Serverprice is down yet again. Glad I signed up to test things out for a few months before putting up some sort of live site - such as one where on we promise uptime to clients!

(note: below is copied from my followup post on serverprice in another topic)

--------------------<start copied text>
I received a nice "urgent" email 2 days ago with respect to that IP address change.

"We have completed the implementation of a new failover system which will further insure the uptime of your sites. In order for this system to take affect on your account you must go to the registrar of your main domain (private nameserver) and change the IP addresses to the following: "

But whatever. The "new failover system" doesn't "further insure" (btw, that should be 'ensure' right?;) ) any better than the original system which promised of 99.9% uptime!

And a DNS look up (www.whois.sc/serverprice. com) shows that this poor little server is now running 409 websites.

409? How many of those are reseller accounts with 10GB - 220GB disk space "limits"? Ouch. The overselling is a bit too obvious, and a bit too scary.
--------------------<end copied text>

Some advice to those looking at possibly trying out the business of being a webhost. Whatever reseller (or other) acct you select, with whatever provider (not just serverprice):

1. register your own domains through a registrar directly, so that you've got the ability to move them without delay or hassle (such as waiting on your host provider to get back to you on the request).

2. Always sign up with a 1-2 (or longer!) window before you intend on 'going live' with the business. Give yourself a chance to check out your provider's promises and way of doing business, before you find yourself with clients on that same server and really stuck.

If it doesn't work out, it's better to be frustrated yourself and have to move one test site, than to be dealing with your client's very reasonable frustrations and moving all of their sites too!

Originally posted by rossmc
1. register your own domains through a registrar directly, so that you've got the ability to move them without delay or hassle (such as waiting on your host provider to get back to you on the request).

2. Always sign up with a 1-2 (or longer!) window before you intend on 'going live' with the business. Give yourself a chance to check out your provider's promises and way of doing business, before you find yourself with clients on that same server and really stuck.

Such good advice, it's worth reading twice :cool:

Originally posted by InSite
Such good advice, it's worth reading twice :cool:

Thanks, though of course I made it up as I went along and not because I'm so darn smart - but because I've been so darn stupid too many times in the past!:o

Originally posted by rossmc
Thanks, though of course I made it up as I went along and not because I'm so darn smart - but because I've been so darn stupid too many times in the past!:o

You can't call it "stupid" if you have learned form your mistakes.

Its the ones that we make over and over again that we have to begin smacking ourselves in the head. :smash:

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
You can't call it "stupid" if you have learned form your mistakes.

Its the ones that we make over and over again that we have to begin smacking ourselves in the head. :smash:

I can go for that - except you'd think it rather common sense to test something before relying on it, in any context!

After my last go around with selecting host providers, I even convinced the 'powers that be' at my company to pay the extra bucks needed to get something through Dell or IBM - you know, trust the really big guys? (despite that we'd be too small to warrant real attention).

But wouldn't you know it? Not only can't a normal person sift through those damn sites, it's nearly impossible to get a response from a direct email. The first attempt, through one of their 'contact forms' of all things, earned me a 'no such email address here' response. The second email didn't earn me anything.

Anyhow, back to the (smarter?) drawing board...

Live and learn.. or let die?:D

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
Live and learn.. or let die?:D

That's probably a better approach than "can't beat um? join um!" Though with so many reseller "businesses" trying to start into the market by offering unsupportably low prices, one might begin to wonder how many are "joining um"...:rolleyes:

Look on the bright side, at least you did not put any live site's on their servers yet.

Testing the providers is always a right thing to do. All the best to the next generation of resellers.

I am really greatful to WHT just due to the fact that it helps lots of new resellers how to do what they intend to do and how to provide services what they intend to provide.

Regards,
HostsWebs.

Originally posted by HostsWebs
Testing the providers is always a right thing to do. All the best to the next generation of resellers.

I am really greatful to WHT just due to the fact that it helps lots of new resellers how to do what they intend to do and how to provide services what they intend to provide.

Regards,
HostsWebs.


Plenty are joining them and then you will see them on these boards asking the same exact questions. Price should always be a factor in a decision but if you receive supreme support and the package rate is a bit higher that will eventually pay for itself since you spend less time with your own angry clients!!

I'm so glad I made the choice to steer clear of them.

Originally posted by BaselineAce
I'm so glad I made the choice to steer clear of them.

Yeah, I'm glad you did - else I'd be sharing with you too (along with the other 408 sites!:D )

rossmc, although your advice to those looking at hosting with someone are sound, your assumptions about Serverprice are just that, assumptions.

The whois.sc link you provided shows the number of Domains on "one" IP. Did you realize that?

There could be many reasons for their current problem, especially when switching to new IPs.


I'm not affiliated with Serverprice, I just hate to see un-informed people running down a Hoster -- for the wrong reasons anyway. Looks like their current problems are from incorrect DNS settings then anything else.

http://dnsreport.com/tools/dnsreport.ch?domain=Serverprice.com

Shows they have "lame" nameservers -- a definite sign of incorrect DNS settings.


