Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Hostwinds.com's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

close

Find a Location

Hostwinds.com has 2 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

BBB accredited

Near

Country

USUnited States

Please enter a valid location.

Filter

• 

  Hostwinds.com

  9 E 4th St STE 1002 Tulsa, OK 74103-5103

  
• 

  Hostwinds.com

  12101 Tukwila International Blvd Ste 320 Fl 3 Tukwila, WA 98168-2398

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:01/05/2025

  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.

  The **** ** initially issued to us by HostWinds was previously used by someone that was either hacked or was sending out malware and spam. Two days after we signed up I received a reverse support ticket from the HostWinds legal department warning me about our spam activities. Later HostWinds realized that they had sent that message in error and it should have been sent to the previous customer. From there I was worried about the **'s reputation and wasted three days arguing with support about whether or not it mattered. It was an unfortunate and unusual situation but it happened.The resolution I wanted was to be issued a new ** on a new VPS as we had not caused the problems and were new customers. I was told repeatedly by support that my concerns were unwarranted as the ** was not blacklisted. I repeatedly explained to support that I KNEW THAT as I had ran an MX Tool Box black list check etc. when the ** was issued to us - but that I also knew that just as there was a lag time in their HostWind's system between the prior customer and us as new customers - that there would possibly be a lag time with the ** being blacklisted on the Internet. I wasted three days going back and forth with their support only to eventually realize that I was a fool arguing with some weird combination of AI and Tech Support people that were simply hitting "send" without reading what was really going on.HostWinds put us in a very bad position as we were using them to host our business website - because of this situation I have every right to demand a refund if not additional damages. My decision to demand a COMPLETE refund of all funds paid to HostWinds lies largely on how difficult they made it for me to cancel our current subscription - as well as their insistence that I somehow owe them 11 cents plus 2 dollars. HostWinds has cost our business far more and I find it ridiculous. I want a full refund and for Hostwinds to stop demanding additional fees from us and leave us alone

  Business Response

  Date: 01/06/2025

  The service purchased on December 9th was initially assigned an IP address with a poor reputation. A ticket was automatically generated for a spam report, which was later determined to be a false positive. This was explained to the customer, who subsequently expressed appreciation for Hostwinds' services and support.
  
  The ticket then continued with inquiries about the spam report and a request for a new IP address. While Hostwinds cannot issue new IP addresses, we worked with the customer to initiate the delisting process. Communication regarding this matter concluded on December 13th with no further follow-ups from the customer. However, the service was not canceled until January 4th, which is beyond the timeframe allowed under Hostwinds' refund policy.
  
  Please note that Hostwinds records all communication for transparency. The customer can review the full history of this interaction within their account for complete details.
  
  Hostwinds Refund Policy: ***************************************************************
  Hostwinds Terms of Service: **********************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/06/2025

  Additional account information -

  IP **************

  Server # *******

  Secondary IPs: *********************

  Order Number: **********
  Product/Service: SSD Cloud Server - SSD Cloud 6
  Domain: **********************************
  Location: *******
  Operating System: Windows Server 2019

  If you need any additional supporting information - I have it - all in writing.

   

   

   

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/14/2025

  I am rejecting this response because:   Let me be to the point - and all of this is in writing - I signed up on the 9th - everything went to heck by the 11nth - all caused by Hostwinds issuing a bad IP to us - and then accusing us of causing the problems - by the 13nth I made it known to Hostwinds in writing that trust was broken and I was not interested in using them as a hosting provider. Hostwinds admits that they issued a bad IP - makes no apologies for putting us through that as a business - and plays some game about their refund policy as Hostwinds doesn't issue refunds after 3 days. 

  If I treated a customer like that I would then go and hide under a rock. Hostwinds has no shame. 

   

  Refund the money - ALL OF IT - additionally - we were charged AFTER this BBB complaint and AFTER I wrote into Hostwinds - I am NOT KIDDING that Hostwinds needs to knock off charging us and leave us alone. Look into the account - cancel ALL of it - issue a refund. A FULL refund. 

