I feel bad - I had to ban a paying customer

55 replies
I had to ban my first paying customer today. It feels very awkward.

I have this site where members can create unlimited webpages using embedded videos as content and monetize them with ads - Adsense, CPA, Affiliate Ads etc. All they have to do is add a few additional details like the video title and a brief description.

Of course with every program like this, there is always a handful of people that will abuse the system.

Well, this guy I banned today kept posting the same exact videos over and over with keyword stuffed page titles and descriptions. It was the laziest thing I ever saw. He would literally take a phrase for his title like "watch this interview" and paste it in 10 times on the same page like:

"watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview"

He created over a thousand pages on my site with non-sense like that.

I was afraid that he's going to get my site blacklisted / sandboxed, etc. in the search engines. See: Keyword stuffing - Webmaster Tools Help

Last week I sent him a warning that his account would be suspended if he continued. He said okay. Then 100 webpages later, he's doing the same exact thing.

So today, I got sick of it and suspended his account.

It sucks because he paid $149 for a lifetime membership. However, I can't jeopardize the entire site for one member.

Am I wrong. What would you have done?

From an SEO perspective, should I just delete the 1,000+ keyword stuffed pages he created on the site?
#bad #ban #customer #feel #paying
  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    You did the right thing and yes, you should delete all of his pages. You should give him a refund too.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
      Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

      You did the right thing and yes, you should delete all of his pages. You should give him a refund too.
      Even if he already made back his money plus a nice profit from the site? He confirmed that he did.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tom B
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

        Even if he already made back his money plus a profit from the site? He confirmed that he did.

        I would still give him a refund.
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        • Profile picture of the author John Lenaghan
          Do you have any kind of TOS that people have to agree to when they sign up? And if so, is it clear that this type of behaviour isn't acceptable?

          If so, I wouldn't give him a refund personally. Especially after warning him once and having it happen again.

          But if it isn't spelled out when people sign up, I would probably give him a refund and chalk it up to a learning experience. (Then add some clear rules for new members to agree to.)

          Is it possible he's outsourcing the work and whoever's doing the work is cutting corners? That might make me reconsider as well, provided it didn't happen again.

          John
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          • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
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    • Profile picture of the author agc
      Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

      You did the right thing and yes, you should delete all of his pages. You should give him a refund too.
      I disagree. In fact, I STRONGLY disagree.

      By making the punitive forfeiture of services paid for (but as yet undelivered) a part of your contract as the penalty for wilful abuse, you put a real incentive in place to not try to take advantage.

      And I wouldn't feel bad about banning him, nor would I feed bad about keeping the money. He was after all warned, and he also acknowledged the warning.

      Feeling bad for him just weakens you against doing the right thing next time.
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by agc View Post

        By making the punitive forfeiture of services paid for (but as yet undelivered) a part of your contract as the penalty for wilful abuse, you put a real incentive in place to not try to take advantage.
        Added food for thought.

        Current scenario: User paid $149 for lifetime access, abused the service to make a significant profit, and lost his account.

        Proposed scenario: User paid $149 for lifetime access, abused the service to make a significant profit, lost his account... and got his $149 back.

        Both scenarios, at their core, are an economic incentive to abuse the service because a significant profit was made in both cases.

        But which one is the bigger economic incentive to abuse the service?
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        • Profile picture of the author Oxbloom
          Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

          Added food for thought.

          Current scenario: User paid $149 for lifetime access, abused the service to make a significant profit, and lost his account.

          Proposed scenario: User paid $149 for lifetime access, abused the service to make a significant profit, lost his account... and got his $149 back.

          Both scenarios, at their core, are an economic incentive to abuse the service because a significant profit was made in both cases.

          But which one is the bigger economic incentive to abuse the service?
          Just to give the other side of the coin...

          I'm not 100% sure I understand what your site does. I'm not 100% sure I understand what your site offers *me*. I'm not 100% sure I'm even in your market.

