Network issue today? Hosting24-7.com down.

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Posted by kimijye, 03-23-2004, 01:58 AM
My host's network is down. Is this a good time to jump ship, or is there some type of network issue going on?
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 08:37 AM
I host my sites with LivePlanets and they have also been down since about 10pm UK time last night. All domain names don't resolve so I tried to ping the Name severs and got the following feedback: Pinging 207.238.213.31 with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 165.117.178.65: TTL expired in transit. Reply from 165.117.178.65: TTL expired in transit. Reply from 165.117.178.65: TTL expired in transit. Reply from 165.117.178.65: TTL expired in transit. Ping statistics for 207.238.213.31: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms A tracrt to the IP resulted in the packet pinging backwards and forward between two hops until the max hop count was reached, eg: 11 229 ms 148 ms 97 ms pit10-edge2-fa0-0.atlas.algx.net [165.117.178.84 12 99 ms 104 ms 96 ms pit10-core1-g2-0.atlas.algx.net [165.117.178.65] 13 99 ms 97 ms 165 ms pit10-edge2-fa0-0.atlas.algx.net [165.117.178.84 14 134 ms 98 ms 96 ms pit10-core1-g2-0.atlas.algx.net [165.117.178.65] So my guess is that there is a router configuration issue over at 165.117.178.65. Can anyone confirm this? Or maybe have any suggestions? I have tried contacting LivePlanets, but just can't get through. Cheers G
Posted by cyberlin, 03-23-2004, 09:05 AM
I have a server with them... several clients. And can not reach them. If anyone gets through to them please post. Thanks!
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 09:44 AM
I have a dug a little deeper and narrowed it down to Allegiance Communication (I think since they are the owners of algx.net). I contacted them on 1-800-553-1989 option 2 and asked if there were any problems. Tey said they were looking into it. I can only recommedn that somebody else give them a call as well, especially if you are in the US as yo can take advantage of the toll free number. And hopefully get some more info. Cheers G
Posted by cyberlin, 03-23-2004, 09:50 AM
I will call them.
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 10:16 AM
Any news? I haven't heard backf from them yet... Cheers G
Posted by cyberlin, 03-23-2004, 10:23 AM
They said it is not them... that Ipath group / live planets is not their client and They could be disconnected or having problems with their connection.
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 10:43 AM
And of course the Ipath group website is down as well. I have tried reaching LivePlanets at the following details: Hosting, LivePlanets (NMG99) support@LIVEPLANETS.COM Nettel Inc. 9348 Cherry Hill Rd., Ste. 312 College Park, MD 22033 US (877) 570-4271 fax: 999 999 9999 But when I ring the 877 number (and I am in the UK) I can't get through. I get informed that I will be charged international rates and then the lines die. Anybody in the US have a chance to get through on that number?
Posted by cyberlin, 03-23-2004, 11:01 AM
It does not go through. I have also: CONTACT For inquiries or to contact iPath Group, Please call or write to: iPath Group, Inc. 311 Craig Street Commons Suite 105 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 USA Email: info@ipathgroup.com Telephone: +1 412 661 7375 It says the mail box is full.
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 11:27 AM
Thanks for getting back to me. Well Ihave tried it again myself using the numbers you provided and no luck. Slightly infuriating..
Posted by Trinity94, 03-23-2004, 12:29 PM
I too am a LivePlanets.Com reseller. LivePlanets, iPath Group and Hosting24-7 are all the same company. But I have tried calling all of the phone numbers I could find and can not get through. The only good number I know of is 1-412-661-7375. Come on guys we have to dig this up and find where they have gone!!! Let's keep trying!
Posted by manuman, 03-23-2004, 12:40 PM
We too are liveplanets resellers. Its 12.30am here (Australia) and we have been trying to contact them for the last 16 hours. Have given up hope and started proceedings to move all our clients to another host. (Hence my being up in the wee small hours)
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 12:43 PM
I have tried all the numbers and had zero response. I am quite frankly at a loss. I was quite hopeful that it might be a router problem, but it wouldn't appear to be unless someone can pin down Allegiance Communication and explain why the tracert bounces backwards and forwards between their routers (see my earlier post). I am open to sugestions...
Posted by Trinity94, 03-23-2004, 12:45 PM
Hey!! Good news. I called their ISP like you listed above. They guy I talked to actually said he talked with iPath earlier. He said that their service was cut off because of a billing issue, but that it should be back online soon. I suggest that everyone call iPath / Liveplanets / etc and give them hell once this is over. I'm PISSED.
