Business Profile

Web Hosting

HostPapa Inc

Headquarters

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for HostPapa Inc's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

Customer Complaints Summary

19 total complaints in the last 3 years.
3 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

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The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

Initial Complaint
Date:22/02/2024
Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Worst hosting experience I have ever had and their services are all about gaining new customers and getting rid of existing customers by attempting to ****** unnecessary funds to continue providing services which were signed up for in the first place. I switched over to them in February 2023 and just shy of the 1 year anniversary of being with them they started bombarding me with emails saying I was using "too much" of their services, and I was the reason for causing server slow downs and even crashes.

To let you know how frequently I was working on my blog hosted through these guys, like I said I joined in February 2023 and in total have written 28 blogs. Since October 2023 I have written all of 3 blogs: Oct 24th, Dec 24th and Jan 25th, 2024. The emails of over usage started coming in January or early February (got so many can't keep track) - suggesting I should upgrade and pay more.

If a site that has written only 28 blogs in 13 months is "over usage" then that's the host's problem, not the users.

Frankly there may be excess traffic of some sort, but it's nothing to do with customer usage. A snapshot of activities shows that in the last 7 days there were 1.5 thousand attempts to hack/access my website that were blocked. That is activity outside of the consumer's control and one for which the hosting company is responsible for maintaining. I personally have paid for my own extra protection to prevent hacking.
Business Response
Date: 26/02/2024
Dear *****,

My name is Nicolae and I am the Customer Happiness Manager here at HostPapa Inc. Your case has been resigned from the Solutions Department over to the Customer Experience side.

I want to extend our sincerest apologies for the situation experienced and thanks for taking the time to share your concerns regarding our shared web hosting services. I understand that situations like these can be deeply frustrating, and it is certainly never our intention to make any of our valued customers feel inconvenienced or overlooked. I am writing to you today to provide clarity on the issues you've encountered and to explore solutions that could help us move forward in a positive direction.

Firstly, let's address the essence of shared web hosting, which is the service framework within which your blog resides. Shared hosting is designed so that numerous websites can efficiently share the resources of a single server. These resources include memory (RAM), processor time (CPU), and disk input/output (IO), among others. It's a bit like living in an apartment building; every tenant has their space, but the utilities are communal. Each plan comes with an allocation that ensures your website can run smoothly while also maintaining equitable access for all users on the server.

Upon reviewing the server audits, we found that your account was flagged on January 25th due to an unusually high level of physical memory utilization (PMEM), with 53 instances recorded over the past seven days from that date. Parallel to this finding, as you astutely indicated in your complaint, there has been a recent uptick in what you termed "excess traffic of some sort." This correlated uptick suggests that the spike in memory usage might well be attributed to increased traffic or bot activities on your site, a detail you have also touched upon in this complaint.

Concerning the increase in usage, it's important to clarify that while we celebrate the growth and popularity your website is experiencing, the responsibility for its management rests with the website administrators (the customer). As a web hosting provider, we are not accountable for the type of traffic your website attracts, whether it is legitimate visitors or malicious entities.

What we are able to do, though, is suggest practical measures to alleviate such risks, just as my colleague from the Solutions Department recommended. We are here to assist you through these challenging scenarios whenever you reach out to us. While we are wholeheartedly committed to supporting each and every website we host, the logistics of directly managing millions of websites are not feasible and lie beyond the scope of services provided by a web hosting company.

In regards to the suspension, I assure you, that our Solutions department's outreach to flagged accounts, such as in your case, is always with the goal of resolving the issue with minimal disruption to you and your website. In cases where communication is challenging or a cooperative solution seems out of reach, suspending an account is a measure taken to shield the shared environment from potential performance hindrances. When your account was suspended on February 22nd, it was with the intention of limiting the knock-on effects on other customers sharing the server resources. We believe in transparent communication and regret any trouble this decision caused you.

Upon your complaint, we promptly reinstated your account on February 23rd as an immediate gesture to remedy the situation and demonstrate our commitment to your satisfaction.

Regarding the unauthorized login attempts and bot hits on your website, I want to acknowledge your proactive steps to install extra protection, which is indeed commendable. While we provide baseline protection against malware, administering security measures specific to your website's login forms and mitigating unwanted bot traffic is within the realm of website administration. As you mentioned, you have observed a substantial number of blocked access attempts; this indicates that your security measures are operational. Still, we understand such activity can be concerning.

To enhance your website's defense against these unauthorized attempts, we advise implementing a plugin such as '*** Hide Login' for ********* (https://*********.***************************), which effectively conceals the login page from automated scripts and bad actors. This is a precaution that significantly reduces the likelihood of brute-force attacks on your website. Additionally, monitoring and managing the impact of bot traffic via your cPanel, and strategically blocking IPs when necessary, can further fortify your website's integrity.

In light of the clarified circumstances around the resource overuse and subsequent account suspension, we believe an upgrade to your hosting plan would not be necessary at this juncture, provided that the aforementioned guidelines are observed and the traffic surge does not repeat itself. Should you require any assistance with these technical recommendations, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Understanding the importance of trust in our relationship, I want to address your refund request. Our 30-day money-back guarantee is a testament to our confidence in the quality and reliability of our services. However, as per the terms of service, we are unable to issue refunds outside of this guarantee period. For the recent billing cycle - paid on January 20th, 2024 - given the proximity of your complaint to the invoice date and given that we have taken steps to address the issues and prevent a recurrence, we would uphold our policy in this instance. While we are unable to fulfill your refund request, please rest assured that our priority remains to ensure you have the necessary resources for the prosperity of your website and ventures.

In conclusion, we are deeply committed to not just maintaining but also enhancing the satisfaction and success of customers like yourself. To facilitate direct correspondence, I have initiated an internal support ticket and concurrently dispatched this exact message to you, ensuring you have a reliable channel to me. Should you have any further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out - our team is keen to provide the assistance you require.

Your experience as our customer is of the utmost importance, and we are here to support you in every way possible.

Have a great day ahead, *****!

Nicolae
Customer Happiness Manager
HostPapa Inc.
Customer Answer
Date: 26/02/2024

Complaint: ********

I am rejecting this response because there is no guarantee that in the not too distant future I (and other customers) will not be "**** *******" by their means of shutting down our websites because of external factors beyond our control. First of all the hosting company should be ensuring their processes are secure and implementing whatever is necessary to ensure safety and immunity from hackers etc. I, as a consumer, am very aware and conscious of hackers so in addition, from the get to I paid EXTRA MONEY to install a plugin for added security to prevent hacking into my site and an ultimate "phishing" taking place if hijacked.
What guarantee do I as a consumer have that I will not once again be **** ******* as the upswing and growth in hacking continues to grow? If and when my site becomes a business operation and source of income, what then?
They recommended the installation of a free plugin to hide my signin page - which I have installed and activated. This still does not deter efforts of hackers and bots to try and hack my site - so what changes?
Information that I have obtained shows that there are well over 100 similar instances of customer complaints. When I saw these numbers I immediately thought of the possibility of a class action lawsuit as being a viable action.
I have no control over traffic. If HostPapa's servers are being overworked, then is it not their responsibility to upgrade their servers to handle the number(s) of customers they have signed up? Why should I pay for their customer base increase of numbers and therefor traffic?