          But if you had replied to the first suggestion saying, "refund the guy anyway," with, "Good call. I refunded him," I would have run to check out your site as fast as humanly possible. Who knows? Maybe I'd have gotten on board. I've certainly been known to jump into purchases that I don't have any immediate use for before. I'll do so again.

          Not that you *ought* to cater to people like me.

          But you (ETA: "you" meaning the OP, of course, not Darklock) ought to be aware that every decision you make in public gets noticed...sometimes by potential customers. On a board like this, with tens of thousands of amateur and professional IM'ers, I'll bet I wasn't the only one.

          That's why sometimes, even though it sticks in your craw, it pays to go above and beyond what any reasonable person would do under the circumstances.

          If your reputation ends up drawing more revenue than the spammers end up costing, it might be worth the tradeoff.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
        Originally Posted by agc View Post

        I disagree. In fact, I STRONGLY disagree.

        By making the punitive forfeiture of services paid for (but as yet undelivered) a part of your contract as the penalty for wilful abuse, you put a real incentive in place to not try to take advantage.

        And I wouldn't feel bad about banning him, nor would I feed bad about keeping the money. He was after all warned, and he also acknowledged the warning.

        Feeling bad for him just weakens you against doing the right thing next time.
        I would give the refund not because I felt bad for him but because I'd want to be rid of him once and for all. I can see the other side of though, the guy did abuse the system and probably isn't really entitled to a refund. Still, sometimes it is better just to do what it takes to get rid of someone.
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        • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
          I wouldn't give him his money back. What's to stop him from taking it, signing up again with a different email/fake name and doing it again?

          I would also consider the money some measure of protection for any future ramifications that my business could suffer because of his abuse of my service.

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        • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
          Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

          I would give the refund not because I felt bad for him but because I'd want to be rid of him once and for all. I can see the other side of though, the guy did abuse the system and probably isn't really entitled to a refund. Still, sometimes it is better just to do what it takes to get rid of someone.
          It grates, but this is the cold reality of the situation. It all comes down to your time and what it's worth. If you choose to fight it, how long before $149 in your valuable time is eaten up? Write it off, refund him (assuming he even asked for it... if not, screw him), and move on. Make any TOS changes you think are needed in the aftermath.

          John
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        • Profile picture of the author Lance K
          Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

          I would give the refund not because I felt bad for him but because I'd want to be rid of him once and for all. I can see the other side of though, the guy did abuse the system and probably isn't really entitled to a refund. Still, sometimes it is better just to do what it takes to get rid of someone.
          I see your point of being rid of the issue. But what happens when he gets on a black hat forum and talks about the profit he made by abusing the system and still got a refund? Now you have likely compounded the problem rather than ridding yourself of the problem.
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          • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
            Originally Posted by Lance K View Post

            I see your point of being rid of the issue. But what happens when he gets on a black hat forum and talks about the profit he made by abusing the system and still got a refund? Now you have likely compounded the problem rather than ridding yourself of the problem.
            I agree ... I think.

            What I mean by that is, I don't know your TOS or what your warning consisted of, but assuming what he was doing either 1) violated your TOS, or 2) your warning included the fact there would be no refund if he kept up the unwanted behavior, then I'd be disinclined to give him a refund.

            He made his choice. I don't see where it's your obligation to pay him for making a bad choice.
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            • Profile picture of the author Lance K
              Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

              I agree ... I think.

              What I mean by that is, I don't know your TOS or what your warning consisted of, but assuming what he was doing either 1) violated your TOS, or 2) your warning included the fact there would be no refund if he kept up the unwanted behavior, then I'd be disinclined to give him a refund.

              He made his choice. I don't see where it's your obligation to pay him for making a bad choice.

              Indeed...depending on the wording of the T.O.S.

              Ron is a pretty smart guy though, so I was replying under the assumption that the banning and refusal of refund were in compliance with his site's T.O.S.
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    • Profile picture of the author ChiTownRoc
      Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

      You did the right thing and yes, you should delete all of his pages. You should give him a refund too.
      I agree.

