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Advice: Do not choose Hostbrix.com as your webhost!

Jun 7, 2007 2:10AM PDT

Signed up with Hostbrix in late 2006. At first, the customer service by email was great - prompt and helpful. I definitely got the sense that they were a novice company but I didn't mind as long as it worked. The price was pretty good, or so I thought at the time. (Now I see that there are many other more reputable hosts out there with similar or better pricing.)

Similar to another reviewer, there was a point when my FTP and email stopped working completely, though I could still log in to cPanel online. I emailed support about this a couple times and was surprised when they didn't respond at all. Add this to the fact that around that time, a friend of mine who does networking and hosting work for a Fortune 500 company looked at Hostbrix to see what the issue could be, and while I don't understand all the technical stuff he was saying, he basically said that their setup looked like it would if someone were running hosting from their own home. Not very professional.

All this put a lot of doubt in my mind, and so I decided to switch to a more reputable host, Lunarpages. (Lunarpages has been excellent so far, by the way.) I emailed customer service with the appropriate information requesting a cancellation of my account and release of my domain (which I received on sign-up) to me. No response. I emailed probably 15 or 20 times with no reply. I called their "24/7 customer service" and one time I got through. I spoke to someone who literally sounded like they were using a voice disguiser, and he lazily looked for my account for 20 minutes before giving up - he couldn't find any record of my account. Frustrated, I said, "OK then we can assume the account has probably been cancelled. Just let me know the EPP code for my domain so I can transfer it to my own registrar. He told me that he would make a service request for me, saying that I was having technical issues. I said "I'm not having technical issues, I need my domain released to me." His reply to that was, "Yes, but if I tell them that there is no way they'll ever call. If I tell them you are having technical issues, there is at least a chance they will call." Obviously I never received a call back. I then sent a certified letter, still with no reply.

At this point I either have to contact a lawyer or just acknowledge that I have lost my domain to them. I even offered to pay them for the domain - no reply. I've sent them emails from different email accounts, so I know that it is not a problem with my emails not getting through.

The point is, at the end of this tragedy, DO NOT CHOOSE HOSTING WITH HOSTBRIX!! They might seem nice up front, but they are just trying to get you into a contract. With so many dishonest hosting companies out there nowadays (and Hostbrix is definitely one of them), there is no excuse to go with a questionable or inexperienced host. Go with a host that has an excellent reputation, or at least a decent reputation coupled with a long history in the business.

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