Sincerely,

***** *******
Business Response
Date: 29/02/2024
Hello *****,

Thank you for your response and for sharing your concerns with us. It's clear that the issues you've encountered have led to significant frustration, and I want to express our sincerest apologies for any distress this situation has caused. Our primary goal is to ensure that all our customers feel supported and satisfied with our services.

I understand that you feel the challenges facing your website are the result of actions beyond your control, and I appreciate the efforts you've made to enhance your website's security, including investing in additional security measures. However, it's important to clarify the shared responsibilities involved in managing a website hosted on a shared web hosting platform.

In a shared hosting environment, the traffic to individual websites and the security measures implemented on those sites fall under the website owner's purview. While HostPapa is dedicated to providing a secure and high-performance hosting environment, we are not able to regulate or predict the traffic any website may receive, whether it's from legitimate visitors or malicious entities.

We are genuinely pleased to see your project grow and succeed, and it's indeed exciting when a website starts attracting more attention. However, this growth often necessitates more resources than initially anticipated. It is the responsibility of each website owner to assess their resource needs and ensure that their hosting plan is adequately equipped to handle their website's demands. If a site's requirements exceed the resources of the current plan, an upgrade to a more suitable hosting plan is the logical next step. This approach is consistent across the web hosting industry, especially within shared hosting infrastructures, where resource allocation is designed to ensure fairness and optimal performance for all users on the server.

Concerning our server capacity and the perceived impact on your website's operation, please allow me to offer some clarity. Our servers are routinely upgraded and scaled to accommodate growth and the increasing demands of our hosted customers. This scaling is a complex process, aimed at ensuring optimal performance across all sites. When individual websites experience surges in traffic or fall victim to targeted hacking attempts, these incidents are not indicative of server incapacity but rather the unpredictable nature of hosting websites accessible to the public.

Regarding the ongoing security concerns you've mentioned, such as the unauthorized attempts to access your website, it's worth noting that maintaining high levels of website security is a multifaceted endeavor that extends beyond the scope of hosting services. While we provide the infrastructure and security features for it, the nature of web security demands ongoing diligence from website owners as well. Implementing additional security plugins, as you have done, is a commendable step in this ongoing process.

We understand that you've encountered a situation where you feel "**** *******" by circumstances that seem beyond your control. Please know that it is never our intention to place our customers in such a position. Our policies and recommendations are designed with the aim of providing a fair, secure, and high-performing hosting environment for all our customers.

In addition to all of these, I invite you to have a look at our Terms of Service here - https://*********************** - under 6. ACCEPTABLE USE - 6.3 - Disruptive Uses (a,d,e) to better understand these policies.

We take your feedback very seriously, and it informs us how we can improve our services and communications. While I note your reservations about further technical discussions, please rest assured that our customer support and technical teams remain at your disposal, should you require any assistance or choose to revisit any aspects of your hosting services with us.

Lastly, we respect your decisions regarding how you choose to proceed with your hosting arrangements, and we want to assure you of our best intentions at all times. Our focus remains on supporting your success and security in the digital space.

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We are committed to continually reviewing and improving our processes and communication to better help you and all our customers.

Have a great day ahead, *****!

Regards,

Nicolae
Customer Happiness Manager
HostPapa Inc.
Initial Complaint
Date:13/09/2023
Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
Status:
ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I've been a customer of Host Papa since 2012, and have consistently spent under $170 per year during that time. Beginning in July 2023, I started receiving worrying emails from them, stating that my website was using more than my fair share of the hosting space. I deleted files, but the alerts continued. I spoke with an account manager, who proposed two upgrades (total cost $425) to fix the issue. I went ahead with these. The worrying emails continued, escalating to the point of telling me that my website would be suspended. The tech support folks sped up my website, but told me that I would need to pay more to purchase a larger hosting package in order to solve the problem. I'm no tech wizard, but in 10 minutes, I was able to log in and fix the issue. So, I cancelled my service as I no longer trusted Host Papa. ** **** ***** * ********** ***** ** ** ********** ***** ********. I would like a partial refund, as I only used less than two months of a 36-month hosting package (cost $300) and the tech support upsell (cost $125) failed to solve my issue.
Business Response
Date: 18/09/2023
Hello *********,

My name is Nicolae, and I am the Customer Happiness Manager here at HostPapa Inc.

I would like to begin by expressing our sincerest apologies for any troubles experienced on your end as a result of this resource usage situation. Please know that it was not our intention to create any hassle or difficulties for you, as we’re only here to make sure you have everything you need for you and your project to succeed.

In regard to the situation experienced, we strive to provide the highest quality service possible and are sorry that your experience fell short of your expectations.

To guarantee a steady and uninterrupted service for all customers, it is necessary to place limits on the use of available resources in a shared web hosting environment. These limitations aren't put in place to purposely cause discomfort to you; rather, they're there to ensure that no single account on the server causes a slowdown for the other websites hosted in the same environment. This is a common practice in the industry and essential for providing a fair and balanced service.

We take these matters very seriously since they affect not just you but everyone who uses the same shared web hosting environment. One customer's account using too many server resources might negatively affect the experience for everyone else. We want to provide a stable hosting environment with reliable email and other services, and to that end, there are some resource limits implemented.

We deeply care about the satisfaction of each and every one of our clients, and it is for this reason that we have established these policies. We sincerely apologize if this has caused any difficulty. Please be aware that our resource usage is expressly outlined in our Terms of Service, and the characteristics and assigned resources for each of our services and plans are fully described on our website.

Concerning the refund, I can see that my colleagues from the Billing Department have addressed this matter on Ticket #******* - Cancellation Request; however, you were not satisfied with the amount being refunded.

I will follow up with you via Ticket #******* once I analyze the situation, and I’m sure we’ll find a satisfactory solution.

Have a great day ahead, *********!

Regards,

Nicolae
HostPapa Inc.
Customer Answer
Date: 18/09/2023

Complaint: ********

I am rejecting this response because the refund has been miscalculated (twice now), to Host Papa's advantage.
I paid $286.20 plus tax of 14.31 for this billing period, totalling $300.51, not $193.95 as Host Papa mis-calculated.

My refund as of the date of cancellation (Sept 13, 2023) should be $285.43 . This is $300.51 (amount paid in July) x 1041/1096 (number of days used/ total number of days in plan).

Host Papa calculated the amount I paid as $193.95, not $300.51 - this is a significant difference. When I contacted them with this info, I received no reply.
Once BBB was involved, I received a second email from Nicolae, offering (again) a lower refund than the amount that would be fair.
I have received $184.22 in refund to date, so the amount that would actually be a fair refund is $101.21

Sincerely,

********* *****
Business Response
Date: 19/09/2023
Hello *********,
Thank you for taking the time to get back to me!
I have reviewed the entire situation once more and below you can see my findings:
1. In February you renewed your web hosting service at $155.88 per year.
2. In July you upgraded your web hosting service to PRO at $286.20 for 3 years.
We have credited the initial plan towards the upgrade for a total of $92.25. As a result, you have only paid $193.95 for the new hosting service, which was the total we used for the first refund we issued.
Yesterday we issued a refund for the amount we credited for the initial plan as well - $92.25.
Those funds will be available in your account in the next few days. I would also like to add here that we have issued two separate refunds, one to your ****** account, and one to your credit card, since multiple payment methods were used.
Since the $92.25 was marked as an account credit on the invoice, it is not possible to refund it from the payment processor, however, we found some workarounds to refund the amount.
As a result, the amount refunded as of today is:
$184.22 + $92.95 = $277.17
The amount you are quoting includes the amount paid for taxes, however, they are not refundable as the taxes have already been collected by the CRA.
Although we can only refund the amount paid for the service, which was $193.95, and the amount we credited for the initial plan, which was $92.95, we would be more than happy to make a one-time exception and refund the difference.
$285.43 - $277.17 = $8.26
This refund has now been issued and it should arrive in your account in the next few days.
In light of the above, let me know if you have further questions or concerns!
Have a great day ahead, *********!
Customer Answer
Date: 19/09/2023

Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Sincerely,

********* *****
Initial Complaint
Date:18/07/2023
Type:Service or Repair Issues
Status:
ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I've been a HostPapa hosting customer since July 2019. I host several very low-traffic personal and non-profit websites, with no ecommerce, no video, no high traffic. I chose a Business tier. In June 2022 I renewed for a 3 year term, until 2025, at a cost of $596.63.