BTW, "insure" is correct.

Used in the sense of: certainty or guarantee. Neither of which proved vaild in this case, but if your going to shoot down someone, make sure you're aiming at the right reasons. ;)

Originally posted by Website Rob
rossmc, although your advice to those looking at hosting with someone are sound, your assumptions about Serverprice are just that, assumptions.

The whois.sc link you provided shows the number of Domains on "one" IP. Did you realize that?

There could be many reasons for their current problem, especially when switching to new IPs.


I'm not affiliated with Serverprice, I just hate to see un-informed people running down a Hoster -- for the wrong reasons anyway. Looks like their current problems are from incorrect DNS settings then anything else.

http://dnsreport.com/tools/dnsreport.ch?domain=Serverprice.com

Shows they have "lame" nameservers -- a definite sign of incorrect DNS settings.


BTW, "insure" is correct.

Used in the sense of: certainty or guarantee. Neither of which proved vaild in this case, but if your going to shoot down someone, make sure you're aiming at the right reasons. ;)

Please slow down there.

First off, much of my assessement of Serveprice is derived directly from my experiences as a customer. I'm not merely "assuming" that the server is down again, it is. I'm not merely "assuming" that they're overselling massively, they (and/or some/all of their reseller customers) are.

Yes, I realize the limitations of the look up provided through the whois.sc site. FYI, I've also explained another 'source' for my realistic conclusion that they've an excessive amount of clients on one server. Perhaps you'd care to read some of the backgrounder to this topic before making assumptions on my presumptions?;)

Next, this isn't about Serverprice's most recent unannounced and lengthy downtime while they experience a problem "switching to new IPs". Perhaps you caught the word "again" in my post - and the posts of other Serverprice customers? And perhaps more significantly, 'my issue' isn't even that there's some downtime - it's that there's unannounced, unexplained downtime, in conjunction to the other issues.

Moving along... I'm neither "un-informed" on the topic (as should be rather evident from the fact I'm an existing customer with real life experiences), nor "running down a hoster" - for the right or "wrong" reasons. (btw, presumably you're aware that Serverprice isn't merely a "hoster"?)

And lastly - about 'insure' versus 'ensure'. I had to do a bit of a double check there, as I was taught 'ensure' and don't, even now thinking of it, recall having seen 'insure' elsewhere. At any rate - both words would appear to be correct in this context, although the word 'insure' pops up more frequently in context with insurance - "to provide, acquire, arrange for insurance", or "to insure against a loss".

Thanks for pointing out my flawed understanding of the word.:D

(ps: my post re: Serverprice when I first signed up our test acct is, I believe, still on this board - give it a read to fill in the gaps, if you care to 'see' that this truly wasn't about merely "running down" someone)

It's been 14 hours since I first noticed serverprice being down (again) and apparently longer from what others have said.

At what point does it no longer matter the "reason" why they're down, and only matter that they're still down (or down again - were they back up at some time and (again) failed to send me a 'sorry, this is what happened' email?)??

The fellow who suggested keeping one's customer support functions (board, ticket system, etc.) on a separate sever was truly on the ball in retrospect. (Though I still like the telephone idea as a fall back!:rolleyes: ). Then they'd at least be able to post something to tell us what to expect.

Is there a 'sticky' for all these great ideas that I've missed as being common sense myself?:D

Originally posted by rossmc
The fellow who suggested keeping one's customer support functions (board, ticket system, etc.) on a separate sever was truly on the ball in retrospect. (Though I still like the telephone idea as a fall back!:rolleyes: ). Then they'd at least be able to post something to tell us what to expect.

I'm not sure if you are a reseller or just use the account for hosting multiple domains, so this may not apply to you (but will to others)... but how are you managing to keep in touch with your own customers during this downtime?

While good advice is being freely given out in this thread, it's also worth noting that if your own website is on the same server as your customers, then it's a good idea to have your own backup site somewhere. Many reseller providers who have servers in multiple locations (actually different networks, to avoid datacenter issues) will set this up for you for free. :)

rossmc, it is unfortunate that I cannot read every single post on this forum -- and retain all the information as well -- and I was simply going by information provided in your first post. That is what people should do when replying to posts unless they can post links to other posts/threads on the same subject, which I could not.

First hand knowledge of a Hoster is always the best experience and you'll get no argument from me there. What I would say though, in this case, this thread, is that Serverprice has screwed up the DNS settings for at least one Server and could be, they don't have knowledgeable staff -- if there have been lots of previous problems.

There also appears to be a problem in their communication as they (apparently) are not sending out eMails to their Clients. I don't know, not being a Client of theirs. Do they do that sort of thing? There is no Industry Standard for contacting Clients on problems, but it is presumed that a few notices will be sent out, a few days apart, with correct & accurate information their Clients can use.

If it has been over 24 hrs and no Contact from the Hoster, it's time to contact them. If it's been over 48 hrs and no contact whatsoever, could be it's time to look for a new Hoster. Most good Hosters will also have a site on a totally different Server and location so that there are no problems with contact. Those are the guidelines which I use and provide, for my Clients anyway.

