CyberClick
Top Contributor
Hello everyone,
I have a few domains and hosting with ZipHosting (NetRegistry) and have recently experienced an issue I believe worth warning others about.
The issue started with ZipHosting taking it upon themselves to opt me in for auto-renewal of website hosting. I used this account as email for a number of years but no longer needed or used it. The website was hosted elsewhere, but ZipHosting sent me a $70 bill for 12 months hosting.
When I disputed the bill, they offered to settle the dispute if I paid $23.49 within 7 days. I responded giving them some options: either remove the bill or if not, I'll happily pay the $23.49 and warn others about the practice. They opted for me paying the $23.49, which is fine.
Fast forward 6 days.
ZipHosting sends me an email advising that they have terminated my account due to non payment of the above. The email also includes a number of threats re debt collections and nominates Dunn and Bradstreet. Typical bully tactics.
I log in to pay the $23.49 (as agreed) but they've locked the invoice amount at $70 and I can't change it. I'm unable to pay the agreed amount.
For those interested, please find the correspondance below:
6/6/2013 [ME]
Koji,
Thank you for your email.
I'd be very surprised if automatically opting your customers into services without their consent is regarded as good business practice. In fact, I expect ASIC, Fair Trading and the telecommunications ombudsman would be particularly concerned with such a practice.
Regardless of any caveats or small print you may have on a webpage somewhere - I didn't choose to renew the hosting; you did. This is a fact. You renewed it, why would you expect me to pay for it?
As a sign of good faith, please find my counter-offer below:
1. You cancel any and all claims you have and delete any and all referrals or claims of any and all outstanding amounts or default notices to any and all 3rd parties immediately.
2. You cancel all auto-renewals you have placed on my domains and hosting. This should be opt-in only.
3. You apologise for the inconvieniance and stress caused .
If you do not agree to the above terms, I'll will:
1. Happily pay you the $23.49 you are wrongfully claiming
2. Gradually shift the domains/hosting I own and/or control on behalf of clients away from ZipHosting and NetRegistry.
3. Post a warning regarding this incident and ZipHosting's practice of auto-renewing without consent at on domaining and web development forums I participate in
4. PM collegues and partners a warning regarding this incident and ZipHosting's practice of auto-renewing without consent
4. File a formal complaint regarding this incident and the practice of auto-renewing services without customer consent to the telecommunications ombudsman.
Please let me know which way you'd like to proceed within 24 hours. If I don't hear from you within this time I will assume you've elected option 2.
Thank you,
Troy
7/6/2013 [ZIPHOSTING]
12/6/2013 - 1:36pm [ZIPHOSTING]
I have a few domains and hosting with ZipHosting (NetRegistry) and have recently experienced an issue I believe worth warning others about.
The issue started with ZipHosting taking it upon themselves to opt me in for auto-renewal of website hosting. I used this account as email for a number of years but no longer needed or used it. The website was hosted elsewhere, but ZipHosting sent me a $70 bill for 12 months hosting.
When I disputed the bill, they offered to settle the dispute if I paid $23.49 within 7 days. I responded giving them some options: either remove the bill or if not, I'll happily pay the $23.49 and warn others about the practice. They opted for me paying the $23.49, which is fine.
Fast forward 6 days.
ZipHosting sends me an email advising that they have terminated my account due to non payment of the above. The email also includes a number of threats re debt collections and nominates Dunn and Bradstreet. Typical bully tactics.
I log in to pay the $23.49 (as agreed) but they've locked the invoice amount at $70 and I can't change it. I'm unable to pay the agreed amount.
For those interested, please find the correspondance below:
6/6/2013 [ZIPHOSTING]
Good Afternoon,
Please note that since your -----------.net.au cancellation request was submitted more than 30 days after the renewal of the Economy Hosting subscription service, there is an outstanding invoice --------- for the amount of $60.95 on your account.
As a sign of good-faith, if received within 7 days of this email, we will accept $23.49 as full and final payment of the outstanding amount.
Please notify us via reply email once you have made the payment so that I can organise to have the remainder credited off. If this amount is not received within the advised time frame, then full payment will be required. Partial payments can only be made by credit card via The Console or via cheque payment.
Kind Regards,
Koji Quitevis
Ziphosting Customer Support Team
Good Afternoon,
Please note that since your -----------.net.au cancellation request was submitted more than 30 days after the renewal of the Economy Hosting subscription service, there is an outstanding invoice --------- for the amount of $60.95 on your account.
As a sign of good-faith, if received within 7 days of this email, we will accept $23.49 as full and final payment of the outstanding amount.
Please notify us via reply email once you have made the payment so that I can organise to have the remainder credited off. If this amount is not received within the advised time frame, then full payment will be required. Partial payments can only be made by credit card via The Console or via cheque payment.
Kind Regards,
Koji Quitevis
Ziphosting Customer Support Team
6/6/2013 [ME]
Koji,
Thank you for your email.
