Streamline.net - the home of appalling web hosting

[renegadeimp]

Thats the thing. You dont have any arrears because you are on a "pay in advance" contract. You havent paid, you made it clear that you dont want to use their service, but they still are trying to charge you.

 

Theres no need to worry. What you can do if you want better advice is to click the triangle on the bottom of your post and ask for admin assistance. There are many admins on this stie with experience in different areas. Chances are one will be able to give you specific knowledge.

 

I wouldnt stress though. Theres nothing bad that can happen. Its not like youve commited a crime or anything.

[Svartmetall]

That's the thing. You dont have any arrears because you are on a "pay in advance" contract. You havent paid, you made it clear that you dont want to use their service, but they still are trying to charge you.

 

Theres no need to worry. What you can do if you want better advice is to click the triangle on the bottom of your post and ask for admin assistance. There are many admins on this site with experience in different areas. Chances are one will be able to give you specific knowledge.

 

I wouldnt stress though. Theres nothing bad that can happen. Its not like you've commited a crime or anything.

 

 

But they've threatened me with debt collection proceedings, surely that's 'something bad'? You know and I know they're being totally unreasonable, but if they get the debt collection ball rolling over me surely I'm screwed then? I can't help but be stressed by it when I'm faced with bullying legal threats for the first time in my life, it's scaring the hell out of me.

 

I'll try contacting an admin, anyway, thanks for the advice.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Svartmetall

[renegadeimp]

Threatened with DCA isnt bad at all. They have no legal rights to the debt. They cant do anything. You dont owe anything, so theres nothing they can do.

 

You are falling directly into their trap. They want you to feel scared and threatened so you pay whatever amount they say.

[citizenB]

Hi Svartmetall,

You had actually clicked on the wrong button however, this is just to let you know that site team are aware of your situation and will respond as soon as possible.

If you need to contact site team again.. hit the ... !... which is in the black triangle underneath each post.

[Svartmetall]

Hi Svartmetall,

You had actually clicked on the wrong button however, this is just to let you know that site team are aware of your situation and will respond as soon as possible.

If you need to contact site team again.. hit the ... !... which is in the black triangle underneath each post.

 

Er, that actually *is* what I clicked, it says 'report post' when I mouse over it...I'm so stressed out by this though that I probably managed to do something wrong, sorry.

[slick132]

Hi Svartmetall,

 

Have you read this thread from the beginning.

 

If you do, you'll see it's full of folk complaining about their problems with Streamline.

 

They can't force you to automatically renew, just because you didn't contact them to say you don't want to. There are Regulations in place so companies cannot enforce unfair contract terms.

 

You need to see their methods for what they are - bullying; intimidating; threatening. And they behave this way because some people pay in response to the threats. You need to look at what they're doing and realise that they cannot take effective action against you.

 

Listen to what others are saying and start ignoring these chancers. Don't respond to letters, calls or emails. When they see you're not going to be intimidated anymore, they'll move on and concentrate on someone weaker, who doesn't know their rights.

 

Stop panicking and start reading, so you can understand why you have nothing to fear about this.

 

Check with your bank that any authority to pay is cancelled immediately, even though your bank card has expired.

 

[Svartmetall]

Thanks for the reply, slick132.

 

So should I literally just ignore them from this point onwards, or should I at least reply on their 'support' site to the message in post #23 - something to the effect of 'I have no intention of paying for a service I won't be receiving, and am seeking legal advice' or something similar? They don't have my current card details, and I'm damn sure I want it to stay that way.

 

The thing that occurs to me from the initial 'we couldn't take payment' email of June 17th is this:

 

"Dear XXXXXXX,

Access to your Streamline.net account has been suspended

Main account domain name: svartmetall.co.uk

We have been unable to take payment for a service on your Streamline.net account as your debit/credit card was declined.

Your account has been suspended, and will remain suspended until we are able to take payment."

 

So can I take the position (and tell them straight out) that I don't owe them anything, as I haven't in fact been the recipient of any services from them since the end of the period for which I had paid in advance anyway? I'm probably seeming deeply useless about all this, it's just that I've never been in a situation like this before.

[renegadeimp]

Just ignore them. They have no rights at all to do what they are doing. As for your card details, if there is a CPA on the account in their name, then they can take money from you.

