Ethics of keeping a domain name hostage

Question

I do some work as a freelance web developer, for which I do my own hosting. I have one client who is very behind on paying me. His domain is registered in my name not his. Is it ethical for me to threaten to let it expire unless he brings his account up to date?

Answer 1

Yep. I wouldn't pose it as a threat though - just say that it will take you a few hours (not very many, but it's still your time) to renew the domain, and that you'll require all previous invoices paid in full before any more work can go ahead.

Come to think of it, that kinda is a threat... huh oh well. ;)

Answer 2

Why should you support him and his accout when he is not paying his bills? It's not even a threat, it's stating the obvious.

Answer 3

It's not a threat, it's just business. If he isn't paying, he isn't entitled to any services he needs you to render. Just inform him in the most professional and honest way of his situation.

If it means anything to him, he's bound to come around.

Answer 4

Yes it is. Though, as nickf says threats are not the way to go.

You are currently paying for the domain, right? Then send your client an email or letter telling him that due to late payment his domain will get cancelled, and hold your payments for the domain. You could place an empty page or "this domain is temporarily not in use" as the index as well maybe.

Just try and keep your behaviour polite and correct, so that you can't be the source of an argument in this situation.

Answer 5

I think the ethics problem is on your client side. If he doesn't pay for a service he should not get one.

I would either let the domain expire or place a page stating "Domain Unavailable, please try again latter".

Answer 6

you may want to think if that Domain Name is their actual trademark as you may end up in other legal difficulties.

Answer 7

I wouldn't let it expire ... the empty page is better.

If it expires, he can get it and run away to someone else without paying. Its probably the biggest thing you have over him.

Answer 8

Most definitely ethical.

In general though, I try and guard against late payment at the beginning of the contract by ensuring I have the right to charge interest on late payments. The law is on your side in relation to this (in the EU, not sure about elsewhere).

If you're based in the EU this link might be useful:

Late payment legislation in the EU

Don't hesitate to be "firm but fair" with customers over this. Many freelancers are worried that if they get firm with the customer it may sour the relationship. My take on it is that the relationship has been soured anyway by this point. I also find you will tend to get more respect from customers if you are firm over points like this from the outset - you have more chance of the relationship being seen by them as Business-Business rather than Employer-Employee

Good luck on getting that cheque :0)

Answer 9

No threat. You just tell him that you can't keep up with your service for him if he is not paying.

"That means that your domain reservation will be reversed ..."

Answer 10

Yes, I think you are well within your rights to take control of the domain (but renew eh, don't really let it expire!!)

Above all you must keep him informed, and don't think of it as a threat; he is not getting your services because he is not paying you.

Oh here is an idea, forget about ethics, and seek legal advice.

legal != ethical

Answer 11

I'd be concerned about possible legal issues involved with replacing it with your own page. Might be legal, but seems sort of like hijacking. I guess you could run into issues with letting expire too, but that at least seems defensible. If you're not getting paid, you simply don't do anymore work of any kind...

Answer 12

Definitely renew as opposed to expiring. It will be lost to everyone except a cyber-squatter if it does expire.

I am not sure what the contractual arrangements are that you have with the client, but when I used to freelance I had a notice in the contract that if I was managing the site, upon non-payment (90 days delinquent), their account would be "suspended". The definition of suspended was that a non-payment page would be put up, which basically said that the site had been deactivated because of non-payment. I still included the company contact information so their customers could call them, figuring the embarrassment of having to answer to what basically says "your site says you are a deadbeat" would either make them pay, or move on.

I only had two customers that reached that level of delinquency. One paid the same day the notice went up and the other paid after his lawyer said that there was nothing that could be done other than paying the bill.

Answer 13

My standard policy with my clients is that I will do no further work for them if they have outstanding invoices that are more than 30 days past due until those invoices have been paid up. It seems reasonable to consider "renewing the client's domain" to fall within "doing work for the client". "Continuing to host the client's website on my server" would definitely fall under "providing services to the client", but maybe not "doing work for them" - I think I may be rewording my policy accordingly, just in case I find myself in a similar situation one day.

More to the point, though, if a client is seriously behind on their invoices and not showing signs of being about to pay up, there is no way in hell that I'm going to loan them additional money by paying out of my own pocket to renew their domain registration.

That's not a threat. It's refusing to be taken advantage of.

Answer 14

Letting it expire isn't keeping it hostage. Keeping it hostage would be maintaining the domain and preventing him from getting any benefit from it. That might be ethical, but I'm not sure. But I think your ethics are definitely covered if you simply let the domain expire. Providing no more services for a client who won't pay you is exactly the right response.

I'd say the only question is, do you think you can get some revenue from him in the future? If so, I think it would pay to work with his irresponsibility. Ask yourself if the chance and size of potential revenue from him in the future is worth the hassle, and if so, baby him.

Answer 15

My policy with clients is that they must register their own domain name and keep it duly renewed. Having client domains registered under my name gives me legal sway over the name which I should not have.

And I use exactly this scenario to motivate a client to do the registration themselves. I tell them "were our business relationship to dissolve, would you want me owning your domain name?".

Answer 16

It is completely unethical for you to threaten him this way. You cannot deny service and hold a domain hostage because another invoice is past due. I am sure he will pay and renew HIS domain. The domain should not be registered in your name in the first place. This is a major problem with web developers today. We constantly are contacted by potential clients because their unprofessional web developer will not finish a project and is holding their domain name hostage. Unethical and should be illegal.