It is unfortunate that we usually learn through trial & error (mostly error)when it comes to good Web Hosters. That's why talking to people you know about who they Host with and the service they get, is the next best thing to being a Client. Forums are sometime a good place for researching as well. ;)

Originally posted by InSite
I'm not sure if you are a reseller or just use the account for hosting multiple domains, so this may not apply to you (but will to others)... but how are you managing to keep in touch with your own customers during this downtime?

While good advice is being freely given out in this thread, it's also worth noting that if your own website is on the same server as your customers, then it's a good idea to have your own backup site somewhere. Many reseller providers who have servers in multiple locations (actually different networks, to avoid datacenter issues) will set this up for you for free. :)

We don't actually have any clients on that server, it was set up as a test to see how Serverprice operated, to gain some confidence, etc... before taking that bigger plunge into the realm of trust and faith. Also, our domains are managed by us directly through the registrar so I needn't even wait on a provider to get around to helping with a transfer should that be decided on our end. So we're basically fine. A hassle but not a big ugly mess.

True enough about resellers having their own web sites on different servers - though, as I've mentioned earlier, I kinda like the idea (as a hosted client) of having my site on the same server as the providers. I figure I'm likey to get as much uptime as them?!

We ran a site through an Australian IPS for a couple years, then a big long downtime (days) along with their inability to send us an invoice or renew the domain before expiry. It bugged me, at the time, that while our (revenue producing!) site was offline, they were still in business and able to bring on more clients.

Yet having support systems for existing clients, at the base minimum, on another server (even network) seems like the best approach for all.

I cannot see where a Reseller would need to have another account somewhere? Not to say it's a bad idea, but if you use a Mailing script on your ISP account, which usually gives some free space and CGI support, then one could contact their Clients that way. That's what I did when I was a Reseller and it worked just fine.

The account on a seperate Server / location that I was referring to earlier was for the Hoster -- with the Dedicated Server. Or are we referring to people with Dedicated Servers? I presumed (assumed :)) this thread was about Clients using a Reseller or Hosting account from Serverprice, not Dedicated.

Originally posted by Website Rob
rossmc, it is unfortunate that I cannot read every single post on this forum -- and retain all the information as well -- and I was simply going by information provided in your first post. That is what people should do when replying to posts unless they can post links to other posts/threads on the same subject, which I could not.

First hand knowledge of a Hoster is always the best experience and you'll get no argument from me there. What I would say though, in this case, this thread, is that Serverprice has screwed up the DNS settings for at least one Server and could be, they don't have knowledgeable staff -- if there have been lots of previous problems.

There also appears to be a problem in their communication as they (apparently) are not sending out eMails to their Clients. I don't know, not being a Client of theirs. Do they do that sort of thing? There is no Industry Standard for contacting Clients on problems, but it is presumed that a few notices will be sent out, a few days apart, with correct & accurate information their Clients can use.

If it has been over 24 hrs and no Contact from the Hoster, it's time to contact them. If it's been over 48 hrs and no contact whatsoever, could be it's time to look for a new Hoster. Most good Hosters will also have a site on a totally different Server and location so that there are no problems with contact. Those are the guidelines which I use and provide, for my Clients anyway.

It is unfortunate that we usually learn through trial & error (mostly error)when it comes to good Web Hosters. That's why talking to people you know about who they Host with and the service they get, is the next best thing to being a Client. Forums are sometime a good place for researching as well. ;)

Thanks for the advice re: linking to previous threads. I did include a "note" to indicate that some of my post was copied from a previous thread (for a partial backgrounder), but clearly a link to would be cleaner - and cheaper on the board's resources.;)

I hear you on the DNS settings too. I'm really not terribly clear on what Serverprice is setting up/has set up, etc... in this regard. For example, when the server was down on the 18th of August I put in a ticket and four hours later heard back the following:

"apologies, server was rebooting after grand backup individual check (once a month) and then we hade a Apache failure, total downtime was 40 minutes in lapses of 20 min we have now completed the redundancy install and you should not experience any more downtime in the future"

That's a bit too "technical" for me. What redundancy was completed, precisely, in this "grand backup individual check"? The next I heard, on the 1st of September, was an email that began:

"We have completed the implementation of a new failover system which will further insure the uptime of your sites. ", then some instructions on the fact we had to change our IP address, and continued "PLEASE NOTE: this change is not optional anymore. " I'm not certain what "optional anymore" meant - we certainly hadn't been informed of any options before this! :D

So those two emails (one in response to a ticket, and the other 'advance' info which I really do appreciate in a provider!) are all I know about Serverprice doing something about its DNS. Basically, the server wasn't up reliabily, then they did something and its still not up reliabily.

You'd think sending out an email broadcast to clients before something is scheduled makes the most business sense - saving your clients from taking out their frustrations by removing their accts, and saving your staff time in responding to support tickets. Even a broadcast afterward is a chance to keep clients happy with the service. Same goes for an incident that wasn't scheduled.