 

See slicks post. There are laws to stop companies doing this exact thing. However this company seems to be oblivious or just ignorant of the law.

[Svartmetall]

OK, I just spoke to CAB on the phone (0845 404 0506) and they gave me a case number and said they'd pass it on to Trading Standards - but the woman I spoke to also said that if it is in Streamline's T&C that I agreed to automatic renewal, then I would be liable and have to pay them...

 

It's a bit of a wall of text, but here's the relevant bit copy/pasted from Streamline's own T&C page:

 

"2. Duration and Automatic Renewal of Services

2.1 Unless specifically stated to the contrary in the details of the Service and/or Package You purchase, all Services for which payment is required on a monthly basis are provided for a fixed annual (i.e. 12 month) term. The Agreement will automatically renew on its anniversary date and continue for successive further 12 month periods, unless terminated in accordance with these General Terms & Conditions or the Service Specific Terms & Conditions, if different to these General Terms & Conditions. In the event that You have an existing contract with Streamline.Net which commenced prior to 10 May 2010 ("existing contract") the term and termination provisions of that existing contract shall continue to apply.

2.2 Unless specifically stated to the contrary in the details of the Service and/or Package You purchase, all Services for which payment is required annually in advance shall be provided for a fixed annual (i.e. 12 month) term. The Agreement will automatically renew on its anniversary date and continue for successive further 12 month periods, unless terminated in accordance with these General Terms & Conditions or the Service Specific Terms & Conditions, if different to these General Terms & Conditions.

2.3 Unless specifically stated to the contrary in the details of the Service and/or Package You purchase, all Services for which payment is required biennially in advance shall be provided for a fixed biennial (i.e. 24 month) term. The Agreement will automatically renew on its anniversary date and continue for successive further 24 month periods, unless terminated in accordance with these General Terms & Conditions or the Service Specific Terms & Conditions, if different to these General Terms & Conditions.

2.4 Please be aware that unless You terminate the Services in accordance with clause 3 below or the Service Specific Terms & Conditions, the Services will automatically renew on the anniversary date of the Agreement for a successive term and You will be liable to pay the Prices for a further 12 or 24 months, whichever is applicable. If you choose to terminate the Services any time after the anniversary date of the Agreement You will still be required to pay the Prices for the remaining period of the then current term of the Agreement.

 

3. Cancellations

3.1 You are entitled to cancel the Services by either submitting a cancellation request to the Streamline.Net support team via the Streamline.Net control panel no less than 7 days prior to the anniversary date of the Agreement or by following the termination provisions in the Service Specific Terms & Conditions relating to the Services or Package You have purchased.

3.2 Streamline.Net reserves the right to cancel and/or suspend Your Services at any time and without notice if You breach these General Terms & Conditions, the Service Specific Terms & Conditions and/or the Acceptable Use Policy."

 

 

Now my account was started on June 17th 2008, i.e. it counts as one of the older pre-May 2010 contracts. I can't find anything in the emails they sent me at the time I started up the account with them about cancellation, I just have the usual "Welcome to our service"-type stuff.

[renegadeimp]

The woman at the CAB is wrong. Just because something is in the Terms and conditions doesnt make it legal. If it did, then they could add ANYTHING they wanted in to it and you would be bound by them.

[42man]

Have you tried complaining to the CEO ? Try writing a letter of complaint by recorded delivery...

 

His name is Andy Burton

 

Streamline.net is owned by

Fasthosts Internet Limited

Discovery House, 154 Southgate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL1 2EX.

[citizenB]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?850-Continuous-Payment-Authorities-How-to-stop-them

 

What you have agreed to is a Continuous Payment Authority - these are commonly used by PayDayLoan companies, Gym Membership, Magazine subscriptions. Probably because they believe it is too difficult to cancel them! They arent. All you need do is to advise your bank that they no longer have your permission to take payments any longer.

 

Although your card has expired, it might be a good idea to send a letter to your bank confirming that this company no longer has your permission to withdraw funds. Just in case they leave it a while and try again !!

[slick132]

Hi Svartmetall,

 

It seems we are all pretty much agreed.

 

1. Write to your bank to cancel any Payment Authority for Streamline. The bank may say you cannot do this and Streamline must cancel the payment authority. This is wrong and you must insist that the bank cancels it.

