My cousin is with GearHost, and after one too many false promises made to him, he's been trying to cancel his account and receive a refund. They have ignored his cancellation requests so far, and judging from the other GearHost threads, he isn't likely to get any response until the 30 day money back period is past and they've already charged him for a 2nd month.

He has to pay his credit card bill soon, and I'm under the impression that if pays it, he'll never see a refund and that GearHost will continue to charge him for the next month. (by paying in full, isn't he then agreeing that all charges are correct?)

So as a last resort measure if GearHost doesn't respond to any of his further cancellation requests, I've heard of this thing called a chargeback. Neither of us have done one before, so I'd be grateful if someone can explain to me how it works. What do you have to do to intiate this chargeback? Is a chargeback any different than calling a credit card company and disputing a charge? And would it affect his credit history/credit score at all? (assuming the chargeback reason is legitimate)

At the least, my cousin would like to prevent any further charges by GearHost. Is there any way to prevent a company from continuing to charge his card month after month other than doing something drastic like changing his credit card number?

We don't have the same credit card, but I read my credit card policy and it said something about how the merchant had to be within 75 miles of your home and that the amount had to be over $50 before a dispute would be considered. Supposedly, this is a standard rule. It gets pretty confusing for me. :(

I feel bad and partly responsible because I was the one that recommended that he sign up with GearHost.

Try to talk with Gearhost and tell them that if they do not refound you, you'll request a charge back, but don't do it yet, Gearhost probably will refound you.
People here, tend to take as the first option a charge back, and you must use it only when you don't have another option.
Its not good for your credit card history to have a lot of charge back, and of course, neither its good to the host Merchant Account.

Originally posted by Janet
We don't have the same credit card, but I read my credit card policy and it said something about how the merchant had to be within 75 miles of your home and that the amount had to be over $50 before a dispute would be considered. Supposedly, this is a standard rule. It gets pretty confusing for me. :(


I read somewhere that Internet purchases fall under the same rule as mail-order purchases, which means the 75 mile limit does not apply.

I'm currently going through something similar with Aletia. I had them cancel my account Thursday, they deactivated everything but the FTP by Friday. I didn't receive email that they've done it, nor have I received email regarding how long it takes to process refunds and when I should expect it to post on my credit card.

Good luck to your cousin! I hope he gets things resolved soon.

Hi,

To prevent any further charges by GearHost or any other the best solution is to change your CC# (ask for a new one). Long time ago I had a lot of problem with AIT and after 4 chargeback the only way to stop them to charge me, was to ask for a new card and tell the other one was "lost".
:D

Thanks for the feedback!

It wasn't only until he signed up that all the bad comments about GearHost started popping up. I can see why now. Ryan at GearHost always has an excuse (made up or not) for everything.