Friday, July 4, 2008

All Systems Down: ReliableSite.net Review

So I don't know if it was some weird juju, but it seemed like the perfect storm hit many of my sites...

ReliableSite.net: Even though I have chosent to remain a customer, I do have quite a few concerns about their service. So much so that I am writing this blog entry about you.

I must warn you that the billing situation for their site does not handle auto billing - so you must either login to pay your bill OR you have to pre-pay for a full year. I had mine going to my yahoo account (but as I am looking back through my emails and they might have stopped sending my bill to the correct address) .




In any caser, I don't really check my yahoo email accout often unfortunately. In any case, here I am - 10 days overdue on my invoice and I login to see the problem in my yahoo email. So I immediately login to pay my bill. Unfortunately in my haste, I didn't realize that I paid with an E-Check (which takes a few days to clear).

I paid, but the system would not let me access my account - due to the fact that it was an e-check apparently. So I put in a support ticket stating that I had sent in payment, but that I was having some difficulties, etc... They wrote me back telling me it was an e-check.

I immediately logged in and then paid via C20.

I then used their online support as you can see below. They told me someone would be with me shortly as they:
payment as well as the c20 payment i had just made

[20:55] ReliableSite: Ok
[20:57] ReliableSite: We're mid-restore on a very large server right now.
[20:57] ReliableSite: We should be able to bring you back up within the next 12 hours.
[20:58] djfractalien: ok, thanks


on 6/26 I receive this response (apparently their Reliable Servers had crashed):
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 1:28 AM
Subject: [37D-0FF59F09-2606] Invoice #1075

Hello,

Someone should get back to you shortly, we have the control panel down for the time being for a server restore.

Thank you,
ReliableSite.Net Support

New Products:

From: mauricio@chaosexistence.com
Sent: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:27:53 -0400
To: Support Department
Subject: Invoice #1075

[20:53] djfractalien: hi reliable site... I think have a mess... I think you terminated (maybe deleted my account) but I had made a payment - but since it was an echeck (not intentionally) it had not cleared and thus why the problem... sigh. I went in to try and repay via c20 but it looks like maybe im too late because I cannot get into helm :(
[20:55] djfractalien: I have a ticket submitted... [040-0FF2D18F-E8A3] . In addition you will probably receive my paypal payment as well as the c20 payment i had just made

I have made the payment already via C20 but my account has not been reinstated yet, can you please help? I have several sites down. Thanks,
Mauricio Zuniga

=============================

By the 30th of june, I still had not received word - they had received my payment from C20 AND Paypal... still I could not access my control panel:

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 1:06 AM
Subject: [2BF-0FFC29FB-CC6A] Invoice #1075

Hello,

Please excuse the delay, the account should now be active and you should receive an e-mail with the login instructions.

Thank you,
ReliableSite.Net Support

New Products:

From: mauricio@chaosexistence.com
Sent: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:34:19 -0400
To: Support Department
Subject: Invoice #1075

I have paid this through C20 AND my payment through paypal ALSO cleared... my sites are still down - have been for about a week now.

[20:53] djfractalien: hi reliable site... I think have a mess... I think you terminated (maybe deleted my account) but I had made a payment - but since it was an echeck (not intentionally) it had not cleared and thus why the problem... sigh. I went in to try and repay via c20 but it looks like maybe im too late because I cannot get into helm :(
[20:55] djfractalien: I have a ticket submitted... [040-0FF2D18F-E8A3] . In addition you will probably receive my paypal payment as well as the c20 payment i had just made
I have made the payment already via C20 but my account has not been reinstated yet, can you please help? I have several sites down. Thanks,
Mauricio Zuniga


==================================

EVERYTHING HAD BEEN WIPED OUT! NO RECOVERY... ALL MY DNS / Domain ENTRIES, Databases, Files, etc... (about 600 domains).

I put in a support ticket - they said that they did not have a backup (although they alluded that they might). Luckily I have much backed up, but not the latest versions of the databases unfortunately...

===================

Finally, I get around to trying to work on the disaster recovery a day or two after they send me my new login info. What do you know....I have to put in a support ticket yet again. I cannot add or delete domains in my account: yet delayed ONCE again.


My sites went down for weeks... everything deleted, sure I'll take some of the blame... but having used their online support I was in contact with people in their company - I would assume they understood that I was trying to make a payment, and thus might make some type of effort on their end to not delete everything. You seriously delete your accounts 10 days after the invoice is due? I am surprised by how nonchalant the loss of my data was for them....

Sigh - why do I choose to remain here... well there are other factors I don't want to get into right now, but I would be weary. They do have some good deals and technology - but their support seems more concerned with closing the ticket than actually resolving the issue.

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posted by mauricio @ 3:07 PM   0 Comments