HostUltra Warning/Question

[Harlquinth]

Hi,

This post is partly a warning to try and prevent other people ending up in the same situation, and partly a question/looking for advice on what we can do next.

We have/had the website (including the domain name) for our organisation, East Surrey Museum, hosted with hostultra since the website was set up in 2006.

We are a charity, and as we are currently short on funding we have moved our web hosting elsewhere (someone offered us free hosting), to save having to pay the $50 in hosting we were previously paying with hostultra.

However, we did not realise that it would be such a hassle moving the domain name, eastsurreymuseum.org. The domain name had already auto-renewed itself for another year by the time we decided to move the webhosting, so we have paid for it until mid-march 2013, however hostultra refuse to change the details to let us transfer it, or let us continue to use the domain name now we have moved our hosting.

I've been reading a few other threads about hostultra on this forum, and other forums, where people have had similar issues. After reading this thread, http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/211032-warning-do-not-register-names-hostultra.html, where the person did manage to get back the domain name, I tried contacting enom (hostultra's registrar) to ask if they could help, however as hostultra have registered the domain name in their name, enom say they are unable to help us.

We have already registered another domain name, eastsurreymuseum.org.uk, which we are using, however it would still be nice to have access to our old domain name, if nothing else so that we can redirect it to our new one in case anyone hasn't updated their links and so that search engines can properly reindex us (especially since we have paid for the domain name for another year anyway!).

I tried submitting requests using the hostultra's support ticket system asking if they could change the details to allow us to transfer the domain, however I didn't get much of a response. They do say in one of the threads on their forums (forum.hostultra.com/showthread.php?t=11815) that they transfer domain names, however the posts I made when I replying to that thread were deleted, and when I try going to the forum, I now get the message:
"You have been banned for the following reason:
No reason was specified.
Date the ban will be lifted: Never"
Which isn't a very helpful reason, especially as there wasn't even any warning! (I did save a copy of my posts which are here, eastsurreymuseum.org.uk/misc/hu_thread.htm, if anyone wants a look - I thought I was quite reasonable in my posts, so I don't see any reason for deleting/banning me, except perhaps they're trying to cover up their incompetant/fraudalent ways!)

I don't have access to the hostultra ticket system anymore as we had to cancel our hosting before it was due for renewal, however I did keep a copy of the main ticket that I had open with them - I've put it at eastsurreymuseum.org.uk/misc/ticket_APK-159152.pdf if anyone wants a look. I sent an email to hostultra using the email address that enom told me to use (which is the whois email) asking about transferring the domain and the status of my ticket, so I'm currently waitng for a reply to that, and if there isn't any response to that then I may try contacting enom again to see if they have any other advice.

Apart from trying to spread the word about hostultra using reviews/forums I'm not quite sure what else I can do unless there's anyone out there who can help, does anyone else have any ideas/advice?

Thanks, Peter.

 

[Jlebeuf]

Hello everyone, I'm currently in the same boat and hope perhaps I can get some help/advice. I naively registered a domain name through Host Ultra to go with a hosting package when I was a teen. Now I need to get away from them and the hosting that has fallen into disrepair with no responses to year-old support tickets and a now unlicensed cPanel (making server settings changes impossible). Their conduct is certainly illegal now (not provided a paid for service) but I can't do anything because I must now either let my hosting plan renew for another year in a couple days or lose all email in a couple days until at least the 30 grace period after Sept 17. As others have experienced, there is no way to contact Host Ultra, they used their own contact details on the domain so I can't verify my own ownership of it, and eNom (who Host Ultra is reselling from) is pointing me back to the Whois details. I don't know what to do at this point as it seems the only possible way to regain ownership is to let it expire (all the while losing email services that contain professional contacts) then register it through a competent registrar that isn't a, quite frankly, scumbag. I have filed a BBB complaint, not that it will do anything, but can't file an ICANN complaint because Host Ultra isn't an ICANN accredited registrar.

I think currently I'm planning on letting the hosting plan renew until the domain name expires then file a PayPal complaint disputing the hosting charge because at that point I highly doubt they'll actually renew the cPanel and will thus be charging for unprovided services. I'll then have to go one or probably two months without email but hopefully I will be able to get it back then. Can anyone point me to anything else I can try to regain ownership with minimal downtime?

 

[HeyNow]

I get a laugh out of the posts that show up on any thread that is a warning about some hosting company or registrar.

