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HostSlick is not doing too well these days.. Extorting $4 cancelation fees with collection agencies.
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HostSlick is not doing too well these days.. Extorting $4 cancelation fees with collection agencies.

stefemanstefeman Member
edited February 2021 in Providers

Friday drama time..

Old story short, forgot to cancel my old shared hosting with them as all of their emails go to gmail spam folder for some reason, I finally found out that my old honeypot shared hosting plan which has not had a website behind it in ages (even the domain is expired) is apparently running 1 month overdue.

So I login to client panel, and file immediate cancelation request. (Yes, Im about 1 month late).

But since there's not really anything running for more than 6 months using any resources, I figured its not too much of a problem. How wrong I was..

Okay, sure.. Maybe it was an unforgivable sin after all to not cancel it in time.

4,92 USD for late cancelation and you threaten me with collection agency? At this point I'm thinking between, "Fuck it, fuck all these providers that do not operate with pre-paid model" and "Whatever, its just 4 USD, at least its better than having the provider sell all my info to some collection agency.".

So beware buyers, while its an excellent provider in terms of stability, its even worse than https://living-bots.net/ when it comes to their billing practices.

I hope this 4 USD is worth all the work for them. Also, bad publicity is good publicity too right?

TL:DR I'm in wrong for sure, but their billing practices are dogshit. How many of you would actually choose the collection agency way when it comes to under $5 price and when the customer forgot to cancel a service that has not had an active domain use any resources since June 2020.

For the record, I have paid it now as "kindly requested", and I will certainly leave a bad review in addition of this thread.

Now the only thing Im still thinking after posting this thread is, if they will abuse FraudRecord for revenge and list me there next for making a bad review. That would be interesting for sure. They seem to have previous history of such practice after round of asking around.

Proof of payment: https://i.imgur.com/I7v4l03.png

Thanked by 2JasonM Ticaga
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Comments

  • I saw this after you commented in my review thread about posting your story in a bit. Wow, it's wild, these providers are getting so heavy handed! I'm not really sure what they hope to accomplish with this approach. It just seems to make sense all around to assume that it was a mistake on the customer's end - as you said it went into spam, and it wasn't a huge amount.

    I have a Hetzner server and I regularly pay that one late cause they don't support Paypal autopay. I've never gotten any any weird emails about it or additional fees. You can see that Hetzner is a big hit on this site and others because their customer service is really cool and friendly, and that goes a long way!

    Is that really a thing where you can be retaliated against in FraudRecord? Now I'm nervous for posting my review :/ I've never had any issues with other providers up until now and never got stuck in any fraud check stuff.

    Thanked by 1JasonM
  • @buzzyLET said:
    Is that really a thing where you can be retaliated against in FraudRecord? Now I'm nervous for posting my review :/ I've never had any issues with other providers up until now and never got stuck in any fraud check stuff.

    Yes, its actually quite common nowadays. Especially if you make a thread like this.

    Thanked by 1JasonM
  • @stefeman said:

    @buzzyLET said:
    Is that really a thing where you can be retaliated against in FraudRecord? Now I'm nervous for posting my review :/ I've never had any issues with other providers up until now and never got stuck in any fraud check stuff.

    Yes, its actually quite common nowadays. Especially if you make a thread like this.

    Is there any recourse to that? If you get flagged in FraudRecord can you get manually verified when trying to go with a new provider? I know providers need something like that to deal with getting scammed themselves but that's worrisome if it's really being used in that way, especially as in your review and mine there's nothing like chargebacks etc, you paid and I'm not going to demand a refund in my case or anything.

  • stefemanstefeman Member
    edited February 2021

    @buzzyLET said:

    @stefeman said:

    @buzzyLET said:
    Is that really a thing where you can be retaliated against in FraudRecord? Now I'm nervous for posting my review :/ I've never had any issues with other providers up until now and never got stuck in any fraud check stuff.

    Yes, its actually quite common nowadays. Especially if you make a thread like this.

    Is there any recourse to that? If you get flagged in FraudRecord can you get manually verified when trying to go with a new provider? I know providers need something like that to deal with getting scammed themselves but that's worrisome if it's really being used in that way, especially as in your review and mine there's nothing like chargebacks etc, you paid and I'm not going to demand a refund in my case or anything.

