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  1. #1

    iPage.com - Web hosting or SCAM?

    Don't come near that SCAM "web hosting" company called IPAGE!

    Two weeks ago I've opened an account over there, receiving a "free" domain as part of the promotion deal, and a hosting plan that included the possibility to host an "unlimited" amount of sites.
    Two days later I started to realize that I may have committed a mistake, just didn't even knew to what extent...

    Suddenly I found that my sites were down. Two hours later and nothing changed so I talked with their support team via Chat and got some “copy-paste” answers “we are very sorry for the inconvenience” “this is very unusual” and much bla, bla, bla on the same tone…
    A day later (24 hours!!!) the sites were still down and the IPAGE support team still had no clear answers as to when it would be over.
    Only that night (36 hours after it started) the sites were back online.
    36 Hours of downtime!!!!!!!!!!!

    After that I wanted to cancel my account but a Support lady assured me on behalf of IPAGE that such a thing could never happened again.
    OK, she managed to convince me to stay.

    Four days later, surely enough, the sites were down again…
    This time it “only” lasted for 5 hours. Nevertheless I was very disappointed and to be honest pretty pissed off.
    I contacted again the IPAGE support team by chat, and yet again they’ve promised me just about anything so I wouldn’t cancel my account. From a 12 months free of charge web hosting plan, to a lifetime Support service, and what not…
    They explained me that should I decide to close my account they would give me a refund, minus the “free” domain cost. Still, they would return me like 80% of my money.

    I decided to give them a last chance and wait a week or so to see if maybe they improve – little I knew what big mistake that would be.

    Only 4 days after that last incident suddenly I found yet again that my sites were down. I tried to send them an email requesting to cancel my account but to my surprise I already had an email from them, stating that “Unfortunately we have canceled your account due to TOS (terms of service) violation”.
    ………
    WHAT???!!!

    I try to call them by phone (to no avail), and then managed to get hold of them by chat…
    There I spoke with them for 3 hours (the chat was disconnected 5 times!) and No-one would tell me why my account was cancelled, which TOS I’ve “violated” nor whether they intend to give me a refund or what…

    Just frustrating!!!

    The next day I called them again and then (finally) someone told me that they “had receive a DMCA takedown notice and they try to contact me to no avail” (?!).
    Obviously they didn’t agree to send me a copy of that alleged “takedown notice” nor manage to explain how they “tried” to contact me…

    In one word: ********!

    Since then they promised to get back to me with more info about the issue, and naturally they haven’t done it yet.
    Moreover I gave them my personal cell phone so they could easily reach me – how naďve of me.

    So, in short:
    • They had almost 48 hours of downtime
    • They cancelled my account giving me zero warning due to a bogus DMCA claim
    • They caused me the loss of one of my sites data – didn’t gave me time to backup
    • They stole my domain (“seized him”, as they said)
    • Stole my money (giving me zero Refund)


    If that’s the behavior of a serious web hosting company than the World is really upside down…

    As I said in the beginning: Don't come near that SCAM "web hosting" company called iPage!!!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indiana, USA
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    I could be wrong, as I'm not a lawyer, but I do believe that they are required to pass the DMCA Notification on to you... Being that they claimed to have already tried doing so, getting a copy of the complaint now should be no issue. I would definitely inquire as to how they attempted to get it to you, and the details of how such attempts failed.

    Beyond that, without reading their Terms of Service, it's likely that they have a provision stating that they can end your service at any time, with or without reason so either way - if they don't wont to host you - they aren't going to do so. The terms also likely outline no refunds for accounts terminated for Terms of Service violations, again - meaning no refund if they don't want to.

    Best of luck.
    Michael Denney - MDDHosting.com - Proudly hosting more than 37,700 websites since 2007.
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  3. #3
    They actually claim that they tried to reach both by mail and phone, which is a complete and utter lie as the single mail I did receive from them was the one which notified me of the cancelation, And I’m yet to receive Any phone call from them so…
    Not only they are required to pass on to me the DMCA complaint, but they state in their own TOS that they will notify the site owner and expect and answer/removal of the infringed material within 7 to 10 days

    Hardly what they did.