Posted by kimijye, 03-23-2004, 12:47 PM
This week when I tried to add an account, I received an error message that Hosting 24-7's CPanel distributorship had lapsed. Thinking about it now, maybe contacting CPanel would be a good place to start looking for a way to contact these people. Following up on another error message a couple of days earlier, I ended up in the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org/about/notice.asp where a listing of trademark violators is shown. One of the Mbandis, owners of Hosting 24-7 is listed as violating TM by using BBB symbol without authorization. Secondarily, the hosting company is mentioned as having been reported several times by clients for poor customer service. Hosting 24-7 changes its phone number frequently. The 412 661.7375 number is the last number I wrote down, but I believe that may have changed recently as well. I'm sure that some of the company's staff are students at the University there in Pittsburgh. The U may provide assistance with contacting those people with an affilliation. I'm not really ready for this, but I guess I need to make a change.
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 12:49 PM
Well that's a start (and quite frankly a relief). The person you spoke to didn't happen to give you any indication as to how quickly the service would be resumed?
Posted by manuman, 03-23-2004, 12:52 PM
Thanks Trinity... Too late for Liveplanets... we're on the move but at least theres some hope we will get our databases etc prior to leaving.
Posted by WildCard1999, 03-23-2004, 02:32 PM
Well it's been a couple of hours and I still can't get through to them and things still aren't up yet. Has anybody else heard anything else? Cheers G
Posted by Trinity94, 03-23-2004, 02:35 PM
He said service should be resumed "shortly". I don't know about the rest of you, but iPath ALWAYS makes a mistake in my billing... so it doesn't suprise me that they are having billing issues with their ISP. Anyone else have billing problems with iPath? I also think it's stupid that we had to get the story from their ISP! So much for their up-time garuntee.
Posted by manuman, 03-23-2004, 02:56 PM
Just so you know, should you finally get hold of them, they have been down at least 20 hours
Posted by Trinity94, 03-23-2004, 03:13 PM
Actually it has been 26 hours....
Posted by Trinity94, 03-23-2004, 03:36 PM
I talked to iPath's ISP, and they said that iPath was cut off for not paying their bill. They said that iPath has not yet called them back to pay the bill. I've had it, I'm leaving LivePlanets/Hosting24-7 and will take my business elsewhere.
Posted by cyberlin, 03-23-2004, 03:57 PM
Where, where, where to go. I need a good place to go. Any ideas?
Posted by manuman, 03-23-2004, 06:41 PM
LIVEPLANETS IS UP AGAIN.... But I would suggest taking your sites and running.
Posted by kimijye, 03-23-2004, 07:04 PM
Hosting services are now functioning. In return for the sharing my post generated, I'd like to pass on some details of what I've learned about the company. This week when I tried to add an account, I received an error message that this wasn't possible because Hosting 24-7's CPanel distributorship had lapsed and to contact the company. Following up on another error message a couple of days earlier, I ended up in the Better Business Bureau at [www] bbb.org/about/notice.asp where a listing of trademark violators is shown. One of the Mbandis, owners of Hosting 24-7, is listed as violating TM by using the BBB symbol without authorization. Secondarily, the hosting company is mentioned as having been reported several times by clients for poor customer service. Hosting 24-7 changes its phone number frequently. The 412 661.7375 number is the last number shown on the contact page but when I tried to phone it a week or two ago, it was hooked up to a fax line and calls could not get through. Support tickets I sent have not been properly followed up either. It was a brilliant idea to phone the ISP for info. I thought of other ways of contacting members of the company. I'm sure that some of the company's staff are students at the University there in Pittsburgh, and the U might provide assistance with contacting those people. CPanel may have been another avenue to try for contact information. I'm not really ready for this, but I guess I need to get ready to make a change of hosts. If you are having an excellent experience with a good service, your recommendation will be most welcome.
Posted by Trinity94, 03-26-2004, 06:55 PM
LivePlanets.Com SUCKS! Bad service, always billing errors, and always down time. I'm moving to hostgator.com
Posted by ays, 03-28-2004, 08:16 PM
Can anyone recommend a reliable host in the light of our recent experience with hosting24-7. Regards.
Posted by Woogs, 03-29-2004, 01:26 PM
I feel bad for yall that this happened to. I was actually looking at colo'ing there, I guess I won't be now. They are right down the street from me on Craig, but I have never seen their building when I drive by. I never was out searching for it either though.
