disgruntled former employee website problem

[xeno]

I work for a company where an employee made our website. Unfortunately, he developed bad feelings with some of the other employees and he ended up quitting after a few months.

He is gone, but his website lives on. Naturally, he has quit updating it. Our hours AND phone number have changed (people, believe me when I tell you it's been an interesting year.) He linked his website to google maps etc.

I don't know if this really qualifies as libel but he has not answered any of our messages requesting that he either take the site down or give us the password so we can maintain it. This website is giving people wrong information about our hours, phone number etc. which potentially hurts our business. For instance, the site says we are open on Sundays but we are no longer open on Sundays. So far that we know of, two people have showed up expecting us to be open and no one's there. I don't know how many others have been disappointed this way.

He won't return messages or answer his phone and, frankly, he seems to be enjoying our helplessness in this situation. Is there a way we can get the website taken down on our own?

 

[FlyingRon]

It's not libel.

Really, there are two things you can do.

If there is material on the site legitimately under the company's copyright, you can file a DMCA complaint with whatever company is hosting the site and they will shut it down.

As for the domain name, do a whois on it and see if it's registered to the company or to the employee alone. If the company, you can contact whoever is holding the domain and arrange new technical and billing contacts, etc... and point it at a new server of your choosing.

If it's in the employees name, you'll have to file a DNRP complaint arguing cybersquatting.

 

[xeno]

Cybersquatting- what a term. This situation has really opened my eyes to another world that I didn't know existed. I will look into it. Is this sort of thing a common problem?

 

[FlyingRon]

Enough to keep the dispute system going.

 

[The Occultist]

What is the name of your state?

 

[cyjeff]

Have you offered to PAY him for the website that he created?

Or is the goal here for him to just give it to you?

 

[callie212]

Have you offered to PAY him for the website that he created?

Or is the goal here for him to just give it to you?

I got the impression that he made it while being an employee and just never gave anyone the password/login info since he was the only one to maintain it. So he would have been paid with his normal pay cycle before leaving the company.

 

[xeno]

The ideal situation would be for him to take it down entirely. He used one of those free website makers. The feeling between the owner (and others who worked with him) and him has become so bad that it may come to paying him to remove it. Good suggestion.

I don't dislike the guy. I'm his replacement, so I never actually had to work with him. I just hear about what an a-hole he was from everyone.

 

[xeno]

What is the name of your state?

My company is in NC.

 

[xeno]

Whois is not returning anything on the search because he didn't get his own domain.

What he's doing isn't libel, but it is sabotage by neglect.

 

[FlyingRon]

Who is the DOMAIN regiestered to then?

If it's registered to you, just point www.YOURDOMAIN.com to a new site and don't worry about his. It will be floating out there with no domain pointing to it and nobody will know it is even there.

 

[xeno]

Who is the DOMAIN regiestered to then?

If it's registered to you, just point www.YOURDOMAIN.com to a new site and don't worry about his. It will be floating out there with no domain pointing to it and nobody will know it is even there.

Bear in mind you are dealing with Luddites here. None of us knows much about computers. I'm the only one that has e-mail or a cell phone. Real cutting edge stuff.

My company does not have a domain. He created it through Microsoft Office Live. It comes up as a green clickable link when you put the company address into google maps.

 

[FlyingRon]

Bear in mind you are dealing with Luddites here. None of us knows much about computers. I'm the only one that has e-mail or a cell phone. Real cutting edge stuff.

My company does not have a domain. He created it through Microsoft Office Live. It comes up as a green clickable link when you put the company address into google maps.

There's no legal issue. Hire a web designer/IT guy.

 

[callie212]

So this is like a google places page? The green clickable links are usually the external domains. So if there's a link, it must be named something, which is the domain you should look up.

I would suggest to file a complaint through Google to get the information taken down from google maps. It sounds like he set up something where he probably used his personal google account to establish info for the business. If he is not (or no longer) authorized to publish information for the business then google should be able to take it down for you. He had to agree that he had the right to publish the business info when he did it.

That will at least take care of what was published under the google stuff. If there's no actual website other than that then thats all you should need to do.