I am writing to express my supreme disappointment in the way I have been treated by my former web host. Before I reveal who it is, please hear me out.

- I have been a customer since 2002.

- The hosting company owner and I were friends to the point of instant messaging frequently during the week although I eventually stopped logging in to IM as I was having trouble completing my work. Still, we were friends.

- I voluntarily wrote a testimonial for this web host which has been displayed prominently on his home page for years.

- Essentially I was provided good service and felt cared for as a customer.

- Over time I realized I would need more advanced hosting than this provider could offer, so I migrated my accounts to a new host. In the process I retained my other accounts with the above-mentioned host as a back-up because I had paid a year in advance and knew there was a no-refund policy. This way if anything went wrong I could revert back with little difficulty. I chose to postpone telling him about this because... again, I wanted a back-up plan. I did nothing wrong as my account was paid in full.

- Here is the part that is my fault and I freely admit it. When my account came due in February I wasn't thinking about it. I was engrossed with other projects. I failed to cancel service.

- Mid-month suddenly I received notice that PayPal had made a $385 withdrawal from my bank account to the web host. (I had checked previously to ensure I wasn't set up for automatic payments but I hadn't realized that all subscriptions aren't shown in one place; you have to change the drop-down fields at PayPal to see the months. Therefore I missed this unfortunate automatic withdrawal. My fault but painful lesson.)

- In a panic I suddenly wrote to my web host help desk. Remember, we were friends. I apologized but asked for cancellation and a reversal of payment as it was not my intention to renew. I'm sure this upset him but his reaction (or lack of one) is astounding.

- The web host completely ignored me for at least 10 days. I tried putting in a second ticket, instant messaging (could see that he was online), a phone call (left message), the contact form on the website, and then in desperation put a thread here (not malicious) that was mysteriously deleted.

- When all else failed I initiated a PayPal dispute. That got his attention. He finally replied to my ticket saying "I'm back" as if I was supposed to know that he was on vacation... even though I could see him on instant message and I could see that he was participating in this forum. So perhaps on vacation... but certainly not offline or not paying attention.

- The web host was his usual friendly self all of a sudden and I thought maybe things would be resolved. He indicated that I had violated TOS but had I merely asked for a pro-rated refund he felt sure "someone" would have helped me.

- I apologized once more, closed the PayPal dispute, and opened a new ticket requesting just that -- a pro-rated refund.

- Here it is April 17th and I have had no response whatsoever. I have requested a dialogue of some sort -- something, anything, to at least air this out. I have not harrassed this web host -- just tried to get in touch. Yes, I violated TOS by requesting a full refund but my goodness, I never intended to renew and I don't know about you, but I don't have $385 hanging around to just throw away.

I never wanted this person to lose income or business. I have always wished the best for him. I just would like a fair hearing and to discuss it. He refuses to talk to me at all. Seriously, is that really asking too much? What is he afraid of? I don't understand why this web host wants to burn a bridge like this. I would have been sympathetic to him if he had explained himself. He knows me -- he knows I'm a nice person. He knows I am a moral, caring individual. He should know based on our past discussions and my actions that I'm not a jerk out to take advantage of people. I have not used foul language. I have not been rude. I have been emphatic at times.

- Ask yourself if you would be upset over losing $385. Sure, I'd like at least part of my money back. He would have received nothing at all had it not been for the PayPal subscription that went through without my knowledge. I seem to have no recourse and he knows it.

- To add insult to injury, my customer page shows an unpaid invoice from last year. I have proof of payment. I tried to get that situation settled but again was ignored.

- My account which was paid up a year in advance has been suspended.

- Last week, considering this ill treatment, I put in a final request to have my testimonial removed from the home page of the website by Friday, April 13th. This request was also ignored.

I will reveal the name of the web host soon but as he is very prominent on this forum, and I suspect he will delete this thread just like he most likely deleted the other, I'd like to see if anyone has any comments. There is no need to mention him at all if he'll just be a man and respond.

If the web host will do the right thing, and you know who you are, then guess what? I'll come back on here and sing your praises. It doesn't take much to cause a feeling of goodwill and to have it returned to you.

Thank you for hearing me out. I'm glad to at least tell my story to somebody even if they can't do anything to help me.

Sorry to hear your predicament. Your biggest mistake was not cancelling your paypal subscribtion. I am not sure if Paypal would have resolve the issue because it is not a tangible good. It is subscribtion. You will have to try and work things out with the host. He was your friend. Maybe he can consider that and give you a pro-rated refund. Actually, by waiting until your subscribtion was charged on your paypal account, it is like getting to new contract. See if you know someone who can talk to him and see if he can refund you. It is not advisable to try to work it out here on these forums. That will not help.
I hope the host will be considerate and give a pro-rated refund.
Good luck.

Hi midnight,

I sure appreciate your taking the time to post. I do understand I made a mistake, and I admit that it was a violation of the TOS, but it was an honest error and unintentional. I was just hoping for a modicum of mercy or at the very least something other than dead silence.

His complaint (which he only shared as a result of the PayPal dispute) was that I asked for a full refund instead of a pro-rated refund. So I revised my request and closed the dispute. That's exactly what he hoped I would do. I was met with silence.

I certainly don't prefer to air this in the forum and I do understand what you mean. Unfortunately I'm wondering what choice I have. Any suggestions? He won't respond to any direct communication. I am being completely ignored. I'm not pounding him, either, in case anyone thinks I'm barraging him with emails.

I think your advice to have someone talk to him is a good one. I'm not sure who to ask, though.

So far I haven't mentioned who it is and this post is not in violation of the forum rules as far as I can tell. I'm hoping that exposing him won't be necessary and that he'll at least be enough of a gentleman to respond to me personally. Again, I do appreciate the reply and that you cared. :-)

From an ethical stand point.. He should have refunded you and left it at that..

From a business stand point, he was under no obligation to refund you, and at the end of the day, friendship aside - business is business..He decided to enforce his TOS..

As for suspending your account that you have paid for.. judging by just your side of the story - it was totally uncalled for and the least he should be doing, and is obligated to do is continue providing services for the term of payment.

Closing the PayPal dispute should not have been done.. You should have waited for the refund and then closed the dispute. Otherwise you are prevented from creating a new dispute on the same transaction. But the dispute should not have been logged in the first place as he hasn't done anything wrong from a business stand point.

I see no reason for this thread to be deleted even if you do mention the company in question. You can always contact a mod here to double check.

I would be interested to know the other side of the story from the host..

The best solution to this is for the host to at least issue a pro-rated refund. If a client cancelled a contract he should be pro-rated unless if there is a clause on the TOS that says no refund. But again, there is no winner in this situation. I am just hoping the host give a pro-rated refund. Let's be honest $385 is a lot of money.
The situation now is not to see who is right or who is wrong, but it is to do what is right. Hopefully, wisdom will prevail and the matter will be settled amicably between the two parties.

I would be interested to know the other side of the story from the host.

That's what even I don't understand. At least there is some good news this morning but I'm afraid it points to a dismal outcome refund-wise. The host has removed my testimonial from his site. I knew he was reading this.

Stealthdevil, I appreciate your level-headed comments. I agree with everything you said, even the part about mistakes I made.

Midnight, You are right, this is about doing the right thing. We always hope that goodness will prevail, don't we? I'm so glad for hope.

and I suspect he will delete this thread just like he most likely deleted the other,
There have been no posts of yours deleted :)

Hi anon-e-mouse,

I had done a search for it prior to starting this thread and it was not there. After you posted I tried the exact same search and presto, it's back, the first search result. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and call it an oversight on my part. Thanks for letting me know.

Pam