    FraudRecord is an excellent tool for the provider to ruin the customer reputation back if the customer ruined the provider reputation, so no. If you are in FraudRecord most hosts wont risk it with you and straight off will deny your order. The worst thing is that its all automated and they likely won't even open the report for individual users since the risk score alone is enough to deny you no matter the reason or cause of that report.

    Ofc the normal usage of the tool is to avoid abusive customers, and you should be able to appeal any record but these appeals rarely work.

  • @stefeman said:

    @buzzyLET said:

    @stefeman said:

    @buzzyLET said:
    Is that really a thing where you can be retaliated against in FraudRecord? Now I'm nervous for posting my review :/ I've never had any issues with other providers up until now and never got stuck in any fraud check stuff.

    Yes, its actually quite common nowadays. Especially if you make a thread like this.

    Is there any recourse to that? If you get flagged in FraudRecord can you get manually verified when trying to go with a new provider? I know providers need something like that to deal with getting scammed themselves but that's worrisome if it's really being used in that way, especially as in your review and mine there's nothing like chargebacks etc, you paid and I'm not going to demand a refund in my case or anything.

    FraudRecord is an excellent tool for the provider to ruin the customer reputation back if the customer ruined the provider reputation, so no. If you are in FraudRecord most hosts wont risk it with you and straight off will deny your order. The worst thing is that its all automated and they likely won't even open the report for individual users since the risk score alone is enough to deny you no matter the reason or cause of that report.

    Ofc the normal usage of the tool is to avoid abusive customers, and you should be able to appeal any record but these appeals rarely work.

    Can you find out if you're in the database? An abusive customer for sure is different from a customer who made an honest mistake, or the provider making a mistake and making it the customer's problem, and has a bad review about how the host handled it. It seems like the appeal process should be able to make that distinction for sure.

  • You'll know when ur orders start to get marked as fraud lol

  • marvelmarvel Member
    edited February 2021

    @stefeman said:

    @buzzyLET said:

    @stefeman said:

    @buzzyLET said:
    Is that really a thing where you can be retaliated against in FraudRecord? Now I'm nervous for posting my review :/ I've never had any issues with other providers up until now and never got stuck in any fraud check stuff.

    Yes, its actually quite common nowadays. Especially if you make a thread like this.

    Is there any recourse to that? If you get flagged in FraudRecord can you get manually verified when trying to go with a new provider? I know providers need something like that to deal with getting scammed themselves but that's worrisome if it's really being used in that way, especially as in your review and mine there's nothing like chargebacks etc, you paid and I'm not going to demand a refund in my case or anything.

    FraudRecord is an excellent tool for the provider to ruin the customer reputation back if the customer ruined the provider reputation, so no. If you are in FraudRecord most hosts wont risk it with you and straight off will deny your order. The worst thing is that its all automated and they likely won't even open the report for individual users since the risk score alone is enough to deny you no matter the reason or cause of that report.

    Ofc the normal usage of the tool is to avoid abusive customers, and you should be able to appeal any record but these appeals rarely work.

    Not entirely true, I do run Maxmind for automated fraud checks. When I'm in doubt I run Fraudrecord manually but it's not like hey, you're in there so I won't host you period. Especially if it's only one provider who added you plus it depends on which provider it is and the nature of the report.

    The only reason where I wouldn't host is if there's multiple reports for chargebacks, ddos/hacking, staff abuse etc. from different providers and name, email etc. all matches.

    So it pretty much has to be a closed case.

    Thanked by 1Ticaga
  • Are they passing PayPal gateway fees on you? If yes, report that to PayPal and they are in big trouble. PayPal does not allow to pass gateway fees on customers and openly advertise it.

  • @LTniger said:
    Are they passing PayPal gateway fees on you? If yes, report that to PayPal and they are in big trouble. PayPal does not allow to pass gateway fees on customers and openly advertise it.

    Many does and most providers that do this are big ones. But without explicitly stating.

  • @stefeman

    Although I sympathize with your situation, HostSlick require one to explicitly cancel a service at least 7 days in advance. (Which is very generous compared to netcup!)

    I see that you paid the less-than-$5 bill, which was the right decision, in my view.

    Just take this to be a learning experience.

    and I will certainly leave a bad review in addition of this thread.

    Personally, I would skip the bad review. They were simply acting in accordance with the rules that they set out.