I'd be very surprised if automatically opting your customers into services without their consent is regarded as good business practice. In fact, I expect ASIC, Fair Trading and the telecommunications ombudsman would be particularly concerned with such a practice.
Regardless of any caveats or small print you may have on a webpage somewhere - I didn't choose to renew the hosting; you did. This is a fact. You renewed it, why would you expect me to pay for it?
As a sign of good faith, please find my counter-offer below:
1. You cancel any and all claims you have and delete any and all referrals or claims of any and all outstanding amounts or default notices to any and all 3rd parties immediately.
2. You cancel all auto-renewals you have placed on my domains and hosting. This should be opt-in only.
3. You apologise for the inconvieniance and stress caused .
If you do not agree to the above terms, I'll will:
1. Happily pay you the $23.49 you are wrongfully claiming
2. Gradually shift the domains/hosting I own and/or control on behalf of clients away from ZipHosting and NetRegistry.
3. Post a warning regarding this incident and ZipHosting's practice of auto-renewing without consent at on domaining and web development forums I participate in
4. PM collegues and partners a warning regarding this incident and ZipHosting's practice of auto-renewing without consent
4. File a formal complaint regarding this incident and the practice of auto-renewing services without customer consent to the telecommunications ombudsman.
Please let me know which way you'd like to proceed within 24 hours. If I don't hear from you within this time I will assume you've elected option 2.
Thank you,
Troy
7/6/2013 [ZIPHOSTING]
Hi Troy,
We apologise for the inconvenience and I'm glad to assist you.
All the services that we provide are automatically renewed on the scheduled service renewal date. If the service is no longer required, an online cancellation request must be submitted prior to the scheduled service renewal date.
Before the service was renewed, an email was sent to the email address ------------ on 18/03/2013 regarding the automatic renewal of the service on the ---------.net.au domain on 18/04/2013. This email has instructions on how to cancel the service with as cancellations submitted after the denoted renewal dates are not eligible for credits or refunds but no online cancellation request was submitted between 18/03/2013 and 18/04/2013. You may confirm the details of the email once you see the Notification History page.
Account Notifications
http://support.ziphosting.com.au/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=230
Since there was no online cancellation request submitted prior to the renewal of the service, the service was renewed and the invoice number -------- was generated. The online cancellation request was submitted on 04/06/2013.
As per terms and conditions, services are required to be cancelled prior to renewal, for cancellations submitted after the scheduled date of renewal there are no credits and no refunds.
http://www.ziphosting.com.au/info/term-conditions/
The invoice became valid and must be settled. On 06/06/2013, a settlement offer of $23.49 was provided for the invoice number -------- a sign of good faith. If this amount is received within 7 days from the time it was offered, the amount will be accepted as full and final payment of the outstanding amount. Otherwise, the full payment will be required.
Regarding your requests, unfortunately we are not able to process it as all the service is automatically renewed on the scheduled renewal date. If you do not wish for them to be renewed on the scheduled renewal date, the online cancellation request must be submitted before the scheduled date and select allow the service to expire. By doing this, the service will be automatically cancelled before the renewal date comes.
If you have enquiries, feel free to contact us.
Kind Regards,
Brian Roy Gorza
Ziphosting Customer Support Team
We apologise for the inconvenience and I'm glad to assist you.
All the services that we provide are automatically renewed on the scheduled service renewal date. If the service is no longer required, an online cancellation request must be submitted prior to the scheduled service renewal date.
Before the service was renewed, an email was sent to the email address ------------ on 18/03/2013 regarding the automatic renewal of the service on the ---------.net.au domain on 18/04/2013. This email has instructions on how to cancel the service with as cancellations submitted after the denoted renewal dates are not eligible for credits or refunds but no online cancellation request was submitted between 18/03/2013 and 18/04/2013. You may confirm the details of the email once you see the Notification History page.
Account Notifications
http://support.ziphosting.com.au/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=230
Since there was no online cancellation request submitted prior to the renewal of the service, the service was renewed and the invoice number -------- was generated. The online cancellation request was submitted on 04/06/2013.
As per terms and conditions, services are required to be cancelled prior to renewal, for cancellations submitted after the scheduled date of renewal there are no credits and no refunds.
http://www.ziphosting.com.au/info/term-conditions/
The invoice became valid and must be settled. On 06/06/2013, a settlement offer of $23.49 was provided for the invoice number -------- a sign of good faith. If this amount is received within 7 days from the time it was offered, the amount will be accepted as full and final payment of the outstanding amount. Otherwise, the full payment will be required.
Regarding your requests, unfortunately we are not able to process it as all the service is automatically renewed on the scheduled renewal date. If you do not wish for them to be renewed on the scheduled renewal date, the online cancellation request must be submitted before the scheduled date and select allow the service to expire. By doing this, the service will be automatically cancelled before the renewal date comes.
