I ordered web hosting from Hostsave for some sites. They bill in advance 3 months at a time. I later decided I no longer needed those sites, so I advised them via their web site to cancel my accounts. I did not expect a refund, just no more billing since I no longer needed their service.
As others have reported, their hosting is spotty at best. The only thing they do well is bill accounts indefinitely. They are difficult to reach on the phone and respond sporadically to emails.
I thought my accounts were closed until months later when more charges appeared on my credit card bill. I emailed Hostsave with the billing info (including transaction number and date) and asked them what web site (domain name) the charge was for. If you have multiple sites with them, you have to login to each account separately, so when you are billed it is a problem figuring out which account the charge is for.
They replied asking me what domain name I was referring to, i.E. The same thing I was asking them! We went back & forth with no further info coming from them. So I disputed the charges since they were for service long after I had cancelled.
A chargeback is the only thing that gets their attention. They sent a long letter full of errors to my credit card company. They repeatedly said the charges were "non-refundable" I was not seeking a refund, just reversal of charges made well beyond the cancellation date.
They also included a lot of documentation proving I had signed up for the account. Well, duh. I never disputed that, nor did I dispute any charges before I cancelled. They claimed my site (at least in the letter they provided the domain name) was still active. I tried several times to bring it up & got standard errors for a nonexistent site.
They also used the fact that the domain name was still registered for a few more months as some sort of proof that I hadn't cancelled. Well, anyone who's ever registered a domain name should know that the registration is for a full year or longer. Of course there were a few months left, but that doesn't require me to pay for hosting if I'm not going to use the domain! The domain was registered thru a different company, BTW.
My main purpose of writing this is to warn others to avoid Hostsave. I believe my letter to my credit card company will resolve this, and Hostsave has finally stopped adding new charges. I would not do business with a company who will only stop billing when the credit card company intervenes. Even if you want to keep your site forever, their hosting service has a poor rating.
Chris
St. Petersburg, Florida
U.S.A.
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