I've been with Server4You since February 19, 2004. My experience at first was better than expected. They setup my server quickly and answered all my support tickets within a few hours. Unfortunately, the good times weren't meant to last forever.

I put in a request a few months ago for them to upgrade my Control Panel with the Plesk Power Pack. One morning I woke up and was locked out of my admin panel. I logged into the root found out there was a intruder from a Russian IP address. I tried everything my ignorant mind could think of to throw him off. Eventually I found out it was a contractor for Server4You upgrading my server. I guess that is okay but I would have felt better if they did these tasks in house. Once I see a Russian IP controlling my admin account I automatically assume I'm being hacked.

Later that month they decided to change DNS Servers without telling anyone. Luckily, a kind gentlemen on WHT let me use his DNS servers until the problem was resolved. I still can't believe they did this. That was epitome of poor customer service.

I had client a few weeks ago hosting a eBay password harvester page. I guess EBay contacted Server4You and they decided to shut my server down. They sent me an email but that email address was hosted on the server they shut down. So after a few hours of downtime I created a ticket to get my server online. Remember, I didn't know why my server was down. One of their techs got me back online and stated it was a network problem. Then when I got my email I realized what I had happened. I was concerned that the tech didn't even know why my server was offline. I don't disagree with them shutting down my server but they could have at least called me too.

The email I got from Server4you was from this person abuse-bot@mx2.intergenia.de. I think it would be more professional coming from a "Server4You.com" address. At first I thought it was SPAM. In fact, my SPAM filter marked it as SPAM.

On Thursday I got my credit card statement and noticed my card was charged twice for one month of service. I opened a support ticket on Thursday and 48 hours later, I still don't have a response.

Luckily for me, I've been in the process of moving all my accounts to my new ServerMatrix server. So far, ServerMatrix has proven to be much faster in response time and the server seems to be setup much better. I was thinking about keeping the Server4you server but after the last few issues, I'm not sure it is worth it.

Server4you has never had a good reputation on this forum. Search before you buy next time. However I am glad to hear you could move to SM... That will be a big improvement for you.

Plesk is owned by Russians, so you had perhaps the best man to upgrade the control panel.

Originally posted by Imago
Plesk is owned by Russians, so you had perhaps the best man to upgrade the control panel.

Wow, that's something to think about. :)

I've had 3 servers with server4you for about 6 months now.

I've found their service to be plenty acceptable, with the caveat that they aren't in the US so they don't speak clear english. Sometimes it becomes an issue in a technical reference but all in all they've served well for me.

they're cheap. That's exactly what you pay for. I use Servermatrix/theplanet for the majority of my servers, but I've also got a few left at serverbeach (no comment).

But, with all that said, I can also see where this could be a problem with their support.

As for them emailing you, your server being shut down, and you not getting the email, that's really 100% your fault. I can't believe you'd put your email address in using the server that they're hosting for you. That's nuts! That's as loose as registering a domain and putting your email down as THAT domain. Think about that next time. it's always best to use an alternate source for your support lines with your providers....without exception.

Also, as for them just shutting off your server. That's exactly what they are suppose to do. It sucks, but it's the correct action. Spammers, Harvesters and lots of other turds out there create big problems. I'd have serious doubts about using a host that doesn't immediately shut a server down that has been identified as a problem like that. If they didn't, there'd be a good chance that BS could seriously affect their entire network.

Anyway, just some alternate thought patterns for you. Nobody is 100% right, take bits from each reply and it's great. At least that works for me. :)

Oh also, just FYI, Server4you is a german company. not american, so it doesn't surprise me in the least that they had someone in russia doing support.

Well I shouldn't say for sure that they're german, but I know that the domain they reply from is in saled. Darin is who I talk to now, but when I first started I never got any replies from them.. Then it dawned on me that I had blocked Germany from the mail server list. Once i enabled it i got all my replies :p

It's been three days now and still no response about the billing issue from S4Y.

That's nuts! That's as loose as registering a domain and putting your email down as THAT domain.

Aren't you doing the same thing?

Domain name: E-PLACES.NETAdministrative Contact: E-places Network services JT Thompson (j.thompson@e-places.net) +1.5012621864 Fax: +1.5012621864 101 Skyway #2A Hot Springs, AR 71901 US

Name Servers: NS1.E-PLACES.NET NS2.E-PLACES.NET

Server4You is the US subsidiary of Germany's intergenia AG.

My credit card has been billed twice too, but they've already charged it back. I believe you should contact them at billing @server4you.com instead of opening a support ticket. Martin has been very fast and helpful on solving my issue.

Your control panel has probably been upgraded directly from the Plesk (Russian) team, and this is the best support you can receive...

About the abuse issue, where's their fault? They tried to contact you but they didn't know that you host your mailbox on the same server they shut down. I don't believe SM handles this kind of issues in a different way...

As stated above, I agree with them shutting down my server. I just wish they would've called too.

The DNS switch-a-roo was enough of reason to start looking for a new server. There is no valid excuse for that. The situation is well-documented on this forum as it effected many unsuspecting customers.

I did send an email to info@server4you.com about the billing issue. I still have faith that it will be fixed. In their defense, their response time to many of my problems has been fairly expedient.

I spent many hours reviewing other server providers and that is why I went with ServerMatrix. It's nice to know I can call and speak with a human if I have a problem. That's something you don't get with S4Y.

Keep in mind, what I wrote above was a summary of my experience with S4Y. I can take blame for some of the stupidity but not all of it.

BTW - Canceling your server at S4Y requires 30 days advance notice and can't be completed online. Must be faxed or mailed.

SM only requires notice 7 days prior to beginning of billing cycle and can be completed via your orbit control panel.

Originally posted by alogic
Aren't you doing the same thing?

Domain name: E-PLACES.NETAdministrative Contact: E-places Network services JT Thompson (j.thompson@e-places.net) +1.5012621864 Fax: +1.5012621864 101 Skyway #2A Hot Springs, AR 71901 US

Name Servers: NS1.E-PLACES.NET NS2.E-PLACES.NET

Nope. 1. my email is not hosted on that server, it's remote. Infact it's not even hosted at the same noc, OR upstream provider. ServerBeach is where the site is at, and they're NOT multihomed. I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket.. In your investigatioin ping mail.e-places.net and you wouldn't even have to ask the question. the number 2 DNS server is also not on that machine. So if for some reason the machine dies, or otherwise becomes unattentive, I still get my mail. Not only that, but e-places.net is not my primary contact point. Not for my domains, not for my registrar account (you'll notice that e-places show as the registrar [enom]) or any other primary email.

So, no, i certainly do not. But why are you concerned with what I do? I'm not the one posting a problem.

Correction. ServerBeach is where the DNS is managed, the web site is at ThePlanet (i just moved it, and DNS propagation may not be complete), and the Mail is handled at Netfire. So there's 3 different carriers