But I've only run across one host provider who bothered in all three above type scenarios. Mega-hosting.biz, to be precise, and with their cheap prices and interestingly looking site, I've been pleasantly surprised to note that they've been the best thus far I've had experiences with personally.

Looks like my site is finally up.
Still can't get to cPanle, that I could move away. :o

"We perused some directories on a hard drive and forgot to grock Apache, which was not correctly concatenated in the jondra applicable to the OS."

Yeah, gotta love those "techie" answers. :D

I can relate though, when sending out mass mailings to Clients I have to remember that keeping things simple and/or relating to everyday terms helps most understand. One just cannot know at what level of knowledge each of their Client's is at.

"A Server reboot was done after our Monthly backup and due to some mis-configuration of Apache settings, time was need to sort out the problem."

Glad you like the design used by Mega-hosting as, hopefully, our Clients will like it as well. Will be using it ourselves, maybe, as it's a template provided within an online billing system -- which we just purchased. (hope I'm not giving away some big Internet secret here. :eek: )

Originally posted by Website Rob
"We perused some directories on a hard drive and forgot to grock Apache, which was not correctly concatenated in the jondra applicable to the OS."

Yeah, gotta love those "techie" answers. :D

I can relate though, when sending out mass mailings to Clients I have that keeping things simple and/or relating to everyday terms helps most understand. One just cannot know at what level of knowledge each of their Clients is at.

"A reboot was done after our Monthly backup and due to some mis-configuration of Apache settings, time was need to sort out the problem."

Glad you like the design used by Mega-hosting. Will be using it ourselves, maybe, as it's a template provide within an online billing system. (hope I'm not giving away some Internet secret here. :eek: )

Actually I was trying to be polite. It's a rather UGLY looking site, in my very (not so) humble opinion), but mostly because it's rather obviously a template which hasn't been completely filled in with custom content!;)

Forget secrets - what's the name of the billing system? We've got a custom one for our webapp clients, but as we're switching over to offer a 'one stop shop' (e.g. providing the hosting environment along with the application), there are a few features ours just doesn't support.

Lookin really really good on my ServerPrice server... :bawling:

Originally posted by Futuron
Lookin really really good on my ServerPrice server... :bawling:

I'm with yah buddy, sarcasim and all! I get the same info, of course. What does the below table tell you?

Physical Drives


Current Memory Usage
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 1014416 1000348 14068 0 92664 498896
-/+ buffers/cache: 408788 605628
Swap: 2040212 88292 1951920
Total: 3054628 1088640 1965988


Current Disk Usage
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda7 1012M 240M 721M 25% /
/dev/sda1 46M 14M 30M 33% /boot
/dev/sda5 53G 48G 2.8G 95% /home
none 496M 0 496M 0% /dev/shm
/dev/sda6 1012M 961M 0 100% /tmp
/dev/sda2 9.9G 3.7G 5.7G 40% /usr
/dev/sda3 6.9G 1.8G 4.8G 28% /var

Originally posted by rossmc
I'm with yah buddy, sarcasim and all! I get the same info, of course. What does the below table tell you?

Physical Drives


Current Memory Usage
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 1014416 1000348 14068 0 92664 498896
-/+ buffers/cache: 408788 605628
Swap: 2040212 88292 1951920
Total: 3054628 1088640 1965988


Current Disk Usage
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda7 1012M 240M 721M 25% /
/dev/sda1 46M 14M 30M 33% /boot
/dev/sda5 53G 48G 2.8G 95% /home
none 496M 0 496M 0% /dev/shm
/dev/sda6 1012M 961M 0 100% /tmp
/dev/sda2 9.9G 3.7G 5.7G 40% /usr
/dev/sda3 6.9G 1.8G 4.8G 28% /var

Well, they are pretty much maxed out?

Originally posted by Futuron
Well, they are pretty much maxed out?

That's were I'm stuck. I can only guess (aka: assume?:D ) based on adding up the numbers. Seems like there's not enough room for me to actually use up any of the space I've been alocated. But look at the table below for comparison (this is what I get from where my other reseller acct with another provider) - note the percentage allocated/used looks a lot safer.

Current Disk Usage
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/hda2 7.7G 306M 7.1G 5% /
/dev/hda1 76M 18M 56M 24% /boot
/dev/hda8 48G 8.0G 37G 18% /home
none 252M 0 252M 0% /dev/shm
/dev/hda7 1012M 34M 927M 4% /tmp
/dev/hda6 7.7G 2.4G 5.0G 33% /usr
/dev/hda5 7.7G 908M 6.5G 13% /var
/dev/hdd1 74G 12G 59G 17% /backup

Would you believe it - this server is down again! Down all morning/day/night, then back up for a bit, now down again.

Would you believe that today my '30 day refund' time period expires and because their site is likewise unavailable, I still can't even email them my notice? Arrggg...:eek:

Originally posted by rossmc
Would you believe it - this server is down again! Down all morning/day/night, then back up for a bit, now down again.

