Results 1 to 11 of 11
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Brighton, UK
    Posts
    5

    Thumbs down Host with 100s of near identical sites

    I was curious to receive a ICQ authorization request from someone called "real_hosting". As I run my own hosting services, I thought it would be interesting to play along and see what an ICQ hosting spammer does to get new clients. Perhaps he would shed some light on the "competition" that offer prices that are too low in the real world to bring any decent returns.

    I discovered he supposedly works from Egypt, where the cost of living is low, and his servers are in the UK. He cannot give me any specifics on his hosting company or his clients, no testimonials or solid facts. He told me that he makes money by shifting lots of cheap hosting at a yearly subscription (he quotes monthly prices on his website - but does not offer monthly subscriptions). He didn't tell me whether he was a reseller or owned his own servers. After I said that "I prefer resellers as they offer better support", he replied that he was a reseller. All very confusing.

    His website seemed pretty suspicious as it linked to other domains for support and, on clicking links at the top, a new window popped up with another website.

    I did a Google search for his phone number (that required an "ID number") and discovered literally hundreds of near-identical websites. Surely, this is a scourge among the hosting community as multiple faces of any organisation simply reveal a lack of transparency between the company and the clients. If one of his "hosting services" gets any bad press or annoying customers, he can simply close it down and still operate on his remaining domains as if nothing has happened.

    Have a look for yourself by entering his main phone number in Google: 1-800-574-0902 .

    What do you think about such business practices?
    What should I do now (I still have him in the dark on ICQ)?
    Last edited by Nahoo; 06-19-2005 at 02:41 PM.

  2. #2
    This is REALLY funny. Thanks for the post, now when I'm investigating I'll add the "google the #" to the list of things to do.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Brighton, UK
    Posts
    5
    I also checked out: http://www.dnsstuff.com/ which is a really good central place for checking out hosts on many different levels. Certainly recommended.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    1,110
    Wow, it must be a task for 1 person to manage all those domains... If you accidently an e-mail from the wrong domain...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    308
    Dang... tons of hosting services under that number.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    78
    They are probably using an outsourced tech support provider to handle their telephone support. If you notice under their phone numbers they all provide a "Our ID #" which is probably used when someone calls in.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    252
    Those are all affiliates with reseller's panel. http://resellerpanel.com/
    I signed up for an account there once and reconize the templates. They have 10 or 12 templates that you can use.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Prince Edward Island
    Posts
    2,289
    Originally posted by xlogicgroup
    They are probably using an outsourced tech support provider to handle their telephone support. If you notice under their phone numbers they all provide a "Our ID #" which is probably used when someone calls in.
    Bingo. I tried calling the number to see what it was all about but it appears the line was busy...notice how you have to quote the ID so the outsourced company can bring up the proper companies info.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Cebu
    Posts
    1,054
    Nahoo,

    Please post the website url, and i'll have his site be reported to its mother host.
    He who hates correction will die. --Proverbs 15:10
    Jeffrey's Cute Blog

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Internet / Colorado
    Posts
    1,660
    Hah that is great, what a funny guy, wonder where he is at really
    Like passive recurring revenue you can retire on?
    You focus on building your brand, we handle all support, billing, and more.
    Pressed.net - Start your own Managed WordPress Hosting Company

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    singapore
    Posts
    126
    i cant really believe this.. the same phone number is being used by hundreds of hosting sites.....

    MIght be the reseller panel telephone no.

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