      Your business is like a garden. You need to keep the weeds and snakes out. At the end of the day it's your name on the line; not his.
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  • Profile picture of the author tandren544
    Does your site TOS establish that users will lose their initial payment if they abuse the rules?
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    • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
      Banned
      Originally Posted by tandren544 View Post

      Does your site TOS establish that users will lose their initial payment if they abuse the rules?
      Was he actually abusing the rules?

      I was afraid that he's going to get my site blacklisted / sandboxed, etc. in the search engines. See: Keyword stuffing - Webmaster Tools Help
      What keyword was he stuffing? I'm not sure "watch this interview" counts.

      Scratch that, I see you were using that as an example.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I wouldn't feel bad about having to ban him. You warned him. There are those who will always spam, no matter what. I would delete all of his pages. They can't do your site any good.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lauryn
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I wouldn't feel bad about having to ban him. You warned him. There are those who will always spam, no matter what. I would delete all of his pages. They can't do your site any good.
      I agree.

      You spoke to him. Personally. And despite this, he continued to disrespect your regulations.

      When you go to college and you plagiarize, and they expell you do you get your money back? Or if you go to the movies and don't listen? Or even try to smuggle something on an airline?

      No. You deal with the consequences of your actions. He's made his money back, now let him blackhat elsewhere.
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      • Profile picture of the author KevinTorrence
        I'll admit I'm a bit soft on things like this. I might've gave the dude a refund and just told him not to come back...

        Until...

        I read what everyone is saying here about toughening up and bootin' the guy & keeping the money. If he dissrepects your TOS, agrees not to do it again, and continues anyway ... he's a goner and so is his money. I'm gonna take this kinda stance from now on. Enough is enough.
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        • Profile picture of the author FreshMedia
          Good move, Ron. The reason most spammers take advantage of a good thing is because site owners/admins aren't diligent enough. Whenever a user gets out of hand and starts spamming I ban the IP and account. I don't even think twice about it.
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          • Profile picture of the author smartlazy
            Banned
            Just kick him out and don't give him a refund. He abused your system and probably benefited from it financially, perhaps more than the membership he paid in the first place. I think you have the right to refuse him a refund even if he asked for it. But if he still asks for a refund, just remind him about all the damage that he's done to your site. Most likely, he'll feel guilty and won't bother you any longer.

            But if he still insists, then he's a heartless motherf*cker... LMAO
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            • Profile picture of the author Cataclysm1987
              Originally Posted by smartlazy View Post

              Just kick him out and don't give him a refund. He abused your system and probably benefited from it financially, perhaps more than the membership he paid in the first place. I think you have the right to refuse him a refund even if he asked for it. But if he still asks for a refund, just remind him about all the damage that he's done to your site. Most likely, he'll feel guilty and won't bother you any longer.

              But if he still insists, then he's a heartless motherf*cker... LMAO
              Why give him a refund? Don't you have something like this in your ToS that he broke?

              If someone breaks your ToS, you don't have to give a refund. Eff that guy. Send him packing.

              If you don't have it in your ToS, maybe you're liable to refund him then...
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

    Last week I sent him a warning that his account would be suspended if he continued. He said okay. Then 100 webpages later, he's doing the same exact thing.

    So today, I got sick of it and suspended his account with no refund.
    That's precisely what you should have done.

    From an SEO perspective, should I just delete the 1,000+ keyword stuffed pages he created on the site?
    I would "disallow" them in robots.txt and remove any monetisation, but leave them on the site under his account.

    If he comes in complaining about his $149 lifetime membership, with some "big gun" lawyer or bank on his side... send them a link to your terms and conditions, a quotation of the clause that forbids this behaviour, a copy of the warning you gave him, and links to all his crappy pages.

    Self-protection, you know.
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  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    I'd give him a refund as it's a lifetime membership, and even though he abused it, he now does not have it for his lifetime.

    I'm not sure on the legality of it but I'd just do that to be safe. You may be fine not giving him a refund if he broke your terms and conditions, I don't know. But if it were me I'd do it just the same.
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    • Profile picture of the author halmo
      Originally Posted by redicelander View Post

      I'd give him a refund as it's a lifetime membership, and even though he abused it, he now does not have it for his lifetime.

