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  1. #1

    Why you should avoid BURST.NET.

    This is not an unfounded rant, or a review that is based on a single bad experience. I was a customer with burst.net in 2008, and I was forced on them again in December of 2010 because of a reseller issue they were having. First, these are the simple things that potential new clients should be aware of:

    A). Their live support is never online. I think the live support image is just for show.

    B). They allow their resellers to sell servers at a severely reduced price, yet don't offer these prices themselves. Even their "discounted specials" do not match their reseller pricing.

    C). They will go after every penny. They sent me a $1.26 collection letter.

    D). If you do not cancel your server, they will continue to charge you for a few months. Ontop of that, they will also charge you interest.

    As for my experience in 2008.. their support was ran solely on AOL Instant Messenger. 1 person handled all of their support requests. This has now changed to a ticket system, which I will admit is much better. In 2008 their network was so unstable that I would be randomly disconnected from SSH, or be unable to connect to it at all. It took 1 week for them to respond to my OS reload request. I finally contacted their live support and stated to CANCEL MY SERVER. 2 years later I find out this was never accomplished and I now owe a ton of interest.

    As for my experience in 2010.. I was with a former company called Jboost Networks. They had some reseller issue with Burst.net, and were forced to transfer all clients to burst. Of course during my attempt to transfer, they stated I had an overdue invoice dating back to 2008. I tried logging in to view this invoice, and it turns out my account does not exist. I contacted them about this, and they stated they have the right to disable any account with an overdue invoice. Great, so I can't pay it, and I can't even see how much I owe. I told them to cancel the server so I would not have to deal with this nonsense again.

    Now today... I get an e-mail stating I owe $1.22. The e-mail specifically states "Please log into your account to pay this invoice." I tried to log in, and guess what, "This account does not exist". I contacted them and they once again stated "we have the right to disable any account with an overdue invoice." Well how in the world am I supposed to pay it if you lock me out of my billing account?

    The end.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    England, UK
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    Well, before the BURST.NET guys come and clean this up I thought I'd just check some of your points.

    A). Their live support is never online. I think the live support image is just for show.
    I'm sure I saw somewhere that this is only for busy/high traffic periods and new product releases.

    Nevertheless, their ticket system is open 24/7.

    B). They allow their resellers to sell servers at a severely reduced price, yet don't offer these prices themselves. Even their "discounted specials" do not match their reseller pricing.
    I don't know how their reseller program works, but would assume this is right and is obviously an incentive to become a reseller - why would they offer those prices themselves and out price their resellers?

    C). They will go after every penny. They sent me a $1.26 collection letter.
    1 dollar or 1 cent - you still owe them money

    D). If you do not cancel your server, they will continue to charge you for a few months. Ontop of that, they will also charge you interest.
    As do many (if not all) other companies - I would safely assume that the staff at BURST are not physic and thus don't have the ability to read minds. If you don't cancel your server of course you're going to be charged for it...

    I'm sure all of this is also in their TOS, which you agreed to when you signed up.

    The end.
    Last edited by SercoNetworks; 04-24-2011 at 12:42 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,531
    Most of your issues seem to be moaning about their terms, there in black and white when you sign up - my suggestion would be for you to read them next time

    If you don't like what you see, then don't sign up with them.
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  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by SercoNetworks View Post
    Well, before the BURST.NET guys come and clean this up I thought I'd just check some of your points.


    I'm sure I saw somewhere that this is only for busy/high traffic periods and new product releases.

    Nevertheless, their ticket system is open 24/7.



    I don't know how their reseller program works, but would assume this is right and is obviously an incentive to become a reseller - why would they offer those prices themselves and out price their resellers?



    1 dollar or 1 cent - you still owe them money


    As do many (if not all) other companies - I would safely assume that the staff at BURST are not physic and thus don't have the ability to read minds. If you don't cancel your server of course you're going to be charged for it...

    I'm sure all of this is also in their TOS, which you agreed to when you signed up.

    The end.
    Those were points that I laid out for potential new customers. The cynicism is unnecessary, as I believe this forum is for posting opinionated reviews. As for them being defined in their terms, I never refuted that.
    Last edited by MCDexter; 04-24-2011 at 01:01 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    2,469
    I'm still surprised Burst hasn't gotten its own subforum yet.

    I'm sure BurstNetCSM will be more than happy to clear this up. - http://www.webhostingtalk.com/member.php?u=318081

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    England, UK
    Posts
    537
    Ha, can't believe someone PM'd me a rather nasty message regarding my post above (PM reported to mods).