Earlier this year, in 2023, HostPapa starting contacting me saying that 2 or 3 of the websites have high Input/Output (I/O). This was never a problem before, and by all other parameters (RAM usage, HD usage, etc.) the hosting account with all its websites is way below HostPapa's threshold's. To be clear, this sudden overage (please keep in mind that "overage" is from an artificially low and arbitrarily set number) in I/O usage was still insignificant, just by a few percent. These sudden surge in I/O's is probably due to bot traffic -- neither HostPapa, nor I know it for sure. I installed anti-bot plugins to reduce these unwanted surges, but HostPapa says the I/O surges continue, so they suspended my entire hosting account -- even websites that are not causing the surge in I/O -- several times already.

Each time they try to make me upgrade to the next most expensive tier. I researched this, and saw they have done the same to many other existing customers, which leaves a lot of rightful complaints, as it seems like a ****** *** ****** tactic practiced by HostPapa to increase their Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

At the same time they refuse to prorate/refund the cost of hosting so the client can transfer elsewhere -- they say we have only 30 days from the date of renewal to do this. I've offered them several times to give me a few weeks to transfer my account to many other willing hosts who don't have seemingly artificially low I/O limits to "gotcha" clients. But they continue to insist that I upgrade - or basically remove my websites. Then what did I pay $600 for "business" unlimited hosting? I've been waiting for the leadership to respond to this complaint.
Business Response
Date: 25/07/2023
Hi ****,
Thank you for your feedback.
Once we’ve received this BBB Complaint and based on our initial investigations, we've found that your account has indeed experienced multiple IO faults. An IO fault occurs when the number of input/output operations on a server surpasses the allotted quota. Essentially, these faults indicate that your account is performing too many operations, which may lead to slower load times and reduced server performance.
A more detailed investigation into the server logs revealed that the IO faults are largely linked to specific processes on your websites, including the admin-****.php, **-cron.php, and index.php files within the ********* installations of your various domains. These files are commonly associated with frequent or resource-heavy operations, which aligns with the noted IO faults.
*** ********** ****** ****************************
*************************************************************************
* **** * ** * *** * ****** * ***** * ***** * **** * *** *
*************************************************************************
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * ** * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* ***** ***** * ***** ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*************************************************************************

Even though our terms of service and our website cover thoroughly the available resources for our plans, to address this issue, on Jul/19/2023 we have taken the following steps to optimize your websites:

- Replaced **-Cron With Real ****** Cron Jobs: *********'s built-in **-Cron task scheduler is known for its frequent hits which can consume a lot of server resources. By replacing **-Cron with a real ****** cron job, we've created a more efficient scheduling system that significantly reduces the server load ( https://******************************************************************* )
- Decreased Heartbeat Frequency: We've adjusted the ********* Heartbeat API frequency to execute at longer intervals (300 seconds). The Heartbeat API can create multiple **** requests which can consume resources, hence increasing the interval between each request helps to alleviate this ( https://************************************************************* )
While these optimizations should’ve helped toward resolving the situation, more faults were reported therefore, on Jul/25/2023 we concluded that the most effective way to halt the issues you've been facing with resource constraints, given your current utilization, is to upgrade your account to one of our newer web hosting plans.
In light of this, we've carried out an upgrade from your previous Business plan to our newer *** *** Hosting Plan.
This upgrade has been performed at no immediate extra charge, and when it comes to resource limits, it provides almost twice the amount previously allocated to your Business plan.
This move will make certain that your account will not be flagged due to resource usage surges or IO faults, among other potential issues, under current utilization patterns.
It's my sincere hope that I've met your expectations in resolving this issue. Please know that this represents a one-of-a-kind gesture of goodwill to show how committed we are to maintaining what we hope will be a long-term relationship.
I’ve just followed up with this resolution via Ticket #******* - accounts suspended, please let us know within the ticket should you need any further information or if you have any questions concerning this.

Have a great day ahead, ****!
-
*******
Customer Happiness Manager
HostPapa Inc.
Customer Answer
Date: 25/07/2023

Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Sincerely,

**** ********
Initial Complaint
Date:20/06/2023
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Service provider charged office without notice before chatting credit card. Service provider terminated service in order to elicit more fees 30 days after taking annual payment. Service provider terminated service.Service provider refuses to refund remainder of annual fee taken 30 days ago after terminating account.
Business Response
Date: 23/06/2023
Hello *******,
My name is Nicolae and I am the Customer Happiness Manager at HostPapa Inc.
I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to personally reach out in response to your recent concerns regarding your experience with our service.
Firstly, I'd like to express my sincere apologies for any inconvenience that this situation has caused. Please know that it wasn’t our intention to cause any trouble and that we always strive to provide our customers with the best possible customer experience.
In terms of the charge without notice, our services are set to renew automatically by default. This information is included in our terms of service, which are readily accessible on our website. Prior to the renewal, we issue an invoice 30 days in advance and send it to the registered email address. If there is a valid payment method on the account, our system will attempt to charge it 15 days ahead of the renewal. This process aims to ensure uninterrupted service.
As for the suspension of your account, we identified that your resource usage was exceeding the limits of your web hosting shared plan. Our Solutions Department contacted you on June 12th, 2023, to explain the situation and suggest an upgrade to rectify the issue:
Some of the most common things that could lead your account to experience a high usage of resources can be:
Increase or surge in website traffic
Malfunctioning scripts
An excessive amount of plugins or intensive **** jobs
Web bots and/or search engine crawlers
Malicious activity such as ****, malware infections, or hacking attacks
Your website has outgrown what your hosting plan can handle.
We then sent a follow-up reminder on June 15th, warning of potential suspension to protect other users on the server. We had to suspend your account on June 19th due to a lack of response. We regret that we didn't hear back from you sooner, as we believe this could have been prevented with timely communication.
Since you are hosted on a shared web hosting environment, these issues affect not only the performance of your website but the overall stability of the entire server. To guarantee a steady and uninterrupted service for all customers, it is necessary to place limits on the use of available resources in a shared hosting environment. These limitations aren't put in place to purposely cause discomfort to you; rather, they're there to ensure that no single account on the server causes a slowdown for the other websites hosted in the same environment. This is a common practice in the industry and essential for providing a fair and balanced service.
We realize that any disruption in your service is frustrating. Please understand that we are acting in the best interests of our customers as a whole while taking these measures. One customer's account using too many server resources might negatively affect the experience for everyone else.
If the issues are not addressed from a technical perspective once the problem has been spotted on our end and reported to you, the only viable solution would be to upgrade your account. This will provide you with additional resources that are necessary to meet the current demands of your web hosting account.
We deeply care about the satisfaction of each and every one of our clients, ?nd it is for this reason that we have established these policies. We sincerely ?pologize if this has caused ?ny difficulty. Please be ?w?re th?t ?ur res?urce us?ge is expressly outlined in ?ur Terms ?f Servi?e, ?nd th? constr?ints ?nd ?ssigned res?urces f?r e?ch ?f ?ur servi?es ?nd pl?ns ?re fully described on ?ur website.
Concerning the higher renewal fee, all new customers receive promotional pricing on signup with HostPapa, this is designed to provide an opportunity to test our services with minimal financial outlay required. Renewals are then priced at the standard rates as shown on the order form during signup, within the HostPapa Dashboard under My Services, and on our website; promotional rates are a loss leader, HostPapa does not make any money on these, and are simply designed to allow customers to try our services and see what HostPapa has to offer.
We rely on customers such as yourself to support HostPapa, renewing their accounts, otherwise, we would not be able to stay in business nor would we be able to provide the level of service our customers deserve.
In regards to a refund, I’m afraid it’s not quite clear what the issue could be. From what I can see, there are no cancellation requests inquiring about a refund on your account. If you wish to cancel your services with us and inquire about a refund of Invoice ******************, please contact our support department and let us know. Or, even better, let me know here what is that you’re looking to do and I will be more than happy to help you.
If you would have any other questions or concerns, please let me know.
Have a great day, *******!
Initial Complaint
Date:03/04/2023
Type:Customer Service Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
In February of 2023, I purchased HostPapa enhanced ********* hosting plan called “** ***”, which claimed to be optimized for unlimited ********* sites. After a couple of weeks, I started getting email warnings saying they would be suspending my sites/emails due to resource overuse. My 2 ********* sites on this server had a combined 10 or so Unique Visitors per day. I later understood that really doing anything more that having someone load my page, such as us upgrading ********* or Plugins would spike the very endemic resources set for this “Pro” ** server.

