Hiya. I signed up with NEXTwebhosting (something NOBODY should ever, ever do). Anyways, they say they have a 30-day money back guarantee. I'm trying to utilize that, yet they refuse to give me my money back.

I tried to get Visa to issue a chargeback, but they said that only the merchant can do issue a chargeback.

So, I'm at a loss as to what to do. Is there a company or organization that I can contact to report NEXTwebhosting as having bad business practices, false advertising, and not living up to their policies?

Thanks for your help!
Nick Hoffman

That's not true that only a merchant can do a chargeback. Raise hell with the credit card company. Take down the names of people that tell you silly things like that and report them to supervisors. Your CC company is supposed to support you and they are paid well to do so.

Maybe the problem lies in the use of the word 'chargeback'. You may have confused the poor operator with the term. (hey, ya never know....) Try just telling them that you have been fraudulently charged and you need the charge reversed. In the end you should get your way.

Hello,

Usually Visa can help you do a chargeback. Not merchant. Merchant can do a reverse charge (refund) contact your bank and tell them that this is an unauthorized charge.

Good luck.

Originally posted by lightnin
That's not true that only a merchant can do a chargeback. Raise hell with the credit card company. Take down the names of people that tell you silly things like that and report them to supervisors. Your CC company is supposed to support you and they are paid well to do so.

Maybe the problem lies in the use of the word 'chargeback'. You may have confused the poor operator with the term. (hey, ya never know....) Try just telling them that you have been fraudulently charged and you need the charge reversed. In the end you should get your way.

I wouldn't say that I've been fraudulently charged...though the hosting company is preventing me from getting my money back.

Either way though, is there a company/organization that I can report NEXTwebhosting to?

Thanks!
Nick

Yeah, true the terminology I used was a bit harsh, but you get the idea I'm sure.

You can report them to the Better Business Bureau in their respective state, if they are located in the US. However a bit of digging on this particular host indicates that they are located in Canada. I'm not sure what the best route to take is in that case. Maybe someone here on the board from Canada can help out with that one . :)

Yup, that's what I found too. On their Contact Us page, it says that their Corporate Head Office is in Atlanta, Georgia. However, when I went looking for them in Georgia, nothing came up. Even a 411 telephone search showed nothing.

I also found out that they're a reseller, using Tucows. I'm going to contact Tucows and see if they can give me any help.

I don't know if that will help much. They'd be a Tucows reseller for domain names, not hosting.

Originally posted by lightnin
I don't know if that will help much. They'd be a Tucows reseller for domain names, not hosting.

So which company would they be a reseller for hosting?

They don't appear to be a reseller.

They aren't?

http://www.betterwhois.com/bwhois.cgi?domain=elosoft.com&x=56&y=20

Doesn't mean that they're a reseller?

No, that's just their whois info.

Hi,

I think you'll find better luck dealing with their Toronto office. Their servers appear to be in Canada and their domain name record is for their Toronto location as well. I suspect that management is located in Toronto and that may be where you could find some resolution? Just a suggestion.

As for your refund, did you read any fine print to make sure that you fall within their refund policy? Did they give you a reason why they won't give you your money back under the 30 Day guarantee? They have a toll free telephone number, why not call and ask them?

Also, they don't seem to be a reseller. As far as I can tell, they have their own servers located in a Sprint Canada facility (but I could be wrong about that). But even if they were a reseller, you're not likely to find much help from the company providing their services. If you have an issue to resolve over a guarantee with a reseller, it's between you and the reseller. JMHO.

Good luck!

HS.c

Originally posted by HS.c
Hi,

I think you'll find better luck dealing with their Toronto office. Their servers appear to be in Canada and their domain name record is for their Toronto location as well. I suspect that management is located in Toronto and that may be where you could find some resolution? Just a suggestion.

Yeah, that's their only office actually. The one in Georgia doesn't exist, despite the address being on the website.


As for your refund, did you read any fine print to make sure that you fall within their refund policy? Did they give you a reason why they won't give you your money back under the 30 Day guarantee? They have a toll free telephone number, why not call and ask them?

Their refund policy says:
"All web hosting plans comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with our services within the first 30 days of your contract, you will be given a full refund of the contract amount excluding setup fee. There are no refunds on prepaid amounts after the 30 day money back period has elapsed. All cancellations must be received in writing 30 days prior it expires; postal mail and fax notifications are acceptable. Phone and email requests will not constitute acceptance of any cancellation.
This policy does not apply to any additional services such as domain pointers, overages, disk space, website submission."

I received the Login Access email on June 12 and submitted our cancellation and refund request today, yet they are refusing it.

Also, they don't seem to be a reseller. As far as I can tell, they have their own servers located in a Sprint Canada facility (but I could be wrong about that). But even if they were a reseller, you're not likely to find much help from the company providing their services. If you have an issue to resolve over a guarantee with a reseller, it's between you and the reseller. JMHO.

How did you find out that their servers are located in a Sprint Canada facility?

Thanks for your help!
Nick

By tracerouting. The 3rd to last hop on the route gives this info:

UUNET Canada Inc (NETBLK-UUCA-PTP-ON3)
20 Bay Street, Suite 1910
Toronto, ON M5J 2N8
CA

Netname: UUCA-PTP-ON3
Netblock: 209.167.167.0 - 209.167.167.255

Coordinator:
Fincham, Lyn (LF6-ARIN) lyn@UUNET.CA
+1 800 463 8123 ext. 227 (FAX) +1 416 368 1350

Record last updated on 22-Sep-1998.
Database last updated on 7-Jul-2002 20:00:15 EDT.

Hi,

I received the Login Access email on June 12 and submitted our cancellation and refund request today, yet they are refusing it.


When did you sign up? If it's the "First 30 Days of your contract" maybe they're calling your sign-up day as Day 1 of 30? If yes, it's nit-picking on their part if you were only provided with access on June 12th. I say to you again: call them and speak with them about it. Also, make sure that they don't mean FAX or Snail Mail as a proper "written" request for a refund. Again it may be nit-picking by them but they may want you to jump through a few hoops to qualify for a refund. When did you actually pay and when did you actually sign up? Was it prior to June 9th?

Give them a call and see what is behind their denial. Maybe you went over some usage limits? Maybe you got some bonehead who wants to be a jerk (via email) but if you call maybe you'll get someone who is more reasonable? It's worth a try, at least. And if you really are submitting your refund request a day or two beyond the "technical 30 day mark", make your case to them. While they may be on the right side of their contract, good-will may prevail and they may grant you a refund.


How did you find out that their servers are located in a Sprint Canada facility?

I checked their name server IP address with ARIN and just went from there.


Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

HS.c

Originally posted by Litage

postal mail and fax notifications are acceptable. Phone and email requests will not constitute acceptance of any cancellation.


How did you contact them about cancellation?