IT Support/Website Hosting Supplier won't let us leave

[grahamm]

We have become disillusioned with the local IT company which supports our system and also designed and hosts our website, they also administer our domain name(s). We wish to move to another supplier but the existing supplier is resisting our leaving, claiming to have a signed contract which I have not been shown yet. When I asked for sight of the contract they started asking for longer notice as a matter of common courtesy. Does anyone know what I can do and what the legal position is. I have a meeting with them next week and would like to know what my position is beforehand.
Thanks
Graham

[grahamm]

Thank you for the replies. I have tried to keep it civil but have had a frankly unbelievable bad reaction from the head of the IT company. He seems to think he owns all the things he has charged us for and we cannot move until he chooses!

It is reassuring to know we can get our domain names back!

[grahamm]

bhstewie said:

Keep them onside until you know who the domain is registered to - some companies "helpfully" register clients domain names in their own name - if that's the case it could get messy so wait until you're sure.

Thank you for the advice. Will try to find out.

[grahamm]

miniman said:

Not in the Chippenham area is it?

I cannot really give any clues at the moment

[grahamm]

Don said:

You mention "a system". If this is bespoke software they wrote for you then be aware that, indeed, the IT company may well own the software. Your contract would state that you have a licence to run/use the software but that they retain the Intellectual Property Rights.

This is common practice with software companies as they will often be using things they wrote for other people to speed up writing things for you. Without this practice bespoke software would cost an absolute fortune as it would have to be written from scratch each and every time. You can have contracts like that where you buy the rights to the software outright - but for most people the cost is utterly prohibitive.

Good luck. I hope the above is relevant and useful.

Thank you.
There is no bespoke software. Just Sage accounts (multi user), website and emails using our domain name.