    I know people who have faced DMCA issues before, and not only the web-host gave them the opportunity to remove the material or at least a fair warning, they never closed the costumer account in such a heinous manner.

    Regardless of TOS, they at least should call me to explain their actions, don’t they?
    If they were so sure about the righteousness of their actions, I guess they wouldn’t be hiding, and they shouldn’t have no issues in facing me at least by phone.

    Their silence speaks louder than words.

    When you contemplate the overall story: the downtime incidents, my expressed wish to close the account, and the sudden and much convenient "DMCA complaint" you can come to one conclusion: SCAM!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indiana, USA
    Posts
    19,196
    I'm definitely not saying that what they have done is right, as a matter of fact simply due to not hearing both sides I'm doing my best not to draw any conclusions at all.

    Ultimately the bad part is that if they don't want to refund you, they won't.

    There are two basic pieces of advice that I offer everybody who hosts a site:
    1. Don't ever spend more up front than you could stand to lose.
    2. If your site is important to you... Always maintain your own off-provider backups no matter what your provider promises/claims to offer.


    Best of luck.
    Michael Denney - MDDHosting.com - Proudly hosting more than 37,700 websites since 2007.
    Ultra-Fast Cloud Shared and Pay-By-Use Reseller Hosting Powered by LiteSpeed!
    cPanel • Free SSL • 100% Uptime SLA • 24/7 Support
    Class-leading support that responds in minutes, not days.

  5. #5
    Regarding your second advice you’re totally right and I would certainly do that in the future.

    Regarding the first advice it’s not money issue that really bugs me, but the indifference, the total disregard for the costumer, or should I say No costumer service skills of that company.

    They don’t want to give a refund? Fine, at least give an explanation, something…
    Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so.

    Anyway, thanks for your advices and support.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    3,784
    Why are you getting DMCA notices? What content are you stealing from other people?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    6,884
    I believe any company has the right to cancel an account if there is any breach in their ToS, but I do believe that clients must be notified about that. Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with them and that you were not given any explanation to why it had happened. I think you should contact them by all means and ask them what is the reason for the cancellation. If they are not helpful, then I guess forget about the refund and move with another.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    51
    Quote Originally Posted by nerdie View Post
    Why are you getting DMCA notices? What content are you stealing from other people?
    Ha... I was wondering the same thing.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indiana, USA
    Posts
    19,196
    Without the OP seing the DMCA... Unless they've knowingly stolen copyrighted content (not likely, based on them having no real idea of what the DMCA would be reporting) I wouldn't so quickly jump to accusing them of stealing.

    I know I've seen hundreds of bogus DMCA Notifications over the last three years.
    Michael Denney - MDDHosting.com - Proudly hosting more than 37,700 websites since 2007.
    Ultra-Fast Cloud Shared and Pay-By-Use Reseller Hosting Powered by LiteSpeed!
    cPanel • Free SSL • 100% Uptime SLA • 24/7 Support
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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Modesto California
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    What kind of website did you have hosted with them?

    I find it strange that they would suspend your account, without actually letting you know exactly why?
    Looking for an awesome VPS Offer? CLICK HERE

    "Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do." – Bruce Lee

  11. #11
    nerdie and Co.:
    Before you accuse or presume something about someone, it would be wiser to ask, but to do so without prejudiced ideas.

    The site I had there, even though I don't really need to prove anything to anyone, is centenario2030.com, a site that publicize Uruguay bid for the 2030 soccer world cup.
    Hardly there's something there that can be claimed as DMCA violation by anyone, and the few things that are copyrighted (mainly stuff from Uruguay, not the US) we have ask for authorization.

    Besides, when I asked them about the nature of the DMCA complaint, who made it and why, they instantly started to mumble that "a specialist will call you ASAP, bla bla bla".
    This, as I said, Never happend – No one called me yet.

