Hosting nightmare - Am I missing something?

[Burano]

My hosting plan is paid automatically on a monthly basis. I was unaware they had an old card of mine which expired last month. I get a lot of spamish emails to the address they email me at and I missed the 2 emails about my card not working.

I didn't miss the final email I got this AM stating that my hosting account had been suspended! Now, this is after only 10 days. No letter, no phone call, I've been a customer for over 2 years, and have never paid late before. 10 days = shutting down my sites without an attempt to reach me over phone or a letter???

OK. That's not the biggest problem. I paid immediately upon seeing that email this morning. I sent an additional email to support and received an email back telling me my sites would be reactivated asap.

Later in the day, when I had a chance - I typed in one url and it was up. BUT when I clicked on a different page - it went to a 404. Any other page besides the home page on my multiple sites went to 404's! I emailed the host and told them what was happening - and sent them one of my url's as an example. I then left for meetings all day.

Finally getting a chance to get on my computer, I sign in to my various affiliate programs and discover my revenue is significantly lower than it should be for the day (even accounting for the lost time this morning). I discover that the only site running properly is the site I sent as one example to the host! An email is waiting for me that was returned 6 hours after my complaint telling me that the issue was fixed.

I am waiting to hear back from the host again. I want to know if I am missing something - was there something I was supposed to do within my account once it was reactivated? If so, I still think I should have been told.

Is this 10 day, no notice but a couple of emails account suspension typical of host companies? Is this failure to reactivate my websites over 12 hours later acceptable?

I'm asking because this is a well-known host and I am a loss for what has gone on. It certainly seems unacceptable. But I am not technically versed in the world of hosting...and before naming names - I want to know if I have a right to be as livid as I am.:td::red:

Thanks in advance.

 

[tristanperry]

The 10 day suspension rule would probably be in the TOS or AUP - I assume you've read them; do they mention the suspension (from non-payment) procedure at all?

Also, are you saying that they *did* e-mail you regarding the non-payment?

I think, if so, that's fair enough since most hosts (unless they're dedicated providers, IMO) probably wouldn't be in a position to ring/send letters out to every customer who doesn't pay. Plus it's really the customer's responsibility to pay their bills - just like we all have to pay rent and utiliy bills on-time, etc.

So I don't see a problem in that respect.

BUT having said that, your sites should be back-up and running now. 12 hours is a long time to wait. Perhaps try contacting your host and explaining that it's been 12+ hours and all but one of your sites is still down?

This should definitely be their responsibility to fix. You've now paid, so the service should be up and running for you.

So to summarise, as long as they sent e-mails about the non-payment, I don't see that suspension as a bad thing from your host's point of view. 10 days is quite good too (this is 33% of a month's hosting, effectively for free). I've heard of some companies who suspend after 1/2 days (that's still 3-6% of the monthly service which is provided before payment is received, remember). But then I do fully understand (and agree with you) that your websites should be up and running by now.

 

[-NC-]

10 days = shutting down my sites without an attempt to reach me over phone or a letter

They'll be running an automated system which bills, sends emails and cuts off accounts automatically. Sending letters and making phone calls takes labour and time, which doesn't really work for a high volume business like hosting.

Maybe you could create an email account just for receiving hosting emails, and check it regularly.

Is this failure to reactivate my websites over 12 hours later acceptable

In my opinion its not acceptable. I don't see why they shouldn't all be up immediately after you've paid.

 

[ldcdc]

So to summarise, as long as they sent e-mails about the non-payment, I don't see that suspension as a bad thing from your host's point of view.

Agreed.

I don't see why they shouldn't all be up immediately after you've paid.

I'm not saying this is right or wrong, but in most cases un-suspending the account would be done manually. With billing often working 9 to 5 (as opposed to support, usually working 24/7), it can take a while.

It looks like the account was unsuspended, but something else was afoot. This would probably be a technical issue, rather than something that the billing can handle -- unless we're talking about multiple hosting accounts.

 

[Burano]

So to summarise, as long as they sent e-mails about the non-payment, I don't see that suspension as a bad thing from your host's point of view. 10 days is quite good too (this is 33% of a month's hosting, effectively for free). I've heard of some companies who suspend after 1/2 days (that's still 3-6% of the monthly service which is provided before payment is received, remember). But then I do fully understand (and agree with you) that your websites should be up and running by now.

Well, not exactly 33% of a month for free - they charge a reactivation fee (which they waived ...doesn't put a dent in my lost revenue though). It's funny, as I was thinking of high-volume business - I thought of all the mail I could do without from Godaddy. If only they stuck to email, ha!

Anyway, after taking 3 different support people to finally correct the issue - when I asked for an explanation over what happened - the response was that 'it would be prudent for you to double check and ensure that each is operating normally.'

I am very understanding that mistakes are made. But that's a lousy response. Each time I did check my sites and reported back they were not working properly, I was told by another support person that the issue was fixed.

Thanks to your responses - I understand I cannot be angry over the initial suspension of the account - which only lasted a few hours in the middle of the night. That is my doing. But I also now understand that Hostgator did indeed, drop the ball, and has responded by simply telling me I was not 'prudent' enough.

If anyone wants to recommend another well-established, US based host with competitive pricing to Hostgator - I'm all ears. Thanks.

 

[thebutler]

One thing to do

Well you got the email to pay so suspension of the account was ok BUT you might want to set up some sort of self mailing calendar program to remind yourself of payment dats. Since you're making money of the sites I'd recommend doing everythig possible to rember payment dats.

Regarding other hosts there are plenty available BUT I would avoid paying one of those crazy 36 or 24 month in advance deals. You can find reliable and stable hosting a decent price if you prepay three or six months in advance. You should have a very good idea of what your actual requirements are based on your history (bandwidth and storage).

 

[SiberForum]

Paying in advance for the any web host (even the one you trust as yourself) I think that is the way to stick with that host for the age of the contract. I suppose you have no idea what will happen in a month or 2 maybe you will need cloud hosting instead of the shared for the same web project...