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.

 

[webmango]

Wow, that's messed up!

A whois search brings up the following phone number to whom hostultra.com is registered: +1.7024258562
Fax:
848 N. Rainbow Blvd. #1854
Las Vegas, NV 89107
US

(interestingly Google maps shows a retail park at this location with a number for leasing office space: 948-5000; could be a way to verify if they are genuinely registered there.)

You could try contacting them via phone or via letter; but to be honest, if they are ignoring support and actively trying to resist contact with you they probably will ignore this too.

You could try contacting ICANN who have a dispute resolution page here: http://www.icann.org/en/help/dndr/tdrp

I don't really know myself, but these are two resources that may help? I'd definitely wait for someone more knowledgeable.

Hope you get it resolved though.

 

[Harlquinth]

Hi,

Just thought I'd post an update about where I've got to.

I thought I'd try posting in Host Ultra's forum as well as emailing them before doing anything else, partly because then I could say I've at least tried contacting them (again) to resolve it before replying to enom, and partly because I was curious about if Host Ultra would delete my post! So far I've not received any reply from Host Ultra (which I was expecting), however they haven't, so far, deleted my post (which I was a bit surprised at!). The thread I posted is here: forum.hostultra.com/showthread.php?t=12140

As I hadn't heard anything from Host Ultra, I tried contacting enom today in reply to my original ticket - message I sent to them and the reply I received are below. I'm not really that impressed about enom's reply, especially as they didn't answer my question about how to submit a complaint! Someone pointed out to me this page, www.enom.com/resellers/erc_agreement.asp, which says "Any eNom Certified Registrar may lose its Certified status at anytime for any of the following reasons: 1) If you receive an increase in ongoing ratio or severity of complaints to ICANN and/or eNom regarding your services and/or customer support", so there must be a way of submitting a complaint to enom, so I will probably put something along those lines in my reply. Any other suggestions on what else I could include in a reply?

Thanks, Peter.

-----------
My message:
-----------
Hi Patrick,

Thanks for your reply - I have tried contacting the email address in that whois information as well as contacting them via the hostultra forums, however I have not yet had any response from either - please could you let me know what the next step to take is regarding getting our domain transferred.

Please could you also let me know how to submit a complaint to enom regarding host ultra. I believe they are acting unfairly and fraudulently in registering domain names under their name - their terms makes no mention of this, or the fact that you are not able to transfer the domain name. In addition, their own homepage says "Your _Own_ Domain Name" under their domain registration section (which to me implies that the domain name would belong to whoever is buying/registering it, rather than belonging to hostultra).

Many thanks, Peter.

-------------
Enom's reply:
-------------
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Technical Support. I'll be happy to answer your questions.

If you are unable to contact the current Registrant, you will need to wait until the domain either deletes or becomes available at an auction site like NameJet.com.

Any complaint or action against Host Ultra would need to be resolved with them directly.

I hope this has provided answers to your satisfaction. If you have any additional questions about this matter, please feel free to update this ticket. If you need assistance outside of my posted hours, please call our 24 hour support line listed on our site and reference this ticket number. By doing so, any Agent can take over the issue and will be happy to continue working with you.

We appreciate the opportunity to assist you.


Best Regards,
Chris B.
Technical Support
-------------

 

[Harlquinth]

You could try contacting ICANN who have a dispute resolution page here: http://www.icann.org/en/help/dndr/tdrp

Just tried submitting a complaint to Icann about it as have ran out of other ideas - no idea if anything will happen of it, but here's hoping!

Thanks, Peter.

 

[webmango]

Hi Peter,

It's a bizarre situation.

I must say though, from the sounds of it I don't *think* they're doing this for the purposes of fraud/selling the domain on, as inherently there is little resale value in the domain, apart from to another east surrey museum, and I don't imagine there are too many of those knocking about! And even then as a non-profit I can't see them making a mint out of it; it's value is rather personal to you and your organisation. It seems they're more just being awkward, or just difficult. If it is a knowingly done policy, I imagine its to catch those who have really commercial/high value domains out, and in your situation they just cannot be bothered to rectify it; if this is true... well - wow!

As for complaining, it might be tempting to go "why won't they reply to my emails/forum posts?!" but it might require a bit more action on your part to formally approach eNom/HostUltra etc; tracing their office phone number, writing a formal letter.

