whats wrong with DDI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

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Posted by khaled_helmy, 11-01-2004, 08:38 AM
its now more than 48 hours and our web hosting company official web site is down cause of DDI, although all the websites on our server is working normally, but our site isn't cause its on another server. so that the clients cannot login on there accounts and www.ddihosting.net is down too ! .. so i cannot contact any support or something !!! what should i do please help me
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-01-2004, 09:01 AM
In another thread, it was stated that it was a DNS problem. I am still seeing sites down since Saturday afternoon. Apparently it is supposed to be propagating but I haven't seen any sites I've got there either. Also, I was told that custom nameservers need no updates on our end if we've got those. So still a waiting game.
Posted by Steven, 11-01-2004, 10:40 AM
i dont see how people are still using htem with all these problems
Posted by VentureMesh, 11-01-2004, 11:39 AM
I've been with them for about a year now and never seen this long of a crash, to answer your question thelinuxguy, i stay with them because of the great deal im getting for the price i havent seen any webhost out there that can match it. Hopefully ill get a dedicated server for my self someday so i woulnt have to deal with this crap.
Posted by tonyolm, 11-01-2004, 11:41 AM
What is thier official response to this issue?
Posted by coight, 11-01-2004, 11:45 AM
If you haven't already considering moving it would be wise to do so.
Posted by liz, 11-01-2004, 11:49 AM
It is really a pain that this happened at such a timing, all my websites are down for more than 48 hrs now, and there is no support to turn to. I am overseas right now and I can do anything about it, it is frustrating. There should be a refund for all customers since sites are down more than 48 hrs? Eitherway, I am going to move on when I get back. Thank goodness there is WHM to let me know what actually happened. Sigh.
Posted by VentureMesh, 11-01-2004, 12:25 PM
I'm setting up a home server as of right now to take over my hosted sites through DDIHosting, if they are not up within 24hours I'll have to leave and buy a dedicated host..... Now i know this is off topic but do you guys have any sugjestions for cheap dedicated servers.
Posted by net-trend, 11-01-2004, 12:32 PM
I doubt any of them will move. Like many that are with them have mentioned, the value for money is there. I guess a little downtime is okay when the cost is so low.
Posted by VentureMesh, 11-01-2004, 12:35 PM
Yeah thats how i feal, but dang i would like to have some customer support sometime! lol ive yet to get in touch with them at all for months now.... gotta pay to play i assume Last edited by VentureMesh; 11-01-2004 at 12:39 PM.
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-01-2004, 01:47 PM
i have the same issue guys.. what r u going to do about it?? all my websites r down.. i cant access plesk.. cant access the ddi home page the prices and features r great.. i built all my "business plan" on that.. so i'm not going to leave... the good thing is that i still havent officially had any customers.. its all some personal sites and hosting that i gave one guy for free... so no real danger.. but i dont want this to happen when i start to have real customers...
Posted by NeoGen, 11-01-2004, 01:51 PM
Because, either people are un-aware of the fact this company is in run-off. It still advisable that they should run. They suppose to settle my SLA refund last week, haven't done so far. That shows intention of the company and the people who are running this company now. I can only at them. So called new owners cant run and just blame Larry Stevens for any wrong doing, if they are involved in DDI its because of their some ultimate motive only and they are equally responsible for Larry and DDi going down.. net-trend: What value for money???, Its more like a bakyard hosting, where you monitor that server was down for 97% I was with them and I have framed their prices and services in my garrage and look at them everyday and say "What a great price, what a great features and where is the server???" Last edited by NeoGen; 11-01-2004 at 01:55 PM.
Posted by ldcdc, 11-01-2004, 03:14 PM
LOL! So you didn't get what you paid for?
Posted by < ! --, 11-01-2004, 04:54 PM
Saturday I contacted them when ulysses went down, and I was told the sites would be back up Saturday night. They're not. Originally they moved all pegasus sites to ulysses, now are moving ulysses to angel. I have to say that although ddi has new mgmt in place, sites to move, and a big old accounting mess to clean up, I don't understand why: 1. no customers were emailed clear explanations of what was about to take place, and an estimated time frame of the transfer. 2. ddi can't even get its own site up and running, or a forum or something. New mgmt is another webhost, not bee farmer. This should have taken place instantly. 3. we STILL have no communication from ddi regarding our sites or accounts. When my ads went up in california for a site I was launching, and I found out the server was down, I moved it to another box. I registered the domain weeks ago, with ddi's private nameservers, so the site should have gone live within a matter of hours. Unfortunately, since their private nameservers DON'T WORK, I had to edit dns settings with my registrar, and am left with the usual 72 hr wait until things propogate. Nobody will ever even see the site after this amount of downtime. I'm giving up on it entirely, which is pretty depressing as it was important to me. -- > ps- I'm not trying to use this forum for support. First of all I'm not getting any fricken support, so that kills that little idea right there. Second, I'm only using this forum for communication, just like the other members. If wht does not want ddi posts or threads, maybe steve and lumby could get their *own* forum up and running. hmmm, what a concept.
Posted by DediZoneSales, 11-01-2004, 05:05 PM
Well if you have the option, you should really try and move from them.. Atleast they could of done is Provide sufficient communication and support.
Posted by < ! --, 11-01-2004, 05:07 PM
I think you are right minimal. After all, how do I know this won't go on for weeks or even months? -- >
Posted by < ! --, 11-01-2004, 06:49 PM
ok I just spoke with a very nice lady who told me that the outage over the weekend was unplanned, and is just another issue on top of the many others that ddi left behind. She gave me new nameservers to use for my sites, and said that she is not sure whether or not the original ddi site will reopen, but that they will be putting up something soon to inform customers about the current situation, and to begin handling the refund inquiries. They have a huge mess to sort out now, and not reaching the customers is viewed as a problem by this new company. They know we are left hanging, and as far as I can tell, they plan to do something about it very soon. They seem quite professional, and gave me real info, and a bit of hope, so I can't say I'm walking away yet. I just want the surprises to end for a while. And I'm still kinda frustrated about the outage, too. I think my next move is clear. Time for a cold one. I'll pm you those nameservers now, dude. -- >
Posted by Oper, 11-01-2004, 09:27 PM
so new nameserver? well i was with then and stayed with then for long (as much as i can). But i already got a Dedicated Server from 15min. i pay for a year so to DDI, and in the past outgage they erased all data. what are the new Name Server?
