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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38

    steps has been taken to initiate the legal procedure against iwebspeed...

    We have been trying to contact iwebspeed without any luck. They did not assign the agreed IP addresses and most of the time our account with them either not accessable or down or not configured properly. It's almost three months and we finally decided to take necessary actions against this unethical business practice.

    They may have problem with their provider but it can not continue forever and we are not supposed to suffer for it. On top of everything, they can not justify the reasons for ignoring clients and hiding from them, which is a very bad business practice.

    I guess you guys will agree that I was the most patient and tolerant client. Anyway, today we sent them the following mail and prepared ourselves to initiate the legal procedure against them:

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Date: Apr. 26, 2004


    IWEBSPEED.COM/Intrdiscount.com
    645 Eastern Parkway, Apt 2 C
    Brooklyn, New York 11213
    Tel: (718) 778-4812
    Fax: (718) 778-4812


    Subject: Reseller Hosting Account…


    Sir,


    I am writing this letter to voice my extreme displeasure with the turn of events that have occurred in my hosting account (Username=******) with you. The agreed service was offered for less than four weeks in total since we registered in Feb. 09, 2004. Most of the time, the service was either down or not accessible yet you claim 99.6% uptime through your website and also claimed 99.7% uptime in your email dated Sunday, February 01, 2004 11:04 PM. As of April 26, 2004 you neither delivered all the agreed features (i.e. – IP addresses) nor responded to any of our efforts (i.e. – email, phone calls, online chat, etc.) to solve this issue. You did sent a typical general email after a long pause rather than writing us a specific reply. Our full service was certainly not restored and the problems were not addressed in that email. We have given you every opportunity to be honest and forthcoming about the true availability of your service instead you choose to ignore us and deny the service we paid for, which is a gross violation of law (Article 15 > Paragraph 1 & 2 of Consumer Protection Act on Electronic Transaction).

    Your lack of cooperation lends itself to deceptive and corrupt business practices, the likes of which we and our clientele will not tolerate. We decided not to continue any business relationship with you and you are requested to terminate our account and send us full refund within 10 business days.

    We will be filing a dispute through our financial organization under Fair Credit Billing Act. And if the refund is not credited in our account within the date stated above - we will then initiate the legal procedure and the account will be turned over to our attorney for collection after 15 business days from the date of this letter and he will automatically add legal fees and court costs. We will also forward the details of this "transaction", or lack thereof, to the United States Attorney General's Office, in addition to Attorney General's Offices in the states of Tennessee and New York in order to bring their attention to your gross violations of both State and Federal laws regarding Fraud Misrepresentation and False Advertising (Article 21 > Paragraph 1 of Consumer Protection Act on Electronic Transaction & Title 15 > Chapter 2 > Subchapter I > Sec. 53 of US Penal Code).

    You are also requested to remove our client’s website address from your site. We have requested it on several occasions but the required action was never been taken. You certainly had no permission to use our client’s website address, which is another violation of federal law (Section 5 of the FTC Act).

    Please feel free to get in touch with us for further clarifications regarding this notice.

    Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

  2. #2
    Good idea. I had done a dispute claim with paypal. The claim defaulted in my favor since they didnt respond, but they were unable to collect anything. Has anyone tried anything else?

    Great step in the right direction iquest! Let's see if Mark listens now.

  3. #3
    I also had problem with them...How can I help this ? The never refunded my CC after not delivering the service(host)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38
    Hi Rhiannon,


    You will be surprised to know that your initial posting in the other thread (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...d&pagenumber=2) was posted in the iwebspeed's satisfied client section, which was removed for a obvious reason. I send a PM to "Techark" regarding this. They also posted a praise letter by "Ankit_bond20" from tarmada.com - as another of their satisfied customer. "Ankit_bond20" is probably with frozenhosting.com - If I am not mistaken. Today, they removed both comment anyway. This is another example of distorting the fact.

