Unknown Charges - What can I do

averagejoe231

Hey Everyone,

I'd appreciate some help on this if possible.

Basically - I signed up with a hosting company on a special offer for £150 for one years hosting.

As far as I was concerned and told - that was the only charge I was going to face.

Then 3 months later they charged me £28.99 for a "hosting renewal package" which I had no knowledge of and was not informed of this - they just took the money.

Now i have confronted them - they say in my billing statements online that I have not paid the £150 for the years hosting (which is untrue - it came out of my bank account)

They are flat out refusing to not charge me continuously every three months. They are also refusing to refund the money they took without my permission. Each time I question them they have no idea really whats going on it seems..... One customer service agent will tell me I have been charged $3.00 ...... the other will tell me something completely different.

Is there any legal action I can take?

The hosting company is called Ipage. Could I contact the advertising standards authority regarding this? If you google online unknown charge from IPage hosting you will see this has happened to hundreds of people........ Any help would be appreciated and I can provide any info you need to help me.....

wealdroam

averagejoe231 wrote: »

Hey Everyone,

I'd appreciate some help on this if possible.

Basically - I signed up with a hosting company on a special offer for £150 for one years hosting.

As far as I was concerned and told - that was the only charge I was going to face.

Then 3 months later they charged me £28.99 for a "hosting renewal package" which I had no knowledge of and was not informed of this - they just took the money.

Now i have confronted them - they say in my billing statements online that I have not paid the £150 for the years hosting (which is untrue - it came out of my bank account)

They are flat out refusing to not charge me continuously every three months. They are also refusing to refund the money they took without my permission. Each time I question them they have no idea really whats going on it seems..... One customer service agent will tell me I have been charged $3.00 ...... the other will tell me something completely different.

Is there any legal action I can take?

The hosting company is called Ipage. Could I contact the advertising standards authority regarding this? If you google online unknown charge from IPage hosting you will see this has happened to hundreds of people........ Any help would be appreciated and I can provide any info you need to help me.....

How have you paid? By Direct Debit or Debit Card?

I think you need to start by refreshing your knowledge on the laws of Arizona.

Maybe Better Business Bureau can help.

averagejoe231

I paid by direct debit - thanks I will read through and check out the link you sent over.

CoastalWarrior

£150 for one year sounds a lot - what type of site are you hosting?

I imagine it will be a ball ache to get the funds back from a US based company. Just keep hassling them and see what happens, if not you'll have to write it off.

I'd recommend using TSO Host in future.

wealdroam

averagejoe231 wrote: »

I paid by direct debit - thanks I will read through and check out the link you sent over.

Maybe the Direct Debit Guarantee can help.

This page about Incorrect payments might also be useful.

paddyrg

I can only imagine you're renting a whole virtual server for this price - is that *really* what you need? I genuinely doubt it. As above, TSOHost may do you just fine.

averagejoe231

I'm hosting a really small blog that only receives really low levels of traffic atm. The only thing that is irritating me is that I only took the "special offer" because they offered me a 50% discount - otherwise it would have been twice as expensive. Going forwards can anyone suggest really good UK based hosting companies? So far I have TSOhost. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated Thanks for the help guys!

Tropez

averagejoe231 wrote: »

I'm hosting a really small blog that only receives really low levels of traffic atm. The only thing that is irritating me is that I only took the "special offer" because they offered me a 50% discount - otherwise it would have been twice as expensive. Going forwards can anyone suggest really good UK based hosting companies? So far I have TSOhost. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated Thanks for the help guys!

I'd second TSO Host. Been with them for years. Decent prices and fantastic customer service. Last time I raised a support ticket with them, the ticket was actioned and my issue resolved within 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, you've just missed out on a Black Friday special offer from TSO Host. Their hosting packages were half price until 5pm today. They're still not bad value, mind.

If you're only hosting a small blog, the one year 14.99 option might suit you. You can get other packages with more advanced features if needs be for reasonable prices.

arcon5

liquidsix.co.uk

paddyrg

There are probably discount links still valid in the referrers forum too. I know I posted one a while ago for TSOHost as I've been happy with them.

averagejoe231

Thanks for all your help guys