Would you believe that today my '30 day refund' time period expires and because their site is likewise unavailable, I still can't even email them my notice? Arrggg...:eek:

Well, I've submitted my refund request through the support/ticket system anyhow. I'm sure I don't quite understand what's going on precisely, so hopefully someone out there can enlighten me?

I can gain access to the site's whm and cpanel areas and even connect through ftp. Pinging the domain works too. But, I can't gain access to the site itself - through the browser - say, to where the index.html page should light up the screen! Instead it's the "page not found" error (yeah, yeah, I did hit the refresh:stickout: )

I also note that while I can't get the serverprice.com home page(s), I did get through to their support script/system with a direct link from an earily email.

So what's up? Is this a matter of some ports (whm/cpanel/ftp) being accessible and others not? Am I crazy?:confused:

i didnt read this whole thread to the end, but i just wanted to say that i agree with rossmc on testing the reseller accounts 1st, and thats what am doing with hostprince.com! the current uptime is 88.03% and iam glad i didnt start bringing customers to this server!
although the refund thing didnt work! they dont reply, turns out its a one man show from lithuania or something!

i would really agree on testing the account before going live

I not aware of the fact about severprice overselling but as per my siteuptime.com monitoring data the site is online since 20aug without any outages.

Below in my next post i m posting the siteuptime data.

http://www.siteuptime.com/statistics.php?Id=12461&UserId=11791

Another fact im unable to access the site from INDIA while checking with siteuptime.com it's working pretty fine

Better act quick people. The serverprice.com site seems to be resolving so best do what needs to be done before anything else happens.

Originally posted by Website Rob
Better act quick people. The serverprice.com site seems to be resolving so best do what needs to be done before anything else happens.

Yeah, you know, I'm no "expert" on these things but it doesn't seem to me that Serverprice is merely having a DNS issue, the site not resolving properly, etc...

18 hours after I submitted that ticket requesting our refund in accordance with their guarantee, I got a reply back that said "the issues have been fixed" and that if I still wanted to cancel to send back the whm username for our acct. I did. That was what, seven hours ago or something. Of course I've heard nothing back. I suspect (hope for other customers?!) that whoever is there is busy working on 'more important stuff' that responding to support tickets submitted by disgruntled customers.:D

So five hours ago I checked the "server status" through whm, and noted that imap, server load, the /home and /tmp were in the red. Just now, I checked again, and cppop is in the red with the others.

Again, I'm not an expert on these things, but doesn't this reflect that there's more than a DNS problem going on?

Well anyway, I wish the other customers good luck in their efforts to see this resolved.

Let me know if you get a refund. I'm in the same boat and trying to jump ship. Serverprice's support is pretty unimpressive.

Here they come...

good luck lorddamit

UnifiedNet, how do you mean "Here they come"?

Serverprice's server is down again!!! urrrg!:angry:

What i mean is that soon enough this thread will be filled with Serverprice clients bashing their services!!

Rightfully so i might add!! Isn't the internet great!!

My only question is how long has this been going on? How long have you guys been seeing this shoddy type of service? Is there a common theme to the answers you receive from ServerPrice support?

Their responces are very similar... they don't respond every time! It has been down for about 3 days now. It was up for a bit but now back down. I call and use the support.... nothing. I even have tickets unanswered from a couple weeks ago before the server went down. Very unhappy. I hope they will give me my money back or atleast for the unused time i've already paid for. FRUSTRATING!

I can't imagine that they wouldn't but who knows the threads are full of posts about non-refunds!

As far as the support they are giving to their resellers all i can say is "uhg" Although it makes the reliable hosts look so much better so maybe i should thank them!! Who knows maybe put em on our x-mas card list!! :puke:

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
What i mean is that soon enough this thread will be filled with Serverprice clients bashing their services!!

Rightfully so i might add!! Isn't the internet great!!

My only question is how long has this been going on? How long have you guys been seeing this shoddy type of service? Is there a common theme to the answers you receive from ServerPrice support?

I've received two emails in response to support tickets, one email to notify me of an IP address change (after the fact though I guess), and read their one whole "announcement" in the support ticket system thingy.

The "common theme" to all of these 'communiques' from ServerPrice is that each one says they have completed the install of some sort of "new failover system". Note the past tense of that phrase --->> "have completed"!

I don't know how many times they're going to complete one damm install, or how many times they're going to say the "issues are fixed" before the issues are REALLY fixed. But eventually perhaps someone over there will re-evaluate the strange notion of simply being straight and honest.

Are we talking months here or are these recent troubles?

Maybe they should hire a server admin?

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
I can't imagine that they wouldn't but who knows the threads are full of posts about non-refunds!

As far as the support they are giving to their resellers all i can say is "uhg" Although it makes the reliable hosts look so much better so maybe i should thank them!! Who knows maybe put em on our x-mas card list!! :puke:

Yeah, yeah, UnifiedNet, you're a vulture huh?;)

Originally posted by rossmc
Yeah, yeah, UnifiedNet, you're a vulture huh?;)

Hmmm.. was that a dig? :D

I am not a vulture I just like to take care of those around me!!

