Hostgator WTF?

by AlanCarr

Posted: 15 years ago 21 replies

PRODUCT REVIEWS

After all the glowing reviews on here I thought I'd start my next site on Hostgator.

My experiences so far..

First I was able to sign up and create an account OK, though the interface was somewhat 1991.

Weirdly, they didn't ask for payment, just set the account up.

??

I then had to poke around to find my 'invoice' and pay the thing. That went OK.

So I set my FTP program up, throw up a few half-finished pages to check it out and make sure I'd set the DNS correctly. All seemed good.

So there I am, fiddling around and finishing up a half-baked site.. when my ftp prog' informed me my credentials, ie user and pw, were rejected.

WTF?

So I go back to my account email, wondering how my ftp (Filezilla) managed to forget my password, when I spot a couple of email. A refund from Paypal and a support ticket reply from Hostgator.

??

Seems they refunded my Paypal payment, without me asking for a refund, and the ticket "reply" was asking me to contact them. So I phone them up, get asked for ticket number. Give ticket number, get transferred.

To someone who asks for my ticket number.

I explain why I'm phoning. They ask me questions that are already answered on the order form, and say "OK".

OK what? Seems the account is live again. Nice.

So now I have an account AND a refund???

If they didn't have such a glowing (affiliate based?) reputation I'd already be looking elsewhere. Slick and professional this isn't.

Am I the only one with this kind of experience?

B.

#hostgator #wtf

Bigsofty 15 years ago

Oh and I had the option of rating the "ticket", so I tried that..

"Only ticket posts after May 26th, 2008 can be rated. Sorry for the trouble!"

Rightio...

*blink*

B.
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netstrife 15 years ago

Hostgator's reputation speaks for itself, ask most people on this forum (or anywhere) that use hostgator and they'll tell you they're one of the best hosts around. Out of tens of thousands of customers there are always going to be SOME people with technical problems and that's just the nature of the business. And I can't believe you're complaining about them when they kept your account open even without you paying.
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James Schramko 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Bigsofty

Am I the only one with this kind of experience?

B.

I have only great things to say about my experiences with HG. I have several servers with them and they are outstanding.
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- Richard Tunnah 15 years ago
  
  I've got a couple of accounts with them with a portfolio of sites hosted by them. I've used them for about 6 years now and have always been happy with them. I've had very few problems but if I've had I like the 24/7 live chat that usually resolves 90% of things or will refer you to a department that resolves things within 24 hours.
  
  Rich
  
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Elliott 15 years ago

The actual hosting and hosting support is excellent.

The billing interface is "1991" and they are actually working on upgrading to their own system and integrating everything, I have been told. I have always had trouble understanding the Modernbill system, but they have always fixed things pronto when necessary.

All in all, it is one of the most responsive services i have seen online.

Elliott
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Steadyon 15 years ago

Hi,

I must admit, I also had issues when I first started.

I mistakenly used a UK card instead of my USA one and after spending a day or two setting up sites etc they closed the account down.

I had to contact them and find out why and then after a longggggg conversation I managed to get them to reinstate the account.

I must admit I was pissed.

I have numerous reseller accounts with different companies to spread things around and I am always nervous about the Hostgator account for some reason. Almost like if I overslept one day, or had a card expire, then I would later find out they had closed all my sites down with no warning.

I got the feeling that they were paranoid about getting ripped off or something and were over zealous in their initial actions.

I only went with them because they seem to have good reviews. I just wished they would communicate before closing things down. Still, I'm just one customer so what the heck hey?
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Bigsofty 15 years ago

And I can't believe you're complaining about them when they kept your account open even without you paying.

I can't believe they closed the account and gave a refund without me even asking or wanting one.

Hosting is hosting but I'd be a lot more concerned if they'd done that with my domain. Happily I registered that elsewhere.

You say the support is responsive but it's been some time now and no reply to my question "Are you sure you wouldn't like some money?"

My usual host, that I've been using for over 7 years now, responds within the hour, usually within about 2 minutes. It's one of the reasons I've haven't changed after some disasterous early experiences - you find a good host, you stick with em.

The downside with my current host is that if you want a new domain you need a new account, which even with my reseller thing is an extra expense. As I'm planning on a number of mini sites and don't fancy Blue/Hostmonster I thought I'd finally get around to the Hostgator experience...