    I don’t think that we will get any response from them within the time frame mentioned in the letter and legal procedures will probably the only solution. I will keep you guys posted anyway…

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    363
    Well you certainly did your homework iquest (either that or your a lawer ). If I were them I'd be shaking in my boots.
    Cory Pippen
    San Diego Direct Web, LLC
    1-866-611-3604

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38
    “danyprundus” and “Rhiannon” I would like to share some tips with you to recover your money:

    [list=1][*] Print all your email messages and if possible print your Online conversations with them. The best way to go to capture the Online Conversation is the “Print Screen” command using keyboard and save it as a picture file after pasting it to your favorite photo editor. You can also print it from your MSN, Yahoo, etc. history.
    [*] Try to get your phone bill statement with all outgoing and incoming call list and highlight the calls that you made in the last few months to iwebspeed. If you are calling by your mobile phone then the call list is normally included with your bill.
    [*] Fax them a notice about your complain and the problems you have faced with them and keep the “Transmission OK” or “Transmission Failed” receipt.
    [*] Send them an official letter with your company’s letter-head with your company chop and signature with a “Return Receipt”. They can either accept the letter or refused to accept it but you will have the receipt as a proof of your effort and willingness to settle the issue.[/list=1]
    These steps are very important and this will prove that you have taken every measure to solve the issue. Now, file a dispute with your Credit Card issuing organization and explain them everything in details also mention that ‘Fair Credit Billing Act’ protects your right as a consumer from these kinds of situation.

    If you don’t get any reply and solution by the time frame you gave in your letter (10 days ~ 15 days). You can do the following:

    [list=1][*] File your complaint with the Attorney General’s office in your state with all the copy of your supporting documents
    [*] File a complaint with New York Attorney General’s office: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/internet/complaintspage.html and also send them a copy of your supporting documents through USPS with a ‘return receipt’
    [*] File a complaint with BBB for business malpractice : http://complaints.bbb.org/Welcome.asp?BCode=0121
    [*] File a complaint with FTC for violating your consumer right: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.s..._ORG_CODE=PU01
    [*] File a complaint with FBI for fraudulent activities and false advertisement to lure customers: https://www.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp[/list=1]
    The total process will cost you around $15.00 and you can do most of the thing online. Just make sure that you tell them the exact truth. Never try to fabricate your side of story to make your case strong. Send them only the copy of your supporting documents and keep the original documents.

    Finally, you can file a law suit against iwebspeed to your local court. The maximum business loss that can be claimed is 10 million dollars and in some cases it is 5 million dollars. There are exceptions as well, which your lawyer will tell you. You can represent yourself for small amount and don’t need a lawyer for a simple case. However, if you are willing to file a suit for a substantial amount of loss and the case seems complicated then it is always good hire a lawyer. Please note that there are some lawyers, who will work for you and will not charge you anything, if your case is strong since they will be able to collect the legal cost from the other party.

    The total procedure may seem complicated but it’s not. I think it’s worth doing, if iwebspeed made you suffer so much. I would also like to mention that you are not required to go anywhere rather iwebspped or his lawyer required to come to your home state to defend himself.

    I hope this will help you guys a little…

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38
    Hi 'CPQIS Evan'! We know the procedure because we have gone through this before. It's also true that we got a good legal advice. Trust me! many big companies has paid the price for business malpractice and you can find out many cases, if you browse FTC's site and other similar sites....

  8. #8
    Thanks for the ideas iquest, i'll be doing research on my part to see how to make him pay up from over here. It's funny, all I wanted were the $20 I had paid, and now he's going to end up paying a lot more. Some people are just dumb

    BTW, thanks for the heads up about the testimonials. How low can you possibly go?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38
    Hi Rhiannon! I am very sorry for your suffering with iwebspeed. We had gone through it for more than two months even after paying for one year in advance for a reseller hosting account and also for 4 IPs. These guys provided the full service for only few weeks and there were always issues right from the beginning. We had to mail them to fix issues but after few weeks we suffered with their terrible downtime and even when they came back online -- our account was not accessible. Then again they disappeared for a long time and came back later. Our account was accessible then but none of the agreed features was provided. They sent us an email that the IPs and the other features will be provided within few days but it never happened. I got hold one of them through Yahoo Chat and started talking to him -- when I asked regarding IPs and other features they simply started ignoring. I saved that conversation and the length of the time, I waited for their response. We sent mails after mails and tried to talk but they simply started ignoring us.