    Does that seem to you like a serious and honest company behavior? Not to me it doesn't…


    So as I said: just an excuse to steal my money due to the fact that they knew I had intentions to cancel the account.
    Had I cancel the account by my initiative they would've been obligated to give me a full refund.
    This way they managed to "legally" give me the boot, giving me no refund at all…

    Got it?

    Besides, I've found Tons of similar bad reviews about iPage on Google search these last few days (wish I knew this stuff before…), so… what's the big surprise?


    A Serious company? Not really – A scam? More like it.
    Last edited by Johnny76; 12-06-2010 at 08:08 PM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
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    EU - east side
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    21,920
    If there really was a DMCA complaint, then one might understand most of their decisions, including the one regarding not providing a backup.

    I can't understand the seizing of the domain though. Personally, I would try to fight for it, either by contacting the registrar they resell for, or asking ICANN for assistance.

    This way they managed to "legally" give me the boot, giving me no refund at all…
    I'm pretty sure you feel quite strongly about that. I probably would too, if I were you. I guess we'll never really know if it was deliberate or not.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    3,784
    iPage has thousands and thousands of customers. I don't agree with some of how they run their business, but they are def not a scam. They wouldn't just take away your domain, risking their company for no legit reason.

  14. #14
    Dan-the-Snowman: the domain that they seized wasn't my original Site domain ( centenario2030 ), but one that they gave me free of charge as part of their promotion.
    I presume that in their TOS there must be some provision that allows them to do so in case of a real TOS violation - only that in my case there wasn't one.

    nerdie: Even though I must confess that your statement as if "iPage has thousands and thousands of customers" and the assumption that this, assuming it's so, has something to do with anything, is a nice speculation, on the other hand there are also hundreds if not thousands of complaints, pretty similar to mine out there. Make a simple Google search and see for yourself.

    Beside that, I presented you FACTS not speculations.

    1- centenario2030.com doesn't violate any DMCA right (see it for yourself - don't take my word for it)

    2- There were 2 consecutive periods of downtime prior to my account cancelation, after which I expressed to them my general intention to close the account.

    3- After the brief and not so clear chat sessions with their Customer Service THEY NEVER CALLED me to explain the various issues as they promised (and it's been almost a week since then – DOES THAT seem normal and acceptable to you?).

    These Are FACTS, not mere speculations.

    And these facts alone speak volumes about their seriousness, respectability, and honesty.
    A company that lacks these 3 key and basic virtues can only be described as a SCAM, even if they have more than a million customers.

    "Risking their company"... C'mon.
    What exactly can I do to them? They know I don't live in the USA, and even if I did – am I going to sue them for 100$?
    Of course not…
    They don't risk anything, believe me.

    I have a better speculation than yours: assuming they scam 500 people like me a month, they profit 50.000$ free of charge. An excellent business as any.

    Being that they went underground and don't seem to be eager to grant me any explanation at all, I have no reason to think otherwise.

  15. #15
    Just in case you wondered: Still no reply or call from that serious company...

    "def not a scam" - Yeah, right...

  16. #16
    Guess What guys?
    Two (2) Months after the incident and iPage has yet to contact me.

    Obviously a serious Company...

  17. #17
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    I love this on their site:
    When you contact us, you'll almost always be in touch with one of our agents in less than two minutes. You'll also be dealing with someone who has passed a variety of tests and meets our quality standards. Plus, you'll receive a survey that helps us assess whether or not you had a great experience.
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  18. #18
    I think you must be using some thing nulled, better search for it fisrt.

    if you are sure then i think ipage people are lying, it means they have less then 80% uptime.

    that really sucks then.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9
    I had iPage for only a few months and didn't like them at all. But I thought there support was decent. I only used the live chat though never called them.

  20. #20
    I use iPage Web Hosting - they are fine. I have heard quirps about every web hosting company out there. My sites are up and running and support is good.
    Bluehost - More than just reliable web hosting | Hostgator Web Hosting

  21. #21

    iPage SCAM

    
I have had an iPage account for over a year and have recently moved ALL Thirty of my domains elsewhere.

