Help with a web developer/contract

[doodah]

A friend of mine has hired a web developer to make her website. Here are the details (I have the contract with me but it's a fair few pages):

• The contract was signed in Feb 2011 and materials were handed over in March 2011
• Project time frame was 12 weeks
• My friend has provided all materials when asked except for one occasion - she took around 2 weeks longer to get hold of the pictures requested
• The project budget is £400 split into 3 stages; contract signing (£200), delivery of web design (£50), delivery of final version (about to reach this stage, £50) and acceptance of final design (£100 + expenses)
• Fees....."CLIENT shall pay to DESIGNER fees in the amounts and according to the payment schedule set forth in the Proposal"......expenses include shipping, postage, travel etc but nothing about additional developers......additional costs "pricing includes DESIGNER'S fees only"
• My friend thought the budget was £500 but was corrected by the developer
• The developer agreed to do all of the required aspects of the website (gallery, videos etc)
• However, she has now said she needs to enlist another person to fix the bugs and successfully implement the gallery - beyond her expertise
• The cost of this person will be £100

All of the above (apart from the last two points and her thinking in her head it was £500) are stated in the contract. Apart from going way over time, things seem to becoming more difficult in recent weeks. They had agreed to put Copyright 'Ebee' and then something along the lines of 'Designed by Joe Bloggs'. The developer has put this:

Copyright © 2011 LSLB All Rights Reserved

The contract states my friend has ownership/will get ownership upon completion. My friend queried this and the developer agreed to change which I believe she did but has now reneged.

So that's the jist. I am no legal expert but to me it seems this developer is taking the mick a little. What do you think? Many thanks

 

[lookitsjonno]

Sounds like a cowboy to me, sadly there are many people about who think they can design and develop websites when they can't. He's quoted far too low and has lost intrest is my guess.

What has she paid so far? If she hasn't spent much I'd take what you can of the project and run. If she has paid the amount in full, she is the owner of the IP and he should give her the contents on a disk for a reasonable sum and go elsewhere.

 

[GravyMonster]

The developer is taking the mick, however it's written in the contract that they can do what they are. Therefore I don't think your friend has much they can do. Personally I'd do whatever I could to get them off my back and go find someone better to do the work for you.

Also that website design is horrendous. The top banner takes up half my screen at 1920x1080. Also, the designer has never heard of line spacing as there is an extremely off putting wall of text on the homepage. It should be 2-3 100 word paragraphs maximum. and on top of that there has been absolutely no thought whatsoever for coding the site to be search engine optimised.

Did she not look at examples of previous work from these guys?

Sounds like a cowboy to me, sadly there are many people about who think they can design and develop websites when they can't. He's quoted far too low and has lost intrest is my guess.

Very true. Being able to hack around a wordpress template does not mean you are a designer/developer.

 

[doodah]

She has paid £250 so far. The next payment will be due shortly (£50) but only when the developer delivers the final version. Without boring you with the whole back story...my friend is a singer and a student so money is extremely tight - the £400 came from her own money and church/work donations.

Looks like this could be an expensive life lesson.

EDIT - the developer has now changed her mind and says she will finish the job.

 

[oulton]

“I Echo only the word of God from my speakers” – ebee

wow

 

[doodah]

Ok - easy. This isn't a character character assassination.

Thanks for the advice