Billing system is absurd.

[HongKong]

Ok,

I've been gone on vacation for 10 or so days and apparently the credit card I was using for payment of my service is no longer valid.

My domains were suspended ( this is after *only* 10 days, I've been a customer for a long time ).

So, not being back onsite, I want to enter a new credit card and due to being offsite I don't have the password available that I need for the billing system. I try to retreive my password and find that er, I can't have it emailed because all my domains have been suspended !! (and so can't check my email for the password !?).

How completely f$#king absurd and pointless and after only 10 days that is equally ridiculous.

I've been recommending this guys service for quiet a while now, mainly because using the control panel and configuration system has been pretty damn painless. However....

Now that I've experienced first hand the utterly sh#t customer service from this guy I'm 100% going to let my peers know that I would completely avoid this service. It's not worth it.

Currently deciding to move to a new service, looking at ipower.com, any other recommendations would be welcome.

I'm very pissed off right now. So silly.

[ChrisTech]

So you want Dathorn to provide free service for those who are more than 10 days late on their bills?

That sounds absurd to me.

Try emailng support@dathorn.com about your forgotten/lost password.

Also, having your password on your account with any host is not a good idea incase of problems you would not be able to access it. A free webmail account (yahoo/hotmail/gmail/ect) would be good for that (I use gmx.net) or your ISP's email that they provided.

I wish you well with your new host. Hopefully their billing policies are more to your liking.

[openbox]

Did you bother to submit a trouble ticket, or did you just decide to bitch here? Complaining in the forums will do no good for anyone.

-------edit-------
Not making assumptions, but I'd be interested in knowing if this person is truly a customer. Seems awfully strange to be a first-time poster complaining of issues...especially after the numerous threads started by w3it recently. Again, not pointing fingers at anyone...very well could be an interesting coincidence.

[HongKong]

Did you bother to submit a trouble ticket, or did you just decide to bitch here? Complaining in the forums will do no good for anyone.

-------edit-------
Not making assumptions, but I'd be interested in knowing if this person is truly a customer. Seems awfully strange to be a first-time poster complaining of issues...especially after the numerous threads started by w3it recently. Again, not pointing fingers at anyone...very well could be an interesting coincidence.

Actually, I'm a real customer. I managed to track my billing password down and enter a valid credit card.

As for ChrisTech, I don't want free service, if I pay for the service is not free. What I would like is a grace period inline with commonly accepted time frames.

Ofcourse with all my domains disabled, including the master account, I'm still looking into actually submitting a trouble ticket.

The price is great, but, moments like these only justify paying the higher price for a dedicated server of dedicated vserver.

[openbox]

Actually, I'm a real customer. I managed to track my billing password down and enter a valid credit card.

Fair enough. I hope you understand why I made the statement.

Ofcourse with all my domains disabled, including the master account, I'm still looking into actually submitting a trouble ticket.

Your accounts being suspended really shouldn't have anything to do with submitting a trouble ticket.

[thewave]

I'm not a member of the Dathorn cheerleading squad, but I probably would have shut you down after 3 days, not 10.

This was 100% your fault, not the billing system or anything else.

[HongKong]

Fair enough. I hope you understand why I made the statement.Your accounts being suspended really shouldn't have anything to do with submitting a trouble ticket.

Weird, I was just able to submit a trouble ticket (2 of them). Hopefully this will get resolved soon

Regardless, I'm left with sour taste in my mouth. Customer service really is king on these things. I've had no issues dathorn until the 2 issues in the last week I've had, but they were enough for me to start looking for friendly alternatives (and perhaps I just need more control hence perhaps dedicated server).

[HongKong]

I'm not a member of the Dathorn cheerleading squad, but I probably would have shut you down after 3 days, not 10.

This was 100% your fault, not the billing system or anything else.

The billing details not being correct indeed was my problem. However, it's a huge problem for any business that will close someone down after 3 days or 10 days.

If I was a new customer and my billing was not updated, sure, but closing down someone in such a short period of time is believe it or not, bad for business. Most businesses thrive on recurring revenue, to lose that revenue for the sake of a 3 or 10 or 15 day discrepency is stupid.

I have many recurring accounts that I've had for years. Once in a while, I'll change credit cards or numbers and something will get lost in the shuffle. The way I'm treated during those periods is very important. Ultimately the great customer service I've received from those vendors that give a sh#$ has kept me upgrading the services I've purchased.

[AndrewT]

See section 4 of our terms of service that you agreed to upon signing up.

Payments and Fees: Credit cards that are declined for any reason are subject to a $1.00 declination fee. Service will be interrupted on accounts that reach 10 days past due. Service interrupted for nonpayment is subject to a $10.00 reconnect charge. Accounts not paid by due date are subject to a $5.00 late fee. Accounts that are not collectable by DIS may be turned over to an outside collection agency for collection. If your account is turned over for collection, you agree to pay the company a "Processing and Collection" Fee of not less than $20 nor more than $150. If you desire to cancel your account, please follow the proper procedure to do this as outlined in this TOS.

Our policy is very clear on this matter and our billing system sends 6-8 e-mails informing you of overdue invoices. If you fail to correct this within the time allotted then obviously actions will be taken. Even if you contact us and notify us of possible problems with paying within the 10 days we will work with you and not suspend the account unless it becomes a monthly ordeal.

[ChrisTech]

The price is great, but, moments like these only justify paying the higher price for a dedicated server of dedicated vserver.

Good luck, most dedicated providers give you 5 business days or less if your CC is denied and usually format and put your machine back out for sale after 10 days.

I hadn't realized that Dathorn was that lenient with late payments. Yet another plus for Dathorn!

[Buddha]

HongKong, it sounds like the timing suck for a vacation. Can't think of a worse way to kill a vacation. You have my condolances.

This discussion could happen at a better time, my credit card is up this month and I'm still waiting for the replacement. Contacted the card's customer support and everything seems good this month. Maybe I'll switch to Discover if that darn card doesn't show up soon, get that cash back bonus. Hmm need to see if Discover is even accepted at Dathorn and the others hosts? Glade this only happens every 4 or 5 years!

10 day grace period sounds more than enough to me. Now, what about my other hosts? Ok there's a scary thought! :-s

[AndrewT]

Hmm need to see if Discover is even accepted at Dathorn and the others hosts?

We do accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.

[Pedja]

I am used to have problems with credit card payments. Dathorn automatic charge does not work with my card quite often. Each time I contacted Dathorn and noticed them that I have problems. They were always friendly in a "take it easy" maner and they waited for me to try to resolve problem with my bank. Well, I was never 10 days late, so I do not know what would happen then.

It is ok to suspend cpanel accounts for late payments. However, if Dathorn account is suspended too, that is an issue, since this means loosing the only proper mean to contact support and billing department.

One should be always aware of this: you never use contact email for DAthorn account which is also hosted by Dathon, and on that same account. If some service is malfunctional or suspended, you will be cut off and not be able to receive any notification from Dathorn. This is not Dathorn to blame, this is how stuff works.

[Buddha]

I got my new credit card ... finally ... and I'm in the process of updating all my hosts. Dathorn was first and took a whole 9 minutes! This included the trouble ticket to confirm the process. None of my other hosts will even come close to this because none of them respond that fast to a trouble tickets. The last host took 3 hours just to respond to the trouble ticket then issued a new bill through 2Checkout. Glad I didn't just use the link in the billing statement

I've have come to one conclusion so far ... I should always submit my trouble tickets under "billing." Seems to get a faster response from these slow pokes.

[Elite]

So, not being back onsite, I want to enter a new credit card and due to being offsite I don't have the password available that I need for the billing system. I try to retreive my password and find that er, I can't have it emailed because all my domains have been suspended !! (and so can't check my email for the password !?).

I learnt this the hard way with another host - Don't have your contact email hosted on that hosts server!