Big problem...need advice.

[labrocca]

I sold a site to a good standing member here on the 10th. It was an image hosting site. It was at 1and1 hosting and I didn't need to hosting account so I gave the new owner access. I advised him to get his own account when my account ran out. 1and1 doesn't have a way to delete billing info. I felt this was OK to do since the buyer has a solid reputation. Sale and payment went smooth. Transfer went smooth. Then about 3 days ago I get an email from him stating that 1and1 is charging me $1000 for overusage on bandwidth and he advised I change my billing info asap. It was my paypal card so I removed all cash from paypal and cancelled the credit card. So far 1and1 has not billed me. They did however suspend the account. The domain is in the new owners account of course and it's at Moniker. The domain was sold for $1200. So a $1000 charge from the host is really killing it for me. The new owner says since he has a dead site not earning he wants a refund. However I have the complete site backed up. I can install it for him anywhere he chooses. He has insisted so far on a refund. I don't have the money for a refund and I don't believe he has a reason to request one. I am firm about this to him but very willing to do what I can to help him get the site up. I have suggest solid hosting accounts. I am not sure how he expected to continue using mine. Also my terms of sale did not include hosting but I threw it in since I had no need for it.

This has been really aggravating for me. He has threatened to chargeback the amount and since I have pulled all funds paypal will close my account which I have had for 7 years! The Paypal is a vital part of my business and to get that account closed will be a big problem for me.

I have been email 1and1 to see how I can get this billing straightened in case it was a mistake...it was not. They sent me a day to day PDF of the bandwidth usage. It spiked on the 14 to 500GB on a single day. I asked 1and1 why I was not notified. They said they had emailed me twice...once on the 12th and the next on the 14th suggesting I get a dedicated. So now I am really really upset...as the current owner could have saved me $900+ y telling me the account had a problem. Instead he let it go until it was suspended and it was in my name. He has a chargeback threat looming over my head too.

Legally I am not sure if I can sue him for the $1k bandwidth charge...I kind of doubt it really. I have not asked him to pay it. Even though it did happen while the site was in his custody.

I can't afford to refund him..I sold the site to pay bills. I don't think it's right for him to chargeback or ask for a refund. He still has domain and the site. He just needs a new hosting account in his own name. I don't believe I have done anything wrong. He blames me for not stating that bandwidth could spike but isn't that obvious with an image host site? It already did 18gb a day. Also he recieved 2 email from 1and1 but did nothing till they suspended the account. He can get a dreamhost account with 1600GB transfer for only $16 a month...cheaper with a coupon code.

Ugh..$1000 won't put me out of business but at this time it will get my account shut down. Is it fair I should give him his money back when the hosting bill is in my name? If he does a chargeback then I lose another $1200 too. I had a $1k offer at Sedo for this when he made the buy.

Any advice or support on this would be great. I just want a resolution that will satisfy us both.

 

[Biggie]

if the site was in his possession, then he is responsible.

possession of drugs...go to jail

possession of site...pay the bill


imo....

 

[webfreak]

Refund him the $1200. He can then use that to pay the $1000 bill. The $1000 will go to 1and1. You agreed to the terms when you signed up and they'll be down your throat if either one of you don't pony up the $$$. You have had previous offers on the domain name, so you can accept those and still profit quite nicely.

Or, you can try the legal system.

*I am not a lawyer.

 

[labrocca]

Webfreak why should I refund him the money? And I doubt he will pay the $1k hosting bill. I don't think either of us will be paying 1and1. The domain is not under their control and I have the site files so telling 1and1 to screw off only hurts me and my credit.

 

[nts]

He shouldn't be entitled to any refund in my opinion. After the sale it's his domain/files to do what he wants with. If the hosting gets suspended, the traffic is going to die down if he dosn't move to another hosting account. It's his problem he didn't get the site back up and earning revenue again, not yours.

As for 1and1, it's his hosting, he used too much bandwidth with his site. He should foot the bill, if anyone does.

 

[webfreak]

Webfreak why should I refund him the money?

You said you wanted a resolution that would satisfy you both.

 

[Blarian]

The way I see it is that:

-You sell the site.
-He asks/ you tell him he can use your server as a favor, not a condition of the sale.
-He has a 27x spike in bandwidth usage for whatever reason when it comes into his possession.
-He leaves you to be stuck with the bill (judging by his neglence, not forwarding you the two emails from 1and1)
-He's now worried that something is going to come back to him, so he wants his money back incase they come after him to pay the bill...

That's what it seems like to me at least.

 

[GT Web]

He shouldn't be entitled to any refund in my opinion. After the sale it's his domain/files to do what he wants with. If the hosting gets suspended, the traffic is going to die down if he dosn't move to another hosting account. It's his problem he didn't get the site back up and earning revenue again, not yours.

As for 1and1, it's his hosting, he used too much bandwidth with his site. He should foot the bill, if anyone does.

