Emergency IT · same-day
Your IT provider has gone bust or vanished? Breathe — we can take over
If your IT company has folded, stopped answering the phone, or is holding your systems hostage, don't panic — this is fixable. We're a family-run Dorset IT firm and we help local businesses regain control of their domain, email and accounts, usually starting the very same day. Rated 4.9 on Google.
- ● Same-day local response
- ● Regain control of your domain & Microsoft 365
- ● No lock-in monthly plans
/01 — DON'T PANIC
First things first — you are not locked out of your own business
When an IT provider goes under or goes quiet, it feels like they've walked off with the keys to everything — your email, your website, your files, your logins. It's a horrible feeling, especially if they set it all up years ago and you never had the details. Take a breath: in almost every case, you are the legal owner of your domain, your Microsoft 365 tenant and your data — the provider was only ever managing it on your behalf.
That matters, because ownership is what lets us get you back in control. Even if the company has been dissolved, the accounts and domain still exist and can be recovered to you. The job now is to secure what's yours before anything lapses — an unpaid domain renewal or a cancelled Microsoft subscription is where real harm happens, not the provider disappearing itself.
Two calm rules for the next hour: don't cancel or delete anything yet, and don't stop paying an unresponsive provider until you've secured access — pulling a payment can trigger services being switched off. Gather what you can, then let us do the technical heavy lifting.
/02 — WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW
A calm checklist to secure access before anything lapses
Work through as much of this as you can. Don't worry if you can't complete it — half-answers are still useful, and we'll fill the gaps.
- Gather every login and admin detail you have. Old emails, a handover document, a password manager, sticky notes, invoices — anything mentioning your domain, email, website, backups or software. The invoices alone often tell us who your registrar and hosting company are.
- Find your domain registrar. This is the company your web address (your yourbusiness.co.uk) is registered with — often Nominet-linked for .co.uk names. Whoever controls this controls your email and website, so it's the top priority.
- Locate your Microsoft 365 tenant. If you use Outlook, Teams or SharePoint, you have a Microsoft 365 tenant. We need to identify who holds the Global Admin account — that's the master key to your email and files.
- Check your backups. Note any backup service, external drive or cloud storage the old provider set up. If you're not sure you have backups at all, tell us — that changes what we do first.
- Don't stop paying until access is secured. Only cancel direct debits to an unresponsive provider after you're back in control, or you risk your domain or subscriptions being switched off mid-recovery.
- Then call us. Bring whatever you've gathered. We'll take it from there.
If you suspect the old provider is deliberately withholding access or money has been taken, that can be reported to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. If any personal data may have been exposed, a breach must be considered for reporting to the ICO within 72 hours — we'll help you work out whether that applies.
/03 — HOW WE TAKE OVER
How we take control back and stabilise everything
Once you call, we move quickly and methodically. There's no drama and no jargon — just a clear plan to get you back on solid ground.
- We audit what you've got. We map out your domain, DNS, email, Microsoft 365 tenant, licences, backups and any servers or networks — so for the first time you have a clear picture of your own systems, written down.
- We regain control of your domain and DNS. We recover your domain registration to you and take charge of DNS, so your email and website can't be pulled out from under you.
- We recover your Microsoft 365 tenant. We help you re-establish a Global Admin account you control, secure every mailbox, and turn on multi-factor authentication so old passwords the previous provider held become useless.
- We sort backups and licences. We make sure your data is genuinely backed up, and move any software licences into your own name so nothing depends on the old company.
- We document everything and hand it to you. You end up with a plain-English record of every account, login and renewal — yours to keep, so you're never in this position again.
Then we stabilise and manage it properly going forward on a rolling monthly plan (business support from £24.38/month per computer, Microsoft 365 from £4.85/user/month). It's cancel-anytime with no long lock-in contract — the opposite of how you got stuck. Most of this is done remotely: we phone first, you watch the whole session, and access ends the moment we're finished. We're on-site across Dorset when hands-on is needed.
