My company was hosted by GISOL. I did not select the firm, it was selected by the person who designed my website, based primarily on their low-cost services. I knew nothing about them. I had an account with GISOL by which my credit card would be billed annually.
This year, one week before my account was due to renew, I was called by someone at GISOL, who said GISOL had been trying to reach both me and my designer by email (I later determined this was untrue). The person said GISOL was moving to new servers in 24 hours, and that this would require me to upgrade to a new hosting package. He said if I didn’t do this, I would lose the website in 24 hours. I was suspicious, but he provided proof that he was from GISOL, and I assumed I was dealing with a reputable company. Under this compulsion, I reluctantly agreed to the upgrade--$466.20 for a 3-year package.
However, I grew uneasy as I saw reports by other customers posted on the Web. Other customers reported receiving the same threat on other dates—and how many times could GISOL be “moving to new servers”? And upon visiting GISOL’s website, I discovered they were still promoting much cheaper packages (i.e., my expensive upgrade was apparently not necessary). Despite all this, I would have been willing to let it slide. However, they then billed my credit card for the OLD, defunct hosting package. I sent them emails protesting this. After getting a runaround from GISOL (no replies and unsigned evasive replies), I had my credit card company revoke the charge. However, as soon as the credit card company removed the charge, GISOL suspended my company’s website. I emailed GISOL about it, but of course received no reply. In the meantime, I presume the suspension of my website gives GISOL more space on its servers for new customers. Anyone detect a strategy here?
To make this story short, GISOL took $466.20 from me, for which I am receiving no service whatsoever.
I am following the lead of other GISOL customers, and have reported them to IC3, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, and I encourage others to do the same if GISOL has cheated you. While a class action lawsuit is a great idea, I believe it may be wisest to let law enforcement officials deal with this first. If the government establishes and proves a criminal case, perhaps a civil lawsuit will be easier to pursue.