Following a 2-4 day outage from my hosting provider of my dedicated server, I decided to move non critical websites to shared hosting. I have one with 1&1 but I created a second account to share load and act as a backup with www.hostmonster.com after a recommendation from a friend. I was able to move stuff, I was able to get some domains there, but it didn’t last long.

What a disaster. NEVER USE HOSTMONSTER!

Probably about a week after my account was created, they decided to move my account, they didn’t notify me it was going to happen, they just did it. They lost all my files, and did not tell me, after making multiple inquires and phone calls.

Here is some history.

Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 8:59 PM

Dear Hostmonster Customer,

Hostmonster has started migrating your account (ronaldbr).
Below you will find important migration details.  Please refer to your ticket
number 0 for any specific details.


Although Hostmonster will do everything possible to ensure that your
migration goes quickly and smoothly; it is important to understand
that your account will be moving from one physical server location to
another. During migration the IP address attached to your domain name
will be changed from your old server IP to your new server IP. This will
cause a temporary interruption in email, ftp, and the visibility
of your website.


This window of interruption occurs because most Internet Service Providers
(ISP's) take 24-72 hours to clear their Cache.


Although this window could last approximately 24-72 hours it typically
only lasts 48 hours before your site becomes fully functional again. Your
web browser (IE, Firefox, Netscape) has a Cached version of your site
stored on your local system. In some cases it will help if you clear your
browser cache. For more Information about Cache and clearing your browser
Cache please review our article on:

http://helpdesk.hostmonster.com/kb/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&id=352

If after waiting 48 hours and clearing your browsers Cache, your
website has not begun functioning normally please contact our World
Class U.S. based Support Team by phone:

   Hostmonster Support:

       * Main Line: (866) 573-4678

       * Outside U.S: (801) 494-8462

       Support Questions: Press 2


Important Migration Details:

Your username and cPanel password will remain the same.

   * Migration Date: June 10, 2008

   * Migration Start Time: 06:00 PM MST

   * Migration End Time: (estimate) 04:00 AM MST

   * Old Server IP: 74.220.207.97

   * New Server IP:


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Thank you again for choosing HostMonster.Com!

Matt Heaton (CEO)

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I opened a ticket 24 hrs later at Wed Jun 11 2008 09:26PM.

I got a quick response, but was lied too when told no data was lost.

Wed Jun 11 2008 10:02PM by [email protected]
Dear Customer,
Thanks for contacting us.
We apologize for the trouble you've been having, we are working on the issue the migration has some complications none of your data was lost please allow 24 hours tops for the site to be fully functional again.
Thanks
Corbin
Level 1 Support Engineer
hostmonster.com

I asked for a reason why this was done, and why I wasn’t even notified. I was given a lame response with a “isn’t likely” it will happen again, “but might be” both in the same sentence.

Thu Jun 12 2008 10:13PM by [email protected]
We migrated your site to free up hard-disk space on our server, and I apologize that appropriate notice wasn't given. I have notified my supervisor in an effort to recommend improved communications. It isn't likely that your account will be migrated again for our business needs, but it might be needed in the future.

Thank you for your inquiry.

John Pratt
Support Level 1
HostMonster.com
866.573.4678

Probably my second or third call now, is Friday morning, and I’ve had added to my ticket some lame text that it’s being escalated.

Fri Jun 13 2008 08:32AM by [email protected]
I am reopening this ticket. It was supposedly moved from host97 to host262 but cpanel man. is still showing host97 and tracert shows host97. I've tried going to both host262.hostmonster.com:2082 and host97.hostmonster.com:2082 but it's not logging me in. I've tried to change the password and tried both host262.hostmonster.com:2082 and host97.hostmonster.com:2082 with the new password and won't login either. An L3 says the username broke in the migration but it's a different kind of "broken" since it doesn't have the error message in Cpanel Manager. I got L3 approval to move this ticket to the escalations queue.

Nicholas Martin
Support Level 1
HostMonster.com
866.573.4678

So now, it’s Sunday morning, on the phone again, no information, reason or help forthcoming again. A note on ticket Sat 2pm (not visible to me), apparently all files lost on both old server and new server. When were you like going to tell the customer.

This service is woeful, I want my money back.

Of course when I said I wanted to cancel my account and get my money back (I can’t login remember), I was told I would have to call back when the billing department was open.

Well, my complaint will be going to [email protected] – Supervisor of Host Monster Tech Support.