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
Are we talking months here or are these recent troubles?

Maybe they should hire a server admin?

They've only been up a few months in all. I've been with them a day over 30 now - though I've trying to get out for a few days now! :eek:

Well, I'd have expected some 'growing pains' with such a newbie service provider. It's the lack of straight, reliable clarity which knaws at my confidence they will come out of these 'pains' the better for it.

easy folks.... let's focus on serverprice's bad service and lack of responce and refund. Do you think a refund is in the cards? Anyone been through an experience like this before?

Incorrect DNS settings can account for a lot of Server problems. With that said though, I remember rossmc & somebody else posted Server information on two different Servers I do believe, and the information provided definitely showed both Servers as overloaded.

If one of those Servers is the same one discussed in this thread as having continous problems -- or is there problems with all of Surpass Servers -- then it could be time to look for new Hosting. I think most any Hoster will agree that 3 days or almost 3 days of downtime, is a perfect time to think about switching.

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
Hmmm.. was that a dig? :D

I am not a vulture I just like to take care of those around me!!

Nah, no dig. When I make a dig it tends to ramble on and on and on.... :smokin: My teasing commentary is much less exhaustive!

I'm in the process of switching now... Gazzin.com is my choice. Seems good, better support setup. Not sure if i'll run into the same issues as serverprice. Is there anyway to keep a heads up on these sorts of pitfalls? Or are all of these hosting sites gambles?

It depends on the tos i guess but i would say that a partial refund shouldn't be too much to expect!

Originally posted by lorddamit
easy folks.... let's focus on serverprice's bad service and lack of responce and refund. Do you think a refund is in the cards? Anyone been through an experience like this before?

Easy folks? Don't get that one.

Well anyhow, as to the refund stuff, who knows. I should expect so as we'll just go through the hassle of making noise with the credit card payment gateway, visa itself, etc... But that's Wednesday morning, if the refund is posted back to our paypal acct before the close of business Tuesday.

I understand being paranoid and all that because people do just try to skip out and such - both in the online and offline world. But you know, there's a big difference between a company experiencing some downtime while getting their feet steadied, and being outright fraudsters. I shouldn't expect these fellows to be fraudsters - just overwhelmed maybe at the moment.

And yeah, I've had a 'fight for a refund' experience with another host provider - Astrahosting.com (I believe they're still online - pure scam artists). But at the end of it I just called my credit card issuer and had the thing charged back. Astra's been reported to the FBI fraud squad (which will EVENTUALLY get around to such things I guess), online BBB, etc... by many people now. Seems these guys live nearby me - same city - too, so I'm tempted sometimes to drive by and check them out in person!:rolleyes:

Anyways, my advice is not to panic - having technical problems doesn't mean having really bad ethics, after all!:D

Originally posted by lorddamit
easy folks.... let's focus on serverprice's bad service and lack of responce and refund. Do you think a refund is in the cards? Anyone been through an experience like this before?

We're playing.. I know you guys are going through alot so it was an attempt to lighten the situation while staying on course!!

Nah, no dig. When I make a dig it tends to ramble on and on and on.... My teasing commentary is much less exhaustive!

I noticed that about you!! lol

Originally posted by lorddamit
I'm in the process of switching now... Gazzin.com is my choice. Seems good, better support setup. Not sure if i'll run into the same issues as serverprice. Is there anyway to keep a heads up on these sorts of pitfalls? Or are all of these hosting sites gambles?

Yeap, all gambles. Even the ones with the best recommendations on the board! Thing is, you just need to get one support guy/gal whose mood or attitude and yours don't fit and you'll end up with a bad taste for the whole company! Such is the way of life.

Okay but seriously - yeah, all gambles. Sometimes there are just "things that happen". Best to get a provider which has some fans, and yet not move your own clients over right away. Test them. Be sure it's a good fit for YOU.

Also, just because a provider has had problems in the past, downtime, etc... doesn't mean they're a bad provider now. Bigger thing is how they dealt with those past problems (e.g. did they offer refunds where appropriate?).

Just MHO?!:D

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
We're playing.. I know you guys are going through alot so it was an attempt to lighten the situation while staying on course!!



I noticed that about you!! lol

fyi, sent a pm

i don't know what serverprice.com's past is. I can barely even get a response from them now or before the service went down. I was hoping to get some history of their service from this forum. Anyone??

Another big scammer was Hostmeg.com, just up and left. Out money there too. I'll try the credit card route, never thought of that. It really works?

Does anyone have serverprice.com's support number on hand?

Originally posted by lorddamit
i don't know what serverprice.com's past is. I can barely even get a response from them now or before the service went down. I was hoping to get some history of their service from this forum. Anyone??

Another big scammer was Hostmeg.com, just up and left. Out money there too. I'll try the credit card route, never thought of that. It really works?

About the credit card charge reversal - yeah, it "really works", but the process isn't intended to be used in place of responsible consumerism <sp?>.

