BeTheMatch
Footballguy
A lot of people in here use DA Grafix for site design work for the MFL leagues, so I wanted to pass along my recent troubling experience with DA Grafix to the community at large here so they don't make the same mistake I did.
A few years back, I paid Adam at DA Grafix $100 to design our league site for us that we use on MFL. I liked the work and figured it would be worth the money, especially since he told me it was a ONE-TIME FEE. He said once I paid the $100, I would NEVER have to pay another dime ever again. I could keep it forever to use for our site and never owe anything else. Once that was clearly established, I went ahead and contracted him to do the work for me. I was happy with the look of the site, and he even helped fix a few bugs the next year when certain links weren't pointing to the right place once the site rolled over to the next year. I have never once received a bill for anything after my initial payment. I have never been told I owe anything.
So now, in the past few days, our main banner (which I created) stopped displaying. I figured it must've been a glitch on the server or something. So I sent DA Grafix an email asking what's up, and here are the exchanges between myself and Sticks, who informed me that they were taking my site down if I don't pay them years' worth of fees. (And, in fact, they've already taken it all down now.)
First email from me:
You put this site together for us a while back and now in the last couple days, the main banner doesn't load anymore, and I believe that image is being hosted by you.
Please fix ASAP.
Thanks
Sticks' first response:
Hello,
Recently DA ran a server audit, this audit was to find leagues that have not paid the yearly renewal hosting maintenance fee with DA. Apparently your site was flagged since 2009.
You will need to renew this fee, to bring current, up to date with DA. At the cost of 60 dollars.
Apologize for any inconvenience, as soon as you upgrade the site will rebuild itself.
Thank you.
DA.
You can submit payment through the website by custom quote by stix or paypal to dasticks@gmail.com
Thank you
My response:
What yearly fee? I was never told about this. Ever. I asked if I would simply pay one time for the setup, and that was it, and that's how I was told it would be. And why was I never contacted by anyone about this? This is ridiculous. I want to talk to the person that built my site!
Sticks' response:
Well I am sorry if it was not told, however you are speaking to the guy who built the site, and owns DA.
Your site went unnoticed without renewing, and you are not the only site.
The normal fee yearly is @20 going forward.
Thank you.
Sticks
My response:
I have spoken to the person who built my site about minor fixes and corrections since it was first built, and I don't recall that being you. It was very clearly explained to me before I paid for the site design that it was a one-time fee and I would never need to pay anything ever again even if I kept the league running for years and years. Why am I now being told three years later that I owe money contrary to what I've been consistently told before and after I paid for the product? That's bait and switch to tell me there's no charge until afterward.
Sticks' response:
The person that helped with your site Adam is no longer with DA, and again I am sorry for the inconvenience.
However your being told now, because we flagged this site in an audit.
We are requiring all to renew to current, that keeps your site running on our server, scripts, graphics.
Thank you
Sticks
My response:
It's not an inconvenience. It's taking my money. And so because he no longer works for your company, that means you can start back-charging me for things that I was never told I'd have to pay for? This is how you are going to do business?
Sticks' final response:
Hello
I am not arguing about this, feel free to not pay to renew, I will start the process to shut the site down.
You can host it yourself.
If the site goes down, and you change your mind, the cost will be 100, which includes a setup fee.
Have a good day
A few years back, I paid Adam at DA Grafix $100 to design our league site for us that we use on MFL. I liked the work and figured it would be worth the money, especially since he told me it was a ONE-TIME FEE. He said once I paid the $100, I would NEVER have to pay another dime ever again. I could keep it forever to use for our site and never owe anything else. Once that was clearly established, I went ahead and contracted him to do the work for me. I was happy with the look of the site, and he even helped fix a few bugs the next year when certain links weren't pointing to the right place once the site rolled over to the next year. I have never once received a bill for anything after my initial payment. I have never been told I owe anything.
So now, in the past few days, our main banner (which I created) stopped displaying. I figured it must've been a glitch on the server or something. So I sent DA Grafix an email asking what's up, and here are the exchanges between myself and Sticks, who informed me that they were taking my site down if I don't pay them years' worth of fees. (And, in fact, they've already taken it all down now.)
First email from me:
You put this site together for us a while back and now in the last couple days, the main banner doesn't load anymore, and I believe that image is being hosted by you.
Please fix ASAP.
Thanks
Sticks' first response:
Hello,
Recently DA ran a server audit, this audit was to find leagues that have not paid the yearly renewal hosting maintenance fee with DA. Apparently your site was flagged since 2009.
You will need to renew this fee, to bring current, up to date with DA. At the cost of 60 dollars.
Apologize for any inconvenience, as soon as you upgrade the site will rebuild itself.
Thank you.
DA.
You can submit payment through the website by custom quote by stix or paypal to dasticks@gmail.com
Thank you
My response:
What yearly fee? I was never told about this. Ever. I asked if I would simply pay one time for the setup, and that was it, and that's how I was told it would be. And why was I never contacted by anyone about this? This is ridiculous. I want to talk to the person that built my site!
Sticks' response:
Well I am sorry if it was not told, however you are speaking to the guy who built the site, and owns DA.
Your site went unnoticed without renewing, and you are not the only site.
The normal fee yearly is @20 going forward.
Thank you.
Sticks
My response:
I have spoken to the person who built my site about minor fixes and corrections since it was first built, and I don't recall that being you. It was very clearly explained to me before I paid for the site design that it was a one-time fee and I would never need to pay anything ever again even if I kept the league running for years and years. Why am I now being told three years later that I owe money contrary to what I've been consistently told before and after I paid for the product? That's bait and switch to tell me there's no charge until afterward.
Sticks' response:
The person that helped with your site Adam is no longer with DA, and again I am sorry for the inconvenience.
However your being told now, because we flagged this site in an audit.
We are requiring all to renew to current, that keeps your site running on our server, scripts, graphics.
Thank you
Sticks
My response:
It's not an inconvenience. It's taking my money. And so because he no longer works for your company, that means you can start back-charging me for things that I was never told I'd have to pay for? This is how you are going to do business?
Sticks' final response:
Hello
I am not arguing about this, feel free to not pay to renew, I will start the process to shut the site down.
You can host it yourself.
If the site goes down, and you change your mind, the cost will be 100, which includes a setup fee.
Have a good day
