You commissioned a custom build — a SaaS product, a mobile app, an integration, an internal tool. You paid milestone fees as scoped. The deadline came and went. The developer’s progress reports got vaguer. The handover never happened, or the build that was handed over does not work, does not match the specification, or cannot be deployed. You now own a half-built asset and a hole in your runway.
Software development engagements are services contracts. The deliverables, milestones, acceptance criteria and intellectual property assignment are all enforceable. Failure to deliver the agreed build is breach, and the remedies include refund, damages for completion elsewhere, and recovery of source code and assets you have paid for.
The legal context
The developer owes contractual performance obligations and the implied duty of reasonable skill and care. Where you are a small-business client within the Australian Consumer Law’s thresholds, the services guarantees apply: services must be rendered with due care and skill and be fit for the disclosed purpose. IP assignment clauses (or, in their absence, equitable principles where you have paid for bespoke work) entitle you to source code, assets and credentials on payment.
Common pushbacks and why they fail
- “Scope changes caused the delay.” Variations are documented in writing or they do not exist.
- “It is feature-complete on the back end.” Acceptance is measured by the contract’s acceptance criteria, not the developer’s optimism.
- “Final payment unlocks the source.” If you have paid for milestones, you are entitled to the corresponding deliverables, not a bundled-at-the-end ransom.
- “You did not provide a product owner.” Reasonable client engagement is reasonable. Open-ended blame for delay is rarely a defence.
The document and what it does
A Letter of Demand sets out the engagement, the specification, the milestones missed, the acceptance failures, the fees paid, and the remedy claimed — refund, completion-cost damages, and delivery of source code and credentials. It cites the contractual and statutory basis and gives a 14-day deadline.
What Claim Done delivers
- Engagement, specification and milestone history captured cleanly
- Acceptance failures documented against the contractual criteria
- Quantified remedy: refund, completion-cost damages, IP delivery
- Citation of ACL services guarantees where applicable
- Drafted and sent on letterhead, flat $79
What to expect after
Developers and dev shops that have lost interest, capacity, or both, generally engage seriously with a Letter of Demand because the alternative is a court claim with the contract as exhibit one. Refunds and source-code releases are common outcomes. If they refuse, a Final Demand ($79) and a small claims or Magistrates Court filing maintain the same paper trail.