I've Been Santrex'd

I've had a VPS with Santrex since earlier this year, and for the most part I was satisfied with the service.

As of the end of last month I no longer had a use for the server. I emailed their support, requesting termination of the account, and in doing so, I told them the reason. At this point I had nothing bad to say about Santrex.

2 days later, a paypal subscription I thought I deactivated apparently was still active, and a few days before the bill was due, $29 was leeched from my bank account.

I figure that since I no longer had a a service with them, that it was justifiable to ask for the money back, as I was not even their customer anymore. Simultaneously I requested a refund and a paypal dispute.

This was the first email I got back from support:

Hello,

As far as I can see, you disputed and your dispute was unsuccessful since you have falsely claimed it to be unauthorized.

I'm afraid we can't do anything further since you broke our terms of use.

Thank you.

K Cook
Executive board
Santrex Internet Services

So it's against the terms of use to file an unauthorized claim dispute? That puts the company in a position that if it is corrupt, like I think it might be, they can hide behind TOS violations to justify their actions.

I sent them another email, pointing out that I'm an IT business, that I do have a foreseen need for servers in the future, and that I'd love to continue doing business with Santrex as I enjoyed their services and pricing. This is the response I got:

Hello,

Dear user since we Santrex Internet Services DO NOT practice any refund policies in place as stated clearly at *URL REMOVED BECAUSE I HAVE LESS THAN 5 POSTS HERE(but it's their terms of service link)*

5. Refund and Disputes: All payments to santrex.net are non-refundable. This includes any one time setup fee and subsequent charges regardless of usage. All overcharges or billing disputes must be reported within 30 days of the time the dispute occurred. If you dispute a charge to your credit card issuer that, in santrex.net's sole discretion is a valid charge under the provisions of the TOS and /or AUP, you agree to pay santrex.net an "Administrative Fee" of not less than USD 50 and not more than USD 250.

7. Account Cancellation: Requests for cancelling accounts may be made in writing with at least 7 days notice but not more than 60 days prior written notice and sent to billing@santrex.net

Since you the user have agreed on that Terms of use and signed up to it then you are bind to obey those rules same as we do.

Please feel free to contact us for further questions and help.

Regards,

A. Cook
Billing representative
Santrex Internet Services

Ok so they are now hiding behind their ToS? Lame but understandable. My response to that was asking for service for the money I paid, anything really. I had been interested in a seedbox from them for a while now, and the entry level seedbox costs.... $29 a month. The exact amount that I paid inadvertently.

To add insult to injury, I cannot even access my billing account on their system, to SEE the $29 sitting in my account there, much less place an order for a service that I really wouldn't mind having.

Let's be honest here, while they may refuse to give me a refund for my $29 (it's honestly not THAT much money), at the very least, they could give me service for what I've paid. Then of course, they'd look like honest businessmen, and I think that thought makes them cringe...

Hey, I'm a business myself, I provide IT related services to companies and individuals. I exited the hosting business earlier this year because I couldn't turn a profit from it. Maybe I'm an idiot? Then again, given the nature of the biz and the current economy, hosting is a particularly tough industry these days, and if you're doing well, hats off to you! Back on topic, as a business I am well aware of the value of providing service to your customers, when they pay. If I try to apply Santrex logic to my business, and run off with someones money and not provide a service, that's FRAUD.

And for a little more tidbit of info, look at their history page.
At the very bottom it says "And with Santrex we can guarantee you that you will always get more than what you pay for."