[josefresco]

I build websites for a living and sometimes people don't pay their bills. Their website going down is usually not a big deal (sometimes they don't notice for months!). But their email, now THAT is a show stopper every time (instant payment).

[lsaferite]

Back when I used to work freelance, I learned that all my contracts needed to have a provision not releasing IP rights until final payment was made. This provides the legal stick to side-step going through a commercial contract dispute. You frequently run into companies wanting to pay fractions of amounts due and not having a strong incentive to hurry along a resolution. Instead, without IP assignment it becomes a copyright enforcement action instead and that can get attention and resolution much faster. I never ended up needing to use it, but I did have to remind a few customers that the provision existed. This all came out of a client stiffing me on a large bill that was, at the time, extremely damaging to my cash flow.

With the above in mind, publicly changing a customer's website to something like this is *highly* unprofessional. Better to simply force the site down in a legal manner that conforms to a signed contract.

[qingcharles]

This worked for me once. Client refused to pay. We all met with our lawyers. Client was chuckling. Slid copy of contract over the table with IP rights highlighted. Client: "We need a minute." Five minutes later: "Here's your check."

Also, our lawyer that day had the best advice: "If this goes to court, the only winners are me and their lawyer. We both get to have another vacation this year."

[IAmBroom]

More unprofessional than buying services and refusing to pay for them?

[lsaferite]

You can't control and aren't responsible for how other people behave. I think this falls firmly into the "two wrongs don't make a right" territory as well.

[EGreg]

How do you get their email to go down exactly?

[josefresco]

I should clarify this is for clients who host their website, AND email with us (we simply change their pw). There's no way in hell I'm taking down someone's email if they host with a 3rd party even if they are past due. Sure I have that "control" but for me it's crossing the line. We suspend only the services we host and it turns out people respond almost immediately when their email is offline.

[rockostrich]

I would guess that they use their own domain for email and the dev manages the domain.

[bakies]

If you control the domain, you control the email.

[dstroot]

Well… if you control their DNS you have their MX record…

[ecb_penguin]

Disable the account or change DNS records are the easiest.

[smt88]

This is illegal in most places unless the contract says otherwise. You don't have a lien on a website or domain the way you do for a car.

[toast0]

How is disabling the account when it's not being paid for illegal? Beyond some grace period, if I'm not paid, I'm not accepting your mail. If I'm not being paid, I'm not answering DNS queries on your behalf either.

I'm not going to interfere with your contract with a different party that handles your mail or DNS if that's how you manage your mail or DNS.

I'm a nice guy so I'll signal a temporary error and if you arrange payment (or at least claim that you will arrange payment shortly), hopefully your correspondents will retry and you'll just have delays and not lost messages.

[smt88]

DNS is generally prepaid. You can't sabotage services because you aren't being paid. For example, a landlord can't disable someone's prepaid internet when he stops receiving their rent.

The remedy for failure to pay is to seek payment or sue, not to sabotage the client's business.

[toast0]

So if you paid me Jan 1 2025 for one year of DNS service and now it's Jan 1 2026 and you didn't pay me again, I'm supposed to keep serving your DNS?

If the money runs out, the service turns off. That's not sabotage anymore than the phone company turning off your phone or the electric company turning off your power. Although phone and electricity may have regulated shutoff procedures.

[ecb_penguin]

I didn't say anything about the legality... They asked how to block email. Both of these would work.

There's no reason to respond to questions or points nobody is making.

[smt88]

You don't think there's a reason to say someone's illegal advice is illegal? OK.

[jkman]

How would it be illegal if it was, for example, explicitly listed as an option in the contract?

[ecb_penguin]

[flagged]