      I'm not sure on the legality of it but I'd just do that to be safe. You may be fine not giving him a refund if he broke your terms and conditions, I don't know. But if it were me I'd do it just the same.
      Giving him a refund might do, for the OP, the exact opposite of being safe Because giving a refund might relay the message that the OP acknowledged that he (the OP) was wrong, and that's why he gave a refund. Even though that's not the case, it could be interpreted (even from a legal standpoint) that way. I don't know what the "legals" would decide on it, but it would be very possible that a refund would, indeed, make the OP responsible.

      You should check on it before giving a refund. Of, course, the fact that you have, or have not, included these things in your terms (AT THE TIME THE GUY SIGNED UP - not when he was already posting wrong things) would probably also play a role.

      And save his postings as proof. I wouldn't know what the best way would be to save them (online or offline). The SEO people and some others here could probably give you better advice on that.
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  • Profile picture of the author profitsforall
    You've done the right thing.

    If your TOS stated that refunds would not be issued in the case of breach of terms of service then don't give him a refund, otherwise refund him as he paid for lifetime access and no longer has it. Then change your TOS so that future customers know they won't get a refund. It's up to you if you email your existing customers with the change of the terms of service - point out it was to keep the site from being devalued and you do everything in your power to ensure it's not ruined for everyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave90210
    I would't feel bad he can cost you allot more trouble than the $100 he gave you. If he's a spammer he likely can afford to take the financial lose and likely doesn't care and moved on to the next place where he will do his damage
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  • Profile picture of the author robs132
    I think if someone breaks the rules and you give them a fair warning you did the correct thing
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

    Am I wrong. What would you have done?

    From an SEO perspective, should I just delete the 1,000+ keyword stuffed pages he created on the site?

    You are not wrong. I have had to terminate customers for the better interests of the service.

    Why allow one dimwit ruin something for everyone?

    From the SEO standpoint, you should delete them all.
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  • Profile picture of the author sarahberra
    You did the right thing, but I think you should give him back is lifetime membership fee because it's not a lifetime membership for him anymore. I think that would be fair.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketanalyzer
    I think you did the right thing. These type of people need a lesson. Besides you should not feel sorry for that as you have warned him.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      It sucks because he paid $149 for a lifetime membership. However, I can't jeopardize the entire site for one member.
      So what? Didn't he also agree to terms of use?

      The idea that you should refund someone because he does something that might harm the membership as a whole is ridiculous to me.

      You warned him - he ignored it. You were right to can him and you owe him nothing.

      kay
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  • Profile picture of the author mattlaclear
    We do it all the time. It's called a refund in one hand and a boot in the ass on the other.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary King
    Ditto to the posts by CDarklock and Zeus66...

    It depends on the TOS and even if you do refund him, if the TOS didn't say he was breaking the rules, he can still give you a headache.

    Either way, do what you think will make it go away the fastest - refund or not.

    Then, make sure your TOS is updated to specify the new info and keep on making money man...

    Gary
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    • Profile picture of the author Haphiza
      You did the right thing by banning him. At least you gave him a warning. Hope it does not happen again to you.

      Haphiza Baboolal
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      Unless your TOS explicitly stated that what he was doing was against the rules and if he did that and was booted out he would not be entitled to a refund, then you are wrong for kicking him out and for not giving him a refund. But only from a legalistic point of view, certainly not from an everyday human being point of view.

      I don't think his actions were a good thing, and I am certainly not sticking up for this behavior on his part, only that maybe there might be some way to prevent this in the future.

      That being said, it is in your very best interests to take whatever steps you need to take to ensure the continued viability of your business assets.

      You cannot possibly write into your TOS every possible thing that someone will think of to try and get over on you, but there has got to be some kind of language that would cover most of the stupid **** that people will think of to try and get over on you.

      IMO you would want the cheapest, easiset way to keep your assets and your goodwill intact. You don't want to be worrying about this dufus anymore than you have to. Overall, I would guess that you have less to lose by giving the refund, but I might venture to think that you also want the least amount of headaches and worries from this.

