I had 2 sites hosted with Tera-byte.com. Then suddenly they were gone. I contacted Tera-byte.com and this is the reply I received:

"the credit card you used for xxxx.com was charged back to us therefore as per our aup all sites associated with the chargeback were taken offline

Steve"

I have to admit that I did make a chargeback. Tera-byte.com made a mistake and charged my credit card. After many e-mails back and forth the finally admitted they were wrong and that they would credit my credit card. They never did, so I gave my credit card company the order to do a chargeback!

What do you guys think about this?

People here -- some hosts included -- take a pretty casual attitude towards recommending chargebacks. A chargeback should be an absolute last resort measure. It's just like stopping payment on a check; it's not something you do as part of a business relationship, instead it's something you do when you no longer have a relationship.

If you've disputed a charge with your credit card company, you're not paying interest on the disputed amount. You should then let the dispute run its course. If you can't get the money back, and you're convinced you're right, end the business relationship, move on, and then take that last step.

Seems like they were within their terms, and a lot of other companies would probably do the same thing. Personally, though, I don't think action like that should be taken without clear advance notice.

Tell them what you just told us, and if nothing comes of it fast, then switch to another hosting company.

A chargeback should be an absolute last resort measure. It's just like stopping payment on a check; it's not something you do as part of a business relationship, instead it's something you do when you no longer have a relationship.


Yeah, but what do you do if they admit making a mistake, but still wont credit your credit card? Do you keep begging them to correct the problem just so you can keep a good relationship with them?

If you really mentioned this to them that many times I think you did the correct thing. You should get your money even if they can't take 3 minutes to credit your card.

Originally posted by DeNasio
Yeah, but what do you do if they admit making a mistake, but still wont credit your credit card? Do you keep begging them to correct the problem just so you can keep a good relationship with them? Then it's your call: which is worth more, the money or the business relationship?

If they admit they made a mistake and won't correct the problem you might not want the relationship. But the prudent course of action would be to get yourself cleanly out of it before taking the chargeback step. And of course the prudent course is always to be familiar with the TOS, and to expect it to be enforced.

Originally posted by DeNasio

I have to admit that I did make a chargeback. Tera-byte.com made a mistake and charged my credit card. After many e-mails back and forth the finally admitted they were wrong and that they would credit my credit card. They never did, so I gave my credit card company the order to do a chargeback!


chargebacks cost money ... what don't you take it in trade ... ask them for 6 months of free hosting .

mike