Outraged at smart hosting

zerohosting

New member
Hello all,

I wouldn't normally do this, however i was one day late paying my bill for smart hosting and they completed deleted my account, customer services was out of order.

i managed to recover my data however they have ruined everything i have done.
 
Hello all,

I wouldn't normally do this, however i was one day late paying my bill for smart hosting and they completed deleted my account, customer services was out of order.

i managed to recover my data however they have ruined everything i have done.

There is always a payment clause of some in each host's ToS. What does it said there?

It also depends on what you done as well? Did you bothered to contact their billing department in advance? If so what did you informed them and how long ago?

For my brand I have a 3 days suspension rule, and then if it still suspended after 3 days then the service is queued for cancellation and all data removed at this point.
 
Hello all,

I wouldn't normally do this, however i was one day late paying my bill for smart hosting and they completed deleted my account, customer services was out of order.

i managed to recover my data however they have ruined everything i have done.

confusing as they are called Smart Hosting but website URL is bestwebhosting.co.uk and TOS name them as Krystal Hosting Ltd

from https://www.bestwebhosting.co.uk/order-terms.php

Billing
By the Account Activation Date of each month, we shall deliver, via e-mail or post, an invoice in accordance with the applicable Service Fees for services to be rendered in the forthcoming month. When an invoice is delivered to the client, payment shall be remitted to us by no later than the specified payment due date. We shall be entitled to immediately terminate this agreement for client's failure to make timely payments. You will be provided with an invoice on a monthly basis. We do not record or store customer credit/debit card data but you are able to set up recurring billing through our payment partners to allow us to take payment for invoices as they become due. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover any transactions. Failure to make payment will result in up to three overdue notices being submitted to you before your account is suspended and/or terminated. Accounts suspended for non-payment are liable for termination without notice.
 
It's harsh but it there, so technically the customer is to blame for this. UNLESS an attempt to resolve it case by case with Billing.

yes but still not 100% clear

When an invoice is delivered to the client, payment shall be remitted to us by no later than the specified payment due date. We shall be entitled to immediately terminate this agreement for client's failure to make timely payments.

which to me implies you don't pay on due date they can terminate your account (no suspensions) but then later it states

Failure to make payment will result in up to three overdue notices being submitted to you before your account is suspended and/or terminated. Accounts suspended for non-payment are liable for termination without notice.

so 2 statements that contradict themselves, but then we don't know the relationship between the client and host in has this host been late in paying on more than one occasion and they host has had enough.

but it all goes back to making your own offsite backups on a regular basis


i managed to recover my data however they have ruined everything i have done.

They have ruined nothing, you did not pay ontime (no matter if its 1 day or 1 week) so this is all down to you.
 
yes but still not 100% clear



which to me implies you don't pay on due date they can terminate your account (no suspensions) but then later it states



so 2 statements that contradict themselves, but then we don't know the relationship between the client and host in has this host been late in paying on more than one occasion and they host has had enough.

but it all goes back to making your own offsite backups on a regular basis




They have ruined nothing, you did not pay ontime (no matter if its 1 day or 1 week) so this is all down to you.

I have no clue on why they added that part but basically all it means that they may send up to 3 overdue notices. But all it really means that...

"We can do whatever we want but we "may" send you up to 3 overdue notices".

At end of the day it is the customer's responsibly to backup off grid.

Regarding payments though if no agreements were arranged in advance that is also the customer's responsibly.
 
It always pays to know what's in your provider's TOS and in this case, again, it's your fault for not paying in time. That sounds harsh, but it's the reality of the situation. Saying that, I do agree they have conflicting clauses that could cause confusion about when they terminate accounts.
 
they seem to be using WHMCS, so very easy to set up an automated invoice schedule
we use WHMCS and have ours set as below which is all automated to the point of termination.

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 your 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 £10 fee added to the invoice. Any backups on our backup server will also be deleted
If you only pay part of an invoice then the above process will still follow through as the invoice is not paid in full

Cancellations must be submitted no later than 7 days prior to your next due date

If you want to continue to submit one time payments, fantastic, just please be sure to be timely. You will continue to get your notices, please just do not ignore them.

Additionally, if for what ever reason you plan to be late, just let us know and we will ensure your account stays active and fee free!
 
I would suggest, before sign-up you should check the terms of services and policies. There are various clauses of the payments, make sure to read them before sign-up to prevent such situation in future.
 
So, basically
A> host sends invoice with due date
B> Client (you) hasn't paid said invoice by due date
C> Client gets suspended, site deleted

Seems reasonable. There's a reason that you need to pay your invoice on time.
 
So, basically
A> host sends invoice with due date
B> Client (you) hasn't paid said invoice by due date
C> Client gets suspended, site deleted

Seems reasonable. There's a reason that you need to pay your invoice on time.

While I don't agree with their polices it there. So at least if you read it BEFOREHAND you would not have to agree to them. :)
 
i managed to recover my data however they have ruined everything i have done.

You are aware that when you dont pay ontime and get suspended , so anyone visiting your website will see the Suspended notice that your site files are still being stored on the server, so you are expecting the host to host your site files for FREE.

Why should a host do this because you cant be bothered to pay them ontime. if you are that bothered then why did you not set up a subscription, so it gets paid each month
 
Regarding the company ownership enquiry.

- BestWebHosting is the Website for SmartHosting
– Krystal Hosting is the company that recently purchased the brand.

So in official terms, your contract is with Krystal Hosting LTD trading as Smart Hosting, as I don't believe SmartHosting LTD is still active, and will be likely made a dormant company.
 
Regarding the company ownership enquiry.

- BestWebHosting is the Website for SmartHosting
– Krystal Hosting is the company that recently purchased the brand.

So in official terms, your contract is with Krystal Hosting LTD trading as Smart Hosting, as I don't believe SmartHosting LTD is still active, and will be likely made a dormant company.

But the TOS has to be in one document to form a contract. The only separate documents should be AUP and Privacy Policy

TOS
AUP
Privacy Policy

so https://www.bestwebhosting.co.uk/order-terms.php should be included in https://www.bestwebhosting.co.uk/terms.php

also Smart Hosting or BestWebHosting are not limited companies, so they should not be listing the company number for Krystal Hosting LTD as they have like this in the footer

Smart Hosting
Alta Vista
Hr. Warberry Rd.
Torquay
Devon
TQ1 1SD

Registered company: 07571790

also the registration number and the place of registration should be stated (e.g. “Krystal Hosting Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 07571790”) if a trading name is used them they must also state (bestwebhosting.co.uk/Smart Hosting are trading names of Krystal Hosting Limited .) failure to add these is a breach of The Companies Act 1985 as of 1 January 2007. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/21/new_web_email_regulation/
 
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It always pays to know what's in your provider's TOS and in this case, again, it's your fault for not paying in time. That sounds harsh, but it's the reality of the situation. Saying that, I do agree they have conflicting clauses that could cause confusion about when they terminate accounts.

Yes agreed.
 
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