      So whichever way it is that you think will cost you the least amount of heartache, then do that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Lifetime membership is only as long as the membership last's. Usually the terms of agreement within a lifetime membership there are the by laws or in your case TOS which governs acceptable usage of the membership if its to remain in tact.

    Once these by laws or TOS are violated that ends the membership and however long the membership lasted that is the "lifetime" of the membership. = )

    If you haven't stipulated acceptable usage of the membership then you should do so right away, some how I am pretty sure you have already done that anyways.

    So he paid, and in return he used the service. Then he abused the service, got warned and agreed to abide by your rules and then continued to abuse the service again.

    You own him nothing further. He got FULL usage during the lifetime of the membership.
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  • Profile picture of the author SageSound
    Look up the term "liquidated damages".

    Send him a bill for, say, $1490, to reflect your expenses for cleaning up the mess he made on your site.

    He can argue with you till the cows come home about whether his actions constituted any kind of "harm" but, hey, what kind of "harm" does graffiti on a wall do? After all, it's just paint on a painted surface.

    Bottom line, if nothing else, he put graffiti on your site. So why shouldn't you have the right to remove it, him, AND charge him to clean up his mess?

    Just my $0.02 worth.

    -David
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  • Profile picture of the author CMCarlin
    Not sure why so many folks here would give a refund without questions. The person was contacted by the owner and warned. Giving the spammer a refund would only encourage more of this behavior. What is to stop the spammer from signing up under a different IP and doing this all over again, knowing full well he will get his money back when caught. That, and like someone else mentioned, he may have already blabbed this too his spammer friends on some blackhat forums.

    Think about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Can't believe people are abusing the systems!!!

    Ron, you should thank the guy: it's your first one!
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    • Profile picture of the author Ronak Shah
      Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

      Can't believe people are abusing the systems!!!

      Ron, you should thank the guy: it's your first one!
      lol

      I think that was a PJ.

      Why thank the spammer when he added more work and wasted Ron's precious time.

      I think if it wasn't mentioned in your TOS that if anyone spamming the system would lose their membership and won't be entitled to a refund, then yes don't refund. Else, if he's wasting your time by asking a refund get rid of him once and for all and let him know that he is banned from using your services ever again.

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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
      Sorry to hear this has happenned, though I'm surprised your patience didn't wear thin faster.

      Ban him by all means. I'd agree with Calibans suggestions too, so you at least have evidence why you banned him in case he's a total idiot.

      To be honest at $150 I'd just give him a refund anyway. Might just be what it takes to make the guy slink away and not come back. Sometimes in life, there are people, who no matter how badly they treat you, if you so much as do anything to them, you will always be wrong.

      This guys probably the same, happy to abuse you but no doubt annoyed you're keeping his $150 lifetime membership money. May as well give it back and make yourself smell of roses.
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  • Profile picture of the author sierraandmo
    I wouldn't feel bad. Not only did you give him fair warning, but he responded to your warning. Maybe his parents never followed through with discipline when he was a youngster. I would refund the membership fee though . . . .information passed by word of mouth can make or break a business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oxbloom
    (ETA: I think banning him was absolutely the right choice. Imperative, even.)
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  • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
    If it's making you feel bad, just refund him Ron. There's no point you wasting your time on worrying about it. I'm sure your time is worth more then the refund amount

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  • Profile picture of the author DogScout
    Even if you do not refund him, he can say he was refunded. Refund quietly. You have NO obligation to do so, but makes you the 'hero' and the guy that goes the extra mile. Makes it look as if money is not your motive, people are. Refunding will only help you in so many ways...

    He cannot sign up with a different name unless he uses an elite proxy or IP will ID him. (A non-elite proxy will change IP, but is traceable. I always trace, you may not).

    PDF the pages and send them to him, delete from your site, Google does not always pay attention to robots.txt

    Wish him a merry Christmas and hope he is an atheist.

    Rather than Jack the Ripper, if you are going to go that far, send a real nut. (Anyone that truly believes they are a vampire will do. Or send Steven!)