    
Why?

    A: Their support is useless – unresponsive – lacking in basic English skills.
    
B: Their SPAM filtering is BROKEN – and I payed for “enhanced” SPAM filtering. You can blacklist anything you want – but it will still get through.
    
C: Their downtime and outages far exceed any other provider I have been with in the last Fifteen Years.
    That’s right. I’ve been creating and hosting domains since 1995 – and iPage SUCKS.
    On several occasions I have had hours or days of outages where I could not receive email or access my domains. When my sites are down, I’m out of business.


    
BTW: 
I have been in IT since before the term existed.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    Kepler 62f
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    iPage is an EIG (Endurance International Group) host. Pretty much any "big name" host that sucks is owned by EIG, excluding Godaddy and 1&1. When EIG buys out a host, it goes straight to crap. I've experienced this not once, not twice, but three times in the past decade.

    I would classify them as a scam, quite honestly. I still have emails where I canceled an account, and received cancellation confirmation -- but was being charged for it several months later. And it's not a scam by design, but simply such a $hitty operation that it scams by happenstance. Accidental billing, horrible uptime/support/speeds, moronic support techs (probably underpaid college kids), etc.

    There are many better hosts. You could print out a list of every host on WHT, tape it to a wall, and throw a dart. Anything you hit has to be better than an EIG host.
    || Need a good host?
    || See my Suggested Hosts List || Editorial: EIG/Site5/Arvixe/Hostgator Alternatives
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  23. #23
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
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    EU - east side
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    When EIG buys out a host, it goes straight to crap. I've experienced this not once, not twice, but three times in the past decade.
    Well, that was back when they migrated all hosts to their vDeck platform. Things didn't change all that much when they bought the likes of Hostmonster and Justhost. At least that was my impression.

  24. #24

    iPage.com Rubbish

    On 19 Jan 2014 I have purchased iPage hosting plan for $1.89/month! (It was a quagmire for a Greedy like me!) And transferred my domain from Godaddy to iPage (As Godaddy priced little bit high). It snatched nearly 7 days to get the transfer in the bag!
    I have strived more than 2days to get my site up in consequence! and didn’t go through!! I have settled to pull my head back and reached customer service for cancellation of hosting and refund in the Cooling-Off period. One of the agent agreed to refund the payment within 10 working days and given me the freedom to keep my Domain with iPage for free of cost until it expires! And I would get full refund in 10 working days.
    15days later, with zero about the refund, I knocked customer service again wasting my One and half hours! Finally they said “Sorry for providing incorrect information earlier by our previous chat agent. I really apologize for it.” What to say? **** ***?
    The experience was really disappointed!! They were eating my brain literally!
    iPage claimed for the Ownership of my domain for refund of $14.40 USD hosting fee!!! Interesting? Go ahead if you want to lose your domain. Upon demand, I am happy to forward you the chat transcript I have with some of the agents of iPage, It will make you laugh. ( I think iPage is an Asian owned hosting provider) I indubitable, you will get mad while you chatting with an agent for support/refund!! Please don't trust iPage advertisements flings thousands of pounds rather providing least possible service to customers!
    I am one of the victims!!
    Please don’t kill your Domain for couple of penny! Stay away from iPage.com Rubbish!!!!!

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
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    Quote Originally Posted by kpmedia View Post
    There are many better hosts. You could print out a list of every host on WHT, tape it to a wall, and throw a dart. Anything you hit has to be better than an EIG host.
    Couldn't help taking that on board and smiling at the technical advice.

    To the OP: I hate the thought of not being able to write a letter and get a response, it's quite a bit of a topic of mine that. I feel that far too many companies have cut themselves off from the public and put themselves in a position of being unaccountable. Not at all good in my opinion.


    @ kpmedia - "happenstance" what an amazing turn of phrase! It really means that too: That they're so apologetic about the fact it was inadvertently profitable for them to be there at the time.

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