Cut your losses. At some point you have to admit to yourself that you've been had and you won't get any kind of compensation. You're just wasting resources. Next time you'll be more apt at heeding the red flags.
Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
11–20 of 103 posts
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#12Simple...sue him. Dude I'm in your exact situation...hired someone to do a project, and he is now a year late. I gave the guy concession after concession just to get him to finish...hell I cut about 70% of the features just to have him finish quicker. And told him...as long as he finish quickly I'd waive the late fees. You can't work with these people...even after all my concessions the guy still gave me major attitu…
I'm very tempted to get the lawyers involved, but that will be expensive, take a long time and might not be worth it.
Sounds like you have a similar problem, at least Im not the only one.
I waived any late fees ( I didn't even mention them) and offered him bonuses if he finished within a certain date (he didnt but hes still demanding them).
Its amazing how angry he gets when I ask in the politest way possible that he show me some progress, even when he's 6 months late!
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#13Cut your losses. At some point you have to admit to yourself that you've been had and you won't get any kind of compensation. You're just wasting resources. Next time you'll be more apt at heeding the red flags.
I feel like I've put enough time into this (not to mention money!) that makes it very hard to do that...
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#14Simple...sue him. Dude I'm in your exact situation...hired someone to do a project, and he is now a year late. I gave the guy concession after concession just to get him to finish...hell I cut about 70% of the features just to have him finish quicker. And told him...as long as he finish quickly I'd waive the late fees. You can't work with these people...even after all my concessions the guy still gave me major attitu…
I'm very tempted to get the lawyers involved, but that will be expensive, take a long time and might not be worth it. Sounds like you have a similar problem, at least Im not the only one. I waived any late fees ( I didn't even mention them) and offered him bonuses if he finished within a certain date (he didnt but hes still demanding them). Its amazing how angry he gets when I ask in the politest way possible that he…
You don't need a lawyer for small claims court. You just pay the small fee(something like 20 bucks) and you get to present your case in front of a judge. And the small claims court case really won't take that much time. Chances are, you'll be presenting your case within 3-4 weeks.
I would give your guy the ultimatum right now. If your experience is anything like mine, it'll be faster for you to hire a replacement(who'll be paid upon completion) to finish the site from scratch, than it'll take your current guy to finish.
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#15okay, first, you can't use html in an hn post for formatting. you should go back and add two-return-key paragraph breaks, so your post will be readable. second, getting someone to "reverse engineer" an existing app is a very bad idea. you're already in a bad situation, that would make it even worse. assuming you find someone to do this, they are going to be morally questionable. i, for one, would never agree to do su…
2500 dollars is a lot for me, in my current situation. Surely it's not morally questionable as I paid for a service, to be completed at an agreed date at an agreed price. If he refuses to stick to the deal then I don't see how its amoral for me to pay him the 2500 dollars and keep my software, even if he wants to try and squeeze more money out of me. Please feel free to let me know why it would be wrong for me to do…
that you "paid for a service for which you didn't receive" is your version of the story. i'd be willing to bet that the programmer involved would have quite a different one. i'm not making any claims about who's right or wrong, i'm just pointing out that he's likely willing to fight you over it.
suppose you reverse-engineer the app and the old programmer finds out. he says "hey, that's my work, you are not allowed to do that" and sues you. if he's as vindictive and unproductive as you claim, that seems a likely outcome.
what you're talking about is throwing good money and effort after bad. you're digging yourself into a deep, dark hole. you and the programmer could be taking revenge shots at each other for years.
starting over puts you at zero, which is way better than sinking deeper and deeper into negative numbers.
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#16Cut your losses. You need to work out, what's worth more - the time or the money.
You could start legal proceedings and 2 months down the line see someone else launch your product... I'm one for speed.
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#17Cut your losses. At some point you have to admit to yourself that you've been had and you won't get any kind of compensation. You're just wasting resources. Next time you'll be more apt at heeding the red flags.
I feel like I've put enough time into this (not to mention money!) that makes it very hard to do that...
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#18Cut your losses. At some point you have to admit to yourself that you've been had and you won't get any kind of compensation. You're just wasting resources. Next time you'll be more apt at heeding the red flags.
I feel like I've put enough time into this (not to mention money!) that makes it very hard to do that...
It may be emotionally hard to cut your losses, but it may be economically sound.
There's a concept in economics called "sunk costs". You can't recover your investment, so whatever your choice, the money's gone. The only choice you have at this point is: do you continue or do you stop?
Since it looks like you have to pay more for continuing (and maybe even more after that) you should contrast that to the costs of starting over. It may be better to stop and try again if that's cheaper. It feels terrible, but it can be the best choice.
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#19First question: Has he released any source code to you yet? You mentioned in one of your replies that he's met (and you've paid for) two milestones. At either of those milestones, did you receive the code? I assume you don't but I figured I would ask.
Second question: You said, "I offered him 10 percent of profits" - did he accept? Was that part of the written agreement or an oral offer? My thinking is that he's probably going to ask for more and more as he gets closer to finishing and, if you do decide to totally back out and start over, this is important.
Third question: What will he do with the code he has written if you decide to end the project? Will he release it for free, market it separately, or...? Does your contract cover that?
Re: Ask HN: I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom.
#20Tell him to provide the source code to you. You have a 90% stake in the product, you are of course allowed to have a copy of the code. When you have a copy of the code, make your terms clear.