 

2. The Terms set out in Duration and Automatic Renewal of Services are unfair in the opinion of many here and would be challengeable (UTCCR 1999). I suggest CAB are wrong to advise that "If it's in the T&C's and you signed them, it's enforceable and you must pay."

 

Take the example of Credit Card penalty charges that every cardholder signed and agreed to. Penalty charges are included in the T&C's but the banks repay them all the time because the penalty charges are not enforceable in law.

 

3. You could write to the company saying :-

 

I have taken advice in the matter and will not be paying you anything further. Your automatic renewal conditions are unfair towards me as a consumer and are consequently unenforceable.

 

If you continue to make demands, the matter will be referred to Trading Standards and to the OFT.

 

See how they respond.

 

And take on board that some people or businesses will say anything to get you to keep paying them. They will intimidate and make things look as scary as they can, in the hope that you'll be frightened into paying because you fear the consequences of not paying. The more time you spend reading threads on CAG, the more you'll realise just how often you can stand up to these bullies.

 

[dx100uk]

IGNORE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

end of

 

dx

[Svartmetall]

I'm not sure how much difference this makes, but you remember the bit where their T&C states that accounts opened before 10th. May 2010 - such as mine - are still treated as being under the T&C as they were at the time and not the current T&C...? Thanks to a friend of mine finding them via the Wayback Machine net archive site, here are the relevant bits of their old T&C; posting them here since I'm obviously not the only one having these issues with Streamline.

 

 

"Rebilling (Renewal) Policy Terms and

Conditions

REBILLING (RENEWAL) POLICY FOR SHARED HOSTING ACCOUNTS:

When ordering an account with Streamline.Net, If the account is a 'Yearly' account

Streamline.Net will rebill the customer's account (unless the account has been cancelled within

the yearly period) up to 7 days prior to the 1 year period expiring. If the account is a '2 Yearly'

account Streamline.Net will rebill the customer's account (unless the account has been cancelled

within the 2 yearly period) 14 days prior to the 2 year period expiring.

If you require an invoice for the rebilling (renewal) of your account then this can be requested via

your account control panel at: (link)control.streamline.net.

REBILLING (RENEWAL) POLICY FOR DEDICATED HOSTING:

When ordering an account with Streamline.Net, If the account is a 'Monthly', '6 Monthly' or

'Yearly' Streamline.Net will rebill the customer's account (unless the account has been cancelled

previously) up to 7 days prior to the time of renewal.

If you require an invoice for the rebilling (renewal) of your account then this can be requested via

your account control panel at: (link)control.streamline.net."

 

"Account Cancellation Policy Terms and

Conditions

ACCOUNT CANCELLATION POLICY:

If a customer wishes to cancel services with Streamline.Net this cancellation must be requested

by submitting a support ticket via their account control panel at: (link)control.streamline.net. We

will then confirm this cancellation by reply to the support ticket."

 

 

These T&Cs seem considerably more easy-going than their more recent ones...does this make a diffierence? I'm tempted to post this to them saying that these are T&Cs of my account...

[dx100uk]

ignore them totally

 

follow slicks post above

 

dx

[slick132]

I agree with DX.

 

Stop wasting time on them, and on this whole business.

 

Send the small letter I suggested in post #38 and then ignore them.

 

Don't include anything in the letter about old and current T&C's. Each time you correspond with these people, it encourages them to keep trying to wear you down.

 

Just let us know how they respond.

 

Edited July 18, 2012 by slick132

[Svartmetall]

Well, I took your advice and have just ignored them (much as I wanted to tell them what anatomically-impossible things they could do with their demands); the 7 days deadline expired last night with not a word, but this morning in my Inbox, guess what?

 

"Dear XXXXX,

We're changing the way we charge for domain name renewals!

In the next 7 days we are making a change to our billing system to charge for domain name renewals on, or shortly before, the domain expiry date.

What does this mean for you?

If you purchased your hosting package and domain name on different dates, you are currently charged for the renewal of both products at the same time.

Following the change, renewals for products will be charged according to the original purchase dates. This means you will have two or more smaller bills to pay at different times, rather than one larger bill to pay on the same date.

Example:

Mr Smith purchased Hosting package 1 on 1st January 2012, and purchased domainname.com on 1st Jun 2012.

