Streamline.net - the home of appalling web hosting

[slick132]

Hi Zara,

 

Put your demands in writing and avoid calling them, so you have a papertrail.

 

Tell them if they fail to restore access immediately, you will take legal action seeking appropriate compensation.

 

Point out that you gave proper notice for the cancelled domain as required and they have no right hold you to ransom by blocking the other domain, emails, etc.

 

Keep us updated please.

 

[zarathustra2014]

Hi Slick132,

I will send them a recorded letter, and will threaten legal action.

Will keep the forum updated with the results whenever that may be.

[zarathustra2014]

I have heard back from Nominet and Streamline.net have registered my domain in their name. There's a free mediation service, but if things get more complicated, or the company doesn't respond, an independent expert comes in at a cost of 200 or 750 pounds to mediate things. I suspect streamline.net know this all too well, which is why they've gotten away with stealing domain names for so many years.

[renegadeimp]

So essentially they have stolen your domain. Time to consult a legal expert i think.

[zarathustra2014]

It would have to be a free legal expert. The domain isn't worth very much to me really - I'm just angry that I've owned it for 10 years and and Dollarmore Ltd (Streamline.net) can steal it from me. If I cannot transfer it, it will end up back on the market, and someone will have it before I even get a chance to buy it back.

One day they will do the same to someone who has a lot at stake, and they will feel some wrath.

I still can't believe the likes of Nominet haven't come down hard on a company such as streamline.net; I can only imagine how many complaints they must have against them.

From a business perspective it seems like commercial suicide. Sure, they are probably making better money in bogus debt collection scams than they are in actually hosting, but at a terrible cost to their reputation. You only have to google streamline.net to see what an unscrupulous, immoral company this is.

[renegadeimp]

Check the solicitors in your area. Some may offer a no win no fee, especially if its an open and shut case. Some offer the first half hour consultation free.

[slick132]

Hi Zarathustra,

 

There's nothing to stop you writing to Streamline.net yourself, starting with an initial letter followed by a Letter Before Action.

 

Post a draft here first if you want.

 

[zarathustra2014]

I had planned a formal complaint to Streamline.net themselves, and may well still do that, but without the backing and help of Nominet, sadly I have no way in which to proceed.

 

They have given CCI Legal Services Ltd. my email address who sent the following:

 

...We have been instructed to contact you in relation to the above unpaid

account. To make payment by card or cash via your local PayPoint outlet, click: ...

 

The account they mention is the account/domain that I have paid for until October 2015. I'm not going to respond obviously. They have neither put it in writing, nor phoned (I don't live in the UK), and they have no power or jurisdiction to follow this. I would have relished the chance for them to take it through court proceedings (though I suspect they would have to do so in the language of the country I'm living in), but I think everyone knows that is never going to happen.

 

In the end streamline.net have taken 1 year's worth of domain/hosting, all paid for, from me, and stolen a 10+ year old domain name. Whilst I may not get far from a legal perspective, I am happy to give them all the bad publicity I can to make people aware how unscrupulous they are.

[renegadeimp]

You will get far. they have stolen your property and are holding it to ransom.

[zarathustra2014]

Legally I think I have a solid case, but if legal action costs an unknown x amount, and the domain is worth considerably less than x, then financially it's not worth it. I would love to pursue it on principal, but I'm already running up against Nominet - I can't take it much further other than going to Trading Standards.

Maybe I will take it up with Andrew Dollarmore personally.

[renegadeimp]

You dont go by worth. They have stolen your property from you. Plain and simple. How many others are they doing this to, and how many others actually pay up because the domains are worth a lot?

[zarathustra2014]

It's good in principal, but if I had to pay a lawyer to pursue on my behalf, there's no saying how the costs might unfold. I don't have the luxury of a loose wallet sadly.

I will pursue it as far as I can within my means.

[zarathustra2014]

Positive result - CCI Legal are off my back and my account is reinstated.

I contacted the CEO Robert Hoffmann (streamline.net is also part of Fasthosts and 1&1) and told him what had happened. I received an apology and was told somebody would contact me to resolve things. I got an email later in the afternoon asking for my number, and was called up by somebody who isn't at the Philippines office. They were polite, apologised a lot and acknowledged that there are quite a few problems with streamline.net's current system of doing things, including badly worded or missing renewal reminders.

They reinstated my account whilst I was on the phone, made sure I could log in, and said they would contact CCI Legal to make sure I wasn't pursued.

 

It was all very positive, but had I not contacted the CEO I'm pretty certain I would still be banging my head against a brick wall.

[renegadeimp]

Make sure you get confirmation of all that in writing. Do not rely on a simple phone call.

[UKDomains]

Also more importantly, get control of your domains, registered in your name.

 

Also you can automate daily backups so you always have your own backup.

[slick132]

Hi Zar and well done on a great result !!

 

Contact the CEO turned out to be the right option.