    If you look back then you will find out that I was very tolerant and tried to support them when everyone was talking against them. But they simply don’t know how to handle a client. Hiding from a client specially after denying services for which money was taken is a felony. And also a very bad business practice. There is no excuse for that.

    Anyway, I would like to let you know that our CC Company has credited our account the same day we filed a CC dispute and explained them the situation in details with all the proof. So, we already got a full refund but still iwebspeed owe us an explanation for everything they did with us. We may still consider taking legal actions against them, if we don’t get any reply within the time frame mentioned in our notice because of our business loss and the time and energy they wasted.

  10. #10
    Dont stop your legal action against them! I think it's a great idea if you can do it, and I know it had to be hard prepaying for a year to get a crappy service. They should be put out of business, they are a disgrace to the webhosting business.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Goleta, CA
    Posts
    5,566
    I thought they died and their site was shutdown?
    Patron: I'd like my free lunch please.
    Cafe Manager: Free lunch? Did you read the fine print stating it was an April Fool's joke.
    Patron: I read the same way I listen, I ignore the parts I don't agree with. I'm suing you for false advertising.
    Cafe Owner: Is our lawyer still working pro bono?

  12. #12
    Originally posted by pixel_fenix
    I thought they died and their site was shutdown?
    Nope, they're still alive and kicking unfortunately. Oh...and "We've never had more then 3h/m downtime since April 2000"

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38
    Hi Rhiannon! I totally agree with you. We will proceed with the legal action, if we do not get any reply from iwebspeed by the time indicated in the notice. I can share another interesting information, which is not verified but apparently, iwebspeed is owned and maintained by Mark Willis. Try clicking the other two contact info from their site and you will find that it will all go to a single email address.

    I will keep you posted anyway...

  14. #14
    Hmm, i thought his name was Mark Gold. Interesting. Anyways, I have tried emailing and msn, all in vain. I will report this to the BBB for sure.

    oohhh, I have him on msn now, let's see what goes down

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38
    all our representatives are busy now. please mail us sales@iwebspeed.com -- this is the automated reply I used to get from them. They will start ignoring you, if you ask a question that they don't like. Good luck anyway...

  16. #16
    no, I actually had a real conversation with a live human being:
    Code:
    Date		Time		From		To		Message
    5/4/2004	4:35:42 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	hello
    5/4/2004	4:36:10 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	hello
    5/4/2004	4:36:36 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	I've been waiting for an answer to my email for awhile now
    5/4/2004	4:36:52 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	can i have your username please
    5/4/2004	4:37:23 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	kronos
    5/4/2004	4:39:17 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	what was your plan? when did you sign up? 
    								do you have the email you used when you sigen up?
    5/4/2004	4:40:12 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	I signed up Feb 24th, I was on the reseller starter plan, 
    								and I had cancelled in early April and had asked for a 
    								refund of my March payment
    5/4/2004	4:41:02 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	ok i found you
    5/4/2004	4:41:13 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	pelase hold while i lookup your account
    5/4/2004	4:41:43 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	what was your payment methood?
    5/4/2004	4:41:46 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	paypal
    5/4/2004	4:42:17 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	why did you cancel?
    5/4/2004	4:42:21 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	servers went down?
    5/4/2004	4:43:18 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	i had no service for 3 weeks
    5/4/2004	4:43:36 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	right i see here noted on your account
    5/4/2004	4:43:45 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	servers went down for 4 days
    5/4/2004	4:44:00 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	they were down for much more than that
    5/4/2004	4:44:30 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	they were up - but you might not of gotten the notifications
    5/4/2004	4:44:40 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	and after they went up again, I had no access to my whm/cpanal, 
    								and the bacjups were corrupt
    5/4/2004	4:45:40 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	ok, what i canb do is credit you a full month free for that
    5/4/2004	4:46:31 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	we can make that as a trial for you to see how we are doing from now 
    								on in terms of uptime and support
    5/4/2004	4:47:06 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	I have already moved my sites, I want a refund for the services 
    								that I didnt receive
    5/4/2004	4:47:48 PM	iwebspeed	(F)Rhiannon	ok i will place a request for refund but i cannot guarantee anything
    5/4/2004	4:48:24 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	I asked for a refund a month ago, and received absolutely no reply
    5/4/2004	4:48:50 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	Paypal defaulted in my favor in my claim, 
    								but there were no funds in the iwebspeed paypal account
    5/4/2004	4:49:02 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	which is why they could not proceed with the refund
    5/4/2004	5:02:58 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	still there?
    5/4/2004	6:03:36 PM	(F)Rhiannon	iwebspeed	guess not
    Granted, it was a short and not so sweet conversation. I find it funny though how they want to give me a month free (After I cancelled early april) so I can test their service, yet I dont get decent support over msn nor through email. What a joke these clowns are.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    109
    Originally posted by Rhiannon
    Hmm, i thought his name was Mark Gold. Interesting. Anyways, I have tried emailing and msn, all in vain. I will report this to the BBB for sure.



