RandyDomains, you state what you would do if you were Adam Dicker, what would you do if you were Shane Bellone? You need to consider both sides here.
Pug, I do not know what I would do if I were SB. I might possibly have contacted AD before posting here, and maybe he did, I do not know. But I
have been considering almost all of the posts here.
I spent 25 years in the customer service side of a major corporation, and have answered many complaints where people talked about lawsuits - none materialized. We were always able to reach an agreement. Not everyone was totally satisfied, but it is very - repeat - very - expensive to sue someone, especially where there are no written contracts between the parties.
I can not speak to the complaints of email lists that were not for valid users, but I am pretty sure that the people who paid for website development, and do not think they received what they paid for, do not have anything in writing regarding the specifications for the web site. This is unfortunate, to be sure, and I am sorry that they they did not insist on a written contract, but that is one of the central issues here - isn't it? Who do you trust?
AD was, and still is, perceived by many individuals, especially new domainers, as an expert - a winner of awards - a big player in the industry. I personally paid his firm to provide a website for me. It was a template site as I stated in an earlier post. It was not great, but it
is functional. I had no contract or list of design specifications, so I would be very hard-pressed to ask for a refund. The fact that his group provided a functional website completely removes my issue from the realm of being criminal, and reduces it to the category of 'lessons learned'.
My biggest mistake was believing that AD, in his forum, would provide guidance on how to develop a 'lead generation' domain that actually produced revenue. I'm still waiting on that 'lesson'. If I do get a lead on the web site they built, and which I modified, I will probably make out okay - legal leads appear to provide big returns - one legal claim through the site would pay for development, hosting, and registration. It is a fact that AD promises to deliver advice and lessons which are late on their delivery. I chalked this up to him being very busy - especially these days.
Back to the post I created. If you have a complaint, contact AD and be as specific as possible on why you are not satisfied with what was provided to you. If you feel you are entitled to a refund, ask for it. If you want additional work done to complete the project say so.
I expect the usual members will say that they wrote to AD and received no reply. Even if you are unhappy, you might want to consider being respectful and professional in your correspondence. Okay I am not saying you were not - I obviously have not read it. Just keep it professional - that's all.
Onward and Upward!
