Consumer Alert!
Featureprice.com is a complete RIP-OFF!
Posted 1/17/03
On January 7, I signed up for web hosting services through Feature Price. Their website presented itself as a as a professional service, however I quickly learned that the company is run by a one, or maybe TWO low-lifes who use the irresistable hosting plan packages to steal money from unsuspecting customers by QUICKLY processing the charges on their credit cards, then failing to deliver the services!
In The Beginning
I signed up for the PREMIUM hosting plan, a package that offers a HUGE amount of disk storage space and a hefty monthly traffic allowance. I guess I never learned the lesson:
"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!"
Shortly after paying $228.40 for the plan, I figured out how to use their control panel to upload the basic files. That is when I began to realize that I had been TAKEN. After signing up, I tried to upload an index page and some basic files, just to familiarize myself with the setup. They offer a "control panel" which is supposed to assist you in setting up and maintaining your website.
At first, the site was visible perhaps one out of three attempts by typing in the IPL directly 64.127.236.32
Then for a brief moment, the site could be found by typing http:// (site name).com. I received several e-mails from the company with "updates" telling me that they had registered my domain name, that this and that had occurred, and that the order was COMPLETE.
The next day, and for SEVERAL DAYS afterward, I tried to access my site by typing "www.(site name).com" with NO RESULTS. All I saw was a generic Internet browser page telling me that the site could not be found. I tried defaulting to "http:// (site name).com" and "ftp. (site name).com" with NO RESULTS. Then the site went completely down, and even the IPL 64.127.236.32 would NOT WORK!
I tried calling their sales and tech support numbers. They have a voice mail, (probably an old Phone-Mate answering machine) which answers and basically tells you that no matter WHAT time of the day or night you call, you WILL NOT be able to get through. Imagine a company that tells you that during their entire hours of business, they are experiencing high call volume, and instruct you to "call back later", before hanging up on you!
I sent a dozen faxes stating that I wanted SOMEONE to call me immediately! At first, I was seeking to solve the technical issues and get the site up and running, but it soon became clear that this was not possible, since the whole company is a SCAM. Now I am seeking a refund!
What a joke!
If they are a large corporation, then I find it interesting that their answering machine message changes several times a day. First you press "2" for technical support. Then the "2" option was removed and you are given ANOTHER number they refuse to answer. They DO NOT respond to faxes or e-mails, and they DO NOT answer their phones. Then they change the message to direct callers to a "refund website"
Their "Refund Site" Insanity
On one occasion I called and again, the phone answering message had changed. NOW they had set up a page for requesting a refund. Well, when you go to this page, it asks you for a lot of PERSONAL INFORMATION. The sad thing is, it is NOT a SECURE WEBSITE! I don't know what they were thinking when they asked me to type my credit card number and expiration, my driver's license number and expiration, and my name, address and phone number on a site that can be viewed or hacked by any 13-year-old pimple-faced computer geek! This is NOT the service of a professional company, and certainly NOT a page where I would enter such sensitive information. Besides, If they are a professional company as they claim, WHY do they need me to give them the credit card information for a refund, when that information should be in their records?!
And now it begins...
I began to play with their phone system.instead of pressing the numbers they give, I decided to start trying DIFFERENT NUMBERS.
First I dial 1-800-605-4883 and instead of pressing "1" or "3" etc., I tried entering "100" Ah! A new message! Apparently they have extensions, or they're running an answering machine that has mailboxes.
I tried extension "101", then "102" and so forth. When I got to extension "105" the voice of a teenager answered the phone, "Uh. Hello?" I told him I wanted to speak to someone with authority, and he hung up!
Bad decision!
All that did was give me a good reason to call back again. I dialed and he answered again. I said "Don't hang up on me again!". He told me that the UNsecure website would be changed to a SECURE website "in about an hour" and that I should enter my credit information again on that site to obtain a refund. When I asked him how the refund would be paid, he hung up the phone again!
FIVE HOURS LATER the site is still not secure.
Well, that's no problem. I have computers. I have set one of them to dial his toll-free numbers EVERY 60 SECONDS day and night, until I receive my refund!
I sent him ANOTHER message via his "refund request" site:
I DEMAND that someone from your company contact me IMMEDIATELY. You are really beginning to piss me off, and THAT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO!
I have called you several times, and you have HUNG UP on me. Well, okay, that's just fine. I can set my computer to call your toll-free numbers EVERY 60 SECONDS day and night for the rest of the YEAR! It doesn't matter to ME! YOU are the ones who have chosen to ignore my repeated requests for contact.
CALL ME and tell me HOW and WHEN I will receive a REFUND.
ALL of my communications with you are being forwarded to the FBI Internet Fraud division. Your company has RIPPED ME OFF and I will persist in all LEGAL attempts to recover the $228.40 you FRAUDULENTLY charged to my credit card.
This site is not secure, so I am NOT going to place sensitive information like credit card numbers and expiration dates on it.
YOU OFFER NO OTHER OPTIONS, so I will just have to make your life a living HELL until I receive my refund.
Joe Jones
Vista, CA.
It is now 5:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. That means my phone will make some 8,000 calls to their number over the weekend, and they'll be billed for EVERY ONE OF THEM. I don't care! They have to understand that if they're going to take a person's money, they'd damned well better deliver the services!
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