Transfer Issue [resolved]

[Downdigi]

After reading all the positive reviews on line I decided to go with HG but since then it has been nothing but a pain in the arse. I went with the unlimited business plan for a year with the free SSL. I'll try and explain this as clearly as possible. I have two domain names. Downdigi.com and Downbeatproductions.com. Downdigi.com is not up and running yet and Downbeatproductions.com is a full website. When I spoke with a sales rep they explained to me that I could have the SSL for downdigi.com and they would be able to tranfer downbeatproductions.com no problem. They said it would be a simple cpanel backup. I would have to make downdigi.com the primary(for the SSL) and then addon downbeatproductions.com. I was pleased to hear this but after paying for the service and setting up the transfer info I got this as a reply:

9:18AM
I'm not sure if this was explained in advance and my apologies if it was not. I need to inform you that the free
transfer service for shared hosting only covers the primary domain name (downdigi.com). Any additional domains
must be created as add-on domains and there is a charge of $75 per hour of administrative services time charged
for this service in 30 minute increments.

After reading this I called HG and the rep explained to me that this was my fault because I didnt explain myself clearly in my transfer email. He said it would be all sorted out. HG would do the transfer and all I would have to do is transfer a couple things in cpanel. Thats cool with me. He made it sound very easy but this is not what I was told in the first place.

So waiting all day thinking everything was being taken care of I get this for my next reply:

6:57 PM
I apologize for the miscommunication. If we were to take a full backup of the old hosting account, it will automatically change the domain name on the server to downbeatproductions.com on your Hostgator account because that is what it is set up as on the old host. If you want us to change your domain name after the restore from downbeatproductions.com to downdigi.com, we can do that for you as well, but please be aware that there may be a lot of scripts and files that use the domain name downbeatproductions.com and as such they may not function correctly with the downdigi.com domain name and these will need to be fixed by you on the server. If this is what you were wanting to do, we can do this for you free of charge. Please let us know and we'll begin as soon as possible.

Initially I was never told that I would have to fix scripts on the server to make everythig run properly. Host Gator should figure this out. If I knew this in the first place I would never of signed up with HG,

My reply: 7:39 PM

Im not sure what I will have to do after this. I want to keep the
downbeatproductions.com name. The only reason why I wanted to have the
downdigi.com site as the primary was for the SSL. The downdigi.com site is
coming in a month or two. Is there any way to transfer the
downbeatproductions.com site as the primary and I can setup downdigi.com as
an addon? Could Host Gator grant me the SSL for the addon site,
downdigi.com? This would make things a million times easier. I need
downbeatproductions.com to be the same as it is on my old host.

11:28 pm 4 hours later

Unfortunately the way SSL's function is for the primary domain only, they can't be set up for addon domains. Another alternative may be to upgrade to a reseller server. With a reseller server you can have both of these domains as a primary and we'd be able to transfer both of them for you free of charge. That will also allow you to set up additional SSL's and other accounts as their own primary cPanel under your reseller account in the future


Now they are suggesting I go and pay more money to upgrade to a reseller server. I feel very misled here. The old bait and switch! I was told one thing in the beginning so HG should stick to their word and figure this out. I shouldnt have to pay more $$$ for anything. If they cant get a simple cPanel backup transfer figured out, then imagine what this will be like if it was a more serious problem. If this cant be resolved, Ill be forced to go elsewhere. Bad customer service, slow tech responses....Im looking for a company to grow with. We have plans for dedicated server packages also. Not with HG if its going to be like this.

ticket number OHX-3923223

[GatorDHanna]

First of all, thanks for choosing HostGator. I apologize for the transfer process being more confusing and frustrating than it should be.

What you were told initially and in response to your phone call in response to the 9:18 AM ticket response is correct. We can transfer your primary domain name for free and then that transfer will include all of your cPanel settings, etc. Or, if your domain name with HostGator differs from the domain name at your old host, we can transfer the files and place them in your public_html directory for free.

The response you were sent at 9:18 AM does not make this especially clear and I apologize for the confusion. We are in the process of revising that email to make it clearer for customers in the future.

The problem with changing a domain name is that it can affect the configuration of certain scripts. Some scripts require a domain name to be configured properly and when this domain name changes, it can break the scripts. Changing a domain name does not break all scripts, but it does break some. This can happen anywhere you change a domain name (not just at HostGator) and we mention this so no customers are caught off guard if that does not happen.

This might have been unclear and I see your response about wanting an SSL certificate. The control panel we use does not allow SSL certificates to be assigned to addon domains - it just can't happen from a technical perspective. However, this does not mean that you need to upgrade to a reseller account.

Here is what I would suggest you do and what you can do for free:

1. Keep downdigi.com as your primary domain name.
2. Go to your cPanel here at HostGator and setup downbeatproductions.com as an addon domain.
3. Ask us to transfer the files from downbeatproductions.com over to the public_html folder for downdigi.com for free. You can then move these files into the appropriate directory for your addon domain, change your DNS, and then you're all set.

That way, when you are ready to add an SSL certificate to downdigi.com, you can do that. If you do have scripts running on downbeatproductions.com, the different directory name that comes as a result of using an addon domain may cause some problems, so be sure to update any of the configuration files you have to avoid any problems.

Does this clarify your situation and your options a bit? Again, please accept my apologies for the confusion and the frustrations you've encountered.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.

[Downdigi]

Thanks for the reply. Excellent reply! I was able to speak with a HG tech this morning (Daniel I think) and we were able to sort out the file accordingly. I think we are all set.

A suggestion would be to have your HG sales rep up to snuff with whats going on. I know some people are more educated than others but I see the sales side being more important than the technical side sometimes. The first time a new customer is talking to HG is with a sales rep.

First impressions are made by your sales department, not your techs.

Anywho, thanks for the reply and big up to Daniel and who helped me this morning.

[GatorDHanna]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad we were able to help you.

Just so you know, the people who provide technical support over the phone and live chat are the same people who provide sales support over the phone and live chat. Different people, however, work through email. We have our system administrators handling technical support over email and our sales administrators handling sales and billing support over email.