    Suing can be difficult when you're chasing a ghost. Who knows what the REAL names of the individual(s) is/are that run the company.

    There is no law against using an alias to protect your identity, provided you're not using an alias for fraudulant purposes.

    Of course, at this point, it would be fairly easy to prove that "Mark", or whatever the real name is, has committed fraud by pretending to sell a service that is not ever delivered. The contract between client/company was grossly violated. That also is something to pursue, as far as lawsuits go.

    Good luck with your suits, but I would not bother to invest much into them. What's the point? You will lose far more than you will gain. Obviously, they have no assets to pursue. If they actually get slapped with lawsuits that stick, they'll file bankruptcy and/or skip town.

    And you'll still owe an attorney who can and will put a lien against your property to collect.

    Hardly worth it.



    I've cut my losses and learned some IMPORTANT lessons. I got my money back via filing a dispute with my credit card company. They issued a charge back and it was hassle free for me.

    Of course, there is no getting my money back for the lost clientel. That's where the important lesson comes in...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GOOD CHEAP HOSTING!!!

    but, hostgator.com rocks and they are cheap enough. Not a single problem in about 4 months time.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Louisville, KY
    Posts
    53
    Thank God! I didnt fall into their trap when I was looking for a host. I think their continued presence online is fatally dangerous. All this legal process you are all talking about is only possible for people living in America. If some one from somewhere like Africa had gotten into similar experience, i can tell you that that is the end of all the money and time spent. I am talking from experience.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    TN, USA
    Posts
    38
    Hi KMCB, you are right in a way. We sent a official notice to iwebspeed but it was never delivered or they never claimed the package. We have been tracking the package with the tracking # 7003 0500 0001 7991 9838. Finally, the package has returned to us and we received it today. We followed all the procedures to be able to file a law suit against them. We don't need a lawyer to file this suit and can do it with our local court.

    But the question remains - is it worth filing a law suit against them especially when you got your money back? We did some research and found that they are probably doing business from home. The business may not by running by an adult. The bottom line is that they probably have no company asset or goodwill whatsoever. So, KMCB is right again. Suing them will probably make their life difficult but it is not easy to get any benefit even if we get a favorable verdict in the end. We may not need any lawyer to pursue this case but we have to maintain the schedules for court appearances – which is probably not worth.

    However, we can always file complaints with NY/TN Attorney General’s office, FTC, BBB and FBI. We all know what will happen – they will change the company name and start a new company as soon as they get a letter from the authority. So, in reality one can gain nothing unless that person is adamant and determined to make them suffer.

    Normally, you are required to file a dispute within 60 days to get your money back. In our case, we made our case with our financial organization and filed the dispute with all the documents on 86th day and got our money back the same day.

    In conclusion, I agree with KMCB that it is not worth going after a company, who has no background. I can tell you from experience though that it is very effective going after a well established company, if you can demonstrate that they violated consumer’s right or did something illegal.

    The lesson learnt at the cost of time & energy: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GOOD CHEAP HOSTING!!!

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