HostGator legal problem?
I'm having an issue with hostgator and I wanted some opinions. What to do? what should I do, if anything? Am I just out of luck? Heres what happened:
On September 31st, 2013 I entered into a contract for a years worth of hosting service with hostgator. I paid $119.99 for this service. On June 18th I submitted a cancellation request. At the top of the form the request read "Please allow up to 72 hours to close your account and note your account will be cancelled on the next recurring invoice date." Well this did not happen. They canceled my account on June 22nd.
After 30 hours or so I noticed the problem. Another hour or 2 talking to them and they said my sites were fixed. However, not all of my sites were fixed (i noticed this maybe 12 hours later). Some (most) had new database errors preventing them from loading. Since my support ticket was associated with a particular person at this point no one else could help. And he didnt return to work for another 48 hours or so my sites were losing income etc for that time. So they knew about this problem yet they continued to damage my sites.
Hostgator admits to the mistake. However, they say "HostGator shall not be responsible for any damages your business may suffer. HostGator makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied for the Services. HostGator disclaims any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, including loss of data resulting from delays, delivery failures, wrong deliveries, and any and all service interruptions caused by HostGator or our employees."
Now I know under normal circumstances they wouldn't be liable. I get that things happen. But in this case my canceled account was made on purpose. Blatantly violating our contract. Because they breached our contact I suffered damages. I have sales income, Adsense income, affiliate income, etc. One of my sites has lost 30% of its traffic. Just so many things that would harm a business if it was shut down.
Many companies have simular terms of service, but if they blatantly hurt you on purpose outside of their normal way of doing business thats messed up and they should be responsible right? Especially if they know of the problem and continue to hurt you. Apple says they arent responsible if something happenes to your phone but if it explodes in your pocket those terms dont really apply you know?
Sorry for the long story and I hope i described it well. Please let me know what you would do in my shoes or any advice.
Thanks
On September 31st, 2013 I entered into a contract for a years worth of hosting service with hostgator. I paid $119.99 for this service. On June 18th I submitted a cancellation request. At the top of the form the request read "Please allow up to 72 hours to close your account and note your account will be cancelled on the next recurring invoice date." Well this did not happen. They canceled my account on June 22nd.
After 30 hours or so I noticed the problem. Another hour or 2 talking to them and they said my sites were fixed. However, not all of my sites were fixed (i noticed this maybe 12 hours later). Some (most) had new database errors preventing them from loading. Since my support ticket was associated with a particular person at this point no one else could help. And he didnt return to work for another 48 hours or so my sites were losing income etc for that time. So they knew about this problem yet they continued to damage my sites.
Hostgator admits to the mistake. However, they say "HostGator shall not be responsible for any damages your business may suffer. HostGator makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied for the Services. HostGator disclaims any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, including loss of data resulting from delays, delivery failures, wrong deliveries, and any and all service interruptions caused by HostGator or our employees."
Now I know under normal circumstances they wouldn't be liable. I get that things happen. But in this case my canceled account was made on purpose. Blatantly violating our contract. Because they breached our contact I suffered damages. I have sales income, Adsense income, affiliate income, etc. One of my sites has lost 30% of its traffic. Just so many things that would harm a business if it was shut down.
Many companies have simular terms of service, but if they blatantly hurt you on purpose outside of their normal way of doing business thats messed up and they should be responsible right? Especially if they know of the problem and continue to hurt you. Apple says they arent responsible if something happenes to your phone but if it explodes in your pocket those terms dont really apply you know?
Sorry for the long story and I hope i described it well. Please let me know what you would do in my shoes or any advice.
Thanks
― George Carlin