Originally Posted by james.david Where do you live? Because if i were to terminate the tenancy of a house or apartment around here i do not get my deposit back. i would be breaking the agreement and contract. The guy agreed to buy the site, gave craddock 40$ for the site and said he will pay another 40$ for changes, craddock did all the work and then the guy backed out, craddock should keep the 40$ for the work he did.

Totally Agreed. Keep the $40, offer the client the original site "without changes" and see what he says. He may or may not want it. But in any case that he does not want it, you should still keep the $40, period.

Metaphorically speaking,
It's like taking your car in to the garage, asking for window tints, paid the money first for that. Then ask for gold wiper blades, and say you'll pay when thats done. When its done, the customer says, i dont want it anymore, give me my money back. The mechanics will turn around and say, "hell no!, you pay for what you requested."

In your case, the customer requested for changes, you did them, you should not give him anything anyway until he's paid for that. He cannot simply say, "no, i dont want it, give my money back and i will be on my way". Simply doesnt work like that.