Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 28
  1. #1

    Angry Paying twice for a service!!!!!!!!!...

    Hi all, was wondering if anyone could offer me some advice.

    Im currently with theunmetered.com after purchasing their unlimited reseller account - one time fee. They have now emailed me the following under new management.

    "I intend to turn this business around, make it stable and more focused on existing customers than gaining new ones. This will mean improvements in support and features.



    The only way to keep the current services going is to instigate a monthly service charge relative to the package you previously purchased. For 5Gb accounts the fee will be £7.99 per month and the unlimited accounts will be £19.99 per month. This will ensure that we can continue to provide you the current level of service and focus on enhancing it (ie new features) in the future.
    "

    Surely they cant do this and must be in violation of some trading standards laws.

    Lets hope we have a law expert on the forum!

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Sheffield, South Yorks
    Posts
    3,627
    Well you know what they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Depends how they've done the takeover, they could just have sold the customer base, without the company. Or they could just use their AUP/TOS to terminate your "contract" and offer you a new one (Which is what I would guess they are effectively doing). Really if you want proper legal advice, you need to speak to someone qualified.
    Karl Austin :: KDAWS.com
    The Agency Hosting Specialist :: 0800 5429 764
    Partner with us and free-up more time for income generating tasks

  3. #3
    So even though I have already paid for the service in full they can easily cancel my contract with no refund?

    Whats to stop anyone setting up a hosting company, charging people £400 for as years account then a month down the line expecting them to pay monthly also; because in a sense thats what they have done.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    6,616
    How much did you pay to start with and how long ago was it?
    Russ Foster - Industry Curmudgeon
    Freelance Sysadmin for Hire - email vaserv@gmail.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Sheffield, South Yorks
    Posts
    3,627
    Well how would they work out a refund if you paid for lifetime hosting? Who defines a lifetime to work out a refund for it? To be honest, you can't expect to pay a lump sum for a lifetimes worth of hosting, it just isn't feasible to do so. It's very much a case of buyer-beware. In terms of refund, they'd probably end up comparing what you paid, to what a similar package costs elsewhere, then refund you any difference etc. - but you're likely to get nothing, because you'd probably end up owing them technically. e.g. A similar service costs £200/year from someone else, you paid them £150 for a lifetimes worth of hosting - therefore, they reasonably owe you nothing (Just figures plucked out of thin air). As I say, if you want legal advice, speak to a qualified legal advisor.
    Karl Austin :: KDAWS.com
    The Agency Hosting Specialist :: 0800 5429 764
    Partner with us and free-up more time for income generating tasks

  6. #6
    Sorry if I seem argumentative I do appreciate your help very much.

    If its in that respect and thats the way they work it out, ive yet to recieve my lifetimes worth of service for them to draw a comparison of what is owed.

    If they have charged me once I cant see how they can legally do it again - for the same service.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Sheffield, South Yorks
    Posts
    3,627
    Depends how they've done the takeover.
    Karl Austin :: KDAWS.com
    The Agency Hosting Specialist :: 0800 5429 764
    Partner with us and free-up more time for income generating tasks

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Leicestershire, UK
    Posts
    234
    I would really like o know how much you paid for this "life time" service ?

    Please ?
    www.NT-Hosts.net
    Shared Hosting - Reseller - Email Hosting - Forum Hosting - Linux server admins
    Phone: 07092898178 - Fax: 07092898179 - Email:Sales@NT-Hosts.net

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Sheffield, South Yorks
    Posts
    3,627
    Archive.org says £80.

    I'm sorry to say this, but you really do need to be more careful. £80 for a lifetime of hosting? You'd only just get a years worth of hosting from us for that, and there's a good reason for it to. Also, the domain doesn't show any whois (privacy protected, what have they got to hide) and was only registered this year, with a shocking site design and they are breaking the law by not providing you with full contact details before purchase - How many more warning signs does there need to be?
    Karl Austin :: KDAWS.com
    The Agency Hosting Specialist :: 0800 5429 764
    Partner with us and free-up more time for income generating tasks

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Swellyville
    Posts
    2,341
    Quote Originally Posted by lance12
    Sorry if I seem argumentative I do appreciate your help very much.

    If its in that respect and thats the way they work it out, ive yet to recieve my lifetimes worth of service for them to draw a comparison of what is owed.

    If they have charged me once I cant see how they can legally do it again - for the same service.
    How long ago was the charge when they charged you before? If recent, chargeback and move along to another provider. If it was a long time ago, your pretty much out the money that you paid upfront, but not the money that they charged you the second time around. Chargeback, packup and run to the nearest well established hosting provider!
    <<< Please see Forum Guidelines for signature setup. >>>

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    EU - east side
    Posts
    21,920
    Surely they cant do this and must be in violation of some trading standards laws.
    The real question is, even if they are, are you going to sue them? Is it worth it? The whole case might not even be worth the fee to consult a lawyer. Also, even if you win, you'll only get your money if there's any money left to take.

    What you're meeting now is the cold reality, that common sense applies on the web as well. Learn and adapt. Aparently your old host is doing the same.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Swellyville
    Posts
    2,341
    Quote Originally Posted by ldcdc
    The real question is, even if they are, are you going to sue them? Is it worth it? The whole case might not even be worth the fee to consult a lawyer. Also, even if you win, you'll only get your money if there's any money left to take.

    What you're meeting now is the cold reality, that common sense applies on the web as well. Learn and adapt. Aparently your old host is doing the same.
    Really wouldn't be any grounds to sue them on anyway...just bad business practice is what it boils down to. Live and learn and move on really sounds like its the case in this situation to be honest.
    <<< Please see Forum Guidelines for signature setup. >>>

  13. #13
    Stay away from the "too good to be true" offers..cause in a lot of cases..they end up as fiction
    Caro.Net: Support is everything
    Offering High Quality Dedicated Servers.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    771
    Surprising amount of criticism of the OP for buying a package offered by a webhost. Staying away from too good to be true offers is good advice to those who can recognise them - but the same is said about a lot of budget hosts who are able to stand behind their offers.

