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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Austin, Texas
    Posts
    3

    What's going at hostdepartment?

    I've had a shared host account with hostdepartment for about 4 months. Windows web server and a 100mb SQL server. No real problems. Very cheap. Been happy so far.

    Yesterday I got a message announcing wonderful news about moving to a new data center and all kinds of enhancements, stating that the plan would ensure little or no down time. About an hour later I got a message of more wonderful news announcing a big discount for everybody who pays up their account for some time in advance.

    Sounds like a mad scramble to raise cash. Search of WHT shows several threads about troubles with them a couple of months ago.
    Anybody know what's going on now?
    ray

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Liverpool, England, UK.
    Posts
    2,571

    Re: What's going at hostdepartment?

    Originally posted by raywood
    I've had a shared host account with hostdepartment for about 4 months. Windows web server and a 100mb SQL server. No real problems. Very cheap. Been happy so far.

    Yesterday I got a message announcing wonderful news about moving to a new data center and all kinds of enhancements, stating that the plan would ensure little or no down time. About an hour later I got a message of more wonderful news announcing a big discount for everybody who pays up their account for some time in advance.

    Sounds like a mad scramble to raise cash. Search of WHT shows several threads about troubles with them a couple of months ago.
    Anybody know what's going on now?
    ray
    Possibly going out of business, however probably just trying to gain the funds quickly to pay for the new servers and setup etc...

    However, every strong and profitable company should have cash reserves which mean they would not have to take this action, so I would also be worried.

    It will be very interesting to see what happens. Have you taken the discounted rate pay now option?
    Xcellweb.net - Quality Web Solutions That Work!
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    London, UK
    Posts
    9,039
    They may just be looking to raise additional capital for the enhancements.. doesnt necessarily show a sign of problems to come.
    Matt Wallis
    United Communications Limited
    High Performance Shared & Reseller | Managed VPS Cloud | Managed Dedicated
    UK www.unitedhosting.co.uk | US www.unitedhosting.com | Since 1998.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Austin, Texas
    Posts
    3
    I wouldn't be too worried either if I hadn't read a few threads telling me they have engaged in some shady deals in the past.

    I did not take the early pay discount. I read about them going under a few years ago and leaving tons of websites and resellers out in the cold.

    I thought they had cleaned up their act. But I'll wait and see.
    Thanks for the feedback.
    ray

  5. #5
    If you doubt them I suggest you must continue your account as it is without paying much in advance...
    Wholesale Domain Prices for Retail Customers - Rushtoweb.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    on the Earth
    Posts
    21
    i hope every one who wants to get an account with hostdepartment.com .. just read what's written here ...
    plus he had to know ( from their presales support) why rn't they listed in hostsearch.com .. & why doesn't they have their own credit card hanlding system .. for CC froud ??? that smells not good

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    50
    Paying more in advance is something risky, especially at hostdepartment. However, their plans are quite cheap, so you won't risk much.

    I have some good and some bad experience with them, so personally I wouldn't pay for more than 3 months in advance.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    163
    Originally posted by kemetex
    i hope every one who wants to get an account with hostdepartment.com .. just read what's written here ...
    plus he had to know ( from their presales support) why rn't they listed in hostsearch.com .. & why doesn't they have their own credit card hanlding system .. for CC froud ??? that smells not good

    When did hostsearch.com become the standard of webhosting providers?
    DSL WebHosting Solutions
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    on the Earth
    Posts
    21

    Exclamation

    Originally posted by DSLWeb
    When did hostsearch.com become the standard of webhosting providers?
    PLZ revise what i said ... i said ASK them why rn't they listed .. i didn't say " don't get their account coz they rn't listed" ... the problem is in the answer of their support ..

    but a very intersted question comes out ....
    What is the standard of webhosting providers ??

    even if their isn't clear standard .. let's talk about the criteria of such standards ...

  10. #10
    Paying in advance, although sometimes risky, can drastically reduce hosting fees.

    A lot of quality hosts offer yearly or quarterly payments to help lower the average credit card transaction charge. Less transactions = more money saved!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    163
    I feel there are more moral standards in webhosting then actual standards on paper, Rightfully so I should add.

    This has been discussed in several recent posts here at WHT as people wanting to create organizations to watch over webhosting. In my opinion this will not help anything at all except :

    1) Cost host money for a cute graphic to put on the site.

    2) Make new start up webhosting companys impossible due to assosiated fees to get said cute graphic.

    With out Goverment backing (not just the US) what authority would this organization have? None.