They asked me to make a number of changes to basic ********* functionality to keep our sites not suspended. Did so, then got another warning of suspension, and that I needed to upgrade to the more expensive plan (at least double price), to use my 2 barely visited ********* site.

After doing so, I noticed that this “** Ultra” plan advertised / claimed (to this day) to come with a handful of very useful security and backup feature, as well as “******* Premium” for one site. I have been asking how to access these addon services for 2 weeks now, from 7 chats, 2 dozen emails, sales agents, support agents, account managers, and now several billing agents. Half of them see the Marketing page and say, “of course these should be included”, but then escalate to higher ups who claim the extra include services that cover my server and websites are just part of ******* Premium, which only covers ONE website.

When I check their KB site, these advanced advertised services exist, are robust, and should be found in my Dashboard. Billing and Support still refuse to add them, as they claim the same functionality is part of *******. They still advertise ******* Premium ($199 value) and ** Ultra Security Suite ($149 value) as part of this ** Ultra plan, but won’t actually let me access them.

Just want to reiterate that all of the above, hours and hours of run-around s, alway force me to start from scratch.
**Buyer beware!**
Business Response
Date: 04/04/2023
Hello ***,
My name is Nicolae, and I am the Customer Happiness Manager at HostPapa Inc.
I would want to take this opportunity to convey our most sincere apologies, on behalf of HostPapa Inc., for all of the challenges that have arisen on your end as a direct result of this extremely confusing situation.
I can't even begin to fathom how frustrating that must have been for you, and I want to reassure you that we are always here to make sure that you have all you need at your disposal to ensure that both you and your project are successful. We would never purposely make things more difficult on your end, and if you got the impression that this was the case from our interactions with you, then please accept our apologies for the trouble this caused you.
First of all, I’d like to address the resource usage situation. My colleagues from the Solutions Department were notified by our server administrators about the spike in the usage of your account, hosted at that moment under our ** *** shared web hosting plan.
Being hosted in a shared environment means that any time an account experiences a sudden spike in resource usage, it has the potential to have an effect on all of the other customers who are hosted on the same shared web hosting server. As there are safeguards in place to prevent this from happening, we are immediately notified and start working to find a satisfactory solution with the client.
According to what I can see, the issues were caused by a significant number of hits that were made to your website by a variety of bots. The appropriate course of action, which includes some steps for troubleshooting in addition to an upgrade path, has been recommended by my colleagues.
In addition to the bots trying to access the site, the RAM utilization was another problem. This could be due to factors like malfunctioning plugins or themes, which would have a multiplier effect on the already dire scenario.
Unlike the ** *** plan, which includes both Protection Power and the dedicated Automatic Website Backup services, the ** Ultra plan does not bundle these two features together. These functionalities are instead handled in the premium version of the ******* plugin that comes with the ** Ultra plan. As ******* already takes care of these kinds of features, it's not necessary to pay for redundant services on top of the base plan and the ******* plugin.
As the ******* plugin included with ** *** is only the basic version and not the premium one that would provide backup and more advanced security capabilities, these add-on services are specifically added to the ** *** plan to accommodate and cover for the lack of features.
Despite the fact that these are the plans along with their features, it seems that there was a lot of confusion surrounding the add-ons for the ** Ultra plan when you contacted our customer service department.
We have recently made some updates to our product pages along with the order page, and it seems that the wording used in that situation is causing confusion. Rest assured, I have now submitted a thorough analysis of the situation with the highest priority for our development team to review and adjust accordingly as soon as possible. We are truly sorry for the hassle this situation has caused you, and we appreciate your feedback on this matter as it enables us to continue to improve our services and our customer experience offerings.
In light of the information presented above, I will now follow up with you utilizing our internal communication system, via Ticket #*******, to provide guidance on a course of action that would bring about the desired outcome on your end and advise you accordingly. I assure you that my coworkers and I will find a way to make up for the amount of time that you have spent dealing with this regrettable circumstance and that we will do so as soon as possible.
Although I can only imagine how stressful this situation was for you and how unpleasant it was to cope with, I really hope that we can put it behind us and move on with our collaboration, treating it as nothing more than a blemish on our otherwise wonderful journey together.
If you have any other concerns or questions, please make sure to include them in your reply to me via ticket #*******.
Have a great day ahead, ***!
Customer Answer
Date: 04/04/2023

Complaint: ********

I am rejecting this response because:
So sorry to read this as this is almost word-for-word the same ********** and disingenuous explanation I’ve had heard from half of the staff from HosPapa at all levels. While the other half of the staff understood and tried to get the “higher ups” to rectify the issue, it continues to be misrepresented, when getting to the desks of people who actually make the final decisions.
Regarding the original plan suspension, this was not due to rogue plugins or unusual bots as claimed, but rather very standard processes for *********, such as plugin updates, and the bots mentioned were simply pinging the site several times an hours to see if it was online. Nothing out of the ordinary, and again, about 10 unique visitors per day, on a supposed Level 3 (of 4) optimized for ********* plan. NEVER had this issue with previous host. And never had threading emails saying I had to resolve or upgrade to a higher paid tier in order to avoid losing access to my data.
Again, for the other issue, they claim it was a touch confusing, and that the Advertised Services weren’t actually need because similar features existing in another (******* Premium) service. This isn’t confusing, it’s ******* ***** ***********, and as everyone can see, even at this level, they are still obfuscating this. Additionally, ******* Premium has SOME similar features, but not all, and not nearly as robust as the four advertised services, listed as separate add on services ASIDE from *******. Lastly, as mentioned at all levels of this, ******* PREMIUM only works with ONE domain, not the UNLIMITED domains supported by this plan. So no automated backups, firewalls, spam filtering, security scans, etc for ALL BUT ONE domain. The advertised services they refuse to honour would cover ALL domains on this server plan.
Anyhow, just going around and around in circles here, and have long hit my limit. I have acquired service from another host, and will figure out what to do with this one when it’s finally in the rear view.
Hoped for a simple resolution weeks ago, but this is clearly not possible with this company. Hope they find their way to improve these too frequently increasing questionable business practices. Forcing up-sells with threat of data loss, intentionally leaving ********** and non-existent services in sales pages, and then gas-lighting customers to this extent, are not recipes for long-term business growth and health.
See many other (ex)customers and almost exluisvely 1.5 out of 5 stars of late, so hope you can take this to heart.

