Account Suspension

[webling]

How long do you wait before suspending a hosting account for non-payment? Thirty days? Sixty days?

I typically send a notice every couple of days until they pay but haven't had to suspend any accounts yet. Although there is one close to being 30 days past due and the client hasn't even contacted me to work it out.

 

[easyhostmedia]

How long do you wait before suspending a hosting account for non-payment? Thirty days? Sixty days?

I typically send a notice every couple of days until they pay but haven't had to suspend any accounts yet. Although there is one close to being 30 days past due and the client hasn't even contacted me to work it out.

we suspend accounts after 2 days, below is our billing structure

For existing clients

An invoice will be generated and sent 14 days before the due date
A reminder will be sent 1 day before the due date
Invoice then resent on due date and then if unpaid
After 1 day a First Overdue reminder is sent.
After 2 days a Second Overdue reminder is sent.
After 2 days your account will be suspended and a 20% or £2 late fee is added to the invoice, whichever is greater.
After 3 days a Third and Final reminder is sent
After 14 Days you account will be terminated.
so basically from issue to termination you have had 28 days to pay the invoice or contact us
7 days after termination, if any invoices still remain unpaid, they will be passed onto Express Debt Collection and a £5 fee added to the invoice

If a client contacts us before the due date then we will work with the client and extend their payment period to a max. 7 days. don't forget while a client is suspended they are still taking up server resources, but not doing anything when a client is 30 days (1 month) overdue you are just asking for trouble as clients will just keep doing this as they know they can get away with it. it like giving your server away for free while you still have to pay your bills

 

[ughosting]

Pretty similar.

Bill 21 days in advance.
Remind at 7 days to go.
Whack a late fee of £1 +20% 1 day after bill due.
Suspend after 2 days
Terminate after 21 days
Kill backups after 56 days.

 

[LampNetworks]

We invoice 7 days before the due payment date if monthly billing and 14 days for all other billing cycles. An invoice payment reminder is sent 3 days before due date.

Non payments trigger:
1. First overdue reminder 1 day after due date
2. Second overdue reminder 2 days after due date
3. Third and final overdue reminder 3 days after due date (which also gives notice of points 4 & 5 below)
4. Service suspended if not paid 4 days after the due date
5. Service terminated and all backups removed from backup servers if not paid 21 days after the due date.

We have no late fees policy nor use any debt collection services.

 

[MarkPoppen]

Because we use our billing system for hosting and web design projects, our terms are a little more lenient, because web design projects are usually a little more flexible.

Invoice generation: 30 days before due date
Unpaid reminder: 14 days after due date
Overdue reminder: 30 days after due date
Second reminder: 37 days after due date
Third: 44 days
Late fees will be added after 30 days.

 

[easyhostmedia]

Pretty similar.

Bill 21 days in advance.
Remind at 7 days to go.
Whack a late fee of £1 +20% 1 day after bill due.
Suspend after 2 days
Terminate after 21 days
Kill backups after 56 days.

If the are terminated for non payment then we wont hand over backups unless they pay overdue invoices, but their again we will do daily backups for our own purposes and clients get a chance to pay a £2 monthly fee to have access to these if/when they need them, if they dont pay this and need a backup restored etc. then we charge them £15, so handing backups to a terminated account wont happen unless they pay

 

[ughosting]

This is probably my phrasing.

"56 Days, your backups are erased."

If you want access to you backups, then you can pay your overdue invoices for us to give you access to your backups until the end of the period.

 

[expertwebhost]

In our case, the suspension happens 3 days after due date.

