Domaincheap.co.za misleads users

[Slantal]

Hi,

I would like to warn anyone considering using domaincheap.co.za. I have over six domains and 3 websites hosted on their server. First of all, they claim to provide 24/7 support (it is in writing on their website) which is not true - they take about four days to respond to a single query. Secondly, they are not hosting experts. One of my major sites was misconfigured during the upgrade process last month. I'm able to update the site but can't access my files/root, can't create ftp account and can't access my database. When I ask they say I need to clear my browser cache which I did maytimes but nothing works.

I also need to move some of my sites to a better host. My challenge now is that these sites use wordpress CMS so I'd need wp-config.php file so that I can edit on the new host but I don't have access to this. So be warned!

 

[Sonic2k]

anything with "cheap" in its name or other is something I don't trust.

 

[Solitude]

I also moved my domains away from them after they let my one domain expire almost a month after I paid to renew it and then I also struggled to get support.

 

[willo]

I recommend moving to Frikkadel.co.za. They offer excellent support.

 

[Thor]

Domains.co.za trust me it's so much easier and satisfying when you host with a world class provider and everything is on SSDs by default my site performance went through the roof.

 

[froot]

The owner of DomainCheap is on MyBB. Have you talked to him directly?
He's a pretty nice guy, I'm sure he'll help you if you ask again.

 

[Slantal]

And now I get this:

Dear Domaincheap Customer,

First, we would like to apologise for the invoice delays that people experienced this month. We moved hosting to improve performance and ran into a technical glitch that took our engineers some time to resolve. As you know, this is not normal for us, and we apologise for any interruptions to services you may have experienced. If you have any problems, please contact our support department right away so we can resolve it for you.

Now for the big news!

Domaincheap has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 3 years. So much so that our current staff compliment is straining under the huge workload that we are experiencing. In a way this validates everything we have done so far. To grow from a small company to one that manages thousands of domains – in such a short time – has been a wonderful journey for us to experience with you.

However, Domaincheap is at the point where it needs to go to the next level. It requires better support, billing and hosting structures. With our limited capacity we would struggle to provide that, while maintaining the high levels of service you expect.

So we are happy to announce that we have sold Domaincheap to the best hosting company in South Africa. As of tomorrow, Webafrica will be the new owners of Domaincheap (you will notice that invoices will change to reflect this). We chose our buyer carefully. After having put in so much blood and sweat to ensure that our clients had the best possible platform, we did not want to pass our clients on to just anyone.

Webafrica has been thorough in auditing our systems and we have the peace of mind to know that our loyal customers are not only going to get the same levels of support – but much higher levels of assistance than we were ever able to offer.

So this message is a big thank you and goodbye from the current team at Domaincheap. It was an amazing experience that we will never forget.

Do not worry, your services will continue uninterrupted and the level of support will increase. If you have any concerns or issues, please do not hesitate to open a support ticket.

We wish you the best for the future. Happy hosting!

Warmest regards,


David & Rob

 

[DomainCheap]

Im sorry that we dropped the ball with you. Could you private message me your details so I can investigate this for you and get it resolved. We had a major problem that hurt us very badly this month that was recently resolved. We have never had a problem with hosting, so I am surprised you had one. Our hosting setup is solid. If you can get your information to me I will be happy to assist you.

 

[koeksGHT]

First MTN buys in Afrihost, goes down.

Now WebAfrica bought Domaincheap

[video=youtube;Ssnw2GA657s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssnw2GA657s[/video]

 

[Slantal]

Would any one recommend Hetzner? I'm thinking of moving my sites to them.

 

[Thor]

Would any one recommend Hetzner? I'm thinking of moving my sites to them.

Been there moved to domains.co.za due to superior infrastructure and unparallelled support.

 

[envo]

Would any one recommend Hetzner? I'm thinking of moving my sites to them.

I'd recommend elitehost instead

 

[Thor]

I'd recommend elitehost instead

Who owns them? Aren't they a Mweb Reseller or is that grid host?

 

[koeksGHT]

Who owns them? Aren't they a Mweb Reseller or is that grid host?

Elitehost manages their own servers, who they rent from if they do I don't know.

 

[Thor]

Elitehost manages their own servers, who they rent from if they do I don't know.

One of them are owned by an ISP I think.

Hence why I chose Domains.co.za because hosting with an ISP is such a schlep.

With that said we have severs with elitehost as well and I don't have bad things to say.

 

[Slantal]

Thanks. I'll give Elitehost a try. I found this on their about our network page:

Elitehost currently operates from five, state of the art data centres located in South Africa (2), United Kingdom, Germany and United States of America.

TeracoIsando, Johannesburg, ZA

Teraco is South Africa's largest independent hosting data centre. Teraco Data Environments are built to the highest specification according to global best practices; security, fire monitoring, prevention, power supply and cooling are all governed by a 100% resiliency policy (one passive set of components for every active set to protect valuable data systems). Teraco provides 99.999% guaranteed levels of uptime, power and service availability.

The network is powered by Juniper carrier grade network equipment connected to our upstream provider AfricaINX, within the Carrier Hotel Environment. This is the most secured and up-market environment to host mission critical information within Africa. Teraco data centres are located on the fibre rings of major licensed carriers in South Africa, all of which have fibre nodes within the facilities. There are easily accessible for us to provide a more redundant network and direct peering with all major network providers.

Currently used for Shared, Reseller and VPS Hosting in South Africa.

RedStationGosport, Hampshire, UK

RedStation provides N+1 uninterruptible power supplies and cooling, backup generators, multiple data lines in an east/west configuration, 24x7x365 access - in fact, all the facilities you would expect from a custom built, state-of-the-art facility.

The data centre is situated in Gosport, Hampshire, UK. This makes it an excellent choice for all clients from Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Currently used for International Reseller and Shared Hosting

HetznerGreat Westerford Building, Rondebosch, Cape Town, ZA

Our latest offering of business hosting packages makes use of the Hetzner CPT3 data centre. The facility is a flexible, technically superior and physically safe environment, built and operated to global best practice. Connectivity is provided by MTN Business which offers excellent national connectivity.

Currently used for Business, Shared and Reseller Hosting in South Africa.

WebNXLos Angeles, California, USA

Our USA based hosting makes use of the WebNX Data Center located in Telecom Center in Los Angeles. The datacentre boasts exceptional facilities which allow for an exceptionally stable hosting service.

 

[naeem]

I have site with both Elitehost and Hetzner

Hetzner is great, especially for larger dedicated stuff. Fantastic support - although hardly ever have the need to even ask for support.

Elitehost i have a reseller account with, great service. The odd downtime (i'd say once in two months) but nothign major. A fewminutes.

The most was about 5 hours, but seems many ISP's were caught off guard.

They DO respond to emails very fast and resolve where possible even faster.

 

[Thor]

Hetzner is konsoleH just keep that in mind...

 

[cavedog]

One of them are owned by an ISP I think.

Hence why I chose Domains.co.za because hosting with an ISP is such a schlep.

With that said we have severs with elitehost as well and I don't have bad things to say.

elitehost is nice. Their servers are all Mweb based or was when I last used them and their uptime is decent.

 

[willo]

elitehost is nice. Their servers are all Mweb based or was when I last used them and their uptime is decent.

Not with Mweb-business. I still haven't fully recovered the sleep I lost rebuilding servers into the wee hours of the night. Personally, I don't host locally if I can help it. With services like CloudFlare having a local footprint, you have to ask yourself - is it worth it?