Your agency took the deposit and disappeared

Why agencies go silent after taking a deposit

Most agencies that vanish after taking a deposit are not master criminals. They are usually small outfits that took on more work than they could handle, lost the freelancer who was actually going to build your site, or burned through your deposit on overheads before starting the job.

Some are worse than that. A handful of one-person agencies operate on the principle that if they take ten deposits and ghost five, the maths still works out. Either way, your problem is the same: you paid for something you have not received.

The silence is deliberate. As long as they do not reply, they do not have to give you a date, a refund, or an explanation. The longer it drags on, the more likely you are to give up. That is the strategy.

First steps: build a paper trail

Before you do anything else, get everything in writing. Courts, banks, and dispute teams all want documents. Verbal promises do not count.

• Find the original quote, contract, or email where the work was agreed
• Find the invoice and proof of payment (bank statement or card receipt)
• Save every email, WhatsApp message, and text - screenshot them in case accounts get deleted
• Write down dates of any phone calls and what was said

Then send one final email. Keep it short, factual, and clearly state what you want and by when. Something like:

On [date] I paid you £[amount] as a deposit for a website. The agreed delivery date was [date]. I have not received the work and have had no substantive reply since [date]. I am requesting a full refund of £[amount] to be paid within 14 days. If I do not receive payment by [date], I will pursue a chargeback through my bank and, if necessary, a claim through the small claims court.

Send it by email and, if you have a postal address for them, by recorded post too. A letter through the door tends to get a faster reaction than another email they can ignore.

How to get your deposit back

You have three realistic routes, roughly in order of speed.

1. Card chargeback. If you paid by credit or debit card, ring your bank and ask to raise a chargeback for goods or services not received. Most UK banks allow this up to 120 days from the expected delivery date, sometimes longer. You will need your paper trail. This is the fastest route and costs you nothing.

2. Section 75 claim. If you paid by credit card and the amount was over £100, your credit card company is jointly liable with the agency under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Ring the card issuer and ask to make a Section 75 claim. This is stronger than a chargeback because it is a legal right, not a scheme rule.

3. Bank transfer. If you paid by bank transfer, you cannot do a chargeback. You can ask your bank to attempt a recall, but if the agency has spent the money it will not come back. Your route then is the small claims court.

When to use small claims court

The small claims track in England and Wales handles disputes up to £10,000. In Scotland it is called the simple procedure (up to £5,000), and Northern Ireland has its own small claims process (up to £3,000). You do not need a solicitor. The fee depends on the amount you are claiming, usually between £35 and £455, and if you win the agency pays it back.

The process is done online at moneyclaim.gov.uk. You fill in a form, pay the fee, and the court sends the agency a claim. They have 14 days to respond. If they ignore it, you can apply for a default judgment - which means you win automatically.

The agency knows this. A formal court claim landing on their doorstep is often the moment they suddenly find your refund. The threat alone usually does it.

One thing to check first: is the agency a limited company, a sole trader, or has it dissolved? Look them up on Companies House. If the limited company has been struck off, there is no entity left to sue. If it is a sole trader, you are suing the individual personally, which is often more effective.

How to avoid this next time

Most web agency deposit horror stories share the same warning signs. Knowing them does not help you now, but it will next time.

• The deposit was more than 50% of the total quote
• There was no written contract with a delivery date
• Payment went to a personal account, not a business one
• The agency had no real online presence beyond a slick website
• You were rushed into paying before agreeing the detail

The single biggest protection is paying by credit card. The £100+ threshold for Section 75 covers almost any web project deposit, and you get the card issuer as a backstop for free. The second is a written contract with a fixed delivery date and a refund clause if that date is missed by more than a set number of days.

A working web agency does not need your full deposit on day one. If they cannot fund the first two weeks of work themselves, they cannot fund the project.

What to do right now

Send the demand email today. Raise the chargeback or Section 75 claim with your bank this week. If neither works within 30 days, file the small claims application. Do not wait for the agency to reply - they are counting on you waiting.

Once the money question is settled, you still need a website. If you want to start fresh with someone who will actually deliver, SkipTheAgency builds sites from £600 with a clear fixed price, a written delivery date, and no large upfront deposit. Most clients then move onto the Maintained plan at £65/month for ongoing changes and hosting.