Was a contract signed between your friend and them?

Has your friend sought advice from a legal advisor of whether legal action could be taken?

I've been in the industry long enough to have heard the name of the provider. However, I would never jump to conclusions until hearing both sides of the story.

Anyway.. best advice your friend to seek legal counsel if a contract was signed. Otherwise, it's a heavy lesson learnt the hard way.

P.S. It also doesn't matter whether it's built on Wordpress. I know of companies who build custom websites using Wordpress as the core and have delivered great results from it. Keep calm and focus on the main issue - project delay, loss of income etc.