Posted by wisewolfe, 04-27-2004, 01:09 AM
We too are Liveplanets resellers and have been experiencing most of the same problems that you guys have been talking about. We are almost entirely switched off of liveplanets now due to what has happened in the recent months. Mostly outages, but also billing problems. One problem we had I want everyone to know about.... In February, Liveplanets billed us over $500 dollars ($350 in one chunk!), when our correct monthly payment is roughly $90 (17 accounts + reseller account). I emailed, called, and put help requests in for a long time with no response. Finally, I emailed sales@liveplanets.com and got a response. I was given a phone number to call. I called the number and they asked if they could call me back in 10 minutes. They didnt call for 25, and actually didnt call again until I called their phone again (which they let the answering machine get). Anyway...FINALLY, i'm on the phone with a real liveplanets person. its even the same voice i remember from previous conversations. i kinda go off, but give them a chance to talk. the guy fixed some of my problems (accounts they wouldnt cancel from help desk tickets), and told me he would email a username and password to look at my billing so I could point out individual descrepencies. I procede to tell him about the a particular withdrawal from our account in Feb for $350. He claims it was a billing mistake by their system and that it accidentally billed 8 customers before they caught it...i also should have been credited that same day. WRONG...no credit. Well, they'll have to check into it and call them back in the morning after i have checked out the billing stuff. I call in the morning and he says that i am correct, they hadnt credited my account and they posted it the previous night after we had talked. "it should post in 4 or 5 days". im thinking...what is it coming in on horseback? whatever. so i ask the dude where my billing login information is. turns out they had written my email address down wrong. or at least that is what they say. 4 days later....still no login. dont really expect one. we've give up on these losers and i suggest everyone else do the same. i'm not going to call them crooks here, we'll let the lawyers figure that one out. EVERYONE check your account for the mysterious February charge of $350. I dont know what to do if you find it, but you might try the number i got through on: 1-301-233-4997 He told me this was their emergency cell phone I last got through with this number on 4/23/2004 As for the future, we have switched our business to hostgator.com. If you are used to paying liveplanets prices, you'll love these guys. the service has been wonderful so far. i tested it out before we signed up and actually got support people on instant messenger. have repeated this feat twice now. also, had their server go down the other day (heart fell to my stomach after dealing with liveplanets)....so i calmly pick up the phone. tech answers on first ring. i tell him our server is down...he asks ip...i tell....he says "yup, doing small work, be back up in a minute"...i say thanks....we hang up.....server back up in less than 5 minutes. This I can handle. Their billing is straight forward and simple and the control over your accounts is far greater. i love them, hope they work out. sorry for the long post, but if this saves someone half the trouble ive had with liveplanets...its been well worth the time to write it. good luck everyone.
Posted by imaginejet, 05-21-2004, 04:31 PM
I am a Lawyer! I have had similar billing issues with them, double billing domains, etc. Also had them listing sales@liveplantes.com as MY contact email address, so I never got any notices. When I finally got someone after suggesting taking legal action, they said that they found a $50 some-odd error so they applied it to one of the outstanding bills. I was however successful in getting them to switch the credit card that was on file with them after MONTHS of trying to get any response. Heck, their own website isn't even fully functional anymore. Stay away.
Posted by mdonah675, 06-12-2004, 11:13 AM
Hosting24-7.com, iPathGroup.com and ResellerDiscounts.com are all the same company. The Better Business Bureau in Pittsburgh, PA only lists Hosting24-7.com in their database by it's address and Hosting24-7.com's report is negative because of lack of response to customer inquiries and complaints. (BTW, the phone number changed shortly after I signed up for a Reseller Account with ResellerDiscounts.com/iPathGroup.com to 412-798-5511 but, you're taken into a loop involving the initial recorded greeting and then an "operator" that says "the mailbox is full and cannot accept any more messages, please try again later." then back to the initial recorded greeting.) The BBB gave me the phone number of the State Attorney General's Office for Consumer Protection (412-565-5135). The representative at the AG's office gave me a URL to file an online complaint. Since I've got fewer than 5 posts with this forum, I can't list it here yet. Call the Attorney General's office at the number above, get the URL. Once there, click on "File a BCP Complaint" and fill out the form. I'm wondering if imaginejet, the lawyer, can institute a class action lawsuit against this company/these companies since so many people have been negatively affected by it/them.