   

  If Hostwinds wants a small claims court judgement against them - please continue - because I am not dropping this - your automated AI support ticket system - the way a customer can not call into tech support - is a disgrace. And your response is a disgrace - I hope less than a $100 dollars is worth it to you. This BBB complaint is just the beginning if you don't cancel our account and refund our money. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/14/2025

  I feel a need to further clarify as HostWinds has opportunistically taken things things in the wrong direction. I made myself perfectly clear on the 13nth in writing - that trust had been broken and that I was done with HostWinds as a webhost provider. But then somehow - HostWinds took my silence past that point as an affirmation? 

   

  Nonsense. I didn't yell and scream for a month at them after I made my point - the fact that I didn't do that is in no way implying I was suddenly ok with them and had changed my mind. They never would have heard from me again if they hadn't demanded - and taken without authorization - more money.

   

  Additionally - HostWinds is correct that from the 9th until the 13nth I was full of compliments and euphemisms about HostWinds as I was trapped and needed their cooperation as they were hosting our business VPS. For HostWinds to now suggest that meant everything was ok? They know that it wasn't. They absolutely know that. That's disgusting that they suggest otherwise. 

  Please cancel our accounts - stop charging us money as Hostwinds did even AFTER receiving this BBB complaint - refund ALL of our money and leave us alone. 

  Thank you

   

   

   

  Business Response

  Date: 01/15/2025

  Hostwinds, like many hosting providers, uses recycled ** addresses. Unfortunately, the ** assigned to the customer had been previously used by another client, and due to a system error, a spam warning was mistakenly triggered for the new account. Throughout communication with Hostwinds' technical support, the customer shared positive feedback, including comments such as:
  "And in the event it gets to that - if the blacklists ignore us that this is a new *** and new ** address client - if you are willing to help us move to a new ** - then I am ok. Honestly - things are working better with Hostwinds than they ever did during our brief three months with InterServer and our last 2 years at LiquidWeb once they got acquired by ***********."
  
  We explained that our system could not replace the assigned **, but we would be happy to check for any blacklisting and assist with delisting. By December 15, Hostwinds confirmed that the ** was not listed on any blacklist. The customer also commented:
  "When the initial *** and ** were assigned to us, I know it was done so in good faith, and Hostwinds did their due diligence it was not blacklisted. I know that because I checked it myself when it was initially issued to us. I would not have built the *** out otherwise."
  On December 15, 2024, we once again confirmed that the ** was not on any blacklist and clarified that an automated email from our spam department could be disregarded. This email was triggered by prior spam activity associated with the **, and we apologized for any confusion, explaining that it was generated automatically by our system, not written by a team member.
  
  After our communication on December 15, we did not receive any further correspondence from the customer until their service was canceled on January 4, 2025, in accordance with Hostwinds' terms of service. Hostwinds is committed to protecting customer data and privacy.
  Regarding the refund request, Hostwinds reviewed the account and found that all support tickets were directed to the technical support team rather than the billing department, which handles refund requests. In accordance with our refund policy, but outside of standard policy, and given that the customer continued to use the *** without further feedback until the cancellation nearly a month after purchase, Hostwinds has issued a credit for the remaining month of December and refunded the difference for the annual plan to the original payment method. Additionally, charges for backups and monitoring services, which were not properly canceled by the customer, have been refunded as a one-time courtesy.
  
  We encourage customers to contact our billing department directly for any future refund or billing-related concerns, as none were properly submitted in this case. For reference, more information on Hostwinds' ticket system and department responsibilities can be found here:
  
  - How to Create, Submit, and Manage Tickets: ****************************************************************************************
  - Hostwinds Tiers of Support: ***********************************************************************************************
  
  Additionally, if the customer is unfamiliar, they can review all correspondence through their account ticketing portal, which we are happy to share with any legal authority, as outlined in our terms of service. If the customer wishes to discuss the current refunds further, please submit a ticket through the account portal to facilitate continued communication.
  
  We appreciate the customers understanding and wish them the best moving forward.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/19/2025

  The above clearly shows the elephant in the room that Hostwinds is avoiding - why they KNOW I had no choice after 1/3/25 to file a BBB complaint and go after them.

   

  If their insistence were true that they in no way should be responsible for issuing a refund then their billing system was yet another automated mess. 