Sincerely,

*** ********
Initial Complaint
Date:03/03/2023
Type:Customer Service Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Since November 2022, I have lost access to my email service multiple times without prior communication from this provider. I have spent countless hours on the phone trying to resolve the issue, receiving run arounds from multiple customer service providers, having to re-explain my situation over and over again.
In December 2022, I was assured by my account manager that I would be able to continue to use the server/interface that I had been previously using, only to find out that 8 weeks later, my email was completely shut down and inaccessible without any forwarning. Furthermore, I was hung up on by a customer service provider and now my account manager is not picking up my calls. I have lost 3 months of emails and 2 business days of correspondence due to this companies incompetent services. I still don't have access to the services that I was promised by this provider. I would like to be contacted by a supervisor that can resolve the problems and help me to migrate away from their services.
Business Response
Date: 10/03/2023
Hello *****,

Thank you for getting in touch with us via BBB.

My name is Nicolae and I am the Customer Happiness Manager here at HostPapa Inc.

On behalf of HostPapa Inc., I would like to extend our most sincere apologies for any hassle experienced on your end as a result of the migration that happened in November 2022.
I have reviewed the internal communication we’ve had with you on both Ticket #******* and Ticket #******* in order to get a better understanding of the situation and I will now try to clarify what happened.
From what I can see, we sent out notifications concerning the upcoming migration back in November to all of the customers that would be affected by the migration of their hosting accounts from the old servers they were hosted on at the previous provider ***** to the newer ones, at HostPapa.
The initial notification was sent out by our Marketing Department on October 13th, 2022, more than 15 days ahead of time, and the most recent reminder was sent a day ahead of the migration itself (Nov/28/2022), by my colleagues from the Acquisitions Department. All of the communication was sent using the primary email address you had on file - *****@*****************.com

The following notices were part of the notification:
—
For the email addresses added in an email client (e.g. *******, ***** ****, ****** ****), you will need to change the server hostname to domain.com (where you would replace “domain.com” with the domain of the email address you are setting up).
• Important: Please note that due to security measures, all email passwords will be reset during the migration. This being the case, we recommend that you update it after the migration is completed to ensure that you’ll be able to connect to your email. To reset your email password(s), please follow the instructions in this Knowledge Base article: https://*****************************************
—
On Nov/29/2022, my colleagues followed up with you again, letting you know that the migration has been completed and what steps have to be taken to ensure that everything is running smoothly.
This was part of their follow-up:
—
The migration of your website(s) is complete. We have finished copying all of your website(s) and email data to the new server. A separate email was sent to you with your HostPapa dashboard login information.
ACTION REQUIRED
We have identified that at least one of your websites is using an external DNS. In order for your website(s) and/or email(s) to start resolving from the new server, please ensure the domain name(s) are pointing to the new server IP address and/or MX record listed below. Our team is unable to complete this step for you but can guide you if help is needed. Alternatively, you can point your nameservers to the following if you are hosting both your website and emails with us.
—
My colleagues have provided the necessary information to set everything up along with email settings, new server information, and nameservers, in the same email (Ticket #*******).
From what I can see, on Nov/29/2022 you contacted us mentioning that you were able to add the account on your phone however, the emails from that day were gone, which seemed to cause some trouble with the boarding tickets you were expecting or wanted to print out for your flight next day.
My colleagues have tried to explain the situation concerning the DNS setup and from what we understood at that time, the IT person who helped you before couldn’t be reached therefore, making the adjustments was not really possible.
After further discussing the situation, our team kindly agreed to unsuspend the account from the previous server in order to allow for the possibility of accessing those emails and perhaps help you in retrieving the boarding pass information.
Although we deeply regret the situation you’ve experienced concerning your flight, this migration as I’ve mentioned was previously announced. We send our prior communication precisely to avoid situations like this.
From what I can see, on December 30th, 2022, my colleagues already added a compensatory period to your web hosting services (updated hosting package renewal date from Jul 06, 2023, to Jan 06, 2024) for the hassle experienced post-migration, as a kind token of appreciation for the whole experience. This happened after the situation was reviewed by a Customer Service Supervisor, at your own request.
On Jan/12/2023, your account manager Daniel mentioned that he discussed with you and you were ok staying with the web hosting service, the only thing brought up to us was that if anything needs adjustments, you must be notified at least a week in advance to prepare yourself.
Moving on to Ticket #*******.
On Feb/28/2023, our customer service department received this ticket from you, concerning some problems accessing your emails, something related to the username/password. My colleagues began the troubleshooting process by inquiring about the settings that are currently being used in the email client with screenshots of the menus, if possible. This represents standard procedure and it builds a starting ground that would help towards a positive outcome in the troubleshooting process.
After that, they discussed the situation over the phone and updated the ticket with the notes of that discussion so that my colleagues can further troubleshoot the situation. This was on Mar/01/2023 1:19:23PM.
Shortly after, on Mar/01/2023 2:34:54PM we received another follow-up from you on that ticket, stating that you were unable to access the email and that we shut down the service again without prior notice. I would like to make it clear that we did not do such a thing. After the migration was performed, the old accounts were suspended on the old servers. As I explained above, that situation has already been cleared with you and everything was fine at that time, therefore, there were no other suspensions that could’ve occurred on your end, in March.
Along with your complaint regarding the email account, you also mentioned that you were unable to reach your Account Manager, and from what I can see in this complaint, there are other things related to him that could be worth addressing:-
I was assured by my account manager that I would be able to continue to use the server/interface that I had been previously using, only to find out that 8 weeks later, my email was completely shut down and inaccessible without any forwarning. Furthermore, I was hung up on by a customer service provider and now my account manager is not picking up my calls.
-
I am not able to see any written communication between Daniel and you that would confirm the above in our systems.
Concerning the hung-up phone, we would need more details in order to further investigate the situation. When did this occur? Which phone number was used to call us?
As for the account manager not picking up the calls, please understand that our account managers are not available 24/7 as our customer support departments are. Even so, we do provide 24/7 service however, it’s not always the same person. I’m sure that if Daniel was not able to pick up the phone call at that exact time, he got in touch with you later on as I’m seeing some test emails sent from him to your email address on the 1st of March when you expressed your concerns regarding email issues.
In the end, after we received your follow-up on the ticket, my colleagues got back to you on Mar/01/2023 4:34:35PM confirming that they were able to access the webmail interface and provided you with a new password for the account. As for the missing emails, the following was stated by my colleagues:
-
We can also see lots of emails, but can not see where is it you are missing some
**** *** ********** *********
Kindly review and keep us posted.
-
However, we haven’t heard back from you on that ticket, therefore it was not possible to further troubleshoot the situation without the additional details.
Once again, we deeply regret the trouble that you experienced on your end as a result of the migration that happened back in November. Please know that it was never our intention to cause any hassle. Our main goal at HostPapa is to ensure that you have everything you need at your disposal so that you and your project can succeed.
In light of all this, I am aware that you have requested to be migrated away from us to a new provider and I will open a direct line of communication in our systems with us. I have already created a new ticket - Ticket #******* BBB Case - Addressing Complaint where I have followed up with you using the primary email address on file and another backup ***** account I’ve noticed you mentioned before in your other tickets.
In order to be able to help you as best as we can, we'll need to know the exact issues you're facing, described in great detail. If you're still considering moving away, please let me know and then I will be able to advise on that.
Either way, please get back to me via that ticket/email that you received from me and I will be more than happy to personally investigate your concerns further.
Thank you for your understanding.

