any update? Did you finally get paid?

Brett,
About a year ago, I made a very similar mistake. I posted a truthful comment about a former employer online, thinking only the employer and it's employees would see it. Their actions were unforgivable and HIGHLY unethical. Within two weeks, it had accumulated a massive amount of responses and was turning out of control. The company eventually sued me (and lost, of course). But the hit it took to my professionalism can still be seen in doing a Google search of my full name, which I proudly displayed.
At this point, it's behind me and I'm establishing myself as a professional again. Although it can still be seen on the first page of Google, sticking to my professionalism and learning from my mistakes has helped dramatically. The complaint page is rarely mentioned to me and is not detrimental to my reputation anymore. I'm sure the same will happen for you.
But to be completely honest, I thought your response was hilarious. Mad props.

Brett, you rule. Seriously - ignore that guy above who didn't like the previous site - opinions are like.. well anyway.. you know the rest -

Once about 8 years ago I had a client say "no problem, I have posted your cheque today".. and then 3 days later.. "oh sorry I will post it today". 1 week later.. "oh, totally forgot.. " etc. after 2 weeks, I 'hid' the site and put up a note "This site is temporarily closed for important maintenance" - funnily enough, I got a phone call 1 hour later from the client, and a cheque actually did appear in my post box the next day.

I had one other client once who I was suspicious of from the start. So, after I did a quick wireframe and proposed a graphic look/feel, and they agreed to the spec, I laid out a stepped payment plan...... and didn't hear anything more from them. So very little time lost. But I HATE having to do that, much of my work is word-of-mouth, and referral - so I like to have a friendly and trusting relationship with my clients - if I have to have a cold, contract-based relationship, I'd frankly rather work at 7-11.

I'm a freelancer man, If somebody doesn't pay their web design bill, I don't get to pay my rent that month - or eat.

I know this went way out of control for you, but good on you - If I wasn't in the biz myself, I'd totally hire you :-)

You, sir, are my hero. I'd love to do that to one of my deadbeat clients. Though I think I like the Chef Payne solution even better. LOL. I absolutely love the "Make Payment" button.

YOU ROCK!!!

I too have been taken to the cleaners by one client in particular. He signed the contract, and then stiffed me for the bill. I have been adding late fees (as per the contract that he signed) for the last year, and his bill now totals over $20,000. It stared out at less than half of that.

I posted a blog, on my personal site, which was indexed by google. I stated facts, (taken directly from emails he sent me, and voice recordings) never once calling him names, or anything of the like. When he saw it, he sent me a threatening email, and has responded by posting about me on various websites, never once stating a FACT. Last time I checked "trailer park skank" wasn't factual. I'm sure I have a court case for defamation/slander etc, as well as money owed, but haven't gone to court because "you can't get blood from a turnip". This guy is likely broke in my opinion. Otherwise, he would have paid the bill a year ago.

This all being said, I am glad you are standing up for yourself. If you don't pay your bill, this type of page should be put up IMO. The phone company puts a message on your phone saying it's been temporarily disconnected, so anyone who calls knows you didn't pay your bill. Web design shouldn't be any different.

I wish ALL designers/devs had the guts to put up a "Non-Paying Client" notice on the websites of deadbeats! Like I said before: YOU ROCK!!!

Keisha Ruff
http://twitter.com/nirvelli...

I am sad and disappointed to see this spectacle. To be honest, I cannot see anything other than you have painted yourself in a bad light.
For one, to complain you have not been paid in years is just plain silly, because after the first 90 days you should have taken action then.

However, the page ranks #1 for chiropractic searches in the Area. I suggest you monetize that standing NOW to recoup some of your loses.
(i.e. for an upfront payment, redirect to a local competitor)

Looking at the archived copies of the site you made, and the current site listed in the previous comments. I have to say, the old site was quite inferior. It looked VERY basic, and not designed for a high conversion rate. Yes, I know it was done in an avant garde minimalist style, but it really seemed to be lacking to me. Bland and limited. (please don't take it personally, it may have been what they asked for, shrug)
If that was the outcome of your needs analysis with the customer, I would still have to blame you, only because YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
One thing to note: The whole business of 'Chiropractic' is one elaborate fraud anyway. It is not medicine, neither is it scientific. That you would be denied payment from a charlatan/snake oil peddler is not surprising.

Brett, I suspect it's obvious to almost everyone that you're one of the good guys. Everyone screws up occasionally and this time, it was your turn. Your potentially clever, albeit misguided, solution to a billing problem veered off track and, unfortunately, garnered unwanted attention.

Let's not forget who the real culprit is, this would never have happened, had your client done the right thing and paid you.

I'm absolutely certain, a little time will put this nonsense in perspective:

<ul>
<li>6,868,273,000+ people on Earth, Earth is only one of</li>
<li>1.6x10^40 planets in the Milky Way Galaxy, our galaxy is only one of</li>
<li>1x10^11 galaxies in the visible Universe</li>
<li>and there&#8217s likely more than one universe</li>
</ul>

I definitely understand where you were coming from. I have done plenty of work that was never paid for, and it is incredibly frustrating. While I agree with the notion that the right thing to do would have been to just pull the site, it sounds like you just got caught up with the frustration of it all and used poor judgment in posting the dummy page. The fact that you have essentially apologized for your actions here speaks volumes to me. I hope that this situation blows over, and that it doesn't have a negative impact on your design biz.