    It IS the moral and Ethical responsibility of a webhosting company to provide a client with everything promised in thier ads/website and IF for some reason the company should fail it is also thier responsibility to :

    1) Find a host to take the clients ( if clients chose to move)

    2) Inform all clients in a timely manner that they are indeed closing.

    3) Refund any money due the clients (semi / bi / annual payers)


    Anything above these basics is just candy

    Just my .02

    Regards,
    Lee
    DSL WebHosting Solutions
    Fast Affordable WebHosting Solutions
    24/7/365 Support

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Austin, Texas
    Posts
    3
    Ok, I'm back in here with an update. The transfer with hostdepartment went smoothly. They changed control panels and added a couple of features. The only problem I had was some application mappings on the IIS server. The mappings were not set correctly on the new server.

    Their standard support is just an online chat. Got the first level guy, he couldn't do anything or understand very much of what I was talking about. Finally got the sys admin on line. He remapped my applications, but I still had problems. He then told me he had to troubleshoot the problem, and he would get back to me.

    I didn't like that answer, but I had no choice. Within a couple of hours I had my response. The sys admin had taken the time to dig into the problem, found some incorrect settings on IIS, fixed it, and my site is now working. BTW, those incorrect settings did not affect most websites on the shared server. It was only when my application needed special settings that the sys admin was notified of a problem.

    So, I am happy with hostdepartment. I have more sites with them now and plan to place a few more on their servers.

    ray

  13. #13
    I know that their ftp is down for my free account at least, and been so a while. but glad they helped you out I think they ve went home, I couldnt get to them with the onilne chat thiingy

  14. #14
    Originally posted by AbsolutelyFreeWeb
    I know that their ftp is down for my free account at least, and been so a while.
    Some time ago I had an account with free.hostdepartment.com
    and my experiences have been so bad, that I won't even consider
    their paid hosting.


  15. #15
    yeh my experience is kinda same..

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Washington, USA
    Posts
    3,262
    If you're considering paying in advance, hold out for a bit and see where all this is going. Wouldn't want to throw away a lot of money. Something doesn't sound right when a company turns to their customers to get cash in advance. :-/
    ‹‹SHAW NETWORKS›› Simple. Professional. Reliable. Web Hosting Done Right.
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    Sick of downtime? Fed up with excuses? Drop your host! Switch to Shaw Networks.

  17. #17
    i bet they couldn't survive by putting out those low prices, althought there are many other companies that offer LOWER prices.....

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Doko?
    Posts
    151
    HostDepartment has plenty of cash. More than most hosts on the web, at least. I wouldn't worry about him going out of business.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    2,677
    Originally posted by v7toc
    HostDepartment has plenty of cash. More than most hosts on the web, at least.
    And what is that claim based upon?

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Doko?
    Posts
    151
    Originally posted by Matt
    And what is that claim based upon?
    I've done business with him and he doesn't bat at eye at putting out thousands of dollars.

    http://www.jupitermedia.com/partners/ <- See HostDepartment on there? That costs $7,500 per month, with a min. three month pre-pay. Most hosts here on can't afford $200 banner ads, much less a $22,500 outlay.

  21. #21
    whoa!

  22. #22
    Originally posted by IncognitoNet
    If you're considering paying in advance, hold out for a bit and see where all this is going. Wouldn't want to throw away a lot of money. Something doesn't sound right when a company turns to their customers to get cash in advance.

    But it's very hard to resist when you get such an offer
    http://hostdepartment.com/special_geo_promo.html


    Attention new customers! If you sign up now with our annual or semi annual (6 monthly) billing cycle, not only will you get 3 months of free hosting (one month free for semi annual), but you will also get a free month on every recurring billing cycle (free month each following year!). Today is your only chance- get your free 3 months NOW! Offer valid on all shared hosting plans including our Instant Reseller program.

    Hurry! We may close this promo by the end of the day!



  23. #23
    they really want to sell...

  24. #24
    I just opened a new account with them (couldn't resist the promotional web space for the asked price). So far mostly good impressions. The speed is good, especially compared to my old host -- viux.com. Their prices for ColdFusion hosting (plus all the extras) are tough to beat. One complaint that seems to be consistent with other people's experience is that their support staff is spread out too thin. They were able to figure out the cause of a problem I was having, but are taking a bit too long to apply the fix. Anyway, I am happy I found them, contrary to some of the warnings I have been hearing. Let's see how they do in the future...

  25. #25
    hehe, but you just started there and you think they r slow, now not a good start, but hopefully..

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