Cancelling Web Hosting

Ordering web hosting is easy. Web hosts make it simple to order web hosting packages of all sizes from shared hosting accounts to dedicated servers, but have you ever tried to cancel a web hosting account? Web hosting is a competitive industry and once they get you as a customer they want to keep you as a customer for as long as they can, sometimes even by tying your hands with their terms of service. This is why it is important to read through their terms of service. Recently I leased a new dedicated server to replace a dedicated server from Bluefur. Bluefur has been ok, but I was able to get a great deal on a new dedicated server from another company that included a higher management level, and better hardware so I decided to make the switch.

I ordered the new server and started getting it setup to host some of my clients websites that were on the Bluefur dedicated server. I should have sent in my cancellation notice to Bluefur then, but I was busy trying to get accounts moved over and wanted to make sure I got all of the information off of that old server before cancelling. All web hosts have a cancellation policy in their terms of service, I understand that, my mistake was not refreshing myself on Bluefur’s terms of service, after all I had been with them for five years. Hard to remember everything I read five years ago. Anyone dare to guess how long it takes Bluefur to cancel a server? 2 days? 7 days? Certainly it can’t be more than 2 weeks right? Wrong, Bluefur’s cancellation policy is 30 DAYS!

Servers require to be cancelled 30 days prior to the cancellation.

Let’s compare some other web hosts terms of service for their cancellation policies.

Hostgator

Looks to me like Hostgator processes your cancellation request quickly.

Once we receive your cancellation and have confirmed all necessary information with you via e-mail, we will inform you in writing (typically email) that your account has been canceled. Your cancellation confirmation will contain a ticket/tracking number in the subject for your reference, and for verification purposes. You should immediately receive an automatic “Your request has been received…” email with a tracking number. An employee will confirm your request (and process your cancellation) shortly thereafter. If you do not hear back from us, or do not receive the automatic confirmation email within a few minutes after submitting your cancellation, please contact us immediately via phone.

BlueHost

BlueHost does not give an estimate of how long your cancellation will happen, but for customers that have been with them longer than 30 days they offer a refund that is pro-rated, so it certainly can’t take 30 days to cancel and account.

Cancellations After 30 Days. Subscriber may cancel his/her/its Services at any time, before or after automatic account renewal, and, with the exception of any Nonrefundable Fees set forth in Paragraph 3.01(A) and setup fees, if any, which are nonrefundable after 30 calendar days, receive a pro-rated refund for all other fees paid for Services, less $10 per “Free Domain Name.”

Media Temple

It appears you can actually cancel your account with Media Temple through the web account centre. Boy that would be convenient. They even have a phone number you can call to cancel the account.

Cancellation. Security measures have been put in place to insure the safe cancellation of all customer related services. In the event that a Service or Account needs to be closed, customers may contact the cancellation desk by phone (877-578-4000) Monday - Thursday 9:00am - 5:00pm. An email confirmation system will be used in conjunction with the AccountCenter to insure that cancellations are legitimate. Requests to close by FAX, or email are not accepted.

WestHost

No time is specified for how long it will take them to cancel your account, but the cancellation form states:

A WestHost representative will contact you within ONE hour.

That suggests they get right to work on cancelling your account.

DreamHost

They offer a close your account option in their control panel. No waiting 30 days. You can cancel just before you would be billed again and not have to worry about paying for a month of service you were not going to use.

Doteasy

Does not state how long it takes you to cancel your account, but I wuld bet it is not 30 business days.

You may request to cancel your Doteasy hosting account(s) at any time without any fees or obligations.

My mistake was not checking up on Bluefur’s cancellation policy sooner, and now I am stuck with an extra month of service on a dedicated server that I am not using. Needless to say I checked again what the cancellation policy is on the two dedicated servers that I now manage from two different companies. Both have cancellation periods of 48 hours, 2 days. While there is a difference between shared hosting accounts and dedicated servers, isn’t 30 days notice a little excessive?

I used to recommend Bluefur as a web host to people, but given their 30 day cancellation policy I would highly recommend you think twice before going with Bluefur hosting. If you are looking for shared hosting I have been pleased with DreamHost lately and run some personal blogs with them. If you are interested in a dedicated server, my new dedicated server is at iWeb. Interestingly enough, the dedicated server I actually had with Bluefur was actually hosted with iWeb.

What do you think a fair cancellation policy is for dedicated servers? What is your web hosts cancellation policy?