I originally chose InfiNet Hosting to host my domain because one of the webmistresses that I greatly admire used their services. I was new to website hosting, and I reasoned that if InfiNet was good enough for her, it was good enough for me. The first year of hosting with them passed without incident, although later events made me wonder if there were problems and I simply wasn't aware of them.

The trouble started in February of 2003, when my domain went down without notice. Figuring it was just a little glitch, I tried to be patient; however, I grew very nervous when I noticed that their main site was also down. I tried to use the contact information they provided on my domain registry information, but I received a message that the phone number had been disconnected. I feared that the company had gone the way of the dot com and disappeared without a trace. With no other choice, I wrote to a fellow InfiNet hostee. I knew that was a long shot, but I was desperate to know what was happening. She had actually spoken with the president of InfiNet and said that he insisted they were working on bringing the sites back. My domain (and the sites hosted there) returned after about a week of down time.

I didn't notice any more down time until September 10, 2003, when my domain and InfiNet's main site went down again. Remembering the last time, again I tried to be patient, deciding to wait a week and see what happened. Their main site came back, but mine remained down. Then, adding insult to the injury, they took over my main page and turned it into an ad for their hosting company! I tried to log in and update that because I certainly did not want to advertise their services, while my website visitors are no doubt convinced that I've suddenly shut down all of my sites. The system would not let me log in.

I sent numerous requests to InfiNet, asking them to please tell me what was going on with my websites. I even managed to avoid using profanity, so yay for me. About half of the messages bounced back as undeliverable, and the others were ignored by them. I know that no hosting company will be up one hundred percent of the time, and I could handle that if they would have just told me what was going on. That lack of communication shows a complete lack of disregard for their clients, and that is unforgivable.

After the sites at InfiNet were down for two weeks, I found another host and moved my domain. I only used about half of the two years of hosting that I had paid for (less than that if you subtract the times they went down) and I was fairly certain that they would not give me a refund, but their lack of service made me so angry that it didn't seem important. I considered it money well spent if I could just get away from the frustration of dealing with them.

I emailed their billing department that I was canceling my services with them, and since they no doubt needed that letter in writing, I said that I was mailing it also to the address on their site. I added that if that was not the correct mailing address, they should send me the correct one. As before, I received no response, so I mailed the letter to them. A week later, the post office returned it to me with the message that the company had moved and left no forwarding address. Since their fax and phone numbers still didn't work either, it became clear that InfiNet was trying to make it so that I couldn't contact them, then they would later deny that I attempted to cancel and try to charge me again.

The nightmare continued, when I received my credit card statement the next month and found a charge from them for $179.88! I knew they would try that, but I didn't think it would be so soon. I wrote to my credit card company asking them to remove that charge, explaining that I have repeatedly attempted to cancel my services with InfiNet. I also added that even if InfiNet denies having received my notices of cancellation, there was *no* reason for them to bill me at that time, since in 2002, I (stupidly) paid for two years of hosting.

My credit card company wrote to ask me to provide documentation for my claims: I did and they ultimately wrote that they were crediting my account, so that I don't owe InfiNet.

I hope this will be a warning to other webmasters: NEVER use the hosting services of InfiNet Hosting. As I mentioned, they may have changed their name; I still search the 'Net for info about them, and if I find that they have a new name, I'll post it here.

Apparently I'm not alone in my opinion of InfiNet: read more reviews

This experience has taught me to be very careful when dealing with any company, but especially with companies on the Internet, where it is far too easy for someone to hide if they choose to do so. Though there's no way to guard yourself 100% from choosing a bad business, there are several things you can do to help make an informed choice:

• Check the BBB (either on-line or through postal mail) to research companies that you are considering doing business with. For example, read their report about InfiNet.
• Shop around and compare the services offered by more than one company.
• Carefully read any agreements that you are asked to sign, paying special attention to the parts that discuss such things as how problems are handled and how to cancel your services with them. It's good practice to print such agreements for your records.
• Keep all documentation, emails, receipts, etc.
• Should a problem arise, maintain records of your attempts to contact the company, including the person you spoke with, the date you contacted them, and what you spoke about. Postal mail and email are preferable to telephone calls, and you should keep copies of whatever you send for future reference.
• Be wary of companies that do not send receipts. (InfiNet, for example, didn't and if I hadn't kept the emails that I sent, I would have had no records at all.)
• Also be wary of companies where the only way to contact them is email, or a form on their website.

Is there a company that you'd like to warn others about? Or maybe you would like to recommend a company? Let me know.