Current renewal schedule - hostingpackage1 + domainname.com are both charged as one combined bill on Jan 1st 2013

New renewal schedule - hostingpackage1 is charged on 1st Jan 2013, and domainname.com is charged on 1st Jun 2013

"I paid for my domain name and hosting renewal last month, but the domain was originally purchased a month after the hosting package. Will you now be charging me again for the domain?"

No. We will not split your bills until your next renewal is due.

"Will I lose any time off my current domain registration?"

No. Your current registration remains unaffected by this change.

If you have any further questions or queries, simply please let us know e-mail us to let us know and we'll be happy to help!

Yours Sincerely

The Streamline.net team"

 

 

Heh. Someone there clearly isn't paying attention.

[slick132]

Heh. Someone there clearly isn't paying attention.

 

Clearly !! And now is the time for you to do the same, by ignoring them.

 

However, did you send off the letter I suggested in post #38..

 

Have you cancelled the DD mandate or Payment Authority by contacting the bank in writing.

 

Edited July 23, 2012 by slick132

[Svartmetall]

Clearly !! And now is the time for you to do the same, by ignoring them.

 

However, did you send off the letter I suggested in post #38..

 

Have you cancelled the DD mandate or Payment Authority by contacting the bank in writing.

 

 

I didn't send the letter since the general consensus was to just full-on ignore them; I knew that my own incensed-ness would tend to make me rant at them, so figured the safest thing to do was just say nothing. I did talk to the bank; them varmints ain't gettin' a gold-darn cent from me

[slick132]

Ok and noted

 

[Svartmetall]

Ahh..they're at it again. This just arrived in my Inbox:

 

"Dear XXXX XXXXX,

Payment Outstanding - Account Closure Scheduled.

Payment has now been outstanding on your Streamline account for 4 weeks. Repeated attempts to bill your payment card have been declined.

We have made three previous attempts to alert you to this situation. All services on your account will now remain offline until payment is received and your account will be closed. This will include the permanent deletion of:

All data and configuration associated with the services that we supply.

All website data.

All email accounts including any stored email messages.

All databases (including content) and all other add-on services.

You have a limited time in which to clear your outstanding balance. Unless payment is received within the next 7 days we will have no alternative than to pass your details to a debt collection agency for recovery of your arrears, in addition to the full value of your remaining contract. You will also be liable for any additional charges incurred as a result of this recovery, and you should note this may affect your credit rating. You must make this payment within 7 days.

Log in to your account at https://control.streamline.net/Auth/Login to update your payment details and clear your outstanding balance. Once we have successfully collected payment, we will reactivate your services.

If you need assistance, please contact us on 0844 941 1000.

Yours Sincerely

The Streamline.net team"

 

 

And of course as I'd already discovered if you ring that number you just get the Philippines call centre who won't deal with billing issues anyway. I'm minded to just continue ignoring them, but the temptation is very strong to email back just the once saying that since my account is covered by the old T&Cs, and that I've had no services from them since June 17th I don't owe them a penny - just for my own satisfaction. But perhaps I should just continue with the silent treatment...

[renegadeimp]

I still want to know how they think you owe them for something that gets paid in advance. If it doesnt get paid, then like every other webhost (apart from 1&1), the site etc gets deleted and nothing more happens.

[slick132]

Hi Svart,

 

I don't think you should argue with them about the T&C's. This will only encourage further correspondence in the matter.

 

However, you could write pointing out that they should not threaten the actions they suggest while the matter is in dispute. Something like :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

In response to your email of xx date, I must remind you that this matter is already in serious dispute due to the points I raised with you in previous correspondence.

 

I will report you to Trading Standards and any Regulatory bodies concerned, if you :-

 

1. Pass the matter to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA) while it remains in dispute.

 

2. Register any adverse credit data against me with any Credit Reference Agencies, or cause or allow any such adverse data to be registered by a third party.

 

Also, if any adverse credit data is registered against me, I will seek compensation from you for actual or consequential damage caused to me or my reputation, using the courts if necessary.

 

In any event, you are not entitled to any money from me and I will not pay anything further.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

See if, and how, they respond.

 

[nick1905]

Just wondering if you heard anything more from streamline as I am in the same situation as you were and planning on ignoring their letter.

 

Thanks Nick