Agreed. Good luck getting things worked out.

 

[Wise]

I am a UK laywer not US, the way I would see this is that unless you have sold the site without disclosing information that would have lead this guy not to buy the site then your fine with the sale, he is entitled to no refund.

If I read it correctly the hosting account at 1&1 was and still is in your name but you gave him access. If that is correct then the only person liable is you as the account holder and you have little prospect of forcing him to pay the bill. 1&1 can without doubt take action as can paypal, but the question is will they?

 

[Gritgrat]

He purchased the site and screwed you over by not forwarding the Emails, hes already laughed his ass off over that and carried on running YOUR bill up!! Dont let him take the piss out of you even more by refunding him!! Tell him to Beat it!!

I dont think you will have a leg to stand on with the hosting company as the accounts in your name. Paypal probably will close your account down, i know that may cause big problems but cant you open a new one?

What ever you do dont Refund , Also if he needs the back-up off you i would be charging $$$ and making sure he put things right before i went down that road with him!!

Good Luck

 

[NameAlot.com]

It's without question the other guy's fault, but I think it's your responsibility to pay the bills. You GAVE him full access to your account. I had a 1and1 domain that I sold to a member here. I gave him my account but before hands I cancelled my credit and simply asked for a new one being the this was a small hassle that could prevent a bigger hassle. No matter who it is, you can't just say here. IT sucks, it really does... but it seems that responsibility falls on your head per 1and1 user agreement since you willfully gave access to your account.

 

[BLazeD]

Dont give him the refund.

 

[NavySeals91]

answer coming.

 

[labrocca]

Well thanks guys. I hope he reads this and doesn't force the chargeback issue. I have been adamant with him that a refund won't happen. I also realize that the 1and1 bill is gonna be my problem. It's not cool though that he could have told me the problem and corrected it. The only thing that I know could force him to be liable for the bill was changing the hosting account email address for contacts. This imho would mean he is taking responsibility. I don't plan to sue him over it. I just want him to stop the refund nonsense...get a new host and for me to make sure the site is running again for him. I even offered to manage the site for 6 months for free just to make sure this doesn't happen again. I used to login to the site on a daily basis just to check stats. If he had done that he would have seen the spike in images. If he even read the emails from 1and1 then he would have known something was wrong.

Well if he does do the chargeback with paypal I will be sure to let everyone know and I seriously doubt that those in this forums would conduct too much business with him after that. As almost everyone has stated...he has no legit reason for a refund.

webfreak....

You said you wanted a resolution that would satisfy you both.

That 100% doesn't satisfy me...only him.

What would satisfy me...is him paying that 1and1 bill but I am not such a jerk to know that it was partially my fault for being trusting...I won't make that mistake again.

 

[domain newbie]

..There is lots of dodgy registrars and dodgy hosting websites, 1and1 -one of them, it is your responsibility not to get sacked by them, i suppose..

 

[GT Web]

It will be interesting to see if this member with a "good standing" chooses to respond in this thread.

 

[David G]

if the site was in his possession, then he is responsible.

possession of drugs...go to jail

possession of site...pay the bill


imo....

Sorry, disagree.

It was the sellers hosting acct and he is legally liable for paying it, not the domain buyer. A hosting contract was between seller and 1&1. Seller was very negligent as he should have never given buyer the hosting acct access. I would never dream of doing that due to the buyer obviously not being obligated paying it.

P.S. Unfortunate this happened but it was dumb to give an unlimited charge possibility hosting acct to the buyer, though he should have not taken advantage of it or even accepted the acct. Image Hosting names can burn up tremendous bandwidth, which I know from experience. I would not have taken the acct if you offered it to me. Why did you not get the 1&1 emails, I am sure they notified you more than once?

 

[NameAlot.com]

Well if he does do the chargeback with paypal I will be sure to let everyone know and I seriously doubt that those in this forums would conduct too much business with him after that. As almost everyone has stated...he has no legit reason for a refund.

Well, if that being the case that he does do a chargeback... I thinkyou can take this one step further and post who this member is and further post some of this thread in the members to avoid section. I hope you're able to find a recourse that is mutually amiable because this is a crappy situation to have to deal with.

 

[Jonathan]

If the member tries to screw you with the charge, definitely let us know who that person is. Has the member shown up here yet? You should send them this thread in case they haven't seen it.

 

[jdk]

What I do not get is if you didn't give him access to your hosting account and instead sent the site via email, he would be hosting it elsewhere. Just because "your" hosting account got suspended he requests a refund? He is not entitled to a refund. If anything he should also pay you the $1,000 for the bandwidth charge.

As in 1&1 you can tell him you will send him the files and the transaction between you two is complete. Then you have learned your lesson and will see what you can work out with 1&1. Tell them you can not afford to pay the bill as I assume they have terms in place if someone hacks your account. I doubt they will hold you responsible. Offer to pay them a few hundred bucks at most and see what they say.