I'd personally be tempted as a last resort action to see which of eNoms rules they've contravened (if any) and writing them a threatening letter to take legal action unless they release your domain. I don't know whether what they've done is legal or not, but if they're just playing ignorant to a problem they can't be bothered to deal with, it may just sharpen their ears somewhat.

Apart from that, complaining to ICANN/ENOM is definitely the way to go in my opinion, if nothing else, I'm sure they'll be able to advise you appropriately. I'd personally pick up the phone and speak to one of these bodies if possible; I hate stock replies from companies who haven't even bothered to read my emails.

Like I've said before, I'm not an expert on this type of situation at all; I'd say perhaps repost your opening post in this section here:

http://www.namepros.com/legal-issues-and-disputes/

where you're more likely to get wider range of opinions, and people who may be in the know about various rules etc might be able to advise you better.

Again, wish you all the best, fingers crossed you get it back

 

[robertlewis]

Help me...

I am having the same issue. I cannot get a hold of host ultra in anyway. I have tried emailing, calling, job tickets and I have received nothing...

I wish I could change host, but I am stuck. Host Ultra tricks you into their service and provides zero customer service. This has to be illegal some how...

 

[brucewells]

DO NOT USE HOSTULTRA FOR ANY THING. Hostultra will not register your domain under your name. They will not respond to phone, support tickets, or email. DO NOT DO BUSINESS with HostUltra.

 

[fromtheheart]

Hostultra - what to do ??

Basically I tried everything to get around the awful Hostultra yet still keep my domain names and THE ONLY option is to pay them for hosting and redirect my sites to .net! I tried to downgrade my account...you can't. I tried to open a free site and map my domains - you can't. I tried to open a less expensive account - you can't. They have it set on manual approval and they are not approving anything as well as not answering emails.

I called Enom - there is nothing they can do because Hostultra holds the title to our domain names.

Last year during the busiest season on my site Hostultra must have decided to go to sleep and offer no support. I found that they had set my site only 10 concurrent users which caused my business to go from 10K a month to 1K in sales that year. I tried contacting them but got no response. I since have moved to a much better hosting site but am redirecting the domains from .com to .net and still have to pay Hostultra for hosting. They are like the Mafia or something.

I think our only recourse is a lawsuit. Let me know what you think.

 

[iowadawg]

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.

 

[fromtheheart]

Reallly?

I am glad you are laughing. If you just think we are negative people dissing a company....why don't you buy a domain from them...build a business... realize that their hosting sucks then try to move your domain to another company. You will find you are stuck just like us with no recourse other than to find support from others as their is no answers. I don't even know if a lawyer can help.

Sure hope you never find yourself in a situation like this and someone like you writes in to mock you. Why would I waste my time trying to figure out a problem if it didn't exist?

Have a nice weekend.

 

[brucewells]

Still no response from HostUltra for more than a month after sending them a certified registered return receipt mail. Apparently they don't pick up their mail either.

Again, DO NOT DO BUSINESS with HostUltra.

I simply want to get my account unsuspended, but they give you no way to do that. I am not asking much.

PS. I don't waste my time posting on silly BBS systems. I have work to do. Just trying to provide a public service. Wish someone had for me.

 

[technologiez]

Same Problem

Iowadawg - I know I just registered and only have one post, but that's because I only FOUND this forum because I wanted to see if anybody else has the same problem that I do.

I have the same problem as everyone else here. Hostultra used to be a great host, it was cheap and it was easy. Their service wasn't amazing (there was no phone support) but at least they responded to tickets. I have a couple domains registered with them and lately I've noticed that my sites take forever to load! Something is wrong with their servers - and I brought this to their attention and they ignored it -- so I decided to move to another host.

As of now, it has been three weeks and they have completely ignored my support requests. I tried to go to eNOM and they also said that HostUltra OWNS my domains so I can't just TAKE them. In other words, HostUltra HAS to give me the EPP codes so I can leave.

I'd love to hear what worked from your end. I'll keep following this thread.

 

[brucewells]

technologiez,

You are TOTALLY SCREWED with HostUltra. You CAN NOT contact them. They refuse to respond to emails, phone (answering machine), support forums, and certified registered return receipt letters. In the case of the letter, they don't even bother to pick up the mail, because the Post Office will return the receipt, it is not possible to pick up the mail without the PO returning the receipt.

