/20160322053716/http://www.webkingusa.com/)

That's something, right?

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mykoleary
US law doesn't apply to businesses based in Kenya...

[http://web.archive.org/web/20160701233200/http://greentouchl...](http://web.archive.org/web/20160701233200/http://greentouchlandscapers.com:80/contacts.html)

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millzlane
Serious question could a non-payment clause protect you from a client claiming
damages from a stunt like this?

For instance could you include a clause that states: "In the event of non-
payment, development on the site will cease and will be replaced with a
temporary landing page until payment issue is resolved."

~~~
justboxing
Even if you have such a clause, it would be very trivial like @beisner has
stated, for client to prove reputation damage and loss of business (even if
they weren't making money to begin with).

> it would be trivial for the client to show in court that the dev's actions
> led to quantifiable damages to their business, and might even be open to
> criminal prosecution.

Source: @beisner
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16326732](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16326732)

~~~
Slansitartop
Couldn't you add another clause stating that the webdev is not responsible for
any reputation damage, loss of business, or any other damages caused by the
non-payment landing page?

~~~
philipov
Try to get a client to agree to such a clause, especially when they've
probably already decided the likelihood of not paying the developer at the
time they are hiring them.

~~~
Slansitartop
> Try to get a client to agree to such a clause, especially when they've
> probably already decided the likelihood of not paying the developer at the
> time they are hiring them.

Seems to me like that's not a bad thing. If they're not planning on paying in
full, you probably don't want to do any work for them. Better to find out
sooner than later.

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Slansitartop
Warning: the embedded music video is probably NSFW due to nudity.

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EADGBE
Funny.

Though I would have just turned off the record sets for said domain. (assuming
I had that control)

Even less effort, more professional response.

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ben174
Empty page now, anyone got a snapshot?

~~~
Sohcahtoa82
Screenshot: [https://imgur.com/PNstZf2](https://imgur.com/PNstZf2)

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Dryken
hope you both get paid and don't get into trouble because of this.

~~~
fancyfacebook
Oh no, trouble! That's the worst thing that could happen to someone! Getting
in trouble!

People should stand up for themselves more, you deserve to be paid for your
work. The client is the only person who should be in trouble. Don't be afraid
of trouble.

~~~
salad77
I was just about to purchase $10,001 worth of services from them and have now
decided not to because of the computer trespass by the web developer.

According to
[https://www.cga.ct.gov/2012/rpt/2012-R-0254.htm](https://www.cga.ct.gov/2012/rpt/2012-R-0254.htm)
that makes it a Class B Felony.

Plus the prima facie tort for the lost business.

Are you sure it's such a good idea to go around looking for trouble like this?

There are plenty of legal recovery avenues without going looking for trouble
and pretending it's just standing up for yourself - a defense which will go
nowhere in a felony hearing.

~~~
pkaye
I guess you assume US laws are applicable everywhere in the world?

~~~
salad77
I guess you assume that because it's an African country that they don't have
computer crime laws ?

[http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/bills/2017/Com...](http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/bills/2017/ComputerandCybercrimesBill_2017.pdf)

~~~
pkaye
You posted a link to Connecticut laws/regulations in your original post. I
don't think that is applicable to Kenya.

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eberkund
I hope he pays you soon, that landing page surely isn't good for business.

