VIC Can I Sue IT Company for Breach of Contract?

[Rosh]

Hello,

Back in 2015, I have decided to start a start up and gave an IT company in Geelong Victoria the contract to develop mobile apps based on my idea. Initially they promised to deliver the project in 3 months time but kept pushing the deadline for numerous reasons and now it has been more than a year.

I have paid 70% of the project amount to the company but they haven't delivered even a single app yet. Now we are at a point where the company director is ignoring my emails and takes a while to reply and let me know about the progress of the project. I am wasting a lot of time and money because of the false promises.

Any chance I can ask for my money back and stop the project due to breach of contract? I haven't discussed this with the contractor yet as I wanted to know what are my chances or if I even have a case?

Any information on this would be hugely helpful.

Thank you
Rosh

 

[Hayder Shkara]

There is potential to get your money back for breach of contract, however I'd need to have a look at the contract between you and the IT company to make a final determination on that.

 

[Sophea]

Hi Rosh,

Yes as Hayder said it would depend on the terms of your contract with them. Did you have a written agreement with them?

Even if you did not you may be able to argue based on your correspondences with the firm via email or whatever that it was contemplated by the parties that the contract was to be completed within 3 months and that now taking a year to do the work is essentially repudiation of the contract.

 

[Tim W]

There is potential to get your money back for breach of contract, however I'd need to have a look at the contract between you and the IT company to make a final determination on that.

I agree with is post.
Much depends on the terms of the contract.

Further, I suggest you start thinking about what you will do if this flaky company goes out of business.

 

[Iamthelaw]

Agree with all of the above.

If you continue to pursue ventures such as these I would advise against releasing 70% of the total funds prior to even seeing anything. Moreover, if said company comes back requesting further funds on the promise that they're required to finalize their work I would be refusing.

 

[Rosh]

Hello all,

Thank you so much for all your views on the issue. I do have an initial contract with the contractor as well as record of electronic correspondence of our communication back and forth.

I will first politely ask the contractor to provide the refund and if they refuses then I would have no other option than lodging a case.

Worst case scenario if I do have to invest my time and money pursuing the contractor to refund my amount with the help of lawyer then how much time and money would it cost me as an average estimate as per your experience?

Thank you

 

[Rod]

That's a bit like asking someone to quote on a software project without documenting all the requirements!

Could be as low as $200-$500 for a simple demand letter and goes up depending on your budget and how difficult the other party behaves during the process. Sometimes demand letters are all that is needed, other times you have to drag the other party to court kicking and screaming and biting every step of the way.

Level of difficulty and cost really depends on the other party who your lawyer cannot control.

 

[Hayder Shkara]

Worst case scenario if I do have to invest my time and money pursuing the contractor to refund my amount with the help of lawyer then how much time and money would it cost me as an average estimate as per your experience?

I charge $120 for a letter of demand. This is the first step in regards to any debt recovery process. With my clients I find that they may demand their money or write a letter of demand themselves, however they're often not taken very seriously.

A letter from a solicitor shows that you are serious and mean business if they refuse to make payment. As Rod says above - sometimes it's all that's needed, sometimes it's not. You can click the link below to organise a call with me if you want.