You are best to contact your credit card company and see if you can reverse the charges and use another company. I have had good luck with http://www.webhostingpad.com/ and they are cheaper than HostUltra!

If you bought a domain with HostUltra, you will have to reclaim it after they don't renew it. Until then, register another domain and use that. You don't own the name, you only rent from HostUltra.

Also, never register a domain with a web hosting company. Use a legit registrar. That way if the web hosting company screws you, you can point the domain to new servers.

Hope this helps you and other people.

Bruce

PS. I never had any issues with HostUltra. They had good prices, service, etc. They suspended my account in May and I have not been able to contact them to get it unsuspended, nor would they tell me why it was suspended. I only found out when I stopped getting email from a domain they host. Stay far away from HostUltra. They suck big time.

 

[technologiez]

Thanks Bruce

Unfortunately, I reached the same conclusion after making many various attempts. If I find a way to get through to them, I will share here. I created an account with them back when I was a teenager and didn't know better. They were cheap and got the job done I guess. I'm going to wait until my domains expire and try to snatch them up then.

Good tips! I'll check out webhostingpad but I'm almost inclined to work with the big named companies because this is a horrible experience to go through. Time to buy some temporary domains...


Technologiez

 

[technologiez]

no luck

Following up here.

It's been 8 months with no luck at all. If anybody can reach them, please post it here...

 

[brucewells]

Forget about it!

HostUltra is a complete scam. I sent them a registered letter to the PO Box listed on the web site. They did not even pick it up, and it has been over a year. I think the only reason they did not auto renew my suspended account is that that credit card had expired, otherwise I am sure they would have billed me for another year of no service.

I had to let the domain I had registered with them expire before I was able to reclaim it when it flushed out of the system. They will not reply to support questions. They are truly the worst.

Do not give them money for any reason! There is no way to contact them, or even work with enom, their registry reseller. A complete waste of time and money.

I have been using webhostingpad.com instead. They do hosting right, and are cheaper and better than hostultra ever was. Highly recommended.

 

[Sabre]

Lots of complaints online re: support and generally ignoring customers for the past few months. Sounds like they've been hit by the recession and laid off all non-essential support staff.

 

[snowbird]

It is a bit strange that all these comments are made by people who have just signed up as first time posters. However, I will say this is not the first time I've heard about HostUltra doing this. So if this has in fact occurred, I would suggest using the invoice you signed up with as proof that you own the domain. You should have been given a bill for your domain registration which you have paid. You can use that as evidence that you do in fact own the domain. The invoice date should match the registration date on the domain.

 

[brucewells]

Been there, tried that

I did exactly that, took the registration info to enom, but they refused to acknowledge my ownership. My receipt was emailed and would be easy to forge. It did not prove ownership. To them, the client is hostultra, not you. They don't give a crap about you. The best I got out of them, after I said I don't think there is anyone left at hostultra, is that someone from hostultra logged into their site recently.

STAY AWAY FROM HOSTULTRA.

And to hell with anyone who calls me a first time poster. I'm just trying to warn people so the same thing does not happen to you.

Also, only buy domains from reputable registrars, like GoDaddy. Never ever by from a hosting provider.

 

[snowbird]

I did exactly that, took the registration info to enom, but they refused to acknowledge my ownership. My receipt was emailed and would be easy to forge. It did not prove ownership. To them, the client is hostultra, not you. They don't give a crap about you. The best I got out of them, after I said I don't think there is anyone left at hostultra, is that someone from hostultra logged into their site recently.

STAY AWAY FROM HOSTULTRA.

And to hell with anyone who calls me a first time poster. I'm just trying to warn people so the same thing does not happen to you.

Also, only buy domains from reputable registrars, like GoDaddy. Never ever by from a hosting provider.

I was just making a helpful suggestion on some steps that can be taken to get your domain back. And I never said to take the receipt to enom. Where you need to take the receipt is to a lawyer to seek legal advice on how the situation should be handled. When you pay for something and have an actual receipt from the company showing you paid for it, then they should not be able to steal it from you unless you are in breach of some sort of contract of some sort. I would bring your receipt to an attorney along with the terms of service contract and find out that way what the best way is to move forward. Or maybe you could file a police report. If you can provide enough evidence to your local police department, enom might cooperate with them.

 

[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?