   

  We signed up and paid on the 9th December 2024 for a one month subscription  - they then CANCELLED our *** services and pulled our websites offline on Jan 3rd - a FULL 7 days before our account was due - they shut our business *** down - demanded money - and put me in a position where I had no choice other than to contact the BBB - my Bank - my attorneys - the money that they are refusing to refund - they FAILED to provide services for to the end of the month and additionally - they have since continued to charge our accounts without authorization even AFTER this BBB complaint and we have had no services with them.

  If the above makes no sense - I understand - because it doesn't. The people involved are either lying or themselves are caught up in the Hostwinds automated nightmare. 

  Since then - I have in writing from Hostwinds on TrustPilot that a refund was issued to us  - yet our bank has no record of that. I am trying to give Hostwinds time to issue the refund prior to filing chargebacks and fraud - if I proceed too early - that will delay the refund and I know that as a business owner myself.

  I can provide full documentation of everything - including Hostwinds telling us in writing that they issued a refund the other day on Trust Pilot. They were clever enough to be careful in writing to state the refund was "within their policy" - but I have no idea what that means. I have called into Hostwinds twice since then - and been told I should go into my Hostwinds account and contact billing - I am unable to do that as the 4th exhibit shows. This is just the beginning of the evidence we have against them and I have not even gone into the damages incurred by them prematurely cutting off our websites the first month.

  Please talk some sense into them BBB - I'm not dropping this.

  Thank you

   

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/21/2025

  I am rejecting this response because:   This is all nonsense - I provided real documentation to the BBB over the weekend. Prior to me doing that it was a he said - she said situation and Hostwinds all too easily played that game.

  Now the BBB has the real documents. It is so unfortunate - that HostWinds has spent their time in the interim - scouring through my messages back to early December - quoting me - and FAILING to understand the REAL POINT.

  I FILED THE COMPLAINT BECAUSE YOUR BILLING DEPRATMENT SCREWED UP AND TOOK MY BUSINESS VPS OFFLINE PREMATURELY. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TRANSFERRING TO A NEW PRIVIDER AND I WAS UNABLE TO ACCESS MY NAMESERVERS AND UPDATE THE *** WHEN YOU TOOK US OFFLINE.

  We tried Hostwinds out early December - they accused us of abusing the server we paid for - then later realized we hadn't and BLAH BLAH BLAH. I knew they were an automated mess four or five days in - and I said to them - the equivalent of - SORRY it didn't work out - we PAID you for a month - Keep us up and live and running until the end of the month we paid for - WE are moving - it takes TIME to move - I didn't demand a refund and I didn't go after them publicly over the BAD IP.

  HOWEVER - Hostwinds is so screwed up - so automated - they shut our business VPS down - cancelled our accounts - PRIOR to the end of the month that we paid for.

  Hostwinds is so clueless and so automated and frankly so much a DISASTER - that they failed to understand the connection of the date I filed this complaint. 

  I attached image files of receipts over the weekend - if anyone needs more documentation I have it - all of it - it isn't my fault if Hostwinds is so clueless that they miss the point of this BBB complaint - ironically -  In fact my point - why I had no choice to file this complaint is FOR EXACTLY THAT REASON.

  Now hopefully - someone over at Hostwinds will look into our account - refund the money - all of it - stop insulting me and my intelligence, the BBB's intelligence and everyone else that now publicly knows about this nonsense - and CHANGE HOW YOU TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS.

  ******************** is the worst experience ever - I have managed our business VPS for twenty years and they are a joke. 

  If you have any more questions - I have lots of documented info.

  REFUND ALL OF THE MONEY AND STOP MESSING AROUND HOSTWINDS.

  Thank you

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Business Response

  Date: 01/21/2025

  We are a bit confused by the ongoing rejections and submissions related to this complaint, especially since different names are handling it instead of the same one. For example, the original complaint was issued by "******, *****," but the follow-up is from "***** ******."
  
  Additionally, as previously mentioned, refunds were issued to the account in question on 1/15/2025. The customer can review these details by going to their account >> billing >> my invoices and selecting the refunded statuses. The image they provided seems to be outdated and not recent. Also, Hostwinds never cancels services on behalf of a customer, and our logs show that the customer canceled their services after receiving instructions on how to do so.
  