I might be in a minority or even alone on my take on this.

Although I feel your pain, I've always held fast to doing things properly. A decent contract and scope of work goes a long way. An extensive breakdown of service rules and such as well, help the web designer in such situations as you found yourself. I know you spent 'years' trying to collect, but I see that as a failure on your part for not having a proper contract in place which designates what happens after defaulting on payments.

In the end, myself personally would have just killed the domain off and removed the hosting while using every legal means to recoup my losses... of course I would learn from my mistake and get a better contract for future and current clients!

The doctor might be a crook in your eyes but lowering yourself to destroying his reputation is not putting yourself in better light.

Kev C

p.s. I was surprised you didn't have links to your own sites on that page to get some SEO advantage from the viral nature of the last day or so.

YOU ARE AMAZING. That dummy website was a thing of beauty. Been there. Have SO been there. Wish I would have DONE that.

You were more than patient enough. And way too tolerant. I for one am sick of being treated like "just" a designer and being taken for granted and ripped off by inconsiderate clients, especially those who have DEEP pockets and just don't feel like they have to pay up.

GOOD FOR YOU.

Brett - while your approach was a bit dramatic, I must respect it.

There are two people I know, who are both quite dear to me, owners of virtual assistance agencies, whose dedication, competence, and professionalism are beyond any doubt, who got "stiffed" by their nose-in-the-air clients who just didn't feel like paying, who rather than own up to what they owed, made up lies. These clients...one of them ironically sells information products on how to build and maintain effective virtual teams and the other generally prattles on about all the rich and famous people they supposedly rub elbows with constantly - so you'd think they could have found the $500 to pay their bill just by peeling it off their own elbows.

Thank you for your courage in bringing public attention to this issue. I look forward to a world in which the client who clouts on invoices is more completely seen for the criminal they are.

<ul>
<li>ARH</li>
</ul>

it's unfortunate that this has happened to you, i hope you have moved on and look for better paying clients. regards

Brett - Don't feel too badly about this one. The "doctor" had ample opportunity and reminders to make things right with you and he refused. It's only libelous if the statements are false and it appears that you are in the right. There is little difference between this and someone carrying a sign in front of a store that says "Ask me how I got screwed by [insert name of business]" which is also perfectly legal if the beef is legitimate.

I'm guessing you also inadvertently helped a ton of Web contractors out there collect their invoices in a more timely fashion. Yeah, the approach could be viewed as a tad childish or unprofessional, but in this case I'd say you earned the right to be. Just my opinion.

Love it! very tasteful. like the design too. wish i'd have found you a month ago. i'll keep you in mind when we start to implement upcoming server side features!!!

here's a handy "contact the dr" link:

http://www.winonachiropract...

see the "email a doctor" link at the bottom of the page...

You did a very commendable job staying within the law and not putting yourself in a difficult legal situation, and keeping humble about it.

Also, I really like the background, and the website in general.

Nice work dude. I would do the same.

I had something similar happen to me and I did almost the same thing. I like your tactic a little better. My client was Chef Payne and you have to love that it is number one when you search his name http://www.google.com/#scli...

So I'm sorry this ended up on Mashable. Had I any idea it was you I would have checked first. Blame my insanely time-consuming Facebook post for me not keeping track of Twitter.

Love ya, love this, still think you're the most talented guy in the biz.

Brett, I don't think you should feel bad at all. You did the right thing (and also what I would have done, and have threatened to do in the past). If you don't pay your rent, ya get evicted, if ya don't pay your utilities, they get shut off. It infuriates me when people think they can get away with not paying their designers/devs. The only other option would be to take them to court, which would have been expensive for everyone. This is the most logical next step.
Good job, man.

Excellent!!! 1- you did the right thing, name and shame has always been a good way to free your anger, 2- this fantastically fireballed! and I'm guessing you will still be more recognized for your quality code production than for this reaction.
I'm left wondering if all chiros are "Alan Harpers" ;-)

You sir, are the man. A hero to those in the creative industry. And now thanks to Ophelia we know what the good doctor looks like.

What about their "real" website?

http://www.winonachiropract...

Google bombed!! LOL

http://www.google.com/searc...

Nice! Got here through a friend posting on facebook. I applaud you, and have had a few similar clients that I wish I had the gonads to do similar too . . . though I admit I never taken it this far! Question - who controls the domain name? I trust you had at least FTP access to the host, but do you have control over the domain name/DNS settings? Do you manage their registrar account? Hopefully you do! Nice work regardless!

You must be getting a ton of traffic . . this very site timed out 3x before i could actually get it to load. Good for you!

Umm. Sorry about that.

Ah, a web site repo! I think you showed tremendous reserve, considering this went on for over a year.

awesome while it lasted. best of luck, frood.

Made it here too:

http://popurls.com

Wow, you are my hero. They should have seen it coming. Have they contacted you yet?

Here is what happens when companies don't provide refunds that were promised:
http://www.hsnaturalssucks.com
http://www.hsnaturals.com

Nice job on the site.

You ROCK!

~Callum