Hostgator's hidden upgrades and what it means for you. Read if you use Hostgator ..

allstar · 12-22-2006, 02:05 AM

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Disk Space / Bandwidth Upgrade - HostGator Peer Support Forums
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I have mixed feelings over the shady way they went about telling thier customers about the upgrades that are taking place and the change in the plans and what it means for existing customers.

A little background. Personally I have loved my experience with hostgator. Their servers are secure, fast, and allow my php code to do things that other hosts would try to block, nothing illegal just basic curl, fopen, and gd2 stuff. The support has been helpful when I needed it and for the most part my sites have enjoy a good uptime.

The surprise came not in a announcement on their homepage via a link to a forum post, article explain what has changed, a diagram showing the old plans that you are on vs the new plan that every new person gets. Not in a email detailing what is being upgraded. Not even a sticky message in the General Announcements section, just a normal post to the G.A. around that looks like a normal user posted.

I found out about it through a support ticket over a question on my bandwidth. It kind of embarrasses me as I was complaining that cpanel told me I have used 80% of my bandwidth when I go to check my plan's bandwidth on the website advertising section, it is advertised as having 2,000gb and not 1,000gb. Anyhow, I complained and say there must be some mistake I paid for the advertised amount and I am getting half. The support person just posted a link and said read this. So, I did and found out that...

If you read over the posts in the link posted above you will get the jest of it. Basically I am paying more and getting less for what new customers are getting. Great for new customers bad for existing customers. As new customers are getting double what I am currently getting and paying the same price as I am paying and to get what new customers are getting I have to upgrade from a 14.95 a month plan to a 74.95 a month plan.

Here is what I posted in the forum over the topic. I doubt it will get any decent reply, but I hope it might get something here.

----start post on that forum

Quote:

//rant

I would have liked to get notice about the changes other then the forums and not having to find out with a support ticket. In my eyes not announcing though email to each one of your account holders is kind of shady. Instead a forum post over it. A place I never visit. No mention of it on your home page either. I would think a upgrade of this size would mean at least a link be placed to this thread for those that are wondering WTF is up with the plans. Why am I paying for what I am not getting.

Yes, when we paid. We paid for at the time the advertised amounts, but it does make it unfair for us that can't upgrade to the next package in order to be moved. Also, for new account to receive double what we are paying. In the billing system it does not mention anything about the details of the plans it just say's the plan's name. Which means that I should be getting what your advertising even if you change it. Unless some where in the bill of sale it reports exactly what I am paying for. Which I do not see. I expect to be paying for what is advertised and upgrade or down graded accordly. Would I go as far as to ask for a refund. Yes and No. Your company has been very good to me thus far, but to make me pay more for what I am getting vs what a new person is getting is just bad in my eyes.

I like that your upgrading, but maybe you should have a clause in there that say's if you want to be upgraded now for mid $2x amount we can move your data to the new plans. That should cover some of the cost of the tech's moving the data, because I am on the swamp plan and to upgrade from 14.95 a month to the next plan I would be to pay 74.xx a month instead and that is a huge increase in the price and out of my budget as where a flat fee of mid $2x amount would be nice.

At least keep the old plan's up and offer a explanation that prior Dec 2006 plans are these vs the "new" plans.

I hope you plan to offer some incentives to those that are paying more for half of what is currently advertised to keep us around, because in the web world months is a very long time and there are other hosts that offer just as much bandwidth as you. Grant it that there server might not be 100% like your server, but at least I will be getting what is advertised.

I love your service at the prices you offer, but this is a bad PR move. You should have planed it better and made it more public then you have.

*Side note: I know that 99% of web hosts over sale and you don't get what is advertised anyways, but my point is that at least be up front about upgrades like these and not hide it on some rarely checked forum. Put it on your homepage.

//end rant.

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