A Brisbane founder had an idea for a mobile app and a firm budget to build it.
She told the developer exactly what she could afford. The developer told her it could be done for less, and be live in time for Christmas.
Months later, she had spent more than her budget and the app still didn’t work. ezylegal took the developer and its director to court, won, and then won again when they appealed. She got back everything she had paid, plus interest.
At a glance
- Problem: An app developer quoted a price within the client’s budget and promised a launch date, then went over budget and delivered an app that didn’t work.
- Claim against: The app development company and its director personally.
- Legal basis: Misleading and deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law.
- Result: A court judgment for a full refund of everything she had paid, plus interest, upheld on appeal.
A firm budget and a firm promise
Before signing anything, our client told the developer she had a strict limit and couldn’t go over it. The developer’s director said the build would cost well under that limit, and that the app would be live by early December.
On the strength of that, she went ahead. She paid every invoice on time.
The deadline passed. The costs kept climbing past her limit. The app she was given didn’t work, and couldn’t be released on the app stores. She had to pay a second developer to find out what was wrong and fix it.
Taking the developer to court
ezylegal filed a claim in the Federal Circuit and Family Court, against the company and against its director personally.
The case ran to a full trial. The court accepted our client’s evidence and found that the director’s promises about the price and the launch date had been misleading. It also found that he had no reasonable grounds to make them, and that she wouldn’t have signed up without them.
The outcome
The court ordered the developer and its director to pay back everything she had spent, on the original build and on the second developer, plus interest. The app it had delivered was found to be worthless.
The developer appealed. The Federal Court dismissed the appeal, and the costs orders went our client’s way at both stages.
Can I get my money back if a developer’s quote was misleading?
Yes. If a business misled you about price or timing to win the job, and you wouldn’t have gone ahead otherwise, you can claim back what you lost.
A quote or a deadline is a promise about the future. Under the Australian Consumer Law, a business that makes that kind of promise needs reasonable grounds for it. If it didn’t have them, the promise can be misleading, even if the business says it was only an estimate. A director who makes the promise can be personally liable too.
If you’re facing something similar
If a developer or contractor’s price or deadline has blown out:
- keep every quote, estimate and email about price and timing
- write down what was said in calls and meetings, with dates, as soon as you can
- keep every invoice and proof of payment
- if you have to pay someone else to fix the work, keep their reports and invoices
- get advice before you sign anything new with the original business
Get advice early, because time limits apply.
ezylegal operates on a no-win, no-fee* basis across consumer, commercial and insurance disputes, so you’re not weighing the cost of a lawyer against the cost of walking away.