Best of the ISP-Lists

Spend Time On Profits, Not Losses

Some ISPs are still going out of their way to help all customers, even those customers who refuse to pay for service.

[November 15, 2007]

On the ISP-Webhosting list in October, JL told this story of woe:

Okay, I know you're not lawyers ; I'm more interested in how to do this from a customer retention (if possible) point of view.

We have a webhosting reseller customer that's over $500 behind on a bill of about $75 monthly. We've been trying to collect; it's like pulling teeth (though perhaps a bit more painful). Though our TOS allows us to suspend his account for being over ten days late, we've seen fit to work with him, but it's getting impossible.

About a week ago we found out one of his client's sites is hosting a phishing site. I suspended the site but made it available to my client and asked him to fix it, and then tell us what he did to make sure it wouldn't happen again. Then, I said, we'd allow him to unsuspend the site. Since our resellers can unsuspend sites on their own, I made it clear that if he did that without both fixing the problem and getting our approval, we'd have to suspend his account.

I found yesterday that the site was again up, and that no phishing site was still there. I called him, but got his cellphone; he was too busy to talk.

So I suspended the site again, backed it up, made the backup available through a special ftp interface set up just for him.

I decided that rather than suspend his reseller account (which would suspend all his sites), I'd change the password so he couldn't log in.

I charged him (also according to our TOS) $100 for the one hour it took to find the problems with the site. So now his account is over $600 in arrears.

I wrote him (maybe I shouldn't have):

• We wouldn't allow that one customer site on any of our servers anymore.
• We'd restore his password so he can log into his account when he paid in full all his past due payments (currently all except that last $100, but that last $100 will be past due in ten days).
• If he didn't pay by the end of the year, we'd suspend his account and remove it from the server.
• Based on an audit of resources used (space and bandwidth) by his account we're raising his rate to $132/month (which is what other clients pay who use as much server resources as he uses) effective his next due date.
• That next year, we'll be suspending all sites that remain unpaid ten days after billing.

He wrote me back and says he needs a list of all the websites he has on our server and ftp info so he can download them and back them up immediately.

I think what he really wants to do is to move off our systems and not pay us.

But it's not our fault he doesn't have those passwords and that ftp information; he should have a copy of the email sent for every new account.

And I don't really want to spend any time on him.

I'm wondering if I can still just suspend his (and all his client's) accounts? Or if I should consider my email to him as a promise?

Suggestions, anyone.

Remember, I know you're not a lawyer (though you may certainly remind me ); I'm only wondering how to handle it from a customer relations point, and I'm trying to come up with a fair way to impose our TOS on all our clients.

I appreciate any comments.

List members said many things, but the advice all boiled down to this: if someone is already refusing to pay you for service you have already performed, don't do them any favors.

—End