 

[Rado_Ch]

Seems many of us follow the same logic:

- at least 3 reminders before and on due date
- service suspension after around 7 days
- service termination after around 30 days

Keeping the account open for 30 days after non-payment, like OP said, can only bring you trouble. Apart from the obvious resource draining, what about if you suspend the service after 30 days and the customer comes wanting to renew. Now, obviously you would want the payment for the last month too, as you kept the website active and gave server space and resources for it. But the client can just say "Well I was away and didn't use it, why should I pay?" (happens more often than you think). Once you get into such argument you will either be losing a month worth of service or possibly facing some negative PR over the web. :rolleyes2

 

[HH-Josh]

We also invoice 7 days before the due payment date. Suspension after 5 days and termination after 10 days over due - we do however try to contact the client in every way possible before termination.

 

[easyhostmedia]

But the client can just say "Well I was away and didn't use it, why should I pay?" (happens more often than you think). Once you get into such argument you will either be losing a month worth of service or possibly facing some negative PR over the web. :rolleyes2

What Argument. their is no argument, the sites were on your server and therefore were using the server resources. this makes no difference if the client was away or not. never had or heard of any clients saying "Well I was away and didn't use it, why should I pay?"

 

[rowebca]

But the client can just say "Well I was away and didn't use it, why should I pay?" (happens more often than you think). Once you get into such argument you will either be losing a month worth of service or possibly facing some negative PR over the web. :rolleyes2

Yes but you have to understand that time to time we have to take that risk, we are working with humans not with machines, the server resources, like another here said, are the same, so why not? Like this you show the customer that you care about him, not just about his pocket.


Regards

 

[easyhostmedia]

You should never argue with a client as this will make the client think about moving their services, so you will lose out in the long run.

1) listen to the client carefully and try and understand their issue.
2) explain to the client carefully and plainly a solution to the issue.

try and get your clients to contact you or add a credit to their account if they plan on going away, so it will cover any due invoices while they are away.

I have had clients contact me when they get the invoice to say sorry they meant to call and they are on holiday and wont be back until ***. i then just alter their due date. this happens less these days as with tablets and smartphones most people no matter where they are they can usually access their bank/paypal accounts and invoices to make payments.

 

[webling]

As I sit here reading replies, many things enter my mind. I won't express everything but will share some things. I have observed that the really big companies are very gracious and don't suspend an account until 2 months of non payments. And even before that they will call you and try to give you an opportunity to pay your account.

I think about the client, and several "what if" scenarios. Granted, it may not even apply. But.......what if it does? What if, the client was in a bad accident and was simply unable to pay the bill because they were laid up in the hospital recovering? They have no way to get online because they don't have that information with them and nobody to get it for them. Do we suspend or delete an account so quickly and without understanding for the client? I know that personally I would rather do business with a company that is gracious enough to wait a couple months before choosing to suspend the account.

By the way, in my 18 years of having websites I have never gotten seriously behind. There was one time there was an issue with the bank, I don't recall what and I contacted my hosting provider after awhile and they were gracious enough to wait until that was resolved.

If they had suspended or deleted my account only after 2, or even 7 days, they would have lost my business for years and years to come. I've dealt with companies that had little to zero patience and I did not keep an account with them long. And not because I am in the habit of getting behind, quite the contrary, I am very diligent in paying on time. But when a web host has little or no patience, that tells me something about their mentality and I prefer not to do business with those kind of people.

I believe there is a very important rule in life, whether it be in your personal life or your business, and that is to treat everyone in direct proportion to the way you want to be treated. Does that sound fair?

If something happened to you and you could not pay your hosting bill on time and you had no way to do so for awhile, would you want your upstream provider to shut you down after 2 days or a week? Or would you want to know that they trust you enough that they will wait at least two months before doing anything drastic? I know I would.

That's my thinking anyway and knowing that we as people are not machines and things happen in life we can't control. If I lost two months of hosting from a client because they just vanished for no apparant reason, I haven't lost a great deal. And for those who came back and said, There were circumstances beyond my control, can you give me a couple more days to pay? Guess what? I've gained a whole lot more by keeping that client because I think they would appreciate my patience toward them.

That's my thinking on the issue. I thank everyone for their responses.

 

[Rado_Ch]

What Argument. their is no argument, the sites were on your server and therefore were using the server resources. this makes no difference if the client was away or not. never had or heard of any clients saying "Well I was away and didn't use it, why should I pay?"

