Keeping a domain.

[phpwiz]

well, i had a hosting client and he bought his domain through me, he had missed payment for 2 months after that so i have desided to keep the domain because of it. he has now threatened me that he will get his boss "a supposed lawer" to push papers. i had no intentions of giving the domain to him and i will not cause he missed 2 months of payment and he kept telling me he sent money orders so is it somthing that i should really care about or not?

Edit, i have suspended him etc thats why he wants it now.


-Tyson

 

[Dave_Z]

If the complaining party is also within your vicinity, then have a lawyer handy.

If the complaining party isn't, the only thing to worry about is forking over the
domain via UDRP.

 

[food_consult]

Always try to settle everything ... Maybe, give him a call and ask him again (you already did... fine DO IT AGAIN) and maybe charge him a late fee!

No body wants to pay for attorney fees! and anyway why would you want a big headache on your hands... is it worth 2 months hosting fees worrying about a law suit NO WAY!!!!

 

[barefoottech]

In what name is domain registered to.
If it is your client , it is his. You have legal grounds to claim the Money ,but not the Domain.
If I was the client and you kept my Domain, it would be me doing the suing

 

[Venolus]

In what name is domain registered to.
If it is your client , it is his. You have legal grounds to claim the Money ,but not the Domain.
If I was the client and you kept my Domain, it would be me doing the suing

I truly agree to you

 

[dweeb]

yeah... two months of hosting fees aren't really worth the trouble and cost of a lawsuit. but if you just return the domain to him, he will never take your words seriously next time.

 

[primacomputer]

It's likely you can claim a lien on the name. Explain this to him and then see if he still wants to waste money on a lawyer.

 

[phpwiz]

the domain is registered under my name i think and it was 39.95 a month, it was winamp TV streaming.

 

[ZuraX]

I would tell him when he sends the cash he will get the domain back.

 

[Venolus]

Did you try to call him again?

 

[SupaJ]

I would give him his domain. I was on this guys hosting and he bought me my domain and then I moved because his hosting was going offline every week or so.

It was arguements for months but he eventually handed me over the domain... so it's not really fair for you to keep the domain.

 

[Peter]

Just because he has missed paying for hosting through you, IF he has paid for the domain you have no right to keep it.

 

[primacomputer]

A kid walks into a shop. He eats a candy bar and then takes an ice cream bar and pays for it. I have to let him take the ice cream bar because he has “paid for” it? I don't think so! This is exactly the same situation.

 

[jberryhill]

A kid walks into a shop. He eats a candy bar and then takes an ice cream bar and pays for it. I have to let him take the ice cream bar because he has “paid for” it? I don't think so!

Ummm.... maybe I missed something, but if the kid stole a candy bar and bought an ice cream bar, then you have absolutely no right to take the ice cream bar away from him. He owes you for the candy bar, but the ice cream bar became his property when he bought it. You have zero right to steal the ice cream bar from him. If he bought it, it's his.

This "holding domains hostage for payment for other services" thing comes up a lot, and it is a slimy practice.

he had missed payment for 2 months after that so i have desided to keep the domain because of it.

Why stop there? Why not give him the domain and take his car instead. Maybe he has nice stuff at his house that you can go take. After all, since you believe you have the right to keep anything that belongs to this guy, regardless of what its value might be, then you pretty much have carte blanche...

Solly gang... if I default on my telephone bill, I can STILL move that telephone number to another service provider.

 

[hotrod12]

If he says that he actually sent you the money orders, he can check with the place that he got them from and see if anybody actually cashed them. If nobody cashed them then he knows and you know that the money got to you but when he first got his hosting I am sure that he paid for the domain, right? Then if he didn't pay for the hosting terminate his hosting acccount but the domain is not related to his $40 a month hosting bill so legally it is his and he could get it back if he fought you for it.

 

[primacomputer]

Ummm.... maybe I missed something, but if the kid stole a candy bar and bought an ice cream bar, then you have absolutely no right to take the ice cream bar away from him. He owes you for the candy bar, but the ice cream bar became his property when he bought it. You have zero right to steal the ice cream bar from him. If he bought it, it's his.