Posted by Jesse Perez, 11-01-2004, 10:13 PM
Mind Sending the DNS info here? I wonder if DDI is even looking at this thread. If they are, they really need to announce themselves to their customers and maybe give them some solutions?
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-02-2004, 12:05 AM
and what about those with custom nameservers?? I asked them about this DAYS AGO and was told "no updates necessary" Seems like the same old same old.
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-02-2004, 12:07 AM
i need name servers too plz
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-02-2004, 12:10 AM
where's Steve or Lumby or somebody from DDI? Custom/private nameservers need to be fixed too. Not as much a problem for me (though I do need to get the proper IPs for my custom nameservers and this will cause more downtime, possibly ANOTHER 48 hours or more) but the people who are true resellers are going to have to give their customers DDI nameserver info if the issue of private/custom nameservers isn't resolved. This is about the same level of service people got from Larry. When crunch time came, no support was available and major downtime occurred. Congrats on keeping up the tradition.
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-02-2004, 12:27 AM
well see my friend.. they can't just overwhelm the ddi customers with good service... there is health hazards associated with excessive happiness.. we r not used to good service! it should occur slowly!
Posted by jpolitte, 11-02-2004, 02:34 AM
As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter. I'm through with DDI and anybody associated with them. DDI has repeatedly lied to customers and given poor service while promising the world. It seems the server performance was at its best when the company was on autopilot, and I think that says a lot. For those who don't get as far away as possible from DDI after this most recent ordeal, you get what you deserve. I've already signed up with a new host myself, and as soon as DDI gets their support up, I'll be cancelling my account . . . if they let me. Good riddance DDI! Jason Politte Conway, AR Last edited by jpolitte; 11-02-2004 at 02:45 AM.
Posted by < ! --, 11-02-2004, 08:53 AM
Here's the info. phone 1-641-983-2127 nameservers ns.dnsdreams.com ns1 ns2 ns3 -- >
Posted by VentureMesh, 11-02-2004, 09:17 AM
Minimalistix, the problem is, I can't backup @#$%ing files! This is killing me as I AS WELL have a business through them...... maybe this is why they stopped charging me for my packages a month ago..... :\ Atleast they were considerate enough not to take another payment before they shut down.
Posted by thehoff, 11-02-2004, 09:39 AM
Can I confirm; ns1.dnsdreams.com. A IN 14400 67.19.169.69 ns2.dnsdreams.com. A IN 14400 65.254.58.114 ?
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-02-2004, 09:55 AM
still no update for the custom nameserver folks and support extension on that line rings fast busy... hmmmm Deserted again!
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-02-2004, 10:23 AM
Wow, I got an operator and now I've got to wait for them to update custom nameservers and they have no ETA on when they can actually change it. Had to get main nameservers here at WHT and Steve and Lumby are still "pulling a Larry". Not that I have anything critical on there though, but still, I thought maybe they'd turn this thing around. Looks like you have to be very proactive and a detective to get any information from the new owners. About backups (VentureMesh): I know I can get to my box via IP, did you try that? If you are on a CPanel box go to the IP/cpanel and do them before the servers are gone!
Posted by liz, 11-02-2004, 11:16 AM
I hope the servers are still there for me to do a backup when I get back this weekend. >_<
Posted by < ! --, 11-02-2004, 11:56 AM
Yes, Nick, that's what they told me. And I don't believe steve or lumby are involved in this venture any longer. If they are, they're definitely not in charge. -- >
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-02-2004, 12:07 PM
Which brings us back to the old question that we all thought was answered: Who is in charge of DDI Hosting??
Posted by DeepNorth, 11-02-2004, 12:43 PM
I posted elsewhere here that I would be willing to buy space/bandwidth at a reasonable cost and what DDI offered us was something that is financially sustainable if one-on-one support costs are not too high. I tried to find something that fit the bill, but was forced to shell out for a server that is beyond what I really need for now. You can visit PureHell.org (was hosted at DDI and so still being rebuilt) to see the beginning of my troubles with all this stuff. Bargain hosting is possible, but nobody reliable seems to offer it. For those of you who are/were like me who are stuck, I can offer you a domain (for loan) and a working Plesk account so you can at least have a live site somewhere. I am willing to sell accounts on the same basis that I was willing to purchase them. I only have facilities for a few accounts, but I do have the facilities. I am paying a lot more for this hosting, but it seems the only way to be sure. You can use the contact form at my company website (trantor.ca) to get in touch. Please NOTE -- I do not want to have a lot of trouble with my server. I host many of my own sites there as well. You must be someone that can demonstrate they have been around for long enough or are otherwise bona-fide. This is so that some spammer doesnât clobber me. I really was hoping that DDI would not fall apart like this and even though I've been really burned: CyberWings Eryxma Glexicon DDIHosting Now Persons Unknown I was still hoping that all those sites would not have to migrate. It does not seem that you can find a reasonable deal, even if you are a good (like, we are a REALLY good) customer. We have hosted with a much more expensive operation for our company site, which has pretty much never been down in five years. We need that for our own site, but it is not cost effective as a reselling vehicle. Our strategy has been to leverage really cheap (and sometimes flaky) commodity hosting and have fail-over. That is what has happened to our sites -- When DDI went down our sites failed over to hot backup. Unfortunately, though I believe this is a sound strategy, I have not been able to find a hosting company willing to give me what I need at a cost that makes sense. This is frustrating, since I know that if I had the volume, I could easily offer as much myself... The point of the long preamble there is this: I would like to strike a deal with a couple of others in a similar situation to myself such that we 'cross-host' each other at different data centers for hot fail-over of critical sites. This would present a minimal cost to any of us and provide a huge benefit in terms of stability. We have (mercifully) always had at least two back-end providers so that we have never entirely gone off the air. However, we have had a lot of client sites go down for unacceptable lengths of time because we have never been able to hold two inexpensive accounts in a stable state... If/when DDI or whomever come alive and someone has the capacity (Plesk Only) to create for me a reseller account there, I will swap a similar thing at my facilities.
