Hosting account terminated, refuse to provide backups

[sam77]

My hosting company terminated my account because they tought i was violating thier TOS but i really didnt violate the TOS the sysadmin that thought i did is just inexperianced. anyways i dont care what they think i did i can find a new host in 2 seconds. the problem is i dont have copies of my data (userbase data, webapplication logs). i contacted the sysadmin and he refuses to give me access to my own website content just because he doesnt want to or is too lazy to make a backup. i was hosting about 5 sites on that accont with alot of daily income that i am losing every day because i cant get my website content up on my other host.

Apparently the host recieved complaints, then they snooped around in my hosting space and found somethign that they tought was something prohibited by the TOS. Can they terminate my account like that without warning and refuse to give me my websites back? its my property! and its being scedualed for deletion in 30 days. What can i do to make them give me a copy of my sites! and if it is found that they terminated my account falsely can i sue them for the income i lost?

by the way this is a really big professional hosting company, not some kids in a garadge/basement with a server type of hosting company.

any help please

[Lil_Red]

I would suggest having an attorney contact them.

From what you describe, they sound like a kid in the basement company.

[dc dalton]

IF their TOS says they can shut you down then yes they can, you agreed to it when you signed up.

as far as getting your data, why in heavens name didn't YOU have regular backups?

I suggest you back through their TOS and read what the can and can't do. Then I would be as nice as humanly possible, call them, and try to get your data back. If you are in violation of their TOS law is on their side and getting nasty with them will do you no good at all!

[TAK]

Most hosts will put in their TOS that they are allowed to terminate an account without reason at any time. You agreed to it so... :\

What part of their TOS did you supposedly break? Remember, it is not in any hosts best interest to loose a customer.

And finally, lets add the classic statement: If your sites were so important to you, why did you not backup your data?

Anyways, I'm sorry to hear about your situation, but a few key details are still missing.

[moncur]

I'd try to contact them and be as nice as possible rather than complaining, because I haven't read your contract, but I doubt it obliges them to give you access to data backups after terminating your account.

You should be downloading backups daily to prepare for situations like this (or far more common, data loss at the host)... Sorry, I know hindsight is 20-20.

[jbw]

He shoul have had a backup. The data though is his, and if it came to court I would bet on the the ruling being they have to give it to him, regardless of anything the TOS says.

[sam77]

thankyou guys for the input. what really pisses me off is that the data is RIGHT THERE. i dont see why the admin cant send it to me, i feel like im kinda being extorted.


If i kept my furniture at a storage company, and my contract with them was suddenly voided they cant go and throw mystuff out without giving me reasonable time to retrive it right?.. thats how i look at it.

[demosfen]

My steps would be
1. notifying them that you intend to hire a lawyer if the data is not returned (in polite and official tone)
2. if that doesn't help, go to a lawyer and ask them to write a letter to the host (or make a phone call). The chances are you won't pay more than $50-100 just for a letter (shop around if necessary). It should make them aware that you are serious, and that they are risking having to fly over to whereever you are to defend themselves in court
3. Is lost income big enough to justify hiring a lawyer? I think they'll hand over your files by now, but if not, you could sue them and represent yourself in court, so it won't cost you anything. Their best case scenario would be that they will lose money on buying a plane ticket to defend their case - surely it would cheaper for them to give you your files instead.

[sam77]

I live outside the US and the hosting company is in the US. So i dont think i can make them fly out here. but what i heard is i can get a lawyer to represent me in the states.

[demosfen]

Uh ok. That's too bad

[MaxS]

It really depends on what it says in the TOS.

[hifigrafix]

I feel your pain - BUT would simply look at this as a big lesson - "ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP"

I'm monitoring at least 10 Websites any given week and do full file / database backup every 48 hours... If something ever happened I could be up an running at DNS propigation.

If you are losing any more than $300 a day I would call a lawyer right a way and I'm sure he'll be able to tell you if you have a case. Even big corporate TOS agreements have big holes in them that could be in your favor.