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Breaking the terms and conditions of a contract with a
supplier does not necessarily mean you lose all your rights, but it
does mean they are unlikely to do you any favours.
Web User reader 'Tom' had a
contract with web-hosting provider DreamHost but was found to be
sending spam – a transgression which resulted in him being banned
from his account.
Tom admitted to Web User
that he was sending bulk email. "I appreciate in retrospect
that it was spam, and that this is a bannable offence," he
said. However, Tom asked us to see if it was possible to
obtain access to data he'd uploaded to the service but not backed
up locally. "I am not fussed about the hosting, or money I
have lost. I simply want my code back," he said.
DreamHost's Anti-Spam Policy states:
"Spam is strictly against our terms and conditions, and will result
in immediate disablement." We asked DreamHost whether the
reader could gain access to his code, but the company said it was
not possible.
"Simply breaking our anti-spam policy
alone would not typically be a reason for an accounts
disablement. However, this was a particularly blatant case,"
said the company.
"Our terms of service state that we
do not provide back-ups for accounts disabled for clear/blatant
violations of our Terms of Service and/or Anti-Spam Policy," said
DreamHost, who told us it had records showing that Tom had agreed
to these conditions before signing up for an account.
"Ultimately, it is up to each user to
have their own local back-ups, especially if they plan on blatantly
breaking laws with their hosting account," warned DreamHost.
Jimmy Desai, a partner with law firm
Blake Lapthorn, told Web User that in cases where
contracts are broken it becomes difficult to rely on the
co-operation of third parties. "The reader still has rights
to his code, but he hasn't backed it up and the company gave him
warnings which he did not adhere to. It would be a costly
struggle for him to get his code back and so he is unlikely to
succeed," said Desai.
28 February 08
Lisa Kelly (Web User)
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