    Just in case the OP has the same idea as the guy who sent the PM; I do apologise if my post came off as a little harsh or rude (it wasn't intentional).

    I simply expanded upon a few of your points which to me sounded a little frivolous and came across as kind of "what did you expect" - I closed the post with "The end." just as the OP did - I wasn't being rude.

  7. #7
    Wow, this doesn't seem like any reason to avoid Burst at all.

    A - Who cares if the "live support" isn't online when you need it? Do they have an email address? A phone number? A ticket system? They do provide some way for you to contact support that is all that really matters.

    B - I would assume a reseller can price services however they like, and that there is some amount of a special reseller pricing model involved so the reseller can still make a profit. If your reseller chose to sell at such a low price that might very well be why they have problems, they didn't price high enough to pay the bills.

    C - They provide a service and want to be paid for it, how horrible of them. Keep in mind they are running a business, and if they let everyone who had a balance of "only $1.26" off the hook they would be out significant amounts of money I am sure. It doesn't matter if it is $1 or $100, they provided a service which you agreed to pay for.

    D - Would you rather they just randomly cancel servers? What exactly is your point here? Burst has no way of knowing you no longer want/need a server unless YOU tell them so, and of course they expect (and you agreed) to get paid for this until an explicit cancel request is sent.

    As far as the old balance and account issues I am sure if you send an email to them and explain the situation, and that you would like to pay, it will be worked out.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    304
    Sounds like a host bashing thread to me Mr 2 post count.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
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    5,105
    Crazy rant.

    I can't comment on the live support being online. We always used support system / emails or telephone.

    It drives me nuts when companies sell at the same price as resellers. There is no incentive to offload support from the provider or have bulk services if the reseller doesn't get pricing breaks.

    I agree that at some point you have to just cut your losses as pursuing <$5 doesn't make sense to me.

    If you don't cancel they have to bill. What if you were using it and they cancelled it? How does the provider know you are not using it?
    CloudNexus Technology Services
    Managed Services

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by fraghost View Post
    Sounds like a host bashing thread to me Mr 2 post count.
    What does my post count have to do with this review?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Damascus, MD
    Posts
    141
    Hmm, interesting comments. I think the real reason the OP is upset is because his server was transferred back to bursts controls since the reseller went under, and they won't provide the service to him since he has an outstanding account balance with them.

    You will have to pay the bill to make it right. If your getting emails, you have an account there, period. You should try the "I Forgot My Password" link, and try and recover your account. They use WHMCS, and as I said already, if your getting system emails, you have an account their with a past due balance.

    Hope that helps

  12. #12
    Everyone seems to be emphasizing on the points that I laid out for new clients to consider before purchasing with Burst. I realize they are common rules, and I realize they are listed in their terms. However, new clients may find this information helpful. If not, so be it. I would prefer they be deleted since apparently this cannot be distinguished.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan R View Post
    Hmm, interesting comments. I think the real reason the OP is upset is because his server was transferred back to bursts controls since the reseller went under, and they won't provide the service to him since he has an outstanding account balance with them.

    You will have to pay the bill to make it right. If your getting emails, you have an account there, period. You should try the "I Forgot My Password" link, and try and recover your account. They use WHMCS, and as I said already, if your getting system emails, you have an account their with a past due balance.

    Hope that helps
    As stated in the post, I cannot recover the password because it states the account does not exist. I also stated this happened in December, so this was not a review made out of anger. I have already switched companies and I have no interest in becoming a burst customer ever again.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Damascus, MD
    Posts
    141
    Quote Originally Posted by MCDexter View Post
    As stated in the post, I cannot recover the password because it states the account does not exist. I also stated this happened in December, so this was not a review made out of anger. I have already switched companies and I have no interest in becoming a burst customer ever again.
    I understand. Have you tried creating a ticket with burst explaining you cannot access your account? Have you tried calling them? They are usually very helpful

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Miami, FL
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    2,762
    You have your right to voice your 2 cents and now this is my turn to voice out my 2 cents in reply to your 2 cents. So stop trying to say everyone else's opinion doesn't matter or etc. If you have the right to say something, then you better accept criticism. Else don't post on WHT. Just write a blog about it.

    Quote Originally Posted by MCDexter View Post
    A). Their live support is never online. I think the live support image is just for show.
    Live support or not, their ticketing system is still 24/7. Does it really matter how they put anything on their website? It's their website to begin with. Plus I do believe that at some point either that will be turned on or it will disappear all together.