Have a great day ahead, *****!
Initial Complaint
Date:24/01/2023
Type:Service or Repair Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
HostPapa is involved in an ********* practice of putting malware on my website and later on selling their own protection plan. When I reached out to them for support, their employees suggested buying their other products like a protection plan. There was a simple solution to get rid of an infected file by running an antivirus but they did not do that but compelling me to buy their other protection plan. There is too much greed by Host papa. It's so shameful. Sorry, I am harsh but they are not cooperative at all. I am their customer, but you treat me like a tool to make money. They should cooperate with me in this initial phase of my business. I request them to get my website normal.
Business Response
Date: 25/01/2023
Hello *******,
My name is Nicolae and I am the Customer Happiness Manager here at HostPapa Inc.
First of all, I would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the troubles you have experienced with your website and I would like to guarantee that it was never our intent to cause any hassle on your side. Our only goal is to ensure that our customers have everything they need at their disposal in order to be successful.
I have reviewed the case, particularly Ticket #******* - Website blacklisted by ******. From what I can see, my colleagues analyzed the account and then proceeded with the standard recommendations for malware situations.
Please understand that the very idea of planting malware on customers' accounts, as you suggest, is not only immoral and ********* but also unlawful, since it would be used to legitimize the company's pursuit of upselling. We want to make clear that we would never do something so despicable as to intentionally infect a customer's account with malware in an effort to justify a need for a service.
Neither in the past nor in the future will a client be treated in such a manner by HostPapa. We exist only to ensure that our clients receive the highest quality service while also being able to take advantage of any of our offerings that may help them achieve their goals, whether they are professional or otherwise.
It's important to note that there are many potential entry points for malware and that security vulnerabilities are the most typical cause of their appearance. To that end, please make sure that all of your passwords, including those used to log into cPanel, are secure and strong.
The Protection Power service was recommended to you by my coworkers because it functions as an antivirus and can detect and eliminate malware from your account. When a client of ours faces a challenge of this nature, they may rely on this service as the solution. While malware screening and removal is not a "by default" service we provide since it's not always essential, even if it happens seldom, it is available if you require it or decide you would like a higher level of protection for your account. This is also the industry standard when it comes to situations like this.
As a one-time courtesy, I had one of our Senior Technical Representatives manually scan your account and remove the malware found. The procedure was successful and my colleague removed the ********* file:

** ************************ - - - which was a duplicate version of your index file, malware corrupted. Everything is fine at the moment.
Once more, I want to be quite clear: HostPapa did not intentionally infect your account to force you to purchase a service. My coworkers have just suggested the most effective course of action for dealing with a scenario like this one.
If you would have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.
Have a great day ahead, *******!
Customer Answer
Date: 26/01/2023

Kindly close complaint no. ********* It's now resolved.
Customer Answer
Date: 21/02/2024
Subject: Immediate Action Required: Inadequate Service and Unresolved Website Flagging Issue [#*******] Dear HostPapa Management, I am writing due to ongoing issues with my website, *****************.com, being incorrectly flagged as a phishing site (ticket #*******). Despite purchasing an SSL certificate and Protection Power Plan, and after numerous communications with your support team, the issue persists, significantly impacting my professional reputation. Your team's suggestions, including directing me to liaise with LinkedIn and check ******'s Transparency Report, have been unhelpful and demonstrate a lack of responsibility for resolving the issue. The advice provided does not address the core problem and places undue burden on me to seek a resolution outside of your service scope. This situation demands more than basic technical support; it requires senior intervention and a strategic approach to rectify the problem. The current handling of my case shows a disconnect between the promised service and the actual support provided, undermining my trust in HostPapa. I urgently request a detailed review and action plan from a senior team member, outlining how you will resolve this issue effectively. It is crucial that HostPapa takes immediate and comprehensive steps to address this matter, reflecting the seriousness of its impact on my business. I expect a prompt response and a solution that aligns with the severity of this situation. Sincerely, ******* ********* Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant
Business Response
Date: 26/02/2024
Dear *******,

My name is Nicolae I am the Customer Happiness Manager at HostPapa Inc.

First of all, I want to assure you that your concerns are being taken with the utmost seriousness. It is evident that the issues you've experienced with your website have caused significant distress, and for any frustration this has caused, we are truly sorry.
I understand that you have been bearing the brunt of a situation that is, regrettably, not entirely within the domain of web hosting services we provide. However, despite these limitations, our dedicated senior technical team has acted in good faith, tirelessly working to assist you far beyond the usual scope of our support under Ticket #*******.

Navigating third-party protocols, especially those concerning blacklisting and security flags, often entails a complex and sometimes prolonged resolution process - especially when it involves entities like ********** and the internal systems of professional networks such as ********. That said, from what I can see under the ongoing Ticket, the collective effort has paid off, as the blacklists have been resolved. As a result, we succeeded in escalating the case to ********’s internal team, who are currently investigating the issue with an expected time-frame of 1-2 working days for further updates.

Whilst the challenges you've faced are not typical of the web hosting services we provide, we chose to stand by you as a testament to our customer commitment.

Recognizing that the effects on your business are far from trivial, we are eagerly waiting alongside you for LinkedIn’s final resolution. We appreciate your patience and understanding as they work through their review process, and we remain vigilant in monitoring your situation to support where we can.

Our sincere intention is for your website to thrive under your leadership and for any memory of this incident to be swiftly replaced by satisfaction with our service.

Please keep an eye on Ticket #******* for further information and updates pertaining to this situation. If you have any other questions or concerns, our senior technical team will be more than happy to address them in that ticket.

Thank you once more for your patience and for choosing HostPapa as your web hosting partner. Your success is integral to our mission, and we look forward to moving past this hurdle together.

Warm regards,

Nicolae
Customer Happiness Manager
HostPapa Inc.
Initial Complaint
Date:17/01/2023
Type:Customer Service Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
In early Dec, I contacted HostPapa to have a Bronze account downgraded to Plus. Working with a customer service member, I made the arrangements, including migrating specific websites (Site1, Site2, Site3). A bill for service was received and paid same-day. Additionally, I received confirmation the migration would take approx. 3-5 business days.

Over a month later, the work is incomplete, and the sites are offline.