If you have enquiries, feel free to contact us.
Kind Regards,
Brian Roy Gorza
Ziphosting Customer Support Team
12/6/2013 - 1:36pm [ZIPHOSTING]
ACCOUNT TERMINATION NOTICE
Dear Troy,
Account Reference: ----------
Customer: ----------
You currently have an outstanding invoice with Ziphosting Pty Ltd. Due to non-payment your services have now been suspended. Please settle the invoice to resume the services.
Ziphosting has used reasonable commercial efforts to notify you as to this matter, including but not limited to two (2) emails and (2) phone contacts.
Failure to pay the invoice could result in your debt being passed to our collections partner, Dun & Bradstreet.
As part of the process of handing the debt to them, your account at Ziphosting will be terminated, and all data removed from our servers. Please note that all email data deleted is non-recoverable and is permanently lost. Hosting data can be recovered for a short period after the cancellation; however this recovery incurs a fee of $150.00. If the material is non-recoverable, Ziphosting is, as per the Terms and Conditions, not liable for the loss of data.
Debt passed to our collections partner, as per the Ziphosting Terms and Conditions, will incur a collections levy which is presently calculated as 20% of the total debt value, and excludes additional court costs should the debt be pursued through the court system.
INVOICE DETAILS:
Invoice Number: ---------
Total Amount: $60.95
Outstanding Amount: $60.95
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
1. Pay by credit card online and securely, go to http://theconsole.ziphosting.com.au and login. Please do not email credit card numbers to Ziphosting.
2. Post a cheque made out to Ziphosting Pty Ltd to: P.O. Box 270, Broadway, NSW 2007. IMPORTANT: Please include your account reference and invoice #.
Note that if you have submitted a cancellation request and have received a tracking I.D. number, your service will be cancelled as instructed. However, all amounts outstanding as of the date of this email are still due and payable. You may review our Terms and Conditions at http://www.ziphosting.com.au/support/index.php?page=terms
If you have any questions, please send an email to accounts@ziphosting.com.au. Please include your account reference and details.
Once again, if you have already submitted payment, please disregard this notice.
Thank you for your consideration,
Please note: Ziphosting currently does not provide telephone support, this is how we are able to provide the cheapest prices in Australia.
E-mail support however is provided 24/7 via our support centre http://support.ziphosting.com.au/ by our customer care team in the Broadway office, Sydney NSW
Average response time for customer queries is 24 hours. Note that if you have submitted a complicated technical issue where escalation is required, the response time is proportionately increased as our staff await a response from the appropriate technical team.
Dear Troy,
Account Reference: ----------
Customer: ----------
You currently have an outstanding invoice with Ziphosting Pty Ltd. Due to non-payment your services have now been suspended. Please settle the invoice to resume the services.
Ziphosting has used reasonable commercial efforts to notify you as to this matter, including but not limited to two (2) emails and (2) phone contacts.
Failure to pay the invoice could result in your debt being passed to our collections partner, Dun & Bradstreet.
As part of the process of handing the debt to them, your account at Ziphosting will be terminated, and all data removed from our servers. Please note that all email data deleted is non-recoverable and is permanently lost. Hosting data can be recovered for a short period after the cancellation; however this recovery incurs a fee of $150.00. If the material is non-recoverable, Ziphosting is, as per the Terms and Conditions, not liable for the loss of data.
Debt passed to our collections partner, as per the Ziphosting Terms and Conditions, will incur a collections levy which is presently calculated as 20% of the total debt value, and excludes additional court costs should the debt be pursued through the court system.
INVOICE DETAILS:
Invoice Number: ---------
Total Amount: $60.95
Outstanding Amount: $60.95
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
1. Pay by credit card online and securely, go to http://theconsole.ziphosting.com.au and login. Please do not email credit card numbers to Ziphosting.
2. Post a cheque made out to Ziphosting Pty Ltd to: P.O. Box 270, Broadway, NSW 2007. IMPORTANT: Please include your account reference and invoice #.
Note that if you have submitted a cancellation request and have received a tracking I.D. number, your service will be cancelled as instructed. However, all amounts outstanding as of the date of this email are still due and payable. You may review our Terms and Conditions at http://www.ziphosting.com.au/support/index.php?page=terms
If you have any questions, please send an email to accounts@ziphosting.com.au. Please include your account reference and details.
Once again, if you have already submitted payment, please disregard this notice.
Thank you for your consideration,
Please note: Ziphosting currently does not provide telephone support, this is how we are able to provide the cheapest prices in Australia.
E-mail support however is provided 24/7 via our support centre http://support.ziphosting.com.au/ by our customer care team in the Broadway office, Sydney NSW
Average response time for customer queries is 24 hours. Note that if you have submitted a complicated technical issue where escalation is required, the response time is proportionately increased as our staff await a response from the appropriate technical team.