    Quote Originally Posted by MCDexter View Post
    B). They allow their resellers to sell servers at a severely reduced price, yet don't offer these prices themselves. Even their "discounted specials" do not match their reseller pricing.
    I do have a business going. My resellers are sold goods at a special price which I will never even come close to selling. Why? Simply because I want them to stay alive! Think about this... if all manufacturers sell their products at the same price their resellers sells them, then who would want to resell for them? What would the resellers be making? They won't have any resellers in no time.

    Quote Originally Posted by MCDexter View Post
    C). They will go after every penny. They sent me a $1.26 collection letter.
    I do not know about the rest of the people but I have seen before a show where if you just take 1/2 or 1/4 cent from each customer account in the world, you will end up being a MILLIONAIRE in a very short time. So asking them to forget the debt with no apparent reason whatsoever will be a very foolish to them. When it's a recoverable debt, even I would chase for it.

    Quote Originally Posted by MCDexter View Post
    D). If you do not cancel your server, they will continue to charge you for a few months. Ontop of that, they will also charge you interest.
    When I was starting out previously, I started canceling servers myself after not being paid for 1 month. However, I almost got sued once and this made me realize that what I did was WRONG. My customer either forgot or just didn't want to pay for that month and so he lapse 1 month in payment. So I being a new host previously canceled his subscription and took everything away. The next month, he came back and asked... Why was my server taken away? Why didn't you ask me and why didn't you just go on billing me? Not only that, he demanded that I give him his data back. I took it offline and etc, rebuilt it... how am I suppose to get it back. He refused to listen to reasons and sent me a letter from his lawyer. He was claiming for $150,000 in loss of intellectual property, loss of business and a lot more losses. To cut the story short, I found his HDD which was taken off and gave him his data back.

    We are NOT mind readers. We do not know what will happen when you do not tell us. Why should we stop billing and start canceling orders when you might actually need it later on?
    Aaron Ong
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  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by aodat2 View Post
    You have your right to voice your 2 cents and now this is my turn to voice out my 2 cents in reply to your 2 cents. So stop trying to say everyone else's opinion doesn't matter or etc. If you have the right to say something, then you better accept criticism. Else don't post on WHT. Just write a blog about it.


    Live support or not, their ticketing system is still 24/7. Does it really matter how they put anything on their website? It's their website to begin with. Plus I do believe that at some point either that will be turned on or it will disappear all together.


    I do have a business going. My resellers are sold goods at a special price which I will never even come close to selling. Why? Simply because I want them to stay alive! Think about this... if all manufacturers sell their products at the same price their resellers sells them, then who would want to resell for them? What would the resellers be making? They won't have any resellers in no time.


    I do not know about the rest of the people but I have seen before a show where if you just take 1/2 or 1/4 cent from each customer account in the world, you will end up being a MILLIONAIRE in a very short time. So asking them to forget the debt with no apparent reason whatsoever will be a very foolish to them. When it's a recoverable debt, even I would chase for it.


    When I was starting out previously, I started canceling servers myself after not being paid for 1 month. However, I almost got sued once and this made me realize that what I did was WRONG. My customer either forgot or just didn't want to pay for that month and so he lapse 1 month in payment. So I being a new host previously canceled his subscription and took everything away. The next month, he came back and asked... Why was my server taken away? Why didn't you ask me and why didn't you just go on billing me? Not only that, he demanded that I give him his data back. I took it offline and etc, rebuilt it... how am I suppose to get it back. He refused to listen to reasons and sent me a letter from his lawyer. He was claiming for $150,000 in loss of intellectual property, loss of business and a lot more losses. To cut the story short, I found his HDD which was taken off and gave him his data back.

    We are NOT mind readers. We do not know what will happen when you do not tell us. Why should we stop billing and start canceling orders when you might actually need it later on?
    Where have I stated nobody else's opinion matters? I've simply stated that people, like yourself, should stop focusing on the points I laid out for NEW clients to consider. I'm assuming you just stopped reading after those points. I find it funny that you just elaborated on what has already been said several times over. Thank you for your redundant two cents.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Nirvana
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    1,395
    I was a customer with burst.net in 2008, and I was forced on them again in December of 2010 because of a reseller issue they were having.
    I'm trying to understand how this works?
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  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by musicman153 View Post
    I'm trying to understand how this works?
    One of their resellers, Jboost Networks, was closed because of an undisclosed reason. All of Jboosts's clients were transferred to Burst.net.

  19. #19
    I just wanted you all to know that this issue has been resolved. They unlocked my account so I could pay the invoices..

    On a side note, the hostility towards new users on this forum is pathetic. We aren't all business owners or people who have been in this field for years. I'm sure all of you have a bad experience and wanted to know why things happened the way they did. Also, read the post in its entirety before you respond. Every single person focused on my 4 points which I clearly stated NEW clients should consider.