  We consider this issue resolved, and it appears the customer is attempting to continue the complaint without accepting the additional facts or further investigation, as reflected in the images we have provided.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/21/2025

  Daer Hostwinds - "***** ******" is your representative from the BBB trying to help you  - stop acting like jerks and show some respect. If that confuses you - god knows how confused you will be when I get you in front of a Judge. 

  My name is ***** ***** ****** - ***** ****** is from the BBB. The below is your nonsense. 

  We await your response with bated breathe

  ***** (to REALLY confuse you - I go by my middle name)

  Please see your nonsense below that you may have forgotten you posted which I am responding to

  _______________________________________________________________

   

  We are a bit confused by the ongoing rejections and submissions related to this complaint, especially since different names are handling it instead of the same one. For example, the original complaint was issued by "******, *****," but the follow-up is from "***** ******."
  
  Additionally, as previously mentioned, refunds were issued to the account in question on 1/15/2025. The customer can review these details by going to their account >> billing >> my invoices and selecting the refunded statuses. The image they provided seems to be outdated and not recent. Also, Hostwinds never cancels services on behalf of a customer, and our logs show that the customer canceled their services after receiving instructions on how to do so.
  
  We consider this issue resolved, and it appears the customer is attempting to continue the complaint without accepting the additional facts or further investigation, as reflected in the images we have provided.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/23/2024

  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.

  Date: Dec 20, 2024 Against: HostWinds, ****************************************** ****************************** bought their subscription services for Virtual Web Server.Even though we have still not started to send any email from our software, they sent us a notice and blocked SMTP server. As a solution they forced us to provide our Identity Document and Copy of Debit Card.This was like arm twisting, you give us your card or we will block your services. So, we gave the card but asked the reason for demanding that as according USA Laws they are not supposed to ask Card details.However they are not providing me any clarifications. I am worried about finances of our *************** is possible that HostWinds is doing this as a part of their SOP. Blocking the services - Arm Twist - Get Card Details.I would like this to be solved.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/30/2024

  Hostwinds has a strict zero-tolerance policy for spam, as outlined in our Terms of Service. Unfortunately, our system flagged this account as suspicious, prompting the application of an **** filter until we received communication confirming the customer's understanding and agreement to our policies. Additionally, proof of account ownership, including payment verification, was required, as stated in our Terms of Service. We take account security and fraud prevention very seriously.
  
  While this situation is uncommon, the actions were necessary based on the alerts generated by our system. The customer was informed of this process. Once the required information was provided, the **** filter was removed on December 20th, following the internal review that began on December 19th.
  
  Hostwinds Terms of Service: **********************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/31/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  My concern is not at all answered. They say they have zero tolerance on SPAM. That's good. I also have zero tolerance on SPAM and as such everyone on this earth has zero tolerance. Complain is not about keeping zero tolerance.

  The complain is 

  (1) Why do you need Picture of my Debit Card?

  (2) Which law/ section of law in *** permits you to have Debit Card Picture from customer?

  Let me have answer of above.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/02/2025

  Please review the terms of service regarding SPAM and the process by which Hostwinds verifies account ownership (e.g., payment method). Given the nature of this issue, the requirements were clearly communicated and requested. While the customer has the right to decline the request, doing so will result in the suspension and eventual termination of the service, as we require proof of ownership to remove the **** filtering that was applied.
  
  Hostwinds Terms of Service: **********************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/19/2024

  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.

  This organization initially shutdown my corporate email server on a weekend, when we were unable to react or deal with it only a day after our invoice was issued. Addtionally, they ignored our request to change to a monthly billing cycle, they ignored my directive to cancel our account and remove our personal information as they are required by law, and they charged my card after being notified that they are no longer entitled to our information.Their negligence has impacted our business accounts and is now going to cost my organization an addition $150 in fees that we simply can not afford. To say I am angry would be a drastic understatement.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/19/2024

  We understand the frustration this situation has caused and recognize the impact it has had on your business. We would like to clarify the details of the issue.
  
  At Hostwinds, we do not directly cancel customer services. Instead, we provide clear guidance to ensure that our customers can manage their services securely. Given that we are in the data industry, we take the privacy and security of our clients' information very seriously. Therefore, service cancellations must be initiated by clients through their Client Area for both security and account management purposes. On 11/14/24, we provided the customer with detailed instructions on how to cancel the service via the Client Area following their inquiry with our billing team.
  