Because look at this thread for example.
People with ONE post are dissing this company big time.

Do I believe these one time posters?
No, they are negative people who just like to post negative things about companies they probably have never used.

What a creep. The mods may spank me for name-calling, but the truth is the truth.

 

[Pixikel]

I naively registered a domain name through Host Ultra to go with a hosting package when I was a teen. Now I need to get away from them and the hosting that has fallen into disrepair with no responses to year-old support tickets and a now unlicensed cPanel (making server settings changes impossible).

I'm in the exact same boat. I purchased my domain and hosting through Host Ultra in 2006. It was the first domain I'd ever purchased so at that time I didn't know better to use a registrar rather than an actual host.

Last week I tried to access my cPanel to add an FTP account. I received an error that cPanel was unlicensed. Tried my second hosting account - same deal. Sent in a support ticket - no response. Sent a follow-up reply to my ticket - no response. Googled the issue.

Here I am. A first time poster, who is simply trying to Google and find other people who may have had this same issue.

My domain isn't set to renew until April. Is there any way at all to get Host Ultra to pony up and at least fix cPanel since it's a service we're paying for? I'd love to keep my domain, but short of letting it expire and hoping to re-purchase it, it's looking like there's nothing I can do to get it moved to a company that provides customer support and fixes issues. This is so frustrating!

 

[Pixikel]

I just found this information regarding the owner of Host Ultra. Wonder if this could be why there are so many issues right now. My server did go down completely on 7/31 and I was unable to access it for nearly a full 24 hours...

(I can't post links, go google "Host Ultra owner arrested.")

I would guess we Host Ultra users are SOL on this one...

 

[Jlebeuf]

I just found this information regarding the owner of Host Ultra. Wonder if this could be why there are so many issues right now. My server did go down completely on 7/31 and I was unable to access it for nearly a full 24 hours...

(I can't post links, go google "Host Ultra owner arrested.")

I would guess we Host Ultra users are SOL on this one...

WOH! I was literally just in the process of compiling a list of Host Ultra domain names so I could send each a notice of their fraudulent practices in hopes that many people would report them and we could get the ball rolling against them. Now, however, I don't see that helping much. Though perhaps using this information might get the TLD registrar (eNom for my domain) to actually do something now that the 'owner' who fraudulently registered my domain under their details was arrested. Maybe I'll continue my list and tell everyone to contest their PayPal/Credit Card charges from Host Ultra. A mass report wave WILL get their attention to look into this situation. What do you guys think; should I continue my list or would a legitimate notice like that be considered spam?

 

[Pixikel]

Is your domain/hosting working today, Jlebeuf? Mine is down again. I'm afraid it won't come back up... If it does I suppose I need to back it all up just in case.

Let me know if you have any luck with eNom.

 

[Jlebeuf]

Is your domain/hosting working today, Jlebeuf? Mine is down again. I'm afraid it won't come back up... If it does I suppose I need to back it all up just in case.

Let me know if you have any luck with eNom.

eNom refuses to offer any help because I'm not associated with the whois (because Host Ultra fraudulently used only themselves without notice). Despite giving a full account of my details and evidence of purchasing it (said proof of purchase is not proof of ownership) they will only direct me to the unresponsive whois. When my hosting package was set to renew my hosting (web and email) went down and PayPal says the subscription failed because of something on the seller's end; I'm guessing some sort of confirmation. I highly doubt the server will come back up since I'm pretty sure only the one 'Eric' guy was running it and was arrested for some pretty serious stuff. I had performed a full FTP copy from the server a few days before but only have the weekly backup to dropbox for MySQL on Sunday. Thankfully, the only change was public post view counts on the front end site. In short, I think we're all screwed and won't get any help from anyone... Unless we got a class action suit to regain our domains; which I doubt.

I would use Google cached results to try and piece together your website if you didn't have it backed up.

 

[Pixikel]

In short, I think we're all screwed and won't get any help from anyone... Unless we got a class action suit to regain our domains; which I doubt.

That's what I was afraid of. I don't mind losing the hosting, I mostly used it as a dropbox type thing anyway. I'm more upset at losing the domain itself and access to my email. Having to go swap everything over to a new email is gonna be a huge pain.

This makes me curious as to why this isn't more widely known. I'm sure we aren't the only two legitimate Host Ultra users out there who are affected by this, but I've found next to nothing about it elsewhere.