What I mean by that is that, based on my understanding of things, one can't just charge something on their card and then later decide they wish they hadn't and request a 'refund' through visa. Rather, one calls their card issuer to decline a charge one didn't authorize to begin with.

Such was the case with Astrahosting.com - they used my card without proper authorization in the sense they charged more than I was willing to authorize, and in a manner I didn't authorize (my card number was supposed to be received directly by their pymt gateway company - but they're online form was a tad excessively sneaky and sent it elsewhere).

Visa would not have, I don't believe anyway, processed my charge back request had I authorized the charge and was just ticked that the company refused to honour its TOS.

Originally posted by rossmc
fyi, sent a pm

Gotcha

I'm in the process of switching now... Gazzin.com

this is an assumption because i can't check serverprice's reseller prices since the site isn't up right now... but...

If its cheap you are looking for.. and in know way is this an I told you so comment.. you may want to spend a bit more and find a company that can support you a bit better!!

but do you think i have an argument with the credit card companies if the hosting company i paid for a year with just dissapeared after 2 months and cut services and contacts??

Serverprice.com tech phone is: 1-866-340-4600
But good luck trying to get a hold of anyone.... i've left messages but no call backs.

Originally posted by lorddamit
I'm in the process of switching now... Gazzin.com is my choice. Seems good, better support setup. Not sure if i'll run into the same issues as serverprice. Is there anyway to keep a heads up on these sorts of pitfalls? Or are all of these hosting sites gambles?

If you're looking for 'cheap', etc... try out mega-hosting.biz

Their site looks cheesy in my (not so) humble opinion, and I truly never expected to say this about a company offering such lowball prices - but I've actually had a good experience with them.

An example of the good experience is the fact that the only time the server has gone down in the last number of months I've had a reseller acct there, I got an email right afterward from them with the details. Seriously, sounds weird huh? But I wouldn't have even know there had been a problem except that THEY told ME!

Support tickets answered right away. No hoops, no games. I even wanted to merge two accts (a host acct with a reseller) and it was changed over without any hassle (might have expected one so that they could charge twice, effectively).

Well, it's taken me awhile to get over their site and the cheap prices enough to recommend them - but I do nevertheless I guess. Check them out if you're looking for cheap but really decent.

Yes this is a valid situation for a charge back!!

Good luck

Originally posted by lorddamit
but do you think i have an argument with the credit card companies if the hosting company i paid for a year with just dissapeared after 2 months and cut services and contacts??

Serverprice.com tech phone is: 1-866-340-4600
But good luck trying to get a hold of anyone.... i've left messages but no call backs.

I use visa, so can only speak for them and my understanding of related experiences. That said...

Visa gives 30 days from the date of a statement to dispute any charges on that statement. 30 days later, if you haven't disputed the authorization of a charge, you're stuck with the tab. Period, plain and simple.

So, you say "2 months" later? Suggests you've received your statement, presumably paid it, and in any case more than 30 days have passed. Sounds to me like you're outta luck on that score. AND, that presumes that you actually could reasonably dispute having authorized the charge to begin with. Again, the credit card issuer isn't around to replace being a smart consumer!:D

The only other way you MAY have an option is if you've got insurance on your card - like with my gold visa card, I've got insurance against the item itself being stolen or damaged under certain conditions, for a certain period after the original purchase date (1 year in some cases). If you've got such insurance - check it out!!!!

Otherwise, you're stuck going the civil court route - good luck getting a lawyer to take on such a piddly case, btw, no matter how much it's the 'principal of the thing' and how you're willing to pay, yadda, yadda - it can be a fight to get a lawyer involved in such small things, which is why I like having a corporate lawyer under a retainer for all things big and small!;) How 'bout small claims court instead? If you can find the turds!

Either that or get in touch with their payment gateway (like a PayPal?) and cross your fingers.

Good Luck!

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
Yes this is a valid situation for a charge back!!

Good luck

umm... I don't believe it is. Could be wrong, of course, but the gals at Visa were very clear to me on the difference between authorizing a charge and just wishing you hadn't authorized it after the fact. They wanted detailed info as to how it was Astrahosting got my credit card number without me having deliberately given it to them - and hence, without having authorized its use.

But hey, who am I to argue?:stickout:

Our banking institution allows for chargebacks up to a full year!!

Also i would have to imagine that since this was charged as a full year of service things would be looked at differently!

just my thoughts and experiences with my bank although you may want to take it up with your bank and possibly whatever cc processor they use.. file complaints on both sides if infact they don't issue you a refund!

Worth a shot... i'll let you know how it turns out.

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
Our banking institution allows for chargebacks up to a full year!!

Also i would have to imagine that since this was charged as a full year of service things would be looked at differently!

just my thoughts and experiences with my bank although you may want to take it up with your bank and possibly whatever cc processor they use.. file complaints on both sides if infact they don't issue you a refund!

