Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Vortech Hosting Stole My Money People


Well, I guess this is just the week of crappy customer service, eh? Please let it be known that Vortech Hosting, a shady operation in Florida, is NOT the way to go if you want a web host. I'd been with Vortech for years, not because they gave outstanding service, but because it's like having a checking account. It's just really really hard to extract yourself from a situation that requires all sorts of moving this from here to there, whether it's money or web pages. Over the years I've had a few particularly nightmarish experiences with Vortech but at least on those occasions I was eventually able to get a human on the phone to help.

However, the last FIFTEEN times I called to get them to help me resolve some serious issues I did not receive a call back or even an email back. This despite the fact they brag that they have "24/7" Live Support. That was hardly my experience.

In most cases, I have to have a really, really, really bad experience or string of experiences to walk away-- this has been true in my marriages and in my business interactions. In the former, that's foolish tenacity talking. In the latter, well it's a cross between laziness and foolish hope that things will get better.

Last month, my amazing, kick ass, genius web guy, Michael, moved ALL of my many web sites for me to a much much better hosting service-- DreamHost-- which came recommended by a lot of folks. I wrote to Vortech and told them to cancel my account. They informed me that I'd have to keep on paying through the end of August. I informed them this was not okay. They said it was in my customer agreement. I pointed out that, while that might be true, they had agreed to offer 24/7 customer service and failed to provide it, making the whole agreement moot in my eyes.

And then, today, I got an email that they'd just taken more money out of my account. Okay, so now what do I do? I'll call the Better Business Bureau and file a report. What else? It so chaps my ass when people give super crappy service AND then don't do anything to fix things. My request to cancel the account wasn't at all unreasonable. And these chumps are screwing me.

Not good.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should still be able to have your bank reverse those charges...

BBB is kind of a scam in it's own right. As far as I can tell, they're there to get money from people in return for a plaque on the wall. Yes, they log complaints, but they don't ever check on the legitimacy of the claim or do anything about it.

Anonymous said...

let them suffer the New Jersian wrath of Spike!

of course, when it's about money, they contact you. when it's about service, well, they service you... if you consider a no-lube reaming as service.

Anonymous said...

there's your next URL to buy: SHITTYSERVICE.COM, complete with google maps, gps, etc.

that is, actual ratings people can access on the fly.

Anonymous said...

I had a similar experience.
After poor performance and abusive responses to requests for assistance, I told them not to renew my annual account.
A week later they charged it to my credit card anyway.
They refuse to refund it and have blocked access to my accounts.
Jeff Davies
j@jduk.com

Anonymous said...

Been a vortech customer for years.
It's impossible to get away it seems. They are rude, unhelpful and the service itself is unreliable (all of my sites as well as their own are currently down!).
Stay AWAY....stay FAR AWAY!