 

[RobinYameen]

ENOM is also partner-in-crime. Stop business with them too.
hostultra scam is ENOM's sister concern.

---------- Post added at 10:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 PM ----------

eNom refuses to offer any help because I'm not associated with the whois (because Host Ultra fraudulently used only themselves without notice). Despite giving a full account of my details and evidence of purchasing it (said proof of purchase is not proof of ownership) they will only direct me to the unresponsive whois. When my hosting package was set to renew my hosting (web and email) went down and PayPal says the subscription failed because of something on the seller's end; I'm guessing some sort of confirmation. I highly doubt the server will come back up since I'm pretty sure only the one 'Eric' guy was running it and was arrested for some pretty serious stuff. I had performed a full FTP copy from the server a few days before but only have the weekly backup to dropbox for MySQL on Sunday. Thankfully, the only change was public post view counts on the front end site. In short, I think we're all screwed and won't get any help from anyone... Unless we got a class action suit to regain our domains; which I doubt.

I would use Google cached results to try and piece together your website if you didn't have it backed up.

ENOM is also partner-in-crime. Stop business with them too.
hostultra scam is ENOM's sister concern.

 

[rycharn]

Me too

Hey guys,

I'm another Host Ultra victim. Pretty much the same story... signed up in 2004, because it was affordable. The free trial site worked well enough that I signed up for a paid site as well as a unique domain, which I have always thought I "owned." I used my domain primarily for email purposes, with the idea of possibly building a future website should I ever discover a need for one. I had few problems with Host Ultra until August 12 of this year. Email stopped working. Didn't stress about it until the next day, when I tried to access my cPanel. Got a "cPanel not licensed" error screen. That lasted a while, now I can't even get that far. Just can't log in because my server is down. Tried all possible contacts to Host Ultra: phone, trouble ticket, etc. Did the eNom thing too, got a reply similar to what I saw here: I 'don't own the domain, Host Ultra does.' At least eNom gave me two email address contacts for Host Ultra. One is the same as listed on the whois results, whois-at-jugn.com. The other is domaincontact-at-hostultra.com. I sent a single email to both addresses. The jugn.com email bounced back after several hours as undeliverable. Nothing yet from the hostultra.com one.

My domain is also of no value to anyone but me. It's not like I'm losing any business, but I'm going to have to change my email address with hundreds of people/companies. It'll be a pain. My Host Ultra billing was only $5 a month, auto-deducted from a credit card. I'm going to contact my credit card company in the morning and block future Host Ultra payments. Doubt that'll make much of a difference, but it'll be interesting to see if I get even an auto-generated email about my account. My domain expires in March 2014, and I guess at this point my best hope is to reclaim it when it expires, assuming I can find a reputable company that will be able to do that for me before some conglomerate picks it up in a lump deal.

I'm wondering now if our sites happened to be on the same Host Ultra server, or if all Host Ultra clients will be going down because cPanel isn't licensed. If it all goes down, we might have a stronger argument with eNom and ICANN to turn our domains over.

I came across this thread after a google search. I'm grasping at straws here, too. Has anyone tried the 'complain to ICANN' approach? So many options at that site, which is our best complaint? I agree that Host Ultra acted fraudulently when registering my domain, but I have no way to prove that. If I still have a receipt, it's in email form on an old hard drive somewhere. I think we need to complain to ICANN about eNom as well, but what do we say? If Host Ultra registered the domains under its name, eNom can't legally do anything about our complaints.

I don't know much about how to resolve this within the court system, but if Host Ultra fails to respond to a legal complaint, we'd win by default, wouldn't we? Sure wish I knew a lawyer...

 

[technologiez]

Finally

I guess the Eric Eoin Marques is in some trouble (google hostultra in news). Sucks for my 5+ year old website that is now down. I don't think I have any option other than a complete rebrand and rebuild. It's also unfortunate that the domain name is printed in magazines, stationary, and is linked to from hundreds of sites.

Lets figure out how to get our domains back from eNom. Any lawyers in this thread?

By the way - for all you regular forum members who hate on new posters, I now have more than a few posts, spanning months apart. I stand by every word that I've said and everyone else on here was just trying to warn others from service they experienced. It's kind of closed minded to discredit posts from new members. You used to be a new member once too.

peace

 

[Pixikel]

I'm going to contact my credit card company in the morning and block future Host Ultra payments. Doubt that'll make much of a difference, but it'll be interesting to see if I get even an auto-generated email about my account.