    First point to the OP - you have a contract with a legal entity. That entity cannot change the terms of that contract without your agreement. I assume that you do know the full terms of your contract. New management makes no difference to this.

    Second. If the 'new management' is a different legal entity to the one you have a contract with then everything depends on the contract they have with the legal entity that had the contract with you. If they took over the business, including all its commitments, then you now have the old contract with them and they cannot change its terms. If they did not take over its commitments then your original contract is essentially dead and you have a case against the original legal entity for breaking it. As has been pointed out, that might not be worth pursuing (though some get pleasure from pushing someone who scammed them into bankruptcy). The definition of 'lifetime' in the contract would be vital.

    Another option you can take is to report it as a possible fraud. The message from 'new management' suggests that the old business plan was based on getting in new customers. This is not viable long-term and is essentially similar to pyramid selling. I would also point out that many fraudsters ask for extra money from their victims - people who have already proved their gullibility are always good targets - though there is no indication that this is the case here.

    A chargeback is certainly your best bet for getting your money back.

  15. #15
    I think an important part we forget is that the message he posted shows the company still in business. "I plan to turn this company around" says to me that the new management has taken over the business, either by sale or the owner literally gave it away.

    I went to the site and noticed they changed everyone to reflect the new rates now, I did find this in their TOS.

    Modification
    TheUnmetered.Com reserves the right to add, delete, or amend Packages and these Terms of Service at any time without notice.
    I get the impression your out of luck, if the service is good and the uptime is to your liking you can consider staying with them, but I wouldn't recommend it.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    EU - east side
    Posts
    21,920
    The definition of 'lifetime' in the contract would be vital.
    From april 2006: http://web.archive.org/web/200604230...m/reseller.php
    One-Time Fee

    Shared & reseller hosting packages are provided on a one-time fee basis.
    Once you've paid the initial cost, there will never be a recurring fee.
    Our server management package is also on a one-time fee basis.
    Sadly the old TOS is not available.

  17. #17
    I am currently using them and I personally still think that it is a good offer.

    For £9 a month for 5GB it's not bad and you'd still have trouble to find better.

    Also, you have to remember, eBay is renowned for these sort of things. If you bought the package you should have just hoped it would have worked, but not fully rely upon it.

    I am continuing to host with them as I see it still as a good deal and with a new person in charge wishing to turn things around, things can only get better.

    Also, if you wish to change to a new provider, consider Heartinternet.co.uk. They seem to be very good and professional.

    Ollie

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Newport Beach, CA
    Posts
    2,923
    I realize that these numbers can be off, but I doubt they're off by this much.

    they claim 1500 websites and 150 resellers hosted with them, but this is what the report comes out as:


    According to this, their highest domain count was 222
    http://www.webhosting.info/webhosts/...EUNMETERED.COM
    Show your reciprocal links on your website. eReferrer

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Boise, ID
    Posts
    2,453
    Quote Originally Posted by e-places
    I realize that these numbers can be off, but I doubt they're off by this much.

    they claim 1500 websites and 150 resellers hosted with them, but this is what the report comes out as:


    According to this, their highest domain count was 222
    http://www.webhosting.info/webhosts/...EUNMETERED.COM
    That isn't correct anyways due to the fact it is based off Nameservers and not everyone will use there nameservers or nameservers associated with them.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Newport Beach, CA
    Posts
    2,923
    Did you not read the first line of what I said?

    so you're saying they have 200 domains using their name servers and 1300 using their own????
    Show your reciprocal links on your website. eReferrer

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Boise, ID
    Posts
    2,453
    Quote Originally Posted by e-places
    Did you not read the first line of what I said?

    so you're saying they have 200 domains using their name servers and 1300 using their own????
    No, what I'm saying is that webhosting.info doesn't account for private or reseller based nameservers.

    They could have 200 domains using there primary nameservers, 150 resellers using there own nameservers (that's 350) and an untold amount using a private nameserver option.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Newport Beach, CA
    Posts
    2,923
    Ugh, christ.

    Yeah they're the one rare exception of every other host on the planet. you're right. it's off by a percentage on average, somewhere less than 10% not 90%

    It's just like ALexa. They aren't accurate but they certainly are a good sample to base trends on.
    Show your reciprocal links on your website. eReferrer

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Boise, ID
    Posts
    2,453
    Quote Originally Posted by e-places
    Ugh, christ.

    Yeah they're the one rare exception of every other host on the planet. you're right.

    It's just like ALexa. They aren't accurate but they certainly are a good sample to base trends on.
    One rare exception? I'm sorry but that is a massive misinterpetation statement.

    Take a look at some of the big advertisers on WHT in webhosting.info. These people are spending thousands of dollars a month and some have been for years, but show only a limited number of domains hosted.

    It's becoming more and more common for companies to utilize a DNS not in sync with there storefront name.

    Some of these hosts have thousands of domains hosted with there company but Webhosting.info says only a few hundered or less under there name.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Newport Beach, CA
    Posts
    2,923
    You're right. it's off by 90%. no problem.

    They're also the worlds lowest traffic 1500 customer site.

    http://www.alexa.com/data/details/tr...eUnmetered.Com
    Show your reciprocal links on your website. eReferrer

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Boise, ID
    Posts
    2,453
    Quote Originally Posted by e-places
    You're right. it's off by 90%. no problem.
    I'm not saying it is, I'm saying to not put your faith in a product that has been previously proven to be wrong.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •