I decided to start this thread for the benefit of those who are into web design and development like me. I registered two domain names with Smartweb hosting company which is located in Jos Plateau State and after paying and uploading the sites, i could not access them. Sometimes, the domain would come up, and after sometime, they would be offline for days or even weeks. I called their customer support and sent support tickets via their website to no avail. Now, they no longer pick my calls, and they have denied me access to their customer support in the client area of their website.

I am thinking of going to their office in Jos to get them arrested because i told them to delete the domains so i could re-register them in another hosting company but they refused and claimed that the domain names cannot be deleted until they expire. What pains me more is the domain i registered fo a school based in Abuja. Since i uploaded the pages, the site has remained inaccessible and the school administration thinks the fault is from me and they are threatening fire and brimstone.

Just felt that i should warn you guys here in NL cos i don't want you to experience the same.

BEWARE! DON'T FALL VICTIM!!

Is it the same smartwebng that purchased by web4africa.

You went about it the wrong way and your approach appears to be costing you.

What you should have done when you discovered their host was not reliable:

1. Purchase a Web Hosting only Plan with another company.

2. Obtain the Nameservers of the new host from the hosting activation email sent to you.

3. Ask smartweb to change the nameservers of that domain to point to the new hosting plan you purchased.

These simply steps would have solved your problem and saved your reputation.

abhosts:

You went about it the wrong way and your approach appears to be costing you.

What you should have done when you discovered their host was not reliable:

1. Purchase a Web Hosting only Plan with another company.

2. Obtain the Nameservers of the new host from the hosting activation email sent to you.

3. Ask smartweb to change the nameservers of that domain to point to the new hosting plan you purchased.

These simply steps would have solved your problem and saved your reputation.

@abhosts, i want to ask u a question. If after purchasing the webhosting only plan from another webhost as u suggested and smartweb changes the nameservers to point to it, as incompetent as they (smartweb) are, if they have issues with their hosting services (which they always have) won't it affect my domain itself since they are the ones resposible for changing the nameservers. i don't know if you understood my question?

Decryptor:


@abhosts, i want to ask u a question. If after purchasing the webhosting only plan from another webhost as u