  Upon reviewing the communication between the customer and our Billing, Sales, and Technical Support teams, we did not receive any request for a billing cycle change prior to the customer's message on 11/14/24.
  
  As outlined in our Terms of Service, cancellations must be requested through the Client Area on the service management page. Requests made through other channels, including third-party communications, are not processed as valid cancellation requests. Once the cancellation was properly requested, we would have been able to proceed with closing the account and addressing further requests.
  
  Since the service was canceled within the eligible timeframe, we have issued a refund for the remaining portion of the billing cycle as per our Refund Policy.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/22/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  First off, when a member of your sales team has a client request a cancellation, it should be cancelled. All these excuses about your Terms of Service, and automation are just that; excuses. You failed in your first responsibility to your clients; listening to them.

  Second of all, I did in fact change the billing cycle IMMEDIATELY after setting up my account initially; if your system did not change that billing cycle, you should really look into that before it happens again.

  Additionally, you shorted us $10 CAD on the refund. You also incurred an additional $80 CAD in NSF fees due to your unauthorized charges.

  To consider this matter resolved, we will require an additional $90 CAD refunded.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/25/2024

  Please refer to the following Hostwinds Terms of Service and policies, which outline the requirements and expectations for purchases, cancellations, and refunds.
  
  Hostwinds Terms of service: **********************************************
  Hostwinds Cancellation Instructions: *********************************************************************************;
  Hostwinds Refund Policy: ***************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/02/2024

  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.

  There are 3 things within the last month that HostWinds has incorrectly done or just flat out took our company's servers offline outside of a maintenance window. 1. We asked to have a new test server set up with a **** 5. They did a **** 1. So we asked them to redo the **** and have the ** on a C: drive. They ****ed the **. So we are going to decommission that server because we do not want to go through HostWinds techs not doing the job they are asked for.2. We found that there were errors on our D: drive. Hostwinds decided on their own to start a Check Disk in the middle of the work day. This should have been done in a maintenance window. 3. Because of the above, we asked that a drive be put in an open slot. We did not ask for a restart. However, HostWinds decided to restart our server again, this time booting into the BI**. This situation took almost two hours to resolve. We have tried to contact the **** ***********************, multiple times, and he does not seem to have the time to understand what his company is doing with customer servers and data.Need to be able to get a hold of techs when there are emergencies and not be stuck in a holding pattern waiting for techs to respond.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2024

  ********'s has been in direct contact with the complaintive and personally believes this matter is currently resolved.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/02/2024

  Good afternoon,

  After submitting this complaint, the *** and Director of Operations got on a meeting with me and the *** of Operations at Veritas.  We talked through everything that was happening.  I was very surprised with there candor and honesty. They completely understood, took responsibility for their portion of the issues, and asked for some changes on our end.  Even spoke through how they are going to work through their escalation process.  They seemed to really take this seriously not just for us but from a HostWinds stand point.  I am not sure how complaints work but HostWinds has resolved our issue and I feel are going to take steps to remediate for all customers. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/02/2024

  I have reviewed the business response and accept this resolution. 

  Consumer

  Most Recent Message

  Date Sent: 8/2/2024 2:45:57 PM
  

  Good afternoon,

  After submitting this complaint, the *** and Director of Operations got on a meeting with me and the *** of Operations at Veritas.  We talked through everything that was happening.  I was very surprised with there candor and honesty. They completely understood, took responsibility for their portion of the issues, and asked for some changes on our end.  Even spoke through how they are going to work through their escalation process.  They seemed to really take this seriously not just for us but from a HostWinds stand point.  I am not sure how complaints work but HostWinds has resolved our issue and I feel are going to take steps to remediate for all customers. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/18/2024

  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.

  I was paying for a server to store files for several years. A year or more ago, the server was deleted but I was continued to get charged. I am out the payments as well as my files are gone which has a much higher value than the amount I paid to this business.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2024

  The customer was informed that ******************** doesn't actively monitor or micromanage services unless there's an issue within our infrastructure, legal notification of abuse, a specific problem reported by the customer, or if they have our monitoring service that automatically generates a support ticket upon failure.
  
  Concerning the specific service issue, these details were communicated to the customer since there had been no prior communication about this concern or any previous issues since the service's inception in Sept 2016 until recently. We **** a parallel to a cable company providing a cable box if, for some reason, the box stopped showing some channels a year ago without notice, the cable company would assume everything is working fine until the issue is brought to their attention. Similarly, the reported problem occurred over a year ago and was not communicated to us, leading us to believe the service was functioning as intended by the customer. Given the timeline and in adherence to our refund policy, a refund cannot be issued to the customer. Additionally, the service has been reinstalled and confirmed to be in working order by the customer since the most recent review.
  
  We can only urge the customer to regularly review their services, irrespective of the hosting provider or vendor, to ensure their service is functioning as intended. Neglecting this may impede a company's ability to address issues promptly and efficiently.
  
  Hostwinds Terms of Service: **********************************************
  Hostwinds Refund Policy: ***************************************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/19/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   This business has been charging full price for a server that did not exist.  This is not a case of a service interruption.  This is a case of complete server deletion, loss of files and still charging full price.  When given the opportunity to make up for a year of charging for nothing HostWinds.com declined.

  There are damages here and the customer isn't asking for handouts.  Either refund the money or offer comparable service going forward.  This is a material breach of contract.  Worse, charging for a non-existent service could be considered fraud.

  Deleting the files and not charging would be suspect.  Deleting the files and making the customer pay for it is intentionally deceitful.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/19/2024

  The service was purchased back in 2016. Our investigation revealed that, according to our records, the service has been running, but there were corrupted files in the customers OS discovered on 1/23/2023. Unfortunately, this issue wasn't brought to our attention until now, a year later, so our support options are limited. It's worth mentioning that, as a gesture of goodwill, we had already provided a one-month account credit for the service before receiving this report.
  
  It's important to note that the security of an account and services ultimately falls under the customers responsibility, as outlined in our terms of service. Nonetheless, we make every effort to support and resolve issues. However, given the considerable time that has passed, our available options are now limited.
  Currently, the service remains up and running, and we have resolved the corrupted files by reinstalling with the customers permissions. Regrettably, there were no local backups by the customer, and our backups weren't purchased.
  
  We strongly recommend considering the purchase of backups, monitoring (if available), and periodically reviewing services moving forward, regardless of provider.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/19/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   The business is not applying their own Uptime promise found here and quoted below.  ******************************************************************************************************

  "Uptime Guarantee
  Hostwinds promises a *******% uptime guarantee. This promise means that the network we use and its power would be up with no downtime in excess of **** seconds per year.
  
  If our network goes down or the power is lost, Hostwinds will provide an account credit upon request made in a ticket for the cost of the whole day(s) affected by that downtime. Downtime excludes SSLs, domain name registrations, and software licenses.
  
  Conditions
  Hostwinds account credit would only be issued under this SLA for downtime directly related to connectivity to our network and power. Beyond this, no account credits or compensation would be issued for service interruptions caused by:
  
  Any scheduled or emergency maintenance
  Any ISP or other third parties blocking connectivity in any way
  Configurations as set by default or the account owner on a given service
  Actions taken or requested by an account owner
  Suspensions/Terminations as resulting from a lack of payment, violations of our Terms of Service, or possible fraud
  
  This uptime guarantee only applies to connecting and accessing our network; only the inability to do so would be considered "downtime" per this guarantee.
  
  Third-party software, code, scripts, or other content that is installed on our services is entirely the account owner's responsibility."

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/11/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  I am a client with Hostwinds since November 2019. we are based in Egypt and our developer in Russia. We cut ties and he informed us that the service suspended and will be canceled, this was last month, he is the only one who have access, on 03 May hostwinds deducted the fees for the 3 months plan, which we already had since 2019, we couldn't reach developer in Russia, than today my partner got his number and we called him to cancel the service as previously he said OK, he reach out to hostwinds immediately and file a cancellation request. within 5 minutes from my partner call. than hostwinds said sorry you are not eligible for refund as it passed more than 72 hours from the payment transaction? I am shocked before it was 60 days money back guarantee and one month grace period, also I did not get any updates that they changed the refund policy, also it should be at least 14 days, but 72hours to deiced if you need the service or no. beside we was on a force majure we can't cancel the service as we did not had any access. If you asked hostwinds you will find all access to the client portal made from IP in Russia not Egypt and even our card used for purchase it's Egyptian Card. this could be understandable if I stayed one or two months than I wanted to cancel my plan but it did not pass more than 6 days, beside they saying the refund will be Prorated Refunds why you use Prorated if you giving 72 hours only.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/11/2023

  We understand that you may have concerns about our refund policy. We would like to inform you that our refund policy was updated a few years ago and can be easily accessed on our website at *******************************************************
  
  Furthermore, we would like to inform you that our billing department has already processed an out-of-policy refund for you yesterday. This refund was issued for the difference between the time your service was active and its termination date.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/21/2022

  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.

  Hostwinds charged my credit card without my authorization. I called them several times and they did not answer. When I finally got them online thru a text box that they have in their website, they indicated that I needed to cancel the account in order to get a refund. I had requested a call from one of their representative and I explained that I cannot afford to pay $307.00 and that I wanted to cancel and leave. They convinced me to get another plan an additional $59.00 was charged to my account and the $307.00 unauthorized charge was supposed to be refund to my credit card, but it has not. They fail to upload my two website. Now, I paid for the second service and my two website are down. Hostwinds is definitive a company not to trust. They do not resolve the issue and instead my two websites are down and the refund has not being granted. I need my money back. Thank you for your help BBB.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/04/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/22) */ Hostwinds is a subscription-based service, and we take client data very seriously. Services will automatically renew upon their due date if the customer does not cancel them beforehand per our terms. In this way, services do not suspend, nor is there unintended data loss. Hostwinds Terms of Service: https://www.hostwinds.com/*****/terms; please review Payments. The service was originally purchased on a triannual basis three (3) years ago. It was renewed on August 7th, 2022 for another three (3) years. The customer purchased a different service on 09/07/2022 and began a migration of their triannual purchase to it on this same day. The migration ticket to the new service started on 09/07/2022. During this communication, our technical support required feedback from the customer on 09/07/2022 and continually followed up until 09/11/2022. We, unfortunately, never heard back, and the ticket remains pending a response. During this migration period, we would require the original service remain active until the migration is confirmed complete. Unfortunately, the customer canceled the original service that involved the migration data on 09/08/2022. This led to the service's termination and our inability to continue the migration as initially requested. Additionally, this is likely why their websites stopped working. The customer began asking for a refund for their original service on 09/19/2022, outside our refund policy: https://www.hostwinds.com/product-docs/billing/refunds. As such, we offered an account credit for the unused time per our policy and communicated this reasoning. All of our communication is within tickets and history archives. Hostwinds customers can review all tickets within their ticket portal at any time and respond accordingly there or through associated emails. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/09/23) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Dear BBB, The transaction of $307.00 was charged without any of my concern. I have not enrolled in any Autopay. Hostwinds sent me an email suspending the service and i communicated with them letting them know that I cannot afford $307.00 and that why did they charged me $307.00 without my concern. They tried to sell me another plan and "accommodate my needs. Therefore, I purchased a $59.00 plan while talking to a representative over the phone. They agreed to send me a refund and advised me to leave the $307.00 plan open until they migrate the information. Thank you, Lilian Romero Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/09/27) */ Hostwinds can provide an account credit of $300.25 for unused time according to our terms of service, refund policy, and recorded communication within tickets. We would only require a response from the customer to the associated ticket within the account regarding the refund request. Terms of Service: https://www.hostwinds.com/*****/terms Hostwinds Refund Policy: https://www.hostwinds.com/product-docs/billing/refunds Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/09/28) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) There is no Autopay set up and I do not agree with the $307.00 charge which I cannot afford. That is why I purchased a new plan more affordable and they advised me to buy a new plan that I could afford. I paid for the new plan 61.03. I requested a call back and one more time I was promised to get the unauthorized charge back to my credit card. I got a few emails indicating that my account would be suspended. Because I was okay with the account being suspended I did not call Hostwind because I was not interested in paying $307.00 for White label Plan. I was shocked when I saw a charge on my credit card for $307.00. I do not have any Autopay with Hostwinds. I contacted Hostwind for a refund and they said okay. Then, I agreed to buy a new plan more affordable for me of $61.00 which I paid in full. Now, I need my $307.00 back in my credit card account.