  • LeviLevi Member
    edited February 2021

    @cazrz said: But without explicitly stating.

    This calls "Surcharge fee" and it is against section in PayPal agreement:

    "No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions"

    Source: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#standard-transaction-fees

  • stefemanstefeman Member
    edited February 2021

    @angstrom said:
    @stefeman

    Although I sympathize with your situation, HostSlick require one to explicitly cancel a service at least 7 days in advance. (Which is very generous compared to netcup!)

    I see that you paid the less-than-$5 bill, which was the right decision, in my view.

    Just take this to be a learning experience.

    and I will certainly leave a bad review in addition of this thread.

    Personally, I would skip the bad review. They were simply acting in accordance with the rules that they set out.

    the contract I agreed to was 1 year and thats what I paid for. They extended it themselves as there was nothing sort of "recurring" when ordering it especially when I chose fixed time one off payment, but that's irrelevant.

    they continued one off payment by themselves, they bill me 5 USD based on which table sheet rules? None of that are found in their ToS. There's also no evidence of "cancelation fee" existing, and if it's "Late payment for renewal", that's wrong too as I did not continue the existing plan but I filed immediate cancelation as requested by the previous email, not to mention their smtp provider is so shit its marked spam by gmail.

    If the contract time runs out, normal provider would terminate it (especially if theres nothing running in it, and even more so if the domain no longer exists), but this one doesn't, and applies lunatic fees based on non-existing rules.

    Thats why I complain.

    Whats relevant is that they are willing to go so far for 4.92 USD that they will sell you out to collection agencies. it tells a lot about the financial situation of that host and their priorities.

  • HostSlickHostSlick Member, Patron Provider
    edited February 2021

    The 5USD will be refunded.

    @Stefan You can check for our response.

    Please note this is is bug of some custom coded plug in. This emails are all automated.

    After cancellation too late, the late fee will stay but should be cancelled which is not the case.

    So we cancel such invoices manually. (bug)

    We don't Hand any details to collection // our lawyers under 100€/m worth as would not be worth it for us.

    Thanks for understanding.

  • That line about the collection agency is likely just part of a template response, I've had it threatened over $1 from different companies (Which I paid, of course)

    Just take the L. Own your mistake, pay the price and remember to be more careful about cancellations in future. Every company has different cancellation policies (Either from culture like with German hosts or simply the opinion of whoever runs it) and thats something you should recognise and check before purchasing.

    A bad review that prefaces with "I accidentally let my service lapse by a month" doesnt seem like the kind I would pay any attention to. The provider did nothing wrong, upholding their policies that were laid down, they just failed to understand your situation and offer you a favour. The same would happen at a lot of other places and thats life.

    Thanked by 1angstrom
  • All's well that ends well.

    Thanked by 1Erisa
  • Damn I got sniped by the provider, lol

    Thanked by 2angstrom dosai
  • HostSlickHostSlick Member, Patron Provider

    Plus he has not to to fear any Fraudrecord entry.

    He is and will stay clean. :sunglasses:

    Thanked by 1Erisa
  • stefemanstefeman Member
    edited February 2021

    @Erisa said:
    That line about the collection agency is likely just part of a template response, I've had it threatened over $1 from different companies (Which I paid, of course)

    Just take the L. Own your mistake, pay the price and remember to be more careful about cancellations in future. Every company has different cancellation policies (Either from culture like with German hosts or simply the opinion of whoever runs it) and thats something you should recognise and check before purchasing.

    A bad review that prefaces with "I accidentally let my service lapse by a month" doesnt seem like the kind I would pay any attention to. The provider did nothing wrong, upholding their policies that were laid down, they just failed to understand your situation and offer you a favor. The same would happen at a lot of other places and thats life.

    Correct, I was too arrogant to believe that my experience with OVH/NFO would apply to every provider out there, where single payment equals corresponding amount of service and no requirement of continuation or autogenerated invoices. I was simply pissed off about the heavy handed debt collection message, which by the way did not look automatic given that it had valid signature of specific support agent and started with "I checked your account and.." above the cut text.

    Regardless, I'm surprised this ended like this. The refund was un-needed considering I never requested it and still called the provider out for the collection agency message.

    Clearly HostSlick is far more generous than my thread lets out, so maybe some mod could edit the thread title to something along the lines of: "Misunderstanding, user forgot to cancel in time." As the current title does no justice for the host after what they responded.

    Thanked by 1Erisa
  • yoursunnyyoursunny Member, IPv6 Advocate

    @HostSlick said:
    Please note this is is bug of some custom coded plug in. This emails are all automated.

    After cancellation too late, the late fee will stay but should be cancelled which is not the case.

    So we cancel such invoices manually. (bug)

    The buggy code has been there for a long time.

    I had a service ending 2020-12-12, submitted cancellation two months before renewal date, but the system still generated invoice and then added late fee.
    (Strangely, there wasn't an email regarding canceling, but WHMCS shows the cancellation.)
    I had to open a ticket to get this invoice canceled.

    Now, how many customers felt intimidated by these emails and paid such buggy invoices?

  • glad i just paid only for 1 month and then moved away o:)

  • Such a cute happy ending, hopefully they can fix the bug so this won't happen to anyone else

  • @LTniger said:

    @cazrz said: But without explicitly stating.

    This calls "Surcharge fee" and it is against section in PayPal agreement:

    "No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions"

    Source: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#standard-transaction-fees

    like this?
    https://support.gcorelabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003758909-Payment-methods

  • TheLinuxBugTheLinuxBug Member
    edited February 2021

    @stefeman said: all of their emails go to gmail spam folder for some reason

    You must be new to using Gmail, huh, or not know their new spam filtering policies at all?

    Working in support day in and day out, you come to understand that Gmail doesn't give a fuck about you if your not using Gmail. If you send someone on Gmail two e-mails from a non-gmail account and they mark both as spam, now every e-mail from that person to any Gmail user will be sent to their spam box. Similarly, if you are on a large shared e-mail server and someone on the server ends up sending spam and gets reported by several people on Gmail at the same time, it will both start sorting the sending IP AND the e-mail address sent from into the spam box.

    People on Gmail always assume it's the senders issue when something goes to spam, but it isn't, the users are what create that by willy-nilly smashing that spam button on stuff that isn't actually spam, just an e-mail they didn't want.

    The likelyhood that someone did that on Gmail to Hostslick's invoices / notices several times without thinking twice is 100% and is most likely why their mails are now in your spam box. If you want that fixed, report it to Gmail, they are the only ones that can fix it, the sender has no control.

    TL;DR: If you use Gmail, ALWAYS check your spam folder.

    my 2 cents.

    Cheers!

  • @TheLinuxBug said: You must be new to using Gmail, huh, or not know their new spam filtering policies at all?

    probably as new to gmail as he is new around here. simply did not have the chance yet to be aware of providers having different subscription models and cancellation policies or collection agencies being a thing... oh, wait.

    Thanked by 1skorous
  • @cazrz said:

    @LTniger said:

    @cazrz said: But without explicitly stating.

    This calls "Surcharge fee" and it is against section in PayPal agreement:

    "No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions"

    Source: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#standard-transaction-fees

    like this?
    https://support.gcorelabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003758909-Payment-methods

    Yes. If paypal will caught them, they could loose account.

  • @LTniger said:

    @cazrz said: But without explicitly stating.

    This calls "Surcharge fee" and it is against section in PayPal agreement:

    "No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions"

    Source: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#standard-transaction-fees

    The invoice is fucking posted above. It's 0 for PayPal fees and $5 for late fee that would apply to any payment method. Why are you intentionally being obtuse, again?

    Thanked by 1yoursunny
  • I miss the days when men would take care of their debts and not whine like a little bitch (extortion? Extortion?! Extortion?!?!) over $5.

    Thanked by 2Erisa skorous
  • So many folks signing up for services. Forgetting they ever signed up for said services. Assuming/expecting the provider needs to send them reminders they're paying for services with them they may not be utilizing, daily? Weekly? Monthly?

    Cancel services you aren't using and avoid this situation entirely? Crazy.

  • yoursunnyyoursunny Member, IPv6 Advocate

    @TimboJones said:
    The invoice is fucking posted above. It's 0 for PayPal fees and $5 for late fee that would apply to any payment method. Why are you intentionally being obtuse, again?

    What if a merchant adds a "minus $0.50" gateway fee for a non-PayPal payment method?

    Thanked by 1lentro
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