    Thank the universe it was your 1st one out of...?

    Carry on without this guy in your head.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Louis Monk
    I have skimmed through all the comments and could not find anyone commenting on the term "unlimited"
    I bought "unlimited" hosting which was for "lifetime" and which was unlimited in bandwidth for only 99p. Unfortunately, while I did not take advantage of the situation the service finally ceased after a couple of years and I did not claim back my 99p.

    Lifetime webhosting is only as long as the service lasts, hence a lifetime can be very short.

    Many webhosts use the term "unlimited" when they really mean "unlimited up to a point" and here is the rub. You can sign up on the basis the offer is unlimited and then find the rules change on you. I think it is bad to use the term unlimited when there is clearly a limit. The limit might not be on the number of websites or pages but on the bandwidth.

    In this case I would offer a refund if it is not clear the service is "unlimited up to a point". I would be more open and let any potential subscriber know that there is a limit to the term "unlimited".
    Signature

    David

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  • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
    Banned
    Personally I'd refund him...even though he doesn't deserve it.

    When it comes to refunds/warranty (I sell physical products), I just refund people (if they want it) to make problems go away. Usually they either bad mouth you to others OR keep bothering you.

    So I subscribe to the advice from Bronx Tale. "For $199, they're outta your life forever"
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  • Profile picture of the author kentaiwan98
    I remember students saying once: be nice to individuals, but be mean to classes. That may at times be contradictory. But it could apply here:

    My motivation on this one would be to cover my ass by making a permanent backup of ALL the stuff the user posted and wrote, including receipts; Whether you copy that information to him is another point, but it might be a good idea.

    Then I'd issue a refund to him, saying to him that you didn't feel your product was suitable for him and his needs. Don't be nasty, don't be rude, just explain factually what went wrong. Wish him the best of luck with his internet endeavors and leave it at that. Get him out of your hair, out of your system and out of your life. That's it.

    Next I'd update the TOS proactively, such that each and every page posted that breaks TOS establishes user liability to the amount of ... and choose a reasonable amount in the $100s to dissuade people from doing this. While you may want to overlook inevitable problems, when someone is rampantly creating junk pages on that scale again, you will be able to point to the TOS and establish their liability and agreement to pay you this much again.

    While not returning the $149.00 may seem okay, the last thing you want is to have to get a lawyer to write a letter or issue a writ/sue... the costs escalate QUICKLY.

    Also, by refunding you may avoid problems with your Credit Card Company/Paypal and chargebacks. Focus on the positive, avoid the negative, and things will be all right.

    Kenneth
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  • Profile picture of the author roley
    Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

    I had to ban my first paying customer today. It feels very awkward.

    I have this site where members can create unlimited webpages using embedded videos as content and monetize them with ads - Adsense, CPA, Affiliate Ads etc. All they have to do is add a few additional details like the video title and a brief description.

    Of course with every program like this, there is always a handful of people that will abuse the system.

    Well, this guy I banned today kept posting the same exact videos over and over with keyword stuffed page titles and descriptions. It was the laziest thing I ever saw. He would literally take a phrase for his title like "watch this interview" and paste it in 10 times on the same page like:

    "watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview watch this interview"

    He created over a thousand pages on my site with non-sense like that.

    I was afraid that he's going to get my site blacklisted / sandboxed, etc. in the search engines. See: Keyword stuffing - Webmaster Tools Help

    Last week I sent him a warning that his account would be suspended if he continued. He said okay. Then 100 webpages later, he's doing the same exact thing.

    So today, I got sick of it and suspended his account.

    It sucks because he paid $149 for a lifetime membership. However, I can't jeopardize the entire site for one member.

    Am I wrong. What would you have done?

    From an SEO perspective, should I just delete the 1,000+ keyword stuffed pages he created on the site?
    Dont feel bad

    If hes being a dick and not following the rules

    he can go and be a dick elsewhere
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    • Profile picture of the author Aussie_Al
      If you warned the guy, he agreed to stop then continued anyways then you are well within your rights to ban him

      Move on!
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