Beaware of iweb.com for your hosting needs. On the website it lures you in with 30 days free trial.. well don't even do it for one day. This is what happened to me.

1) I inadvertantly pushed submit after I filled out all the credit card information. I said "inadvertantly" because on a separate screen I did a quick goole search and found negative reviews about this host. But I was stupid and push sent by accident.

2) I immediately contacted via phone, left them voice mail and email their billing@iweb.com and support@iweb.com. I got a hold of their live support and they promised me that they would get back to me within 24 hours like 7 days ago. Nothing happened.

3) I tried again via phone just yesterday and I got someone from the billing department on the phone (with heavy French accent, b/c they are in Quebec Canada). I spoke to this lady and she said yes, I see that you paid us $1504, but I do not know why b/c you don't have an active account (and never had one). So I said, then it is obvious that you should not be keeping that money, please refund it. So she spoke to her manager and then told me that she will need me to fax them my credit card (back and front side) with my driver's license in order for them to refund me. Now at this point, it all came clear to me that they are running a scam. I have dealt with "ThePlanet.com" and "Big Daddy" and I also have asked for a refund before, but no one would need the later information that they requested, unless they want to steal my identity. So at this point, I asked her if I could speak to her manager. She told me to wait and came back to tell me that her manager has gone out to dinner (while I was holding, I heard them talking in the background).

4) I was so mad that they stone walled me multiple times after 4 email messages and with 2 voice mail and one phone conversations. I have to warn everyone and please tell everyone you know about this and all the webhosting community to stay away from iweb.com. their website looks authentic and it looks like they are running a great business. but in the end, it is just a scam and with the possibility of running an identity theft operation. i was so concerned about my credit card info that they have, I immediately reported it stolen to my credit card company. Don't waste your time and effort like I did and let everyone know about this. I am still disputing the charge that they charged. It is a sickening feeling when one has been cheated.

Thanks for letting us know.

their website looks authentic and it looks like they are running a great business. but in the end, it is just a scam and with the possibility of running an identity theft operation.

I rather doubt that's an accurate description of the operation they run there. They were just trying to verify your identity. They already had your data, so if they wanted to scam you/steal your identity, they didn't need you to tell it to them by phone.

Sorry to say but I agree. iWeb is hardly a company out to scam people out of their money as they've been around for quite some time with a pretty solid network at that. What exactly pushed you away from their services?

PayPal does the same thing as well as merchant accounts when they try to verify your identity.

I see a similar topic in WHT but regarding a shared hosting account (only a few bucks).
Which service did you sign up with the cost up to $1504?
I'm sure they won't take the money if you did not complete verify process.

I'm assuming he paid for yearly for a ded server.

Originally Posted by ephasenetworks

I'm assuming he paid for yearly for a ded server.

I don't think it's wise but just economize some bucks.

Originally Posted by HowLong

I don't think it's wise but just economize some bucks.

Wasn't my idea.

I'm pretty sure that if they REALLY are scamming you, you can take some legal action as it isn't "just a few bucks". Just keep at it, make sure you don't EVER lose your temper, and provide all information they request. After all, you have all their information, assuming it's publicly displayed on the internet.

I have had used "ThePlanet.com" and "BigDaddy.com" and "Iweb.com" is by far the worst... how do you defend a company tells you that "yes, you don't have an account with us and we don't know why you paid us $1504, but we won't refund it to you anyway." If you don't believe me, then just go ahead and try to use their service. Their package is by far 10x better then most other companies and then when I try to sign up, this is what I experienced. So I just want to share this unpleasant experience with every one and so you can stay away from a scam company. Yes, I do have my credit card company working on this and I am intending to report iweb.com to the proper authorities.

thanks for letting us know

All you merely had to do was fax them your information for security reasons and all of this could have been avoided?

I'd say chargeback on your card but thats a last resort if they are not cooperating with you.

They can't just do refunds etc. based on an essentially anonymous call. They needed to identify you in some way. Policies exist to protect both the customer and the provider from disputes later on. While your situation was special in the sense that you didn't receive an account from them, the employee couldn't just refund you and take responsibility herself for later claims or issues that could arise.

I think if they write them under their email they use for payments - that will be great confirmation. I think that the most right way to take care of their customer.

I am glad to get people talking about it. I have had almost 5 years running and creating internet business and ideas. Iweb.com is not doing this properly. IDCDC mentioned that they could not just refund to the "credit card" asked by any caller. I have mentioned that I have emailed them from the "email address" that I signed up with them for several times asking for refund. Additionally, usually the valid ID for returns is not necesary when using credit card. They have my valid info in the email that I sent and got them during my only phone conversation with them, they even acknowledged the fact that they charged me for no apparent existing account (so why are they keeping my $?). I am not going to fax any more info to them, because I simply wanted my refund and do not want to deal with them ever. Their support is next to non-existent. When you email their billing and support, you don't even get any response back. Like I said before, I have used different companies and I got to tell you, their packages are just too good to be true. I was a bit suspicious about their operation, but now I see it clearly. I am simply sharing my experience with you guys, you do not have to believe me. And my experience could be some what isolated. However, I doubt that their inability to respond to my multiple inquiries would be targetted only to me. Use them if you want, but I can tell you that I have never encountered a company that operates like Iweb.com .

I'm not here to bash on your experience. I'm sorry to hear you had such a horrible experience. I was merely stating that companies are allowed to ask you to fax information for verification.

Banks do this, Payment accounts do this, Merchant accounts do this. It's just ensure you are truly the card owner.

In all fairness to iWeb, they are not scammers. iWeb is a publically traded hosting company, one of the very few, and they are a fairly large operation.
You should try and speak to their billing manager.

Or, if you want to be daring, check out their annual reports which will contain top executives names (bottom of this page: http://iweb.com/about-us/) and contact one of them

Originally Posted by danushman

In all fairness to iWeb, they are not scammers. iWeb is a publically traded hosting company, one of the very few, and they are a fairly large operation.
You should try and speak to their billing manager.

Or, if you want to be daring, check out their annual reports which will contain top executives names (bottom of this page: http://iweb.com/about-us/) and contact one of them

Daring?! I wouldn't hesitate to call any/every one of those mofos. That is a lot of money and very suspect. Good luck friend.

1500$ !?! That's too much for me.
I've paid 200$ for the 10 years shared hosting.
Can't say I'm enjoying their services too much, however I can't request a refund since the first month passed.
I'll just wait and see what happens. Hopefully I'll wait 10 years without anything bad will happen, like in your case.
Btw, isn't there any international institution which can take of this? I mean, if they scammed you, what can you do to take what's yours back?
Or you'll have to fly to Montreal and start a lawsuit?!?
I really don't know what happens in this cases.

The company's not too bad, support is a little slow...