During this month:
I received 72 emails from HostPapa
I had 18 points of contact
HostPapa incorrectly charged my account several hundred dollars. Complete reimbursements remain outstanding.
HostPapa attempted to transfer Site1 with the incorrect domain name.
HostPapa insisted Site2 couldn't migrate until I contacted *******. I informed them that the domain they were trying to transfer wasn't mine. HostPapa supplied registry details about its link to ******* and insisted I verify with *******. ******* affirmed it wasn't my site, and I had no account with them. I provided this info to HostPapa, who insisted I file a grievance against ******* via ****. Yet again, I told HostPapa it wasn't my site. HostPapa never followed up, eventually transferring the requested Site2 correctly.
HostPapa migrated Site3.
An extra site was added to the account—an unrequested Site4. I told HostPapa that I did not want this site and would like a refund for the cost. HostPapa refused a refund stating they had incurred charges for the faulty transfer, and I was on the hook for it. I pushed back, and HostPapa cancelled the Plus account fully and broke off all contact regarding the current status.
To this day,
Multiple requests to have one point of contact remain ignored.
My request to speak with a supervisor to finalize the transaction and avoid the confusion of 70+ emails remains outstanding.
My request for details about the earliest date I can transfer the websites to another provider has gone ignored.
I'm unable to access the sites at all. I can't retrieve a backup.
Business Response
Date: 18/01/2023
*****Hello *****,

My name is Nicolae and I am the Customer Happiness Manager here at HostPapa Inc.

On
behalf of HostPapa Inc., I would like to convey our sincerest apologies
for how this entire situation has been handled, as well as for the
additional trouble that this has caused on your end. Please know that it
was never our intention to cause any unnecessary issues on your end and
that our fundamental objective was to ensure that you have all you need
at your disposal for you and your project to be successful.

I
have conducted a comprehensive investigation into the matter, and I
have read all of the tickets in which this matter has been discussed
(*******, *******, *******, *******). I can't even begin to fathom how
perplexing this whole scenario must have been for you, and how
irritating it must have been to have to deal with it.

According
to the findings of the investigation, this scenario was caused by
several different circumstances, the most significant of which were
misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication between our end and
yours, for which we sincerely apologize. These misunderstandings led to
the whole situation concerning website 1 (*************.com), website 2
*************.com), and website 3 (************.ca).

Regarding
website 4, although you requested cancellation of the Reseller plan
since you haven't used it in a while, it wasn't made clear whether or
not the domain name linked with it (website 4 - ****************.com)
should also be terminated, and refunded in your initial request dated
Dec/06/2022. Even so, my colleagues should’ve clarified this matter to
you before proceeding with the billing arrangements. This is why the
domain name, which you referred to as "an unrequested Site4", was not
canceled and refunded and was instead included in your new web hosting
plan.

I would also like to clarify the following:

HostPapa refused a refund stating they had incurred charges for the faulty transfer, and I was on the hook for it

Since
the domain name was not canceled and it was renewed instead, in
accordance with our terms of service, domain name services are not
refundable once they have been renewed. This is due to the fact that
domain name services entail expenses with our registrars and fees that
can no longer be reimbursed by them. As for the faulty transfer
mentioned by you here, I’m not quite sure what that is about when
referring to this domain name only.

Moving forward, the
cancellation of your new hosting plan had nothing to do with the fact
that you pushed back for a refund of the domain name. It was simply
another misunderstanding that led to this situation. During that
interaction with my billing colleagues, the request for the domain name
(website 4) to be canceled wasn't made explicitly clear. As a result,
since the prior domain name that was linked with the Reseller account
(website 4) was renewed and became the primary domain name for your new
web hosting account (as is the typical process when an account is being
downgraded, the primary domain name remains the same unless it is
canceled), caused my colleagues to believe that the new hosting plan
should be canceled, as per your request.

This is also owing to
the fact that they have previously indicated why it is not possible to
cancel the domain name, and the only thing that could have been canceled
at that point was the hosting plan. Adding in the mix the threats made
by your side about charge-back procedures, which we usually strive to
avoid, I'm going to presume that my coworkers attempted to respect your
request as quickly as they could in an effort to avoid any charge-back,
which might lead to several uncomfortable scenarios including those
involving our payment processors.

Moving on to the last part mentioned by you concerning the supervisor request and the transfer of the domain names elsewhere:

I
agree that the case should have been escalated immediately upon your
request, however, it seems that my coworkers missed to do so and the
issue was never brought to the attention of management. Despite the fact
that we have particular procedures that were developed expressly for
this objective, we have failed to adhere to them in this instance.
In
regard to the other request about the transfer of the domain names at
the earliest date, my colleagues have addressed that in Ticket *******,
on Jan/13/2023:

Regarding your questions about the domain
transfer, all .COM/.CA domains can only be transferred after 60 days
from the date they were registered. If you wish to transfer any of them
away and it has been over 60 days since they were registered, you can
follow the steps here or contact us directly to make this transfer:
https://***************************************************************************

In
the end, I understand that this journey appears to be quite unpleasant,
and I reiterate that I can only fathom how irritating it must have been
for you to cope with everything while only attempting to keep making
use of our services. There are no words to express how sorry we are to
learn about this experience and to know that this situation could’ve
been avoided. Rest assured that a comprehensive investigation will be
carried out, and the entire case will be evaluated along with the
managers of the relevant departments. This will be done so that every
piece of information can be thoroughly analyzed, and those responsible
for this circumstance will be held accountable for the consequences of
their actions.

Having gone through this, I can see why you
would be reluctant to use our services again; nevertheless, I promise
you that what seemed like a major problem at first was actually just a
simple misunderstanding that snowballed out of control. It was never the
intention or the plan for things to turn out this way, and we always
make it a priority to do all in our power to provide our customers with
whatever they require to be successful.

In a humble attempt to
ensure that our journey continues while making the unpleasant
experience be just a bad memory we could learn from, I would be more
than happy to address everything that went wrong starting with:

Cancellation and full refund on our expense of the domain name remained from the reseller plan (website 4 - ****************.com)
Reactivation of the new web hosting plan and ensuring that everything works properly

Along
with these steps, I would also like to add 3 free months of web hosting
to your new plan, as compensation for all the trouble you’ve been
through.

I will be following up with you from inside our
systems within the next couple of minutes, opening a new ticket where
all of these will be handled, and moving forward, I will be your sole
point of contact at HostPapa until we get everything sorted out. When
you will receive the email from me to confirm the information above, if
you have any other questions, comments, or suggestions, please make sure
they are forwarded to me at the same address. From now on, in an effort
to prevent a recurrence of this kind of scenario, everything we do will
need to be validated by your side.

I have high hopes that our
path will continue together and that we will be able to put this event
in the past as something that will, after many years have passed, be
nothing more than an unpleasant memory. We value you as our customer and
will do everything in our power to ensure that you are happy with your
services and the experience you receive from us.

Have a great day ahead, *****!
Initial Complaint
Date:03/11/2022
Type:Service or Repair Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
Hostpapa sends emails that state my account will be terminated as there is too much traffic to my site, however I rarely get even 5 or 6 visits a day as i dont do much promotion. In the past I upgraded due to these emails when Hostpapa stated that a upgrade would solve this problem. Yet they continue to say there is a problem and that yet another upgrade will again resolve the issue.
I can't imagine that such traffic exists but is more about shared servers or bots or some other issue they track.
I have completely lost faith in this company. I guess their sales department is too aggressive for me and my small business.
Business Response
Date: 04/11/2022
Hello **** ****,
Thank you for getting in touch with us through BBB.
We have reviewed your account and we will try to clarify the situation.
First of all, please accept our sincere apologies for any trouble that this situation has caused you. Our intention was not to create any difficulties on your end but to ensure that you have everything you need to guarantee that you and your project succeed. From what I can see, there was an upgrade processed to Business Pro in April this year, under Ticket #******* [Upgrade] Web Hosting Business Pro. The upgrade was needed to handle the faults and limits being exceeded under the previous plan.