I think I might not have been clear enough - I am not saying that this is a viable argument at all, I am saying that as an example, because it does happen. Its possible that you haven't encountered that but believe me, this is something that big companies have to deal with. I've worked previously for a couple of quite big providers (each operator handling about 40 chats, 20 mails and 10-20 calls per shift) and you would be shocked as to what stories I've heard. It was not even rare for a customer to leave their hosting without payment, returning after an year or two and wondering why the hell their website is not online (of course emphasizing on how they make BIG money from that business).

As Webline mentioned, personal dramatic circumstances is something that does happen. And yes, I strongly believe a host should be flexible enough to handle such situations and wait. However some people tend to overuse the personal drama sometimes to cover pretty much everything that they do wrong. Of course I will never go out and tell a client - "I don't believe that" but there ARE some pretty implausible stories that came across me (my favorite being a client depicting their sad story as it came out from a Hollywood movie script...a movie I just happened to watch two nights beforehand) :rolleyes2

 

[easyhostmedia]

As I sit here reading replies, many things enter my mind. I won't express everything but will share some things. I have observed that the really big companies are very gracious and don't suspend an account until 2 months of non payments. And even before that they will call you and try to give you an opportunity to pay your account.

I think about the client, and several "what if" scenarios. Granted, it may not even apply. But.......what if it does? What if, the client was in a bad accident and was simply unable to pay the bill because they were laid up in the hospital recovering? They have no way to get online because they don't have that information with them and nobody to get it for them. Do we suspend or delete an account so quickly and without understanding for the client? I know that personally I would rather do business with a company that is gracious enough to wait a couple months before choosing to suspend the account.

By the way, in my 18 years of having websites I have never gotten seriously behind. There was one time there was an issue with the bank, I don't recall what and I contacted my hosting provider after awhile and they were gracious enough to wait until that was resolved.

If they had suspended or deleted my account only after 2, or even 7 days, they would have lost my business for years and years to come. I've dealt with companies that had little to zero patience and I did not keep an account with them long. And not because I am in the habit of getting behind, quite the contrary, I am very diligent in paying on time. But when a web host has little or no patience, that tells me something about their mentality and I prefer not to do business with those kind of people.

I believe there is a very important rule in life, whether it be in your personal life or your business, and that is to treat everyone in direct proportion to the way you want to be treated. Does that sound fair?

If something happened to you and you could not pay your hosting bill on time and you had no way to do so for awhile, would you want your upstream provider to shut you down after 2 days or a week? Or would you want to know that they trust you enough that they will wait at least two months before doing anything drastic? I know I would.

That's my thinking anyway and knowing that we as people are not machines and things happen in life we can't control. If I lost two months of hosting from a client because they just vanished for no apparant reason, I haven't lost a great deal. And for those who came back and said, There were circumstances beyond my control, can you give me a couple more days to pay? Guess what? I've gained a whole lot more by keeping that client because I think they would appreciate my patience toward them.

That's my thinking on the issue. I thank everyone for their responses.

we give a client a total of 28 days from the time the invoice is generated to the time an account is terminated, suspending and account is usually enough to jolt a client into paying. as invoices are sent 14 days before due date and then suspended 2 days after due date that is 16 days a client has to make contact and say they may be late due to ***. i have not come across any big names that will not suspend for 2 months. you need to live in the real world no host is going to allow you to use their services for 2 months without paying.

 

[ughosting]

Personally, I have more important things to do with my time than chase customers for payment.

When I first starting hosting. we're talking the 1990's, I hosted alot of sites for people who knew me personally.
And I can tell you, they really took the p*** when it came to paying.

The best thing we did was add the automated billing system.
Once they knew the billing system suspended them for non-payment and we had stopped chasing them, all the payments came rolling in.

Now we pride ourselves in providing a high performance, highly available platform as Enterprise as you can get in this price bracket.

