Urgent Billing Issue - Account Suspended

[Sentinel]

I am posting this here because I could not find a more suitable forum for it and I guess my account is not complete yet so I guess this is pre-sale. If there is a more suitable forum for it mods please feel free to move it.

Short version:
I opened an account for a homeowners association whose website I administer. They don't have an association credit card so they had to pay by check. I printed out the invoice from the billing area and mailed it with the check. That was over 30 days ago.

I checked back a few days later and found the entire account was deleted from the billing area. I could not log in. A call to tech support got a new account created and the welcome email sent. I assumed that meant they got the check.

I set up the website and all was well ... I thought. I got an email stating that the account was past due. I called support and they said it looked like it would work out. It didn't.

Looks to me like 1 of 2 things happened:

One is that I sent the check with a copy of the first invoice. Before it got there they closed the account because it didn't get paid in time. It didn't get paid in time because I was paying with a check so we had to wait for it to get there. When I emailed support they just created a new account which then created a new invoice with a new number. Of course now the check gets there with the old invoice number on it but that is no longer in the system so who ever does that has no way of applying it to the correct account. Meanwhile the new invoice with a new number goes unpaid. The check goes uncashed because they don't know what account to apply it to.

Two is that the check never got there. Problem is that I keel sending emails and calling on the phone but I can't seem to get a hold of anyone that can physically walk over to where the check would be and see if it is there. That is the only thing that needs to be done. If that is done then if it is there it can be applied to the correct invoice number and if it is not there I can have the association send a new check.

Needless to say I was the one that recommended Hostgator to this association and I am not looking good. Site was up for a week or two and now it is suspended.

What I need is a supervisor or manager or billing specialist that can physically check this out quickly. I don't want everything in the association forum back up to be lost and these people need their website up.

Related ticket numbers if that helps:
CEV-731212
GDO-358229
ZVC-934196
KOQ-663477

[Serra]

Originally Posted by Sentinel

Needless to say I was the one that recommended Hostgator to this association and I am not looking good. Site was up for a week or two and now it is suspended.

Paying by check is the WORST way to pay a high fraud type of account like a hosting account. Because of the problems that hosting companies face with fraud, they are very quick to drop the hammer on accounts that don't act like traditional accounts, i.e. pay on time and by CC.

Its saddly, you were treated like a criminal because SO MANY criminals act just like you did.

There are far better ways to pay for hosting, such as setting up a Paypal account for the association or getting a business debit card.

I would like to say you can expect to be treated better in the future, but you can't, not until you get a credit or debt card.

[slapshotw]

Originally Posted by Serra

There are far better ways to pay for hosting, such as setting up a Paypal account for the association or getting a business debit card.

Yes, and paypal can grab money from the checking account itself.

[kmaw]

Anything I've done like this, I simply use my credit card and have the organization write me a check -- it's in my bank account before I have to pay off the credit card. This doesn't always work for everyone though.

Originally Posted by slapshotw

Yes, and paypal can grab money from the checking account itself.

Yes, this is a handy solution.

[Sentinel]

Yeah, I thought about paying for it with my CC and then having them give me a check but the problem is that Hostgator only accepts CC if you authorize recurring auto charging. I don't know if I will be affiliated with this association next year so I don't want to put my CC on file for auto recurring charges for them. If Hostgator allowed a one time only CC charge then I would do it. But I don't want to lock my CC info for them.

I agree paying by paper check sucks but if that is all they have then I have to oblige them and Hostgator states that they accept it so... I am trying to convince them to get a debit or CC but they are reluctant. Maybe by next year.

I do not do business with Paypal so I refuse to go that route. Long story.

If I could just get a hold of someone that is actually in billing that is actually physically capable of checking on this it could be over in a minute. But to get someone that high is not easy. The phone and email people have been very helpful as much as they are able, but since they have no physical access to the place where paper checks are held there is not much they can do.

[Serra]

Originally Posted by Sentinel

I am trying to convince them to get a debit or CC but they are reluctant. Maybe by next year.

Well, then they are in a mess of their own making. There is little you can do if they refuse to pay with an acceptable method. Its not really your fault. In fact, you seem to be taking the brunt of this when it is really all their problem.

Using your CC isn't a problem. If next year rolls around and you are working with them, you can just turn the problem over to them. If your credit card gets charged in the end, just get a refund. Seems easier than this mess.

Originally Posted by Sentinel

I do not do business with Paypal so I refuse to go that route. Long story.

Fair enough, but YOU wouldn't be, they WOULD be and since they will not get a debit card, it seems like a good option for them.

[charlesgan]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

Yes, and paypal can grab money from the checking account itself.

paypal can grab all money from your banking account as well..
if you activate the direct debit features.

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Sentinel

Yeah, I thought about paying for it with my CC and then having them give me a check but the problem is that Hostgator only accepts CC if you authorize recurring auto charging. I don't know if I will be affiliated with this association next year so I don't want to put my CC on file for auto recurring charges for them. If Hostgator allowed a one time only CC charge then I would do it. But I don't want to lock my CC info for them.

I agree paying by paper check sucks but if that is all they have then I have to oblige them and Hostgator states that they accept it so... I am trying to convince them to get a debit or CC but they are reluctant. Maybe by next year.

Self-created problems. You could pay for a year via CC and get reimbursed; you could set up recurring with your CC and simply retract it when you are done with the association; or they could pay for a year ahead with a check.

If you are expecting seamless operations paying by check every month, you may be chronically flustered.

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

Self-created problems. You could pay for a year via CC and get reimbursed; you could set up recurring with your CC and simply retract it when you are done with the association; or they could pay for a year ahead with a check.

If you are expecting seamless operations paying by check every month, you may be chronically flustered.

Sorry. Forgot to add ... we did pay for a year in advance. I did not expect them to pay by paper check monthly.

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Sentinel

Sorry. Forgot to add ... we did pay for a year in advance. I did not expect them to pay by paper check monthly.

Then you've just got a temporary problem, most likely.

[Sentinel]

I hope so. Today is 5 weeks since I opened the account and still not resolved. It has been 4 days since I have heard a reply in email from them. I just checked my email and still no reply. I realize that there was a holiday in there so I gave it more time but I thought for sure I would have had some kind of reply by now so I could know which way to move forward here.
Hopefully I will hear from them later today.

[kmaw]

Did you try asking for Lance (customer service mgr) when you called?

[rota919]

Or bump it up to Brent.
He did a hell of a job when my account was created and I had problems.

[Sentinel]

I'll try calling and asking for those guys. I don't know if they will put me through to them but I can try. Wish me luck...

[Sentinel]

It's all over. The association got a credit card at my urging and I can now go and update the info and pay the bill. Life just got a whole lot easier for me.
Hopefully this will all be back to normal soon.
Thanks all.

[kmaw]

Sweet, glad to hear.