NORWICH, UK. June 26, 2026 – Growing numbers of UK small businesses are finding themselves unable to access essential digital assets such as websites, domain names and online advertising accounts after working with marketing agencies, according to performance marketing agency Bons & Frazer. The company says it has seen a rising number of cases where businesses discover they do not legally control the digital infrastructure their companies depend on.
Bons & Frazer, established earlier this year by Jamie Frazer and Jake Bonham, says the issue became apparent almost immediately after opening its doors. One recent case involved a Norfolk cleaning company that contacted the agency after its previous marketing provider allegedly refused to hand over the company’s website and Google Ads account unless a release fee was paid.
“They were told they had to pay to get their own website and ad accounts back,” said co-founder Jake Bonham. “That’s not a contractual dispute. That’s holding a business to ransom.”
Acting on behalf of the client, Bons & Frazer contacted the previous agency and, following several exchanges, secured the release of the website and advertising accounts without any payment being made. The business regained full access to its campaign history, conversion data and website.
According to Frazer and Bonham, similar situations have been raised by numerous prospective clients across a range of industries. They say they regularly encounter businesses whose domains and hosting are registered in an agency’s name, Google Ads accounts owned by the agency instead of the client, or websites hosted on platforms the business cannot independently access.
The result is that when a company wants to change marketing providers or manage its own digital presence, it can lose access to valuable advertising history, website content or even its own domain name.
Jake Bonham said: “We’ve heard this same story repeatedly in a very short period of time, and what’s worrying is that it appears to be becoming more common. Many of these businesses assumed they owned the digital assets that support their operations, only to discover they didn’t.”
The founders also say they frequently hear complaints about poor transparency. Many businesses pay ongoing monthly retainers but receive little insight into how their campaigns are managed. Instead, they are sent reports filled with technical metrics while their day-to-day contact changes as account managers move between clients.
“Clients sign up and then don’t hear from the person they signed up with again,” said Jamie Frazer. “They get passed around the office, receive a report they don’t understand, and by the time they realise it isn’t working, they’re tied into a contract they can’t exit.”
To avoid these issues, Bons & Frazer says every client retains ownership of all key digital assets from the beginning of the relationship. Domains, website hosting, Google Ads accounts, Meta Business accounts and analytics platforms are all registered in the client’s name, with the agency operating solely through management access.
“If a client wants to leave tomorrow, everything they have built is theirs to take,” said Jamie Frazer. “Their campaign history, their data and their website all remain under their ownership. That’s how we believe it should be.”
The agency works on a fixed monthly fee starting from £995 and does not require long-term contracts. Clients remain on a rolling monthly agreement, while all work is handled directly by Frazer and Bonham without account managers, outsourcing or internal handovers.
Declan McCahill, Managing Director of AGD Surrey Ltd, has worked with Bons & Frazer since its early months.
“Jake and Jamie have been a breath of fresh air from day one,” said Declan McCahill.
“Communication has been excellent throughout and they made everything easy to understand and implement. Our business continues to grow month after month, with a steady stream of quality enquiries coming in. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Bons & Frazer to any business looking to grow through effective digital marketing.”