Why should we not suspend you if you don't pay?
Would you pay if we couldn't host you for a couple of days/weeks/months? as we hadn't got the money to pay our upstream providers?
Would you pay if we couldn't provide support, as our staff left because we couldn't pay them?

I'm not saying we're not sympathetic, we probably do extend hosting for a week or two for 3 or 4 different clients every month.
Not the same clients every month, and not recently added clients either, only ones who've paid reliably for months and months.

This is business, business needs to make a profit. I need to make money in order to live.
I want us to keep our customers.
Keep them by providing the best possible service for a reasonable price.
I don't want to keep them by extending them credit, that's what credit cards are for!

 

[easyhostmedia]

Ughosting - exactly.

why should we pay our upstream providers from reserved funds to subsidise clients who dont pay.
i we give a total of 28 days from the time the invoice is generated to the time their account is terminated. This i would say gives anyone enough time to either pay or make contact. we will extend long standing clients by a week if they need it, but only if they contact us before due date.

 

[MarkPoppen]

As I sit here reading replies, many things enter my mind. I won't express everything but will share some things. I have observed that the really big companies are very gracious and don't suspend an account until 2 months of non payments. And even before that they will call you and try to give you an opportunity to pay your account.

I think about the client, and several "what if" scenarios. Granted, it may not even apply. But.......what if it does? What if, the client was in a bad accident and was simply unable to pay the bill because they were laid up in the hospital recovering? They have no way to get online because they don't have that information with them and nobody to get it for them. Do we suspend or delete an account so quickly and without understanding for the client? I know that personally I would rather do business with a company that is gracious enough to wait a couple months before choosing to suspend the account.

By the way, in my 18 years of having websites I have never gotten seriously behind. There was one time there was an issue with the bank, I don't recall what and I contacted my hosting provider after awhile and they were gracious enough to wait until that was resolved.

If they had suspended or deleted my account only after 2, or even 7 days, they would have lost my business for years and years to come. I've dealt with companies that had little to zero patience and I did not keep an account with them long. And not because I am in the habit of getting behind, quite the contrary, I am very diligent in paying on time. But when a web host has little or no patience, that tells me something about their mentality and I prefer not to do business with those kind of people.

I believe there is a very important rule in life, whether it be in your personal life or your business, and that is to treat everyone in direct proportion to the way you want to be treated. Does that sound fair?

If something happened to you and you could not pay your hosting bill on time and you had no way to do so for awhile, would you want your upstream provider to shut you down after 2 days or a week? Or would you want to know that they trust you enough that they will wait at least two months before doing anything drastic? I know I would.

That's my thinking anyway and knowing that we as people are not machines and things happen in life we can't control. If I lost two months of hosting from a client because they just vanished for no apparant reason, I haven't lost a great deal. And for those who came back and said, There were circumstances beyond my control, can you give me a couple more days to pay? Guess what? I've gained a whole lot more by keeping that client because I think they would appreciate my patience toward them.

That's my thinking on the issue. I thank everyone for their responses.

I agree. When we see an invoice going past due, we make a phone call to the client, informing them that the account will be suspended if they don't pay up. Maybe they missed the email (never trust the Google spam filter!), maybe they're at the lake for a month. One of our clients heads south for winter and can only check email/internet when they get to an RV park with wifi.
I think a lot of hosts see hosting as a money business. I see it more as a people business, so as I said before, we are very lenient on suspending accounts.

 

[webling]

I agree. When we see an invoice going past due, we make a phone call to the client, informing them that the account will be suspended if they don't pay up. Maybe they missed the email (never trust the Google spam filter!), maybe they're at the lake for a month. One of our clients heads south for winter and can only check email/internet when they get to an RV park with wifi.
I think a lot of hosts see hosting as a money business. I see it more as a people business, so as I said before, we are very lenient on suspending accounts.

Good perspective. I believe that when our concern is for people rather than money, we will end up having money also.