Wow, that's simply wild! Would make life so much easier for me if I could have an account at that particular institution! I mean think of it... is it a stretch to say... well, say I bought a printer and it had a warranty on it, broke during that first year for whatever reason, the manufacturer declined to honor the warranty, and so I could just do a charge back?!!!!! Wicked! I love it! That's it, I'm moving south. Always promised myself I would - even tried to get my Yankee cousin to marry so that I'd get in there to stay more easily!;)

Okay, back to trying to nail down ServerPrice....

Originally posted by lorddamit
Worth a shot... i'll let you know how it turns out.

Always worth a shot! Good luck with it - and please, do let us know how it turns out. I'll post back if/when Serverprice issues a refund too. Of course, if they do, and without hassle, then that bodes well for their future once the server issues themselves have truly been worked out.

Back to work now...

Let us know how it goes!!

ross as far as that whole cousin comment maybe you should look farther south for that!! :rofl:

Originally posted by UnifiedNet
Let us know how it goes!!

ross as far as that whole cousin comment maybe you should look farther south for that!! :rofl:

so funny, so funny.... what a hoot!:uzi:

Interestingly enough, I can SSH to serverprice's server, access cpanel, and email; however, none of the websites work.

This has been the case all day now.

I managed to get my sites to display for an hour this afternoon but now they're dead again.

It's just as well that all my customer's are prepared for the move onto the dedicated server, which will be just before my next payment is due to server price and yupps you guessed it, because it won't be getting paid.

Why didn't they just go and get more HD space.

The way they have it set up now is as much use as a chocolate teapot:D

To be honest......by the looks of this post....their massivley over selling might just leave them with a handfull of clients.

I realise that new companies do have teething problems, but this crowd are now down to their gums.

tbeasy

Originally posted by IDNethosting
Interestingly enough, I can SSH to serverprice's server, access cpanel, and email; however, none of the websites work.

This has been the case all day now.

Yeah, I don't quite understand how I could access cpanel and connect through ftp, but the sites were unavailable. Would love to get a "techie" perspective on that to fill in the knowledge gap!?:eek:

Whatever, still nothing back on the cancellation of our acct and return of funds in accordance with their "guarantee". Presumably we're not the only people who are being wholly ignored, either in terms of refund or technical issues?

Wouldn't mind seeing a bit of professionalism and the practice of business ethics right about now....

Mee toooo. i am getting some response now from them through their ticket support, but they seem to ignore the tickets regarding their service down and anthing that has to do with a refund. Slick, eh?

So now I can access the websites but now can't log in with ftp! Is this a problem now with anyone else??

Also no phone contact yet. Serverprice bites the big one.

Originally posted by lorddamit
Mee toooo. i am getting some response now from them through their ticket support, but they seem to ignore the tickets regarding their service down and anthing that has to do with a refund. Slick, eh?


Sounds like the syndrome my dog exhibits occasionally - it's the 'selective hearing disease'.

I think what this industry needs big time right about now is depository system of some sort. Clients pay into a depository for X services, and only AFTER such services have actually been provided is the service provider able to withdraw their fee. In the event such services are not rendered according to agreement, fees are returned the disgruntled client.

In this fashion, clients know they're "insurred" against the fly-by-nighters and unprofessional ethics, while legit service providers know they're going to get what they deserve at the end of the day.

As it stands, the "trust" factor is only going one way - the client has to trust the service provider, because it sure ain't the service provider extending credit and hoping it'll be worth the risk!

I'd really like to find a service provider willing to trust me in advance of payment, rather than it always being me out on the limb trusting them in advance of the service being delivered as promised and "guaranteed"!!

Interesting. It would be nice to have it work that way. I think my lesson learned here is not to pay a year in advance even if i am saving 20 bucks. That way if they don't perform the way they promise at least i can get away with most my money in my pocket.

Ok well here is an attempt to explain what the hell is going on over their since they are failing to do so...

My backing is thread upon thread of these types of when "budget resellers go bad" the next big show to hit fox as soon as sweeps comes around!!

Either two situations arose here...

first off their problems yesterday were not with the server per say because as you all know you could get to cpanel and i was able to ping the site from here. They most likkliy had a severe dns issue that would have probably been resolved by restarting bind but they didn't have anyone watching the server. Are you guys all coming off the same server?

or

They are just overloaded and under staffed at this point. As you can tell this point directly goes with my first point so lets just say this is one big point. what i find very funny is this.

pioneered what is now a million dollar a year web hosting industry known as “ServMover”. This technology allows web hosting resellers to bypass the high costs of server hardware space by taking full advantage of the temporarily unused space; users are assigned a space and bandwidth quota while our “ServMover” script closely monitors all account as the usage progresses. In this period the account can automatically be moved if needed to emptier or larger servers with absolutely no downtime and 100% transparency.

Obviously that didn't work out to well for rossmc and possibly others.


The fact is and i have been holding out for this one.. you get what you pay for. Anyone that is offering these types of low cost services should right off the bat be considered questionable.

Good Luck All.

yeah try them for a month or two and of they were good get the yearly plan, thats what i learned from my experience with ace-hsot