    Happy easter.
    Last edited by MCDexter; 04-24-2011 at 09:50 PM.

  20. #20
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    Feb 2011
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    I See, Jboost probably went out of business. At least BN didn't just let all the sites go down as many companies that sell reseller accounts might do.
    www.websitemagick.com "Add a little Magick to your Website"
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  21. #21
    Since everyone else is doing it..

    Quote Originally Posted by MCDexter View Post

    A). Their live support is never online. I think the live support image is just for show.
    They should take it off then. I personally think it reflects poorly on a company to advertise live support that is never active.

    B). They allow their resellers to sell servers at a severely reduced price, yet don't offer these prices themselves. Even their "discounted specials" do not match their reseller pricing.
    I contacted their support team asking for a $5.00 discount on a dedicated server. They said they could not discount special servers. I then discover a company selling the same exact server with a $20.00 discount (a burst reseller). You could see how this could be discouraging to potential new clients.

    C). They will go after every penny. They sent me a $1.26 collection letter.
    I agree I owe it; however, $1.26 is pretty petty to go after. I actually obtained this cost during the transfer from Jboost, which they denied because of an overdue invoice. Why I owe money on a server that was never transferred.. beats me.

    D). If you do not cancel your server, they will continue to charge you for a few months. Ontop of that, they will also charge you interest.
    I did not know the potential legal repercussions a company could face. However, I think the server should have been suspended the day the invoice was overdue. To me, it seemed like a very shady tactic to collect on an extra month. I should also note that the server was inaccessible the day the invoice was overdue; however, they still can charge for it. That doesn't seem right to me, but I understand its in their terms and in almost every companies terms.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    1,036
    Been a long day. I'll make this one quick for now:

    First off: JBOOST. They dropped out of the game on their own terms/for their own reasons. We NEVER had a problem with them and they left us in good standing and if they ever do get back in the business, we'd be lucky to have them as resellers again.

    A) The live support on the web page is a pre-sales support only and is only live during big sales and major announcements to help cover questions with the raised traffic. Our tech support is live 24/7/365 both on the phone (for managed accounts) and through the ticket system.

    B) That's the way the reseller program works. They're bringing customers to us. They deserve the discount they get. It's why buing a points card on Microsoft's website costs more than buying it at say, bestbuy.com (sorry.. tired and it's the only analogy I can think of from playing portal 2 all night last night).

    C) That was probably an automated thing from our billing system, but could have been due to your past history with us and the billing team watching like a hawk to make sure similar patterns don't occur. I have no idea for sure since I have no idea who you are, or the full circumstances.

    D) That is clearly spelled out in our TOS. We're a month to month provider with auto-renewals unless told otherwise. Do you have any idea how many people do not pay their bill on time? And how much of a mess I'd have to deal with if we just canceled every overdue server the day it went overdue? The whole argument is ludicrous once you think about it. We really have no other option but to rely on the customer telling us when they want to stop service.

    To the OP: PM me something sop I can research this (a ticket number would be great).

  23. #23
    Join Date
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    However, I think the server should have been suspended the day the invoice was overdue. To me, it seemed like a very shady tactic to collect on an extra month
    I don't think this is a good policy. I wait ten days and give multiple warnings before suspending an account. I'll even go so far as to to pick up the phone and call the client. Sometimes there are circumstances that make it difficult for someone to pay or they just plain forgot. A death in the family, an illness, some natural disaster etc. I'll do everything I can to accommodate the clients needs as long as they are not just blatantly taking advantage of me.

    Also I wanted to comment on people here being rude: I'm sorry if it seemed that way to you. I'm pretty new here and have seen posts that I thought were a bit harsh but I've also seen a lot of free help and technical assistance from members here. I've been a member of many forums over the years and this one is quite unique in many ways. I would advise not to take it personally.
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  24. #24
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by MCDexter View Post
    However, I think the server should have been suspended the day the invoice was overdue. To me, it seemed like a very shady tactic to collect on an extra month.
    Think about how ridiculous that sounds...imagine if every utility or service suspended your service the day an invoice goes overdue. Late one day on your electricity, gas, cell phone, health insurance, TV, or internet bill? *poof* turned off and suspended!

    It's not practical or realistic. The service provider doesn't know if your intention is to cancel or if it is an honest mistake/oversight.
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  25. #25
    Good work burst. I've had billing issues with them in the past, but lately they have turned things around.
    Last edited by JWeib; 04-25-2011 at 11:03 AM.

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