But you don't need to “steal” his ice cream bar. You don't need to take it “away from him”. It's sitting in a bag on the counter in your shop. You simply pick it up and put it back on the shelf. You have a lien against the goods so you simply hang on to the ice cream bar until he settles his bill. If you had his car instead you could hang on to that. In fact, you could sell his car at auction after a certain period of time, take the $2 he owes you and deposit the rest with the appropriate authorities. They would hold it until he came to collect it. The laws on this differ from place to place but I've actually done this before so I know how it works.

I must point out I've never done it with ice cream and candy bars so there may be circumstances that make this a bad analogy I have, however, done it with a domain name and hosting or design services. On two occasions the client called in their lawyer who told them they had no case (And presumably charged them handsomely for the advice)

This "holding domains hostage for payment for other services" thing comes up a lot, and it is a slimy practice.

Is it any more slimy than running up a bill and refusing to pay it?

 

[jberryhill]

No, a merchant cannot impose a lien on purchased goods that way, Prima. UCC Section 2 does NOT allow that. If he bought the ice cream, it doesn't matter where the ice cream is. It is HIS ice cream.

Your thing about a mechanics lien is inapplicable, since there are SPECIFIC laws governing acquisition of title to a car in those circumstances - and they are specific to that situation. You can't just generalize it to - "I can take whatever I want from someone who owes me money". Even generalizing it to your hypothetical is wrong, since you have NO dispute with the person over the ice cream bar.

Is it any more slimy than running up a bill and refusing to pay it?

Yeah, it is. If I stay at your hotel, pay for the room, and raise a dispute over payment of the tab from the restaurant, you DON'T get to keep my luggage.

 

[Peter]

If you had his car instead you could hang on to that. In fact, you could sell his car at auction after a certain period of time, take the $2 he owes you and deposit the rest with the appropriate authorities.

You could not do this at all, If you wanted to do this you would first HAVE to go through the court process. They would order him to pay the amount, if he did not then the court MAY grant the sale of some of his estate to cover the debt and costs. But I would doubt a court would go this far for $80, especially when the business in question is holding something to ransom that the client owns. But in saying that $80 here in the UK would go through a small claims court which have alot less powers than a full court.

And by the way if you are not aware jberryhill is actuall a lawyer as is stated in his title (granted this may not be his area of expertise) so I am very sure he knows what he is talking about.

 

[equity78]

But you don't need to “steal” his ice cream bar. You don't need to take it “away from him”. It's sitting in a bag on the counter in your shop. You simply pick it up and put it back on the shelf. You have a lien against the goods so you simply hang on to the ice cream bar until he settles his bill. If you had his car instead you could hang on to that. In fact, you could sell his car at auction after a certain period of time, take the $2 he owes you and deposit the rest with the appropriate authorities. They would hold it until he came to collect it. The laws on this differ from place to place but I've actually done this before so I know how it works.

Way off I think JBERRYHILL the expert here.

 

[primacomputer]

No, a merchant cannot impose a lien on purchased goods that way, Prima. UCC Section 2 does NOT allow that. If he bought the ice cream, it doesn't matter where the ice cream is. It is HIS ice cream.

Thanks for the reference. I'll have a look over it.

Your thing about a mechanics lien is inapplicable, since there are SPECIFIC laws governing acquisition of title to a car in those circumstances - and they are specific to that situation. You can't just generalize it to - "I can take whatever I want from someone who owes me money". Even generalizing it to your hypothetical is wrong, since you have NO dispute with the person over the ice cream bar.

I have to re-re-emphasise there is no “taking” involved. The item is already in your possession. Walking into a bank and taking cash at gunpoint is stealing. Failing to hand over the cash for a credit card bill is a different thing.

Is there some fundamental difference between US and English law or am I just missing something? Like I said I've been in similar situations and some of the top lawyers in town couldn't come up with any better advice for their clients than to pay.