Are you throwing money away?  It is quite possible.  Most web designers do not share the original photographs or the source for Flash Animations, Graphic Designs, Database Designs and Server Side Scripts.  If these source elements are not in your possession, then it is likely that you hood winked into an invisible contract, and you cannot walk away with the result. 

Then you may ask yourself, does the result measure up to the time and money you spent building your web site?  Quite often web customers find they are left with unfinished work or bills from third party vendors for copyright infringement.  This is what happens when you use an unqualified web designer who does not own the rights to the work and is unwilling to put everything down in a contract, which lists ownership and the delivery schedule. 

We encounter so many customers who are unaware that they are on the hook with their previous web designer, because they do not own the original pieces and have access to the source so they can modify it.  They may be even be unaware that their site is composed of pirated images, content and scripts, or the fact that they may not have the right to change it.  It is like the difference between leasing and buying a car.  Frequently they encounter added expenses to acquire the source or their data, which may be stored in a proprietary mechanism; or their web master may not be willing to share it with them at any price.  This is all to common a scenario when Flash, Graphic Tools, and Site Builders and Server Side scripts are involved.