At the beginning of October, my colleagues from the Solutions Department (Angel - the account manager assigned to you) reached out to you again with information pertaining to another situation caused by the resource limits being exceeded again. Their first follow-up was on the 3rd of October, followed by another one on the 6th of October. These 2 initial follow-ups have described the situation and possible solutions that could resolve the issue, including guidelines on the troubleshooting side. Of course, certain upgrades were recommended in case you didn’t want to dive into the technical matters and handle this on your own.
On October the 7th, we received the following reply from you:
“Hello Angel,
I continue to receive the emails regarding this but I don’t understand why it continues.
The site is on a redirect to my other domain name.”
After this, my colleagues replied on October 10th, trying to explain the situation and that the main concern was that your account usage is affecting the overall stability of the server. He also included a PDF with recommended optimizations along with alternatives such as upgrades that can be pursued. After that and an extra 4 follow-ups from our side, we didn’t hear back from you until October 24th, when you expressed your concern and overall confusion on this matter.
Regarding what you mentioned in that reply:
“Hostpapa keeps asking me to upgrade, time after time, but “problems” persist. I just don’t get it”
“Hostpapa should be able to protect the “unlimited” (as I was quoted last time) so that hacking etc. on ********* sites doesn’t get in the way.”
Unfortunately, this is not how our Unlimited Policy works. The resources available for all of our plans are publicly available on our website and as for the Unlimited Policy, it is well described in our Terms of Service which can be read here - https://www.******************
We do everything in our power to ensure that all our clients have access to a reliable shared web hosting environment, including consistent email functionality and other resources, without interruption. Therefore, some resource constraints are in place to ensure this result. We work hard to ensure that our services are always available and running well for you. If a customer's account on a shared server goes over its allotted quota, it will negatively affect all the other clients in that shared hosting environment.
This is the main reason why we kept trying to get in touch with you and try to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, this is how things run in a shared web hosting environment and it’s the same for any other provider of such services. Resource limits are in place to guarantee a stable experience for everyone.
Concerning the first comment about problems persisting, as long as the upgrade is performed under a shared hosting environment, it would raise the resource limits however, it won’t remove them. Therefore, to ensure that the problem of exceeding the limits won’t occur again, a dedicated solution would be preferred such as a VPS - where you don’t share the server resources with anyone but yourself.
When we initially suggested and performed the upgrade back in April, it took care of the problem because the limits were raised therefore, the faults that were happening at that time, were under the limits set for the new plan, thus, didn’t impact the overall stability of the server. We didn’t have a way to know that the problem would occur again because this time around, since the limits are being reached again, it could mean that the cause is based on a variety of reasons such as malicious bots accessing your website and generating a number of hits, despite a low number of genuine visitors, poorly developed resources such as themes or plugins that you chose to use on your ********* installation and that we have no control over, etc.

I would like to stress the fact that in all of our communication with you (between Angel and you) we have never threatened you, instead, we tried to explain the situation and recommend certain steps to be taken in order to resolve the matter, including optimizations that can be done for your website by you or your developer.
Each and every one of our customers' experiences is important to us, thus we really hope that everyone can appreciate how important is to maintain a stable web hosting environment. I’m sure that no one would appreciate their websites not being loaded properly due to an account exceeding resources and generating faults on the same server they’re being hosted on.
We regret any discomfort this may have caused, however, please note that our resource usage is explicitly specified in our Terms of Service and that the limitations and allocated resources for each of our services and plans are properly described on our website, publicly available for everyone.
As a remedy for this situation, I will have my colleagues from the Technical Department perform an extensive audit and see if there would be something we can handle for you, as a one-time courtesy since the way a website is designed, is not included in our normal scope of support. We usually identify the culprit and point you in the right direction to resolve the situation. However, we will see if there’s something we can perform on your behalf that would lead to solving the problem of limits being exceeded.
We will be in touch with you via Ticket #******* Resource Usage Situation - BBB. Kindly wait for my colleagues' replies there and make sure you get back to them with any concerns, questions, or approvals needed to facilitate the resolution of this matter. One of the reasons my colleague Angel was following up with you so many times is that we weren’t getting any reply from you to our follow-ups, in a timely manner. As I explained above, these situations are critical to the overall stability of the server.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding on this matter.
Have a great day ahead, ****!

Regards,
Nicolae
Customer Happiness Manager
HostPapa Inc.
Initial Complaint
Date:01/11/2022
Type:Product Issues
Status:
ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
Resolved:
The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
Unresolved:
The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
Answered:
The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
Unanswered:
The business failed to respond to the dispute.
Unpursuable:
BBB is unable to locate the business.
I purchased a ****** hosting package on October 20, 2022 with Hostpapa. After registering and logging into the ****** account, a system I've used for well over 10 years, I was not able to add domains to my account (which is the entire purposed of a hosting control panel like ******). The feature was not working (and I have attached a screenshot of the error). I was then forced to contact support to add the domain name.

Over the next week, I was forced to submit three more support tickets for the same reason/problem (and each time I had to RE-explain the problem). After contacting support repeatedly, they would not resolve the issue permanently, so I was forced to move to another provider. I have never had this issue with any other ****** hosting provider.

Finally I asked to cancel my account and ask for a refund (October 27th, 2022). They said no and I should read through their lengthy terms of service. However, the plain text on their homepage reads (and I've attached a screenshot of their page with this text):

100% satisfaction guaranteed
Our services are backed by an unconditional guarantee. Try our services risk-free.

I have requested a refund and they have declined. I have no further recourse but to submit this grievance.

Thank you.
Business Response
Date: 02/11/2022
Hello *****,
Thank you for getting in touch with us via BBB.
I would like to being by extending our sincerest apologies for any misunderstanding caused on your end as a result of the way the refund situation has been handled. Please know that it was never our intention to cause any more trouble on your end as we’re only here to ensure that you along with your project succeed and that you have every resource available to enable you to do that.
The errors encountered by you in ****** are due to a limitation that all of the web hosting providers enforce on their shared web hosting servers. As my colleagues have already explained a few days ago under Ticket #*******, the reason why we don't allow remote domains is that we had clients with malicious intents adding thousands of add-on domains that didn't belong to them (they hunted unused domain names) and then added redirections towards malicious or
phishing websites.
The limitation is in place to ensure your safety and prevent any unwanted events from happening as a result of malicious intent.
Therefore, whenever someone tries to add a domain in ****** that doesn’t point to our servers, they will encounter the error you mentioned in this complaint. The only way to add a domain name to a ****** account is by pointing that domain name to our name-servers or by contacting us and having it added for you after certain verification measures are passed to ensure the veracity of the ownership.
Concerning the refund, from what I can see, my colleagues from the billing department have already processed a full refund a few days ago under Ticket #*******. If you would have any questions or concerns regarding this, please reply to that ticket and submit your inquiries to my colleagues. They will be more than happy to get back to you and help you through it.
Have a great day, *****!

Regards,
Nicolae
Customer Happiness Manager
HostPapa Inc.
Customer Answer
Date: 02/11/2022

Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Sincerely,

***** ******

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