/04 — THE REAL FEARS
"They have all my passwords" and "I can't access my own email"
These are the two fears we hear most, and both have straightforward answers.
"The old provider has all my passwords." The fix isn't to track them down — it's to make their copies worthless. Once we're back in control, we reset the important passwords, enable multi-factor authentication across your accounts, and review who has access. From that point on, any credentials they held simply don't work. You don't need their cooperation to lock them out.
"I can't get into my own email or domain." Because you're the legal owner, access can almost always be recovered through the registrar and Microsoft, even without the old provider's help — it just takes the right steps and a bit of patience with the paperwork. We do this regularly and we'll handle the process with you.
To be straight with you about what we are and aren't: we're practical IT recovery specialists, not lawyers, insurers or forensic investigators. We'll get your systems back, secured and properly managed, and we'll point you to the right authorities (like Action Fraud and the ICO) where that's needed. What we won't do is over-promise or bill you for a crisis — we'll just get you sorted.
// RELATED
Related help: our calmer, planned switching IT provider guide, ongoing managed IT support, and Microsoft 365 support to regain and secure your tenant. See our business IT support plans for the no-lock-in monthly cover that keeps this from happening again.
FAMILY-RUN SINCE 1995 · ★ 4.9 ON GOOGLE · 200+ COMPUTERS UNDER OUR CARE · NO FIX, NO FEE · SAME-DAY REMOTE SUPPORT
// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
My IT company has gone bust — do they still own my domain and email?
Almost certainly not. In the vast majority of cases you are the legal owner of your domain, your Microsoft 365 tenant and your data — the provider was only managing them for you. That ownership is exactly what lets us recover access back to you, even if the company has been dissolved. The urgent risk isn't them disappearing, it's an unpaid renewal or cancelled subscription lapsing, which is why securing access quickly matters.
I have no logins or admin details at all. Can you still help?
Yes. It's very common for a business to have nothing because the old provider set everything up years ago. Bring whatever you can find — old invoices alone often reveal your registrar and hosting company — and we'll work from there. Because you're the legal owner, domain and Microsoft 365 access can usually be recovered through the registrar and Microsoft even without the previous provider's cooperation.
Should I stop paying my unresponsive IT provider straight away?
Not yet. Cancelling a payment can trigger services being switched off — your domain, email or Microsoft 365 subscription — right when you need them stable. Secure access to everything first, then stop paying. If you believe money has been taken dishonestly, you can report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, but keep the services live until you're safely back in control.
How fast can you start, and will there be downtime?
We aim to respond the same day and can usually begin the audit and securing access remotely within hours — we're a local Dorset firm, not a call centre. Most recovery work is done without interrupting your day: we phone first, you watch the session, and access ends when we're done. We're on-site across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Dorset when hands-on help is needed. Office hours are Mon–Fri 9am–5pm.
The old provider had all our passwords — are we still at risk?
Once we've regained control we reset the important passwords and turn on multi-factor authentication across your accounts, which makes any credentials the old provider held useless. You don't need their cooperation to lock them out — securing the accounts you own does it. If personal data may have been exposed at any point, we'll help you consider whether it needs reporting to the ICO within 72 hours.
How is this different from just switching IT provider?
Switching is a planned, unhurried handover where the outgoing provider cooperates — see our switching IT provider page for that. This is the crisis version: your provider has vanished, folded or gone silent, so there's no friendly handover. We focus first on securing access to your own domain, Microsoft 365 and backups, then stabilise everything and manage it properly going forward on a no-lock-in monthly plan.
Been left in the lurch? Let's get you back in control today
Call and talk to a real techie — we'll tell you honestly where you stand, help you secure access to your own systems, and take the whole mess off your hands. Local, family-run since 1995, rated 4.9 on Google. Same-day help across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Dorset, Mon–Fri 9am–5pm.
01202 775566 · help@365techies.co.uk · MON–FRI 9AM–5PM