[clive ware]

Bit long winded this.  My website was being hosted until recently by a company called Chapter Eight who went into liquidation back in February.  A company called Electric Ink Media took over all their existing database, mine included and informed me that if I wanted to continue them hosting my site it would cost me £60 per month! I personally phoned them up and spoke to the guy who sent me the email and told them that I would not be using their services as I had found a local company who would host my site and email addresses for just over a hundred quid a year. I followed this up with an email to him confirming my intentions. He seemed quite happy with this. I paid the new company  to host my site and also had an invoice from Electric ink Media for £60 to allow me to transfer my site. I thought I`d pay this once the site had been transferred. Anyway, I didnt hear any more from either companies until a couple of weeks ago when I received an email from Electric Ink Media demanding £235 for hosting my site from January until April. I spoke to the new company (Southcloud) who told me they had sent numerous emails to EIM but they had not responded to any of them. I sent and email to EIM saying that I told them I did not want them to host my site and even have the emails I sent them but this just falls on deaf ears. They have now taken down my site (which is legally mine) and refuse to do anything until I pay them £234 and now they want another £60 to make the site live again - but I do not want the site to go live with them , I want it to go live with Southcloud who I have paid to host it.
Its a bit like me giving someone a quote to clean their carpets, them telling me that I`m too expensive for them and they`d rather not use my services and then me totally ignoring them, turning up and cleaning their carpets and then me demanding money from them!! I sent that analagy to them too but that will be ignored. So Is this something i should be fighting legally? Legal fees would probably cost a lot more than the £234 they want from me but I just do not think I should be paying them for this.

[Mike Halliday]

Can't specifically help but......

Get a new site made quick and start running an adwords  campaign until the new site ranks,  regester on every free Internet directory  site going,  so any one who searches for you  who might have got your actual site  will see  the directories  listings. Make sure you are on Google places and it's filled out completely.

How much of your work comes from your website?

[fibresafe]

I would definitely see a solicitor. If you're in the NCCA you have free legal advice, but any solicitor will normally give you a free initial consultation or talk to you on the phone.  From what you've said you may have a case for taking them to court for loss of earnings, so all you probably need is a strongly worded letter from a solicitor and hopefully problem solved. Good luck with it

[David_Annable]

What about paying, moving your site to new host.

Send them a letter recorded delivery asking for you money back, stating held to ransom/ unfair term etc.

Take them to small claims court if they wont refund.

Job jobbed.

[homenclean]

Your contract was with the company who went into administration and therefore  ended when they ceased trading  so they have no right to charge you.

John

[Radek Jablonski]

always have a copy of yor website, ftp and database, server can get down and no file may be returned.
if you pay for any host, make sure you have ftp and direct admin access all the time,
my host cost me around 25 per year

[David Ware]

Clive if you have business insurance, most give you a free legal help line.
David

[clive ware]

Thanks for the advice chaps. Have contacted the legal help line which the NCCA have provided so will see what they suggest. I have to say though - is it worth having a wesite at the top of the Google listings? Type in Carpet cleaning Chichester and the top 3 are ridiulously low prices. The top one has 5 rooms  - any size for £69 (good feedback in Checkatrade). The next one down has a whole 3 bed house for £78.00!!

[David_Annable]

Nothing changes does it!

[Mike Gwilliam]

I hope the legal advice goes well. This seems like an opportunistic rip off but I wouldn't know the legalities.

I would certainly keep your domain and it's page rank, especially if it's a mature domain.
I have a couple of web sites that are well established and pay £125 each per year for web hosting and maintenance from someone who is very good.

But I do all the content management and SEO myself.

[DB]

Clive

Maybe a word with your local Trading Standards Officer would be helpful

[peter maybury]

Clive
what is the domain Name in question?
Did yo let the hosting company buy it for you. Did the hosting company build your website for you.
Domain hosting and domain registration are 2 totally unconnected issues  unless the hosting company has bought the domain and it is registered to them.
There is protection as nominnet are quite serious about some of these fraudulent hosting companies.
I keep my hosting ownership separate from my domain registrations as  I have had issues in the past where I have fallen out with the hosts and lost control of domains. The hosting companies will tell you all sorts of lies to get your business or forget  to tell you other things.
It does not cost anything to keep the 2 separate as the firms you register the domains through  do not charge anything as long as you have a server to put them onto, it is just a matter of changing the nameserver with them to sent then to another server.
If you want to text me your domain name I will look who it is registered with  it is just a matter of contacting them. If they are registered with the hosting comany it will be a bit more long winded but you can sort it through nominet because they do not like these illegal practices. If you want to call me for a chat about by all means give me a ring, but at least text the domain name to me it only takes minutes to find out.
Peter

[peter maybury]

Good idea if you had a number to text to 07788621555
Peter

[clive ware]

Hi Peter - thanks for the advice. This is getting more and more in depth. I`m hoping that the guy who I`m dealing with at Southcloud, the new hosting company will be able to call their bluff. Its just going backwards and forwards at the moment. Bottom line is that EIM (the hosting company who took over my site from the last hosting site who went into liquidation want me to pay them just under 300 quid to release my site. They are saying that despite me telling them that I did not wish them to host my site, no action was taken either by myself or Southcloud to actually transfer the site, therefore they have kindly continued to host my site at 60 odd quid per month. Southcloud reckon they have repeatedly asked them to do so, so It`s a bit of a stalemate at the moment. My Domain name is astraclean.com and I believe it is registered to Orca who went bust shortly after me signing up with them.
They were then taken over by Chapter Eight who have just gone under and Eim have taken them over. (Or bought their client base probably!!). The guy from Southcloud is going to try again tomorrow so will see how he gets on.
Cheers again,

Clive

[JandS]

What's cheap prices got to do with Adwords position?

[clive ware]

I looked it up Peter and it seems I`m registered with Chapter Eight who no longer exist!

[Radek Jablonski]

clive, if they contacted you re all changes and if you did not send them your cancellation request they can charge you I say
If I good understand the situation.

[clive ware]

I told them by phone and email at the time that i did not want them to host my site.

[Radek Jablonski]

if have that email and they still are fighting then legal advice and letter send by them will be the only way I say
case should be quick

[Darran Pryce]

If you have kept all the emails etc from the company who have hosted you and now taken your site down telling you all is fine, plus the email that the other hosting company who said they have tried to contact them with no avail, then you have a case.  Courts love paper as it cannot lie.  Small claims court, Judge Rinder is the man...

You'll win hands down if you have proof of whats gone on, on paper.