My legal battle with Streamline.net
Posted on October 2, 2008
Filed Under Other Web Sites |
At the start of this year www.vinylonthe.net moved its hosting to Streamline.net who offered very powerful hosting packages and promised great stability.
No sooner had the site transfered to them than the problems started. The site would often run slowly, but worst of all it was frequently going offline, often more than once a day and sometimes for many hours at a time.
I’d fill in the support tickets but it was soon apparent that the support staff left at 5pm and I had to wait up to 17 hours to receive their stock reply informing me my site was now working normally.
The support staff were totally unprofessional. As I kept discovering their policy was to deny everything first and then think later, so many times after they’d deny there was a problem there’d be a notice on the Service Status about the very issue that they’d denied existed earlier. They’d also not answer questions regarding specific problems, they either couldn’t answer them or weren’t reading the emails properly, prefering to just return the stock answers. For a great article on their incompetence click here.
So unreliable had the service become that Google drooped the average number of pages it crawled a day from nearly a thousand to almost zero; which, for those of you who know anything about search engine optimisation will know that spells disaster.
I then did something I should have done earlier and investigated online to see if there was any information about Streamline’s business practices. There were lots, seems they were stealing money from people’s accounts, had illegal terms and conditions, provided an abysmal uptime and a useless customer service.
I was getting so sick and tired of customers complaining about the site not working properly and with all complaints to Streamline falling on deaf ears I quit after 5 months and with 19 months on my contract remaining.
So, I asked for a refund on the remaining 19 months but they refused so I took legal action.
Here’s how the scam I fell for works. They take in 100 customers. They put say 10% onto a decent server, look after those customers, they’re happy, they leave testemonials. The other 90% get a shit service on their overloaded servers (they don’t even own the servers the sites are hosted on) and leave with Streamline pocketing their money. Only a small precentage do anything about it, thereby making Streamline.net a lot of money.
I’ll update this with further progress in the forthcoming weeks.
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10 Responses to “My legal battle with Streamline.net”
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I have noticed an odd thing, on there testimontial page they actually have a testimonial that someone has left (appearently) saying that they will stand up in court! How stupid are the guys at streamline!! - Why would you put something like that, from there point of view that is not a good way to attract new customers. I think its a kinda dig at all the customers who have complained and want there money back.
It’ll be a fake testemonial. They’re obviously getting swamped with legal action and investigations from Trading Standards, OfCom etc. and are trying to stem the flood of legal action.
Good site. It appears on the 2nd page of google search results for ’streamline.net’ currently. We can only hope more people see this and all the other sites before handing over their credit card numbers to these thieves.
I fell for their trial membership scam where they charge you for 2 years worth of hosting that you do not want and will not refund. They are not going to get away with my money without a fight, that is for sure.
I have also wondered about their testemonials. I just assumed they were faked, but that is a good theory if they do actually put 10% on the fastest servers. It is the same on their facebook site if you google that, but with that I have noticed that if anyone leaves a bad posting on their wall (which happens very often), then it is usually removed by the following week.
Check out the following site:
http://www.streamlinewebhosting.co.uk/
It’s a protest site against streamline.net
I’ve just been contacted by one disgruntled customer who says:
I phoned Derbyshire trading standards last week to ask how they were progressing against streamline. Derek Rudeforth has apparently retired, but they have a bunch of letters addressed to him including the one I sent. They are apparently meeting up with Streamline very soon to discuss *issues* with their terms and conditions.
Never mind “discussing”, they need prosecuting.
Streamline.net , fasthosts.co.uk and Ralph Dummermuth of United Internet AGI
I had my bank account wrongfully debited by a webhosting company, streamline.net, that refused to cancel a three-month trial period then sneakily took a one-year premium hosting package cost from my account - I tried to indict for contravention of the Theft Act, but the Chief Constable of the area of the offence passed it to a subordinate who in turn passed it on to the Derbyshire Trading Standards Office and my money was bounced back into my account - it is illegal, a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison to wrongfully or deceitfully debit an account (and using steamroller pressure can be termed a form of deceit if use of the law is unfounded and becomes forcefully intimidatory : it is also illegal to use the law in pursuance of an offence, and the law comes down on this like a ton of bricks.
I now know that streamline.net were sellers-on of the talents of fasthosts.co.uk who bought streamline.net’s customer base last May/June. I now know that fasthosts.co.uk sold out to United Internet AG for 90 million euros (£61mill) in 1999, or more to the point, sold out to Ralph Dummermuth, the German internet billionare who founded ‘1 und1′ and who is the main shareholder of the owning company United Internet Ag.
Today I sent emails to the board members of fasthosts.co.uk, Andrew Michael CEO, Michael Hogan Finance Director, Mark Cowne Sales & Marketing Director,
Steve Holford Press, and Billing, and Support, informing them of my intention to apply for their indictment and the indictment of the actual instigators, for theft if they do not return money continually taken from my bank after I had cancelled my Distance Selling contract with them due to their poor support. Google the Distance Selling statute and you will see just how the steamroller these companies use is a cover, a camouflage for their ignoring the demands made on them by the statute and just how they have drifted into dangerous ground given the Theft Act - google this as well!
I also sent a copy of the email to rdummermuth@united-internet.de nlang@united-internet.de kdobitsch@united-internet.de mscheeren@united-internet.de mschap@united-internet.de (the board) info@united-internet.de presse@united-internet.de investor-relations@united-internet.de hostmaster@united-internet.de .
The greater the number of the more detailed type of emails the board and their minions receive from disgruntled customers that suffer because of the ‘robust’ methods for making a billion or two they seem to have exported into the UK the US and not forgetting the poor sods in Germany who my research tells me have had it harder for a lot longer, the more Herr Dummermuth might come to realise the role that good old honest customer relations might play in him keeping a euro or two.
What say you?
I’ve had the same issues with Streamline.net failing to cancel my account & charging my card. I’ve had no joy pursuing their complaints department, so have sent details of my case to OfCom & BBC Watchdog & will be contacting Derby Trading Standards tomorrow.
They are useless - you may find my blog on Streamline.net of interest. http://www.mrcrip.com/blog/streamlinenet-cheap-web-hosting-is-crap/
just found this on the ‘blackdog’ forum on page 2 of streamline.net pages
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I have also had exactly the same problem with andrew dollamores streamline.net, but here is some good news for you, I have contacted trading standards and the authoraties, apparently streamline has breached four trading legislations and ofcorse the law, hence the police fraud team will be soon seizing all of the companies assets for investigation, followed by court appearences that will result in a trading injunction that means they will not be able to trade ever again, whatsmore the fines and jail sentence is hefty, and I’d say the powers that be are very angry with streamline, which might explain such a great response to my case!, they will be made an example of by the media also, I’m making sure of that, your 100% right when you said to them that they belong in jail, it seems they have been hurting families financially for a long time, and lets not forget that we are in an economic crysis at christmas time, thanks to gordon brown ‘BORROWING’ 450 billion from us! then demanding an increase in government ‘BORROWING’.
I have used this company for too long now they are absolute thieving bastards who have stolen without my permission from my Credit cards - ANDREW DOLLARMORE is the owner he is a multi-millionaire total ASSHOLE!!! NEVER USE HOSTING ON THIS SHITE COMPANY