Fasthosts, worst hosting ever... A Case Study

So, yesterday I listened to a talk by Matthew Brazil of 6Consulting on social media monitoring at the CaMedia networking event. Smart guy.

He reckons some brands care enough what people say about them in the social sphere to do something about it, so I thought I'd be mischievous and test that premise with a case study, Fasthosts, self-proclaimed as "the No 1 for UK hosted sites", and with over "2 times more UK hosted sites than its nearest competitor." As you'll see from the email trail below between me and their support monkeys, I suspect that's because no one can ever leave Fasthosts...


Hi Fasthosts,

I wonder if you can help please. Could you advise please what is the
best way to cancel an annual hosting subscription? Is it okay to just
give you a call and arrange cancellation over the phone? I want to keep
my hosting and domains in the same place but the odds are I won't need
the hosting beyond year one and don't want to get caught in a circle of
paying for hosting I don't need.

Many thanks,

Anita

*******

Dear Anita,

We are sorry that you wish to close your Fasthosts Hosting package.

Your Hosting package is not yet closed. In order to ensure that your request is dealt with quickly and correctly please call our Customer Care Team on 01452 561858. The team operates from 9.00am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday.

Kind regards,

Customer Support
Fasthosts Internet Ltd.

*******

Hi,

I'm confused. My business partner did call over a year ago to say he
didn't want the hosting package any more but Fasthosts have said they
have no recollection of that conversation and now we've been billed
again this year. If Fasthosts never recall cancellation conversations,
how can we ever leave your company? We haven't used your hosting package
for over a year and we received no notification that we were going to be
billed again this year.

Thanks,

Anita

********

Dear Madam,

If you wish to make a complaint then you need to send an emails to escalations@fasthosts.co.uk.  Full details of our complaints escalations procedure can be found at: http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/companyinfo/termsofservice/
Kind regards

Customer Support
Fasthosts Internet Ltd
Tel: 01452 561858

*********

Dear ?,

I didn't say I wished to make a complaint. I asked a simple question
which I will repeat below for your benefit:

I'm confused. My business partner did call over a year ago to say he
didn't want the hosting package any more but Fasthosts have said they
have no recollection of that conversation and now we've been billed
again this year. If Fasthosts never recall cancellation conversations,
how can we ever leave your company? We haven't used your hosting package
for over a year and we received no notification that we were going to be
billed again this year.

Please note my name is not 'Madam.'

Thanks,

Anita

**********

Dear Anita,

When you call to close we create a ticket to record this and also send out a confirmation email.

Therefore, when you call to close if you are concerned your request is not being actioned you can ask them to provide you with the ticket reference number and then you will know that your request has been noted.

I hope that this answers your query but if we can be of any further help please reply to this email.

Kind regards,

Customer Support
Fasthosts Internet Ltd.

**********

Hi,

Thanks for giving a straight forward response, much appreciated.
However, what I don't understand is that my business partner called
today and made it exceedingly clear we don't require hosting and again a
year ago when this happened but evidently on neither occasion has the
hosting been cancelled as requested. It is particularly galling this
time round because no one has used the hosting for the last year and yet
we are being billed again one year in advance. Of course, no doubt no
one has any recollection of this morning's phone call? I cannot
understand why a ticket reference isn't just given because as it is,
essentially you have a process where a customer can never close an
account because the conversation recalling the event is never recalled.
Unless I have missed something, in which I would be grateful for
clarification. I will now go and use the convoluted complaints process.

Kind regards,

Anita

***********
Dear Madam,

We do have a ticket noting the conversation that was had this morning, however due to the fact that your colleague was advised no refund would be due they did not request to close the package and were instead provided with a refund request form and details of our complaints escalations procedure. If you wish to close the package, please contact customer support on 01452 561858 between 09:00 - 17:30 Mon - Fri.

Kind regards

Customer Support
Fasthosts Internet Ltd
Tel; 01452 561858

************

Are you joking?

First Tutors recognised by The Daily Telegraph

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Always very interesting to see who else is listed as a bit of competition keeps you on your toes! This time it was the long-established Personal Tutors, a tuition agency, and also more curiously localtutor. The latter is quite interesting as it would appear to have been developed by someone I know personally, though as ever, there are no contact details/accountability on the site. How do I know it is someone I know? I tried to register for a quick peruse and my *personal* email address has been manually blocked. Wow. Now that's below the belt. Come on guys, don't be scared - get out of the closet and own up, who are ya?!

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Let me know what you think!

EduNation now in Lancaster

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1. We are literally now up at InfoLab21, Lancaster University's ICT cluster building with lots of clever computer science geeks and a whole load of digital networking going on. The NW is really trying to boost digital as a growth industry which works for us because it means they're batting for you rather than against you. We're offering web development services, so if you're in Lancaster and have a project in mind, do let us know.

2. First Tutors, our service in the private tuition sector continues to do well, so that's all good. If you're a credit crunch victim who wants a good tutor but doesn't want to pay agency prices, find a private tutor with us.