Before you send anything: secure your domain, hosting and a backup. Access requests get answered on a quiet Tuesday and ignored once a dispute starts, because the access is the leverage. Then work the four messages below in order.
This is general information, not legal advice. For amounts that matter, one advocate consultation is money well spent.
Step 0: Do this first — today
1. Run a WHOIS lookup on your domain and read the registrant email. If it’s yours, log in and reset the password now.
2. Search your inbox for a registrar welcome email — the account may already be yours.
3. Contact your hosting company directly as the account owner. If you get in, download a full backup (files and database) and keep your own copy.
4. Export the chat rather than screenshotting it, so timestamps survive. Gather payment records, the quotation, and the account holder name behind any UPI ID.
With the domain and a backup in hand, everything below is a negotiation about money rather than a hostage situation.
Message 1 — the polite nudge (day 1)
Send when replies have slowed but nothing has been missed yet.
Hi [name], just checking in on the website. Could you send the staging link so I can see where it is, and confirm the date we’re working to? Thanks.
Why this wording: it asks for something they can only provide if the work exists, and it’s impossible to take offence at. A build in progress always sits somewhere shareable, so a refusal here is itself information.
Message 2 — accept the reason, ask for the consequence (day 4–7)
Send when you’ve had an excuse but no new date.
Understood, thanks for letting me know. Given that, what’s the new date for [specific deliverable], and could you send the staging link so I can see where it’s reached? I’d like to plan around it.
Why this wording: it doesn’t argue with the reason — arguing puts you in a fight you can’t win and makes you the difficult client. It asks for the two things that separate a genuine delay from a stall: a revised date and something viewable. Now it’s on record.
Stop paying at this point. Any outstanding instalment stays outstanding until something viewable exists.
Message 3 — the firm deadline (day 10–14)
Send when a second date has slipped, or you’ve had no reply to message 2.
Hi [name]. To summarise: I paid ₹[amount] on [date] for [scope]. The agreed date was [date] and I don’t yet have [what’s missing]. I need either the site live, or the files, backup and all logins, by [specific date — give 7 days]. If that isn’t workable, please tell me now so I can make other arrangements. I’d much rather resolve this directly.
Why this wording: dates and amounts, no adjectives. A specific deadline. An offer of two acceptable outcomes so they aren’t cornered. And a stated preference for resolving it — which is genuinely the cheaper path for both of you.
Keep a four-column log alongside this: date, what was promised, what arrived, reason given. Two minutes a week, and it becomes the strongest document you hold.
Message 4 — the refund demand (day 21+)
Send when the deadline in message 3 has passed.
Hi [name]. The date of [date] has passed and [what’s still missing]. I’m treating the project as ended. I’ve paid ₹[amount]. Please refund ₹[amount] within 7 days, or alternatively transfer the domain, hosting login, admin login and a full backup to me and we’ll settle at [reduced amount] for work completed. If I don’t hear from you by [date], I’ll pursue this through a legal notice and the consumer and cybercrime channels. I’d prefer not to.
Why this wording: it names a number and a date, offers an alternative that’s cheaper for them than a refund, and states the next step without threatening. That combination settles a surprising share of these.
There’s a fuller escalation ladder if you want the reasoning behind each rung.
If none of the four work: the recovery routes
In order of what actually produces results.
1. A legal notice from an advocate — the highest-yield step
Modest one-time cost, with a reply window typically of 15–30 days. It converts an ignorable client into a documented claim, and many disputes settle here with a partial refund — because complying is cheaper for them than responding.
2. Consumer commission complaint
Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, filable at the District Commission and online through the e-Daakhil portal without an advocate.
One honest caveat: services obtained for a commercial purpose are generally excluded, though an established exception covers purchases made to earn a livelihood through self-employment — which many small proprietors rely on. Ask an advocate whether your facts fit.
3. Cybercrime complaint — free
For online payments, cybercrime.gov.in accepts complaints directly and is usually more practical than a station visit.
A correction worth noting: you’ll see older guidance citing “IPC 406.” The Indian Penal Code was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on 1 July 2024 — criminal breach of trust is now BNS §316 and cheating BNS §318. Use the current sections.
Be realistic about outcomes: a police or cybercrime complaint is pressure and record, not a collections mechanism. Where several victims complain about the same person, it becomes considerably more effective.
4. Civil recovery suit
For larger documented amounts. Highest cost, longest timeline. Ask an advocate whether a summary procedure applies to your facts.
What each route needs from you
Gather once, use for all of them:
| Evidence | Where to get it |
|---|---|
| Proof of payment — amounts, dates, UPI IDs | Bank statement, app history |
| The account holder name behind the UPI ID | Your payment app — this is the detail every claim turns on |
| What was promised | The quotation, or the exported chat |
| What was delivered | Dated screenshots, or the staging link |
| Your attempts to reach them | Call logs, the four messages above |
| Their identity | Full name, firm name, GSTIN, address |
Knowing when to stop
If the vendor is untraceable and the amount is modest, the arithmetic sometimes says stop. Send the notice if it’s affordable, file the free online complaints, leave a factual public review — then put your energy into getting a working website.
That’s a decision, not a surrender. Weeks of pursuit have a cost too, in attention and in the site you still don’t have.
What to do this week
- Secure the domain, hosting and a backup before sending anything.
- Export the chat and build the evidence folder.
- Send whichever message matches where you actually are.
- Start the four-column log of promises against deliveries.
- Get one advocate consultation on a legal notice if the amount justifies it.
If you want it done the certain way
We can’t recover your money and won’t pretend to. What we can do is tell you what’s salvageable — a domain still in your name, files worth keeping — and rebuild on terms where the domain, hosting and logins are yours from day one. Send us the domain name. WhatsApp us; we reply in about five minutes between 9am and 7pm.
Related reading
- Your developer is ignoring you: the escalation ladder
- Recovery routes when a developer vanishes
- When a dispute turns into threats and police talk
- Website refund request letter template
- When to stop chasing and accept the loss
FAQ
What should I send when my web developer stops replying?
Four messages in order: a polite request for the staging link, then accept-the-reason-and-ask-for-a-date, then a firm deadline with amounts and dates stated, then a refund demand offering the alternative of files and logins at a reduced settlement.
How do I get my money back from a web developer who cheated me?
A legal notice from an advocate is the highest-yield step — modest cost, a 15–30 day reply window, and many disputes settle there with a partial refund. File the free consumer (e-Daakhil) and cybercrime complaints alongside it.
Which law applies to a web developer who took my money?
Since 1 July 2024 the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the Indian Penal Code — criminal breach of trust is BNS §316 and cheating BNS §318. Older guidance citing IPC 406 is out of date.
What should I do before sending any escalation message?
Secure your domain, hosting and a full backup. Access requests get answered while things are calm and ignored once a dispute starts, because the access is the leverage.