I've been watching my bank account like a hawk. I usually get auto billed around the 16th-18th. My billing emails went to the email associated with my domain, which I can't access.

I would hope that since all their servers are down that means their billing is down too, but who knows? I really don't want to have to dispute charges every month if the billing continues. I suppose the bank could put a block on the same as a CC company, couldn't they?

I noticed that today the actual hostultra.com site is down. For the last few days it's been up, you just couldn't do anything on the account screen once you logged in. Everything had a DOWN status. Today, though, you can't even load the main site.

 

[Jlebeuf]

I think eNom is just blindly defending one of their resellers and passing the buck to 'bring us a court order' instead of stepping in. I did try to file a whois correction through ICANN but ironically they dismissed it because I supposedly own the domain...

I had most all of my accounts and professional contacts around the net connected to emails on my domain. Now I have to try moving over to a new domain. If anyone is loosing money/business they could try getting a lawyer but I think I'm just going to let this go. Frankly, the cost benefit just doesn't seems worth it for me to bother with legal action that quite possibly won't pan out. Now if anyone starts a class action lawsuit I would be willing to lend my case to it to regain my domain regardless of any financial compensation.

 

[rycharn]

Odd, main site is down, secure-dot-hostultra-dot-com redirects to the main site, but my specific trouble ticket link still works, as does the link which tells me the server is DOWN.

This server was last checked 420013 seconds ago.
The server has not responded in over 5 minutes.
This server is currently considered to be DOWN and is being investigated by Host Ultra.

 

[rycharn]

For what it's worth, I just chatted with a rep at "another" hosting company, one that I consider very reputable, and have been with in a different context since 2006. She says "complain to ICANN!"

 

[Jlebeuf]

For what it's worth, I just chatted with a rep at "another" hosting company, one that I consider very reputable, and have been with in a different context since 2006. She says "complain to ICANN!"

Ya... How? I never found anything on the ICANN site for this situation aside from links to arbitration services. Do you have anywhere in particular to submit a form or send an email to?

 

[rycharn]

Ya... How?

That's a good question. I've been looking there myself. It would seem to fall under "Domain Name Dispute Resolution" except everything I find at ICANN on that refers to trademark infringement. Host Ultra isn't infringing on a trademark, it just registered my domain under its name. It's definitely bad faith, but I don't know where to make that complaint. If it were a trademark issue, looks like it would best be settled through arbitration, but even that route starts at $1300. Glad to say I haven't given Host Ultra that much in all the 9 years I've been its "customer."

Looking through these legal things sure makes me wish I had saved a copy of Host Ultra's Terms of Service, etc. I'm not sure I even have any proof of my original domain purchase, it was so long ago.

 

[Jlebeuf]

That's a good question. I've been looking there myself. It would seem to fall under "Domain Name Dispute Resolution" except everything I find at ICANN on that refers to trademark infringement. Host Ultra isn't infringing on a trademark, it just registered my domain under its name. It's definitely bad faith, but I don't know where to make that complaint. If it were a trademark issue, looks like it would best be settled through arbitration, but even that route starts at $1300. Glad to say I haven't given Host Ultra that much in all the 9 years I've been its "customer."

Looking through these legal things sure makes me wish I had saved a copy of Host Ultra's Terms of Service, etc. I'm not sure I even have any proof of my original domain purchase, it was so long ago.

On my phone but you can Google for "site: hostultra.com" without quotes for the cached site. Toss in "terms of service" to get that page.

 

[Pixikel]

I'm not sure I even have any proof of my original domain purchase, it was so long ago.

I know I don't. I went through all my email last week to see. I have the original hosting order email but not the domain one for some reason. Without getting into the hostultra site, there's absolutely nothing I can do to prove I have anything to do with my domain.

I'm going to dig through some old backup email files just in case, but it was over seven years ago that I purchased it so I don't know if I'll have any luck or not.

 

[SimonG]

Hi All,

I'm unfortunately in the same boat as all of you. Been using Hostultra since early 2000. Since last week, I can't get onto any CPanel service. My site is still running and email still works. But for how long ?

I tried moving the domain but since they/he registered it in Hostultra's name, it seems like I'll have to wait it out till next year when it expires.

If anyone has any luck with getting their domain name moved, please let me know.

Simon