Legal Question in Business Law in California

Hosting company wants to charge outgoing fee to close account

My current Web hosting company is trying to make me agree to a legal contract which requires that I pay for one additional month of service even though no services will be rendered for that month. I have been paying on a month to month basis. All I wish to do is close out my account with this company. I have shut down the bank account which they were billing and have prepared a letter stating that I do-not agree with their exit agreement and would still like to close out my account with them. Their web-form forces compliance with their agreement in order to quit. I have not sent in my letter yet because I need some legal advice on weather it is legal for them to force me into this situation upon exit. Thank you


Asked on 4/14/05, 10:39 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Hosting company wants to charge outgoing fee to close account

Parties to an agreement do not have the power to modify the agreement without the consent of the other parties.

If there there is no fixed term for your contract (you say that you have been *paying* month to month but you don't say whether the contract is for a fixed term), the ISP can tell you to either accept a modification or stop using its services. Since you want to stop using the service anyway, there should be no way the company can make you accept a new term before doing so.

There may be some aspect of your existing agreement which authorizes the ISP to do what it is doing, but if there isn't then they can't do this to you.

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Answered on 4/14/05, 4:30 pm
Daniel Harrison Berger Harrison, APC

Re: Hosting company wants to charge outgoing fee to close account

Not enough information has been provided. Who is the company? What does the contract say exactly with respect to cancellation?

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Answered on 4/19/05, 10:47 am


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