Posted by imaginejet, 06-12-2004, 02:25 PM
Actually, I'm not licensed there but an attorney there may be able to do so. JET
Posted by wisewolfe, 06-14-2004, 12:38 PM
We would also probably be interested in the class-action lawsuit if anyone gets this going.
Posted by mdonah675, 06-14-2004, 01:18 PM
I believe that imaginejet could institute one in his state and notify lawyers in other states to see if they'd also launch suits. ResellerDiscounts.com/Hosting24-7.com/iPathGroup.com has affected many individuals in many states (possibly countries). I've got more than 5 posts here now so, I'm going to try to put the link for the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division Complaint form here now. http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/ppd/b...rm/bcpform.cfm Once there, click on "File a BCP Complaint" and fill out the form.
Posted by dmacias1, 07-21-2004, 02:52 AM
Thank You for providing that site for the BBB PA, I cancelled my service with this crackpot company months ago, of course thru email since I could not reach them on their multitude of bogus phone numbers. Yet they continued to bill me and never responded. Hopefully they have caught on since I disputed the charges and blocked any further charges from them. Hosting24 - 7 (aka liveplanets, aka ipath group, ipathgroup, etc.) is the worst company I have every dealt with. Reading thru all the posts actually helped weave together everything I had speculated about and worried about. Not answering there phones, changing phone numbers, or reaching numbers that had no idea about Hosting 24-7 (so good to know I am not the only one). "Slick Willys" trying to point you to hosting sites that were their own and oddly enough used the same formatting or brought you to their site when you clicked a link. The data center is probably just a picture of a pretty building they passed one day while driving. I picture two college dropouts running this company from the basement of their dad's basement. They got the description of the "state of the art" facility from their first day tour they got of the data center at the company where they work as 1st tech support troubleshooting windows 98 issues. My suggestion is GET OUT NOW and hope you did not get double billed, and hope you are able to cancel. Just imagine, if my site had been up long enough I would have been able to finish all the under construction links. Luckily I only hosted personal sites with them and let my customer choose their own hosting, so I did not have even more headaches.
Posted by mdonah675, 07-21-2004, 07:04 AM
Actually, the link I posted was for the Pennsylvania State Attorney General's Consumer Protection Office Complaint Form. There's also an Internet Fraud Complaint form at: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp that you and the others may wish to take advantage of. I too had to issue a dispute of charges. While the money's been credited back to my account, my bank may have some difficulty recovering the funds from their bank. If you do a Google Search for iPath Group, you'll find that there's a web designer that did their sites. The images are more than likely royalty free photos that he used in the design of their sites. As to whether or not he got paid...
Posted by pvanmeter, 07-21-2004, 11:51 AM
There are a lot of reasons a provider can go down. Most are not something the provider knows are coming. For instance, you dont get three phone calls from a card in a router saying it was getting ready to puke. If you did, 100% uptime would be easy. A billing mistake is 100% avoidable. To go down for a day is neglect. People put their trust in you and if you know they knew they were going down they should have told there customers. I have seen others go down because of AUP violations. No excuse. Instead of waiting until you have problems with your provider, go to the BBB before your decision. Also get their D&B rating. Yes, it may cost you a little time and a few dollars.
Posted by Starbase 38, 08-06-2004, 01:31 PM
Finding these posts this morning was a lifesaver. I have been experiencing worse and worse service from Liveplanets.com now for the last few months. My sites have been crashing at critical times, either when I was selling my services to my clients or recently when my hometown travel site was down for an entire weekend. This weekend was the one time in the entire year when our town has a huge two day event that draws people from a three state region. In both instances, support was unavailable for 24-48 hours, and i only got callbacks on Monday. The "Emergency Cellphone Number" they gave me did not work, all of the phone numbers listed on any page on the site are useless, as they are disconnected, and when you call the new number they give you on the phone, you get a phone message box that is full. I have now transferred all my sites over to Hostgator after a two week support testing period. This morning, I found out that Liveplanets/Ipath Group/Reseller Discounts had made an unauthorized credit card transaction from my bank account. All of my payments had been set up for single credit card payment, with email invoice notice required before payment, only because of my past problems with them (which I will not go into now). I would be extremely interested in joining in a class-action lawsuit against this company, and would urge anyone looking for hosting to be afraid, be very afraid of this company. Sincerely, Starbase 38 Last edited by Starbase 38; 08-06-2004 at 01:38 PM.