That's the problem I guess, high expectations.

B.

Edit/PS: Steady, that's exactly how I feel. Happily the phone conversation I had was a pretty short one but it does really drive home that there's this little red on/off switch out there...
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sunnyman 15 years ago

The issues I have heard about with Hostgator nearly always have to do with people trying to open an account and having problems getting their credit card details approved.

HG is quite strict about anything that could indicate fraud. Like, if the IP address you are signing up from doesn't match the geographical area you reside in, according to the credit card. And so on.

Personally, I have been doing business with them for several years and never had any such problem. Each time I open a new account it is set up right away with no glitches whatever.
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D.K. Magnus 15 years ago

When I first opened an account with Hostgator, I had alot of problems getting my password being recognized.

Every Sunday for 3 weeks I had to contact tech support.
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Akogo 15 years ago

I would stick with Hostgator until they do something really dumb. So far they haven't really disappointed me. There are few annoyances, like some of my scripts used to work but don't anymore. But that's probably because they are trying to make their shared hosting more secure for eveyone. They seem to have trained their support staff very well in security -- a while back, I needed assistance and they would help if I gave them the original email address I signed up with. I forget what it was and asked them what it was. They never gave me the direct address... they made it my responsibility to figure that out. That's how tough they are which is good for everyone else using HG.
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- mick535 15 years ago
  
  I've used Hostmonster for the last 3 years and they are excellent. I had problems with Hostgator a few years ago and never went back.
  
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Colinjn 15 years ago

I did a recent upgrade on HG and they kept both accounts running until I was satisfied. No automatic shutdowns, and no double payments. Also regarding payments, I think they changed their software. I used to get late payment warnings every month because of a glitch in the autopayment. No More.
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IMChick 15 years ago

That sounds like a real rookie CS mistake to me. Funny thing is that once you start digging around, your story in the OP is not exactly unusual.

I think that it may be worth the added expense to have two or more hosting accounts at a time, at least from a safety and sanity point of view.

This way if the files are in your FTP server resident on your PC you can just re-load and be up and running elsewhere as soon as you discover a bill, refund, shut-down problem or whatever. This of course means that you can't host and buy the domains at the same place for the same security reasons.

Is this a good idea in the ideal world, or am I thinking overkill here?
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qubex 15 years ago

I personally use host gator for all my sites and have nothing bad to say. Although, when I initially signed up my account got suspended because the IP I signed up with and the IP on my billing information was 24,000 miles apart...anyway, called them up and had was back in business within 3 minutes.

I've had zero downtime since.....*knock on wood*
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Bigsofty 15 years ago

Well as I mentioned the site isn't finished yet, not by any means but if the fact my billing address is in the UK and my IP in Borneo is the problem, a second or two looking at the web site might have explained things...

www.copywriter-ac.com

I also pointed this out in the "comment" section of the order form, so it should have been blindingly obvious.

B.
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askloz 15 years ago

Hey Alan, do you have any examples of those you have helped before in the past with their sales copy? I'm looking to manage my time better and need an extra hand... Can you send me a PM in any of the info you can provide and I might just take you up on your services
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jerodrx 15 years ago

I have been using HG for more than a year, and never have any trouble with the service
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grumpyb 15 years ago

I just started with Hostgator and No Problems so far
I had some IP propogation problems but that turned out to be our Domian name suppliers issue
I can understand their being carefull with the payments as on line fraudelent payments seem to be at epedemic proportions.
So far I am more than pleased that i have started with Hostgator
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pearsonbrown 15 years ago

"if the fact my billing address is in the UK and my IP in Borneo is the problem,"

I think that would have been a good point to make in your original post. It's not just Hostgator that would have the red flag flying for that - and rightly so.

Hostgator is a fine company.

Pearson
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RandyW32 15 years ago

Hostgator by far!
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- cyowell 15 years ago
  
  The only issue I had with Hostgator was them not honoring a coupon that lasted for one day when I decided to upgrade the NEXT day after purchase.
  
  Went round and round going up the food chain until I received something satisfactory(but not the full coupon discount.)
  
  They were willing to work with me and I have had no problems with the hosting at all.
  
  Wish some of my other hosts were as reliable and understood the concept of customer service!
  
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