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-02-2004, 02:20 PM
i find it hard to move to a more expensive host after getting used to DDI's. i need windows reseller hosting.. and i need it as cheap as possible because i will be selling to a currency with a lower value than USD and then converting back to USD... so i will be losing money in this transaction... why does this saga has to happen.. cant they just put the server and leave it alone.. those DDI customers that also want windows hosting and left DDI for another host.. would u please tell us which host u chose? i would really appreciate that.
Posted by thehoff, 11-02-2004, 02:30 PM
Ive moved my single windows client to: http://www.hostnexus.com/solutions/win_compare.htm
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-02-2004, 02:38 PM
yeah i just saw that a little while ago.. but i need a reseller not just hoting.. and this one is like 1 GB space, 15 GB bandwidth for 20/month.. we used to get 4 GB and 50 transfer for $15! if i wanted a linux reseller i first thought i might go to surfspeedy... but arent they the ones who bought DDI? (steve-surfspeedy?)... they dont seem to be much better in support issues..
Posted by < ! --, 11-02-2004, 03:43 PM
sorry buscemi, I thought I posted it. Frontier is in charge now. -- >
Posted by DeepNorth, 11-02-2004, 06:07 PM
Does anyone have contact info for whoever was supposed to take over DDI? All of the DDI contact points have vanished from the Internet. Oh my. Note Re Windows hosting: I have made a decision not to offer Windows Hosting. I have been at this for more than five years now and to the extent that we dealt with Microsoft stuff it has always been a problem. I recommend against it. Should really make a post for this third unrelated point, but: I saw a mention of posts regarding DDIHosting being deleted. Can anyone enlighten me as to what those posts contained and why they were deleted?
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-02-2004, 08:40 PM
Now I'm getting issues with checks against the new nameservers (server failure when using dnsstuff.com)... NICE!!!
Posted by < ! --, 11-02-2004, 08:54 PM
Are you not using dnsdreams.com? Aplus will still not advise how to correctly change nameservers, and my own edits are not going thru, so I have no idea if the new nameservers work or not. argh.... -- >
Posted by NeoGen, 11-02-2004, 09:18 PM
It seems that I moved all my Linux accounts on time away from DDI or ddreams or steve lumby whatever you call it now. I am really happy with my new host, their service and speed is really excellent. My only stake in DDI is now the SLA refund.
Posted by NexDog, 11-03-2004, 02:38 AM
But look what happened to you. Quality, you'll find, actually has a price tag.
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-03-2004, 09:32 AM
News! i recieved an e-mail from "Allie" from customer support and she gave me the new dns. i can access my plesk panel but not my domains since the dns is not changed yet. i only changed the dns of one of my domains (the same day they were announced here) and i did that through godaddy... it still hadnt appeared though. is there a faster way to do it? Last edited by WebEnzyme; 11-03-2004 at 09:35 AM.
Posted by ITguy79, 11-03-2004, 10:04 AM
Well after looking at these posts I realized how to find DDI since they have been missing for awhile (DNS issues or whatever). Question is has anyone had problems changing their domain information when logging into their modern bill system? I've got a refund in the works (supposedly) and of course my websites are down and idiot me had DDI register my domain and now they have a registrar-lock on it and I can't transfer the name. Any ideas? Thanks
Posted by serversteve, 11-03-2004, 11:31 AM
We tried to obtain the rights to the dns servers to no avail which then caused the outage. We now have the dns mess cleaned up and everything should be back up by now if not very shortly. If you want the detailed techie version please pm me and i'll send you over what my admins had to deal with... If you have any open concerns please open a ticket at support.ddihosting.net Account Details, Register lock, refunds, dns update or any other issues will be addressed in a manner to the customers satisfaction.
Posted by DeepNorth, 11-03-2004, 03:04 PM
You may have a problem with the registrar lock. You need to get hold of the registrar (or perhaps Frontier can do something for you there as a 'successor in interest'. When my troubles started prior to this with Eryxma, Eryxma failed to pay the renewal for my domain nofailure.com. My first notice was the site going down. Upon investigation I found that the registrar had downed it and locked it. When I contacted them, they said they could do nothing, that their 'agent' (now Glexicon) was the one to deal with. They finally relented after many, many emails. Here is part of the very last note that I got from the registrar (OnLineNIC): I refused to pay them their extortion money. Instead, I added it to my list of domains to purchase (an automated system) when they expire. OnLineNIC gave me no warning as to when it would happen and removed the lock. Whereupon buydomains.com suddenly became the owner. Here's a few choice snippets of letters from the weasels at buydomains.com who are squatting my domain name. Delicious, no? As of this time, I am still trying to recover the domain name. It does not look like they will give it back without a fight. It is not really worth a court challenge, though I am thinking of suing in small claims court so that both OnlineNIC and buydomains have an outstanding judgement against them here in Canada. It still will not likey result in the return of the domain. I suggest that you very carefully document thusly: The AGENT for the registrar has defrauded you. You expect the registrar to make this right. Get a copy of the whois as it now stands and do whatever to document the existence of the site (and implied brand/trademark) before everything disappears. If you do a 'whois' for nofailure.com you will find no information referencing my company, even though we had owned and used the domain. You own the domain. If it looks like the registrar is going to screw you the way they screwed us, then I suggest you use a reputable registrar to transfer the domain name and explain your situation. They may be able to get the registrar to remove the lock. Strangely, not much of this type of fraud appears to be documented on the Internet. Hopefully people will come out of the woodwork so that a class action suit can be mounted.
Posted by < ! --, 11-03-2004, 03:40 PM
Perhaps faxing the registrar paperwork to show ownership (printed invoices, cc bills etc) will help also. I know that can be done in the event of contact disappearances, owner wanting to transfer etc. I do not know how it affects a lock. Good luck! -- >
Posted by serversteve, 11-03-2004, 03:45 PM
Contacting the registrar also helps. If the company that is reselling the domain registration is holding the domain hostage they are more than likely violating the TOS with the registrar. Domain lock was intended to keep your domain from being stolen not as leverage for hosting companies...
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-03-2004, 04:26 PM
No you don't, I was told to change my nameservers to the aforementioned nameservers and your support was not even aware of the fact that I have custom nameservers. Great support, great way to try to lose what few people are still on your servers! We were told we'd get the "techie version" Monday if we PM'd you and I did and now it is Wednesday and you return. I understand you have a new addition to the family but somebody needs to mind this new business you bought into. EDIT: Also, you'll see that people (including me) have tested changing to your new nameservers and it still isn't fully propagated. Surely this should have happened already. But it doesn't matter, apparently I haven't been clear the multiple times I've asked about the fact that I have custom nameservers and have not been made aware what to do/change Hope the bold helps, your support staff's canned responses expecting that I'll just drop something I paid for (remember, custom nameservers in case you guys didn't catch it yet) and use your generic nameservers. That on top of no response to my questioning why you need the front AND back of my credit card faxed when front should suffice. This is just like the ol' DDI. Kudos. Last edited by Plexi_Hosting; 11-03-2004 at 04:32 PM.
Posted by DeepNorth, 11-03-2004, 04:35 PM
On topic, I should say that (though all my domains now point elsewhere) tigerclaw.ddihosting.net is up -- IP 65.254.55.50. If you are on Plesk you may then access your servers thus: https://65.254.55.50:8443 Last I looked at the website that exists at DDIHosting.net, they make no mention of any problem or what you may do about things. Instead, they have the laughable: I suppose they should concentrate on getting everything live again, but a note or reasonable posting on their front page or something would be in order. It is not much use if things are working again if nobody knows about it.
Posted by < ! --, 11-03-2004, 05:07 PM
yes, the canned responses to tickets with my totally explicit inquiries are probably the most frustrating part of all of this, at least for me, especially when I say "Please address this particular issue in your reply." "We recently experienced an outage. Please let us know if we can assist you further." has no relevance to anything on any ticket I've ever submitted. Why am I being treated this way? Because I need help and, after several weeks of lame tickets, am losing my patience and am beginning to let it show? LOL hint: it gets worse... We all have very serious problems that need attention, and to put us off is one thing, but to talk to us like we're stupid is rather antagonistic at this point. and the constant need to have cc information is absurd. buscemi, give them the last farkin 4 digits and tell them to look the damn thing up. -- >
Posted by serversteve, 11-03-2004, 06:13 PM
Couple quick notes here. We are working with what was setup i.e. billing system and dns. The billing system is a mess and the only time the staff should be asking for cc info is if you are looking for a refund OR if your account is overdue (possibly if the invoice was genreated before they got to you service credit request). As for custom dns i will send another email to make sure that all staff have the info. I suggest identifying yourself as a reseller and/or that you have custom nameservers as they will not know who has them setup or not. Please also keep in mind that they are learning about DDI's messed up configs on the fly. There was nothing standard here... I have held off on teh techie response as i need to clean it up a little for legal purposes. I should be able to get it out tonight.
Posted by < ! --, 11-03-2004, 06:23 PM
Steve, are you saying that these people are not the same people who were with ddi a month ago? are you also saying that these are trained staff who know about plesk, domains, nameservers, billing, etc? the way they respond, you would think this was their first day on the job, and they've never seen a server before. why do they constantly fail to answer questions? Not being able to sort out a mess is understandable, but one would think that an intelligent and experienced customer service rep would be able to convey that very fact in a written message. the ticket answers I am getting show that the person on the other end is barely able to follow a simple train of thought. thx for your reply -- >
Posted by serversteve, 11-03-2004, 06:41 PM
I hear you concerns on the support staff's responses. I sent out an email to see if we cant figure out where the miscommunication was (i.e. why your response didnt fit the question). Please pm me with specific tickets that had unacceptable responses and I will address them with the support managers. And for support side of things; they helped Larry out a little but he really didn't allow them to do much. Once we got into the servers we found out why (things were a little odd if not messy). Nameservers and billing are done unusually and that also makes it challenging. As for their abilities; Plesk they are pretty good with and if our senior staff are unavailable they have plesk to lean on (we are a plesk gold partner which includes 24/7 support). cPanel they work with all day long
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-03-2004, 07:20 PM
I've already identified that I have custom nameservers. They need to solve the problem using that information and have not. I understand that it is for a refund/credit that you need cc info but you most certainly shouldn't need the front and back copies of my very card to issue a refund. This is a serious way to open your new customers up to potential identity theft. So please tell us why front and back are necessary again?
Posted by serversteve, 11-03-2004, 07:29 PM
Not sure why they asked for back... I sent an email to the person in charge of this for clarification. I do not want anyones cvvc code floating around in our hands...
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-03-2004, 07:47 PM
Thanks. Would be much more comforting for all parties not to have that info floating around
Posted by NeoGen, 11-03-2004, 09:44 PM
I am surprised that you are not aware of this. This is what your staff posted on my ticket: Any way ticket is still open with no resolution.
Posted by RobbyG, 11-03-2004, 10:41 PM
Does anybody know what the dns servers should be for those of us who were on Ulysses? I called yesterday and they gave me ns2.dnsdreams.com and ns3.dnsdreams.com but they are not working.
Posted by < ! --, 11-04-2004, 01:26 PM
Steve, how are we supposed to contact you other than to pm you here? also, where is the proper place for ddi conversation so that we don't have to clog up wht? is there a forum up yet or is there going to be? pls advise -- >
Posted by RobbyG, 11-04-2004, 11:46 PM
Has anybody received any updates on the dns server problems?
Posted by concreteman, 11-05-2004, 03:58 AM
Thank you sooo much,. I was bored and had nothing better to do... came accross this and burst out in laughter. Not to make light of your situation, but thank you. In the past I have offered specials to people in this situation and I imagine others would also, It just plain sucks. Beware of deals that are too good to be true, they generally are. Good luck with your situation.
Posted by serversteve, 11-05-2004, 10:29 AM
support.ddihosting.net
Posted by < ! --, 11-05-2004, 10:47 AM
so, no forum and runaround tickets only? [edit: my current ticket is on hold, pending further investigation, so I think they finally understand what is going on- that's a big improvement] anyway, those tickets don't go straight to you, and neither does the phone number. are you saying that you don't want to be contacted ? -- > Last edited by < ! --; 11-05-2004 at 10:55 AM.
Posted by ITguy79, 11-05-2004, 10:51 AM
Surfspeedy. I've followed your instructions, and it's been almost two weeks since I have gotten my refund. I have sent in copies of my credit card as requested. Now this morning I tried to log into modern billing, and I have no access. Plus my domain is still locked by the registrar.
Posted by NeoGen, 11-05-2004, 01:57 PM
I hope you have not sent, "back and front" copy of your credit card. Also you have defaced the critical CC number.
Posted by BigBison, 11-05-2004, 04:02 PM
Hooboy, I'm confused (again, still...) Who is requiring front and back CC imaging? Steve and James, or DDI -- whoever that is? I'm wondering just whose hands ITguy79's CC info has fallen into?
Posted by serversteve, 11-05-2004, 04:14 PM
no one is requiring front and back. There were a couple replies that went out with a typo on them mentioning back but since then the staff has made it clear that we do not want anything but confirmation of the last 4 digits of the card.
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-05-2004, 04:55 PM
I didn't get one of those replies, just tickets that remain unanswered. Please have the staff add this to the ticket and I will give them that information. Also, I'd have to update my expiration date as this has been going on so long the card has been renewed!
Posted by serversteve, 11-05-2004, 05:00 PM
I am betting that the email in my inbox addresses your ticket along with a few others that the cc company is rejecting for a refund. I'm following up with them as i have time. You will get your money back i assure you.
Posted by Dactyl, 11-05-2004, 05:07 PM
ddihosting.net is back up, not sure you guys are aware of it or not.
Posted by < ! --, 11-05-2004, 05:16 PM
yup it's back up and so is angel - but no forum still and i've gotten the distinct impression wht would rather us NOT continue to post ddi support-related requests here. also, i feel that things are improving, and would personally rather not post to a WHAT'S WRONG WITH thread, keeping it on top, when i could go somewhere else more constructive. this thread needs to move on to pg 2 etc.... -- >
Posted by NeoGen, 11-05-2004, 10:10 PM
Boss, overall it sucks, you are making false claims, my tickets are open and you or your fishy staff is not bothered to reply at all.
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-06-2004, 02:28 AM
my website r still down! why didnt the DNS change until now?? is there something i should change in my plesk or just in the domain registrar's website??? i changed them long time ago just when they were announced!!
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-08-2004, 12:33 AM
Help anybody!!? i put a ticket but they didnt answer.. it been more than 24 hours i reaaaaally need to know why my websites r still down.. did i change the dns correctly or something else should be done????
Posted by mariodac, 11-08-2004, 01:19 AM
This is what I received and does not look like a mistake because it was sent to me in two different emails "Please fill out this form in order for us to cancel your account: Billing Name * Email Address * Domain Name * Main Username * Main Password Signature: Date: To verify the contents of this form, the signatory must enter any combination of alpha/numeric characters that has been specifically adopted to serve the function of the signature, preceded and followed by the forward slash (/) symbol. Acceptable "signatures" could include: /john doe/; /jd/; and /123-4567/. In order for us to complete your request for refund, please provide us with the following: -Scanned of the front and back of your credit card -cvs/cvv of the card (last 3 digits at the back of the card) You can email your scanned copies to refund@ddihosting.net. We purchased the hosting servers that DDI was operating. We are not DDI and do not intend to run the business like DDI. We require this as we made a public effort to right the wrongs done by the former management. We are honoring the refund requests to help out those that were mislead by ddi. We do not have access to the credit card info; only the account details and customer contact information. Best Regards, Erin Support Team Digital Dreams Corporation " So who is sending this??????
Posted by ITguy79, 11-08-2004, 09:55 AM
This is the message I have received from DDI about 2 weeks ago. " In order for us to complete your request for refund, please provide us with the following: -Scanned of the front and back of your credit card -cvs/cvv of the card (last 3 digits at the back of the card) You can email your scanned copies to refund@ddihosting.net. " I have the support ticket number to verify this as well. I did not have a scanner at the time, so I was then REQUESTED to fax in the information. Two weeks later, no answer or reply. My account seems to be disabled with them, and my domain is still locked.
Posted by < ! --, 11-08-2004, 10:20 AM
Seems to me if they don't have access to the cc information, then giving them the cc information is of no use. Like, what are they going to match it up with? All they should ask for is hosting details/customer info - which is something they stated they have - then they can match it up and see if it's really you. Also, if you give them your cc# (not a scan but just type in the #) then they should be able to give refund to that particular credit card. all this ccv stuff is wacky Þ if frontier is issuing refunds, then why not just match up customer name/domain name/last 4 digits of cc, and let frontier snail mail the checks? how hard would that be? -- >
Posted by ITguy79, 11-08-2004, 10:27 AM
See thats the thing. Frontier Networks are the people that charged my credit card. They should easily be able to track this transaction. That doesn't make sense at all.
Posted by NeoGen, 11-08-2004, 12:42 PM
That is the million $ question, that everyone is trying to understand Last edited by NeoGen; 11-08-2004 at 12:49 PM.
Posted by ITguy79, 11-08-2004, 03:41 PM
Quick update. Just called DDI's support number, and they told me they have changed the name to rackhotline.com. Still points to ddihosting.net webiste though.
Posted by NeoGen, 11-08-2004, 09:03 PM
Thanks for update. Now Stay Away from rackhotline.com!!
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-10-2004, 01:59 PM
DDI actually had the guts to bill me again for another month!!! and my websites r still down since then.. i recieved replies for my 2 tickets today.. in which i was asking about the dns. in the first one all he said was that i hadnt changed my dns! how could this be true?? of course i did change them... in the second reply he said he will change them manually and that my websites should be working in 24 hours... so let's wait another 24 hours and see but dont u think i should ask for refund??
Posted by Dactyl, 11-10-2004, 02:01 PM
wait for 24 hours, if nothing happens, ask for a refund for sure.
Posted by serversteve, 11-11-2004, 02:01 PM
rackhotline is only used for dns... We've setup that as well as another for dns clustering to clear up the last few issues with domains not resolving.
Posted by RobbyG, 11-12-2004, 02:17 PM
Does anybody's site work now with the "new" dnsserver changes? My site is still inaccessible and the support dept keeps telling me it should be working now!
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-12-2004, 04:57 PM
mine still dont work!!! i moved one of my websites to mjzhosting.. it worked in less than 24 hours!!
Posted by Oper, 11-14-2004, 07:53 PM
Aye, i got 2 Server with 15min, but i left few Site there. in fact i was planing to keep there (some not important site), but first larry, then surfspeedy and etc,etc, they are doing there very best to push everyone far quick. so the new DNS arent n1.dnsdreams.com anymore? but in the good site they off the forum so they could scam easily new customer. none WHT visitors. Just a note my site never stoped working with larry, but they did now, they all down. and i payed in advanced for 1 year so they dont care about me they already got the money. sometime they resolve some time they dont. some time they only resolved to Domain.com and not resolved to www.domain.com, sometime viceverse. But is has been a fun journey
Posted by DeepNorth, 11-18-2004, 10:54 AM
[NOTE: This is a *long* post. The gist is this: give up on DDI and/or whoever took over from them. It's a dead duck.] Shame on me. [Fool me once, ...] Whoever is at the helm with DDIHosting, DDI, Digital Dreams, Frontier Networks Inc, etc. do not seem concerned at all about keeping sites alive or giving support. They have not responded to my contacts to them, except to ask for money. They won't tell me what the money is for. It is all very strange. Here's a portion of exchanges from a note sent yesterday. This business started weeks ago. I have yet to receive any meaningful reply. I have gotten two responses only: 1) A request for money. 2) Notice that my sites have been suspended. My sites are down. I have been given no indication of what to expect. All tickets have been marked closed by the support department. === Sirs, Thank goodness I did not depend upon you and moved our sites elsewhere. Yours is a singularly unhelpful reply. I have already been in contact with the email address you give for billing. They have not seen fit to reply. Below is the text sent to them. Perhaps you can state with certainty that this is your policy and final answer with respect to this mess. You seem to have simply suspended the account without notice, even though there were pending issues. There were, I believe, 32 domains on that account. These domains went down without notice some time ago and as far as I know, DDI customers were met with lies and then silence. Apparently some other entity took over, but who that might be is still unclear to me. Your reply to my request for the status of DDI is to tell me that my account has been suspended. I find this puzzling. None of my live domains point to that server. If you know that, I can think of no sensible reason for suspending the account. It merely annoys your client and presents a possible sign of bad faith. If you are under the impression that live domains point to that server, then it is even more puzzling. What kind of reputable hosting provider would do such a thing under the current circumstances. Is this your idea of acceptable behavior? Is your service -- whatever that may be, it is still unclear -- intended only for sites where uptime is unimportant? So many questions, still unanswered. Please do your very best to reply reasonably to this note. Whatever response I get from this, I will consider your (whoever you are) official, considered policy and an indication of what can be expected from you going forward. XXX XXXXXX ------- The following note was sent 11/9/2004 to billing@ddihosting.net. No reply was ever received. Hi, I apologize for the delay in replying. I was not sure what to say here and have been busy bringing sites live at our new hosting facility. The payment we were attempting to make was to keep the servers alive so we were not obliged to move all our sites. Clearly, the servers did not stay live. The servers went down and stayed down. We were given no notice of anything. We still have not received notice from anyone explaining what the situation was/is and what it might be going forward. We were obliged to move all our DDI sites elsewhere. Perhaps you can understand that I am reluctant to make a payment for something that we did not receive. The fact that PayPal disabled or removed the account that was the target of our funds raises a red flag. We are typically pretty good about this sort of thing. However, I find it very unsettling that the only contact that I have received from your company is a request for money. It should interest you to know that we had (have) outstanding issues that were never addressed from the very beginning of our relationship with DDI. They were left to the side, since it was clear they were having trouble keeping some of the servers operating at all. I had hoped to revisit this once things sorted themselves out. So far they have not sorted themselves out in my opinion. It is nice that you put the servers back up. However this happened at much too late a date for a live site. I can only access those sites via the IP address now. They are not currently accessible via the Internet. The current DDI material might act as a possible future backup for what is now our main hosting. However before we embark on that journey, we would like to have some idea of the terms of engagement. My company has always tried to maintain a 'hot backup' in the event of failure. I would not have a problem dealing with you (whoever you are), since accounts are set up and populated there already. However, before going forward, I need some assurance that it is a workable proposition. As near as I can tell, this is my first contact from you (whoever you are). You have introduced yourselves by asking for money for a service we did not get. This has not inspired confidence. We provide the same type of service that we are looking for from you. We would like the same treatment from your company, as we would give our clients in this situation. In fact, none of our clients have been charged during this disruption. We do not intend to charge until things are sorted out satisfactorily. We also intend to give (well, have given) additional credit as compensation for the inconvenience. I cant tell you how disturbing it is to have all of this difficulty with complete silence at your end only to have your very first communication be a request for money. Before we send money, we need to have some clear idea of what we are/will be paying for. We need some sign of good faith at your end. A request for cash up front is not what we have in mind. I appreciate that there are costs at your end. Please try to understand that we are just coming from a situation identical to what has unfolded here. It did not go well. The second company simply defrauded us, disappeared and put us in a terrible position with our own clients. For the time being, I would just like to leave things as they are. Our sites on the DDI server are taking up disk space, but little else. We could afford to leave a similar situation on the back burner at our other hosting facility until things sorted themselves out. You need to have your own sites working properly. That means that they tell the truth about what is currently happening/has happened. That means that they link to the appropriate facilities and those facilities are in place. That means that the site gives appropriate information about you and that it is actually true. You need to have a trouble ticket system that works. You need forums. You need to prepare material and introduce yourselves in a letter that explains what has happened, what you have done about it and what you plan going forward. Think about this for a moment. Whoever you are, you are new to me. You are asking me to send you money. You have neither told me who you are, nor have you told me what that money is paying for. Even a Nigerian scam letter gives that much information. Sure, they are lying, but even they have the sense to make some kind of introduction and explain what business they intend to conduct. Even the Nigerian scam perpetrators have some propriety and wait a little before asking for money. It would be easier for my company if we could use our current sites at DDI for hot backup and to ******* a few sites. Before we do that, though, we need to have confidence that our investment in time to re-configure is going to be a good one. We need to have some confidence that those servers will remain live with reasonable uptime. We need to have some idea that the sites will remain cost-effective. We need to at least get everything working so that the sites can be of some use. There is still a problem with Plesk reports that was never resolved. There was also some strange configuration with DNS that causes DNS changes in Plesk to either take a long time to propagate or fail to propagate at all. Although fail-over happened nicely to our (now) primary, there was no way to test this because of DNS problems. We would need to be able to test fail-over both from and to the DDI host. We use a command shell on our servers for trouble-shooting. That requires access to normal operating system commands such as ping, traceroute, ps, etc. We were given chrooted access, but since none of the required commands were available it was crippled. It was better than nothing, but it was not quite what we need. I was in the process of sorting this out with Larry when everything fell apart. I appreciate the concerns about unbridled shell access, but there needs to be some reasonable saw-off that allows people such as myself to do needed checks from a shell. There were/are other concerns. What I have written here is just what comes to mind as I type this note. I can understand that a company might want payment up front as a sign of faith from a new client. However, my company and myself are hardly new. We were an existing paying customer of DDI and we have been and are a paying customer of other back-end-hosting providers. Our company (XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX Inc.) has been in business since 1992 incorporated in 1994. We are listed in Dun and Bradstreet you can look us up here: https://www.dnbdirect.ca/SelfDuns.asp. A look at archive.org will satisfy you that we have maintained some kind of web presence for many years (since before they were archiving our sites). It is easy enough to track down my own identity and see that I have a long and honorable presence in cyberspace personally (pre-dating the WWW). Both the company and myself have excellent credit ratings. There is no reason to expect that we represent any risk at all. I wonder if you can supply the same information about your company and the people running it? It is not my intent to be unkind or inflammatory in this note. If there is to be a relationship between us going forward, you need to address certain of the issues I raise here. Regards, XXX XXXXXX DDI Hosting Billing Staff wrote: > Paypal Payment > > > Dear XXX, > > Please send all paypal payment regarding your account with DDI to payments@ddihosting.net. > Also please note that Larry is no longer part of the company and Frontier Networks INc. > > > Best Regards, > Erin > Support Team > > > Ticket Details > ========= > Ticket ID: EDB-XXXXX > Tracking URL: XXXX > Department: Billing > Created On: 08 Nov 2004 11:43 AM > Last Update: 08 Nov 2004 11:43 AM > Status: On Hold > > > > > > ---- DDI Hosting Support Staff wrote: > ====== Please reply above this line ====== > DDIHosting accounts > > Dear XXX, > > I just checked your account and it appears that it has been suspended temporarily for non-payment. > > Please contact our billing department (billing@ddihosting.net) to settle the issue. > > Thank you. > > > > Best Regards, > Rick > Support Team > > Ticket Details > ========= > Ticket ID: DNR-XXXXX > Tracking URL: XXXX > Department: Support > Created On: 17 Nov 2004 07:29 PM > Last Update: 17 Nov 2004 07:29 PM > Status: Closed > > > > >
Posted by < ! --, 11-18-2004, 11:29 AM
omg no reply -- wow not good... _______________________ you are so correct on this: "You need to have your own sites working properly." That couldn't be more obvious. A slick snowjob isn't what we need right now, although I bet it looks good to new 'prospective' customers. Who cares about them? We were here first! I personally feel that live support could handle issues in 5 mins instead of days or weeks of ticket passing. also as I understand it, the ticket system is not notifying the staff of customer replies, so they are slow/ fail to answer entirely. Steve has helped me with my ticket (a plesk bug that is confusing and might present future problems). Maybe he can get your billing issues straightened out. You should get a hefty credit for all your trouble. I also feel that a ddi forum, for customers, is needed. The site looks nice, but isn't functional enough. We need support in a variety of ways, not just ticket. LOL @ Even a Nigerian scam letter gives that much information. too f***** funny - and true by the way Another thing that is needed is email communication: my linux sites are now down due to dns problems. When was I notified that i was supposed to change them (again!!) and what are they now? I am also giving credits to some of my own clients because of these problems. The mess is one thing, the lack of or poor communication is what I, personally, find to be the most important problem with the new ddi hosting. We need communication that goes beyond a faulty ticket system. And we need to know who is in charge as well. Things are just way too sloppy right now, for customers and staff as well I'm sure. It's been long enough to get settled and get things together. I have addressed some of these concerns in tickets only to have them totally ignored. Some changes need to made immediately so that we have an accurate understanding of the situation, a better support system, and frequent updates to keep us informed. -- >
Posted by DeepNorth, 11-18-2004, 11:54 AM
It is gratifying to see that someone is actually paying attention. I really put that post up as a stake in the ground so that a search for the various players would turn up that post and its sad story. If you review my posts on this board, you will see that I have had similar problems in the past. My posts are generally not inflammatory. For all of the dreadful hosts that I have commented on, I have been extremely lenient in my judgement of them. One of my past hosts is currently serving jail time. I don't think I was particularly critical of that person until it was clear that they were just swindling people outright. What is happening with DDI? I am not quite sure. It is certain on the face of it that things are not going well and it would be foolhardy to depend upon them for hosting you care about. The lack of response to genuine queries, hostile responses such as suspending accounts, closing tickets, passing the buck, failing to address actual items in notes, failing to answer critical questions (like nameservers), failing to make forums available to clients, hiding behind multiple identities and using fake identities, etc, etc are all earmarks of a bad situation. Time to move on fromt that hosting provider. On a slightly different topic, I have mentioned before in a number of places and will mention again -- I am open to offers to swap space on different servers to provide mutial hot failover. That would prevent much of the pain of the current type of situation. Anyone interested in pursuing this, please get in touch via PM. I was actually lucky enough to have in place a hot failover when this happened and it kicked in within minutes of DDI going down. Unfortunately, I am now missing a hot failover again and am now vulnerable to a disruption.
Posted by DeepNorth, 11-23-2004, 02:01 PM
So far, I have given DDI and/or whomever has taken over from them plenty of time to respond. No response is forthcoming. My sites at DDI are still not accessible. As of this time, the only information that I have had from them is that they would like me to give them money (they don't say what for) and that my account is suspended. As often happens here, I was contacted by someone via PM shortly after making my posts above. That was last week. I was asked twice to confirm whether or not I had phoned in for support (I did not). Below is a snippet of my last reply to that person. I think it is important that this issue not be let go until it is quite clear who these people are. You may look at my past posts and judge for yourself whether or not I am a reasonable fellow. I would like to be sure who is behind the current DDI site(s), their support and billing people. There is somebody there, they are still making representations about hosting and they are still asking people (us at least) for money. The perpetrators of this scheme are coy about who they are. I have an idea from postings here, but nobody has come right out (AFAIK) and said they are responsible. Whoever is responsible for the shameful treatment of my company, myself and my clients should definitely be avoided. Past experience shows that this includes most/all the individuals involved. In more than one case, these individuals have gone on to start their own operations with similar dismal results. ==== I am assuming you are making reference to my post here: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...DI#post2647684 I contacted both support and billing. There was at least one ticket number associated with the contact. The person who handled the ticket promptly closed it. I think the post is pretty self-explanatory. It would be exceedingly difficult to put a good spin on it. You are welcome to try. I am very curious as to what such a spin might look like. I am a good customer. Knowing that there were problems there, I did not squawk. I simply made a few simple inquiries (dating back months now). I dealt with the disruption by pointing my domain servers elsewhere prior to failure. I waited rather quietly until things appeared to settle down and then contacted (whomever -- you?) to sort out our situation. In my message to support, I was simply asking about the current status of DDI (or whomever) and as a short-term measure I asked about the appropriate DNS changes. Having not heard back from Billing in response to my long note explaining things, I was under the impression that things were still a mess with DDI. It is still not clear at all what is going on. However, it is quite clear that at least two people there care nothing at all about the hosting business. It has been a signature of the failed hosts -- Cyberwings, Eryxma, Glexicon, DDI and others I have forgotten -- to completely ignore civil requests from clients, but to respond to a posting on WHT. The experience of anyone who gets a response on WHT subsequently is very well documented here at WHT. They are promised a speedy solution. That solution will sometimes even materialize. The host subsequently explodes in a shower of flames. I can not at all imagine how DDI (or whatever) would be able to turn this situation around. As I said above, the only two people from this organization that I have had contact with care nothing at all about hosting. That is simply a fact on the face of it. If they were in my organization, they would likely both be terminated simply on the strength of this interaction. I am quite certain that my experience is not an aberration with respect to these people.
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 11-23-2004, 02:06 PM
Yesterday and today, they closed two tickets of mine stating that the DNS issue has been resolved. Yet sites are still not working. Glorious handling of support, keeping up the DDI trend! Also, Steve has disappeared on me since messaging me that he would personally see to it that the right person cuts a refund check. Hmmm as the weeks go by, I wonder...
Posted by WebEnzyme, 11-24-2004, 02:19 PM
my subdomains are not working.. website works but subdomains dont.. i actually pointed this out some days ago and they said that they had manually fixed it.. but still! i'm on angel.. dont u guys find it slow? i have a one page website that is only text.. and its really slow sometimes! i just asked for a refund.. lets see what happens.
Posted by Host07, 12-24-2004, 09:42 AM
Does anyone has luck getting there money back?
Posted by WebEnzyme, 12-24-2004, 12:45 PM
they gave me a discount on my next bill. about half the next bill
Posted by Plexi_Hosting, 01-03-2005, 10:52 PM
I finally got a check, wasn't a big amount but was nice in principle to get some closure. Had already moved on but was afraid of getting billed (even though I never got my SLA credits of almost a month that should have prevented any thought of billing again). I wouldn't stay with them for any size credit, I'd run away screaming. The transition was as bad as the original DDI fiasco.
Posted by Oper, 01-03-2005, 11:01 PM
I moved long time ago to a Dedicated BOX (excelent choice) but i left few Domain there, for few client, while i was moving all. But the new owner are almost same, they Changed NS dont inform, they Change IP dont give information to there client and etc. In fact i see in one forum few person asking how to that there Site was working sometime yes and sometime off, but they dont know how to get to the control panler casue they changed too. They dont have forum now and they are changing to a rackhotline.com name, but its ran by the same person or they are takeing leson in the same school. Finaly my last cleint on that server, one used some spam with some company, he never used email or SMTP from the server. Insted of letting me know teh isue so i cancel my client/customer they just cancel my account, without let me know and they dont even let me upload my Data. DDI/DIgitalDream.Rackhotlie/etc still a fiasco and a sieve I'm only afraid that they charge me again.