Fear For Your Wallet - Run Fast Away From Ipowerweb

[kycolonel422]

For the few who praise IPowerWeb, you don't know who you're dealing with until you try to cancel thier servie or ask them not renew your account or want to move to a different host.

If your domain and/or web site comes up for renewal and you choose not to renew, they will steal the money straight from your bank account or credit card without your authorization and renew your account anyway. After a battle they will finally refund your money except for $20.00 which they refuse to give back.

Here's the deal - they offer a free domain when you pay for a year of hosting up front. When you notify them after the year is due to be up that you do not want to renew, they will then renew your account anyway, using your credit or debit card information you gave them when you first signed up, without your authorization. After a tortuous battle using every threat in the book, they will eventually give all but $20.00 of it back and preceed to tell you that the $20.00 is for the domain which is non-refundable.

#1..if a domain was given to you free just for signing up for a year, how can they in turn charge you $20.00 for it?
#2..if you do not renew your domain or hosting with them, how can you be charged a non-refundable fee for something you did not purchase anyway?

They have made this a steady practice, I have found out by doing my research, for several years and are making a killing off of it. For everyone who signs up with them and gives them a credit or debit card, they use it to renew against your will, then after numerous phone calls or emails they finally offer to give the money back minus $20.00. Most people are so happy to get most of the money back that they don't even bother to go to the trouble of trying to get the rest. Also, how many lawyers will take your case for a measly $20.00. IPowerWeb is smooth. They know exactly what they are doing and smiling all the way to the bank. I have already filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office and they are very interested in this case. I've also contacted the Better Business Bureau. Now I'm on a crusade to tell the whole world about IPowerWeb and their unscruplous, crooked practice. I would like to host with another company and use the same domain name but IPowerWeb has it locked up and I know they will not un-lock it under any terms or threats. Once they get your domain, they will keep it as long as they have your financial information on file. The only way to keep them from getting your money is by canceling the credit or debit card you used to sign up with them.

They've already stolen $40.00 from my credit/debit card and are attempting to do it again but I've gotten smart and canceled my credit card. Don't use IpowerWeb, they are low down dirty rotten thieves.

[maria48]

I agree, I had a site www.puppypuddles.com and ranked within the first 3 pages on google, yahoo, msn. They took my site down without a good reason, now I'm on the phone etc. THEY REALLY SUCK. After two years of being a happy customer to hating them

[HTML]

What was the reason they gave?

Dave

[maria48]

my site has been "comprised" LOL. They can't even spell... I think they said "compromised"...I'm on the phone with them as we speak and threatened with the BBB and my lawyer twin brother lol

[vinyl-junkie]

I'm surprised that you would do battle directly with IPowerWeb (or anyone else, for that matter). If you have a disputed charge on your credit card, simply write a letter to your credit card company explaining the situation to them. Once they receive your letter, you have 60 days in which to try and resolve the situation with IPowerWeb. They won't collect a cent from you while the charge is being disputed! That is a pretty powerful club to hang over their heads to make them negotiate with you.

BTW, don't call your credit card company. Write them a letter. That is the ony way your rights will be protected.

[lorraineboot]

I too have been a victom of ipowerweb.I paid in advance for two years with them. After 1 year they shut down my website. I called , I wrote emails to support , billing and no one would reply except to say I did not pay my bill. I called my credit card company and wrote them a letter also stateing the problems I am having with ipowerweb.I ask them to get one years money back because they shut me down. So I did get my money back, then my phone was ringing and it was ipowerweb. They said it was an error on there part (yea my site was off a month) and to pay them for another two years and they wanted me to pay a charge back fee! I said no way am I paying for their mistake. I told him , this is the only way I got your attention to this problem ,by getting my money back.I switched to vizaweb and ipowerweb had my domain on lockdown. I wrote to the BBB and ICANN . There is an online form to file complaints at this link: Have a complaint about a registrar? ICANN does not resolve individual customer-service complaints about registrars. You can, however, http://www.internic.net/cgi/registrars/problem-report.cgi lodge a complaint about a registrar here.Then somehow they got my domain name back for me to use at Vizaweb. Now this year , I want to move my site on to Blue Host or a better service that isn`t to exspensive. I find out ipowerwer still has a hold of my domain name and I had to call them to registar.Ipowerweb is telling me to fax a copy of my credit card and I asked how much will this cost? Ipowerweb said two years and the $35 chargeback fee! I am going thru hell with them all over again!!! I pick the name kumitekid.com for my sons karate site now I find out ipowerweb has power again over me. My site is in lock down again. I am writting to the attorney general and BBB and file another ICANN complaint. I will post back if I have lost to those freaks of bussiness people at ipowerweb. I hope they get shut down for ripping people off.

[vinyl-junkie]

I'm sorry to hear about all your problems with these people. File this lesson away for future reference: Never EVER let your web host do your domain registration for you. Always do it yourself, then there is no question as to who owns / administers the domain.

[Franky Bones]

I have had money stolen from Ipowerweb as well. I registered a domain name 2 or so years ago with them. Switched hosting a few weeks later and never gave it a second thought. I have re-registered the domain name since then myself just recently through another company.

About 10 days or so I find 2 emails in my box. From Ipower... First one at 6 or so am stating that my credit card has been declined and they will be trying again in 3 business days. The next email is 5:30pm same day where my card was charged.

I had been out the entire day and had deposited money (that very afternoon) on my debt card that I use strictly to pay bills. I put money on it and I am charged a fee each time I use it. I had just put just enough to cover a bill when I was raped by ipower web. Needless to say I am pretty pissed off. This whole thing has cost me about 4 times the amount they charged. I want it back...

I usually don't make a stink about small amounts of money... but EFH that. Ipower is a bunch of crooks.

I did get a cookie cutter response saying that my money would be refunded in 10-15 business days. Funny how I have to wait.

[vinyl-junkie]

I had always thought they were pretty good, until I heard horror stories like yours.

Here's something else to file away for future reference, in case it's necessary. If you even suspect a business might try to charge your credit card for something that you don't want and didn't ask for, write a letter to your credit card company stating that you no longer wish to authorize credit card charges for [insert Company Name]. Hindsight is always better, but had you done this, you wouldn't be in the situation you're in right now.

Make sure you really do get your money back from Ipowerweb in the time period they specified. If you don't, write your credit card company and explain to them that you were charged this amount in error.

[lorraineboot]

Originally Posted by vinyl-junkie

I had always thought they were pretty good, until I heard horror stories like yours.

Here's something else to file away for future reference, in case it's necessary. If you even suspect a business might try to charge your credit card for something that you don't want and didn't ask for, write a letter to your credit card company stating that you no longer wish to authorize credit card charges for [insert Company Name]. Hindsight is always better, but had you done this, you wouldn't be in the situation you're in right now.

Make sure you really do get your money back from Ipowerweb in the time period they specified. If you don't, write your credit card company and explain to them that you were charged this amount in error.

I am happy to say my situation with ipowerweb has improved. I had to use every resource I could find. I searched and found alot of people who have been robbed by ipowerweb AKA ipower. Ipowerweb uses several names for hosting services. I had called my credit card company after waiting 3 weeks for ipowerweb to supply the services I paid for.I did get a refund and ipowerweb started telling lies to BBB, the attorney general and FTC. I searched online and found people who CAN help. People from ICANN , like the:
Chief Registrar Liaison
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Do an online search for this and find their names to directly email them for help. I did and I did get my domain name back that ipowerweb was holding hostage for money.The Cheif Register Liaison needs to know ipowerweb is not doing proper bussiness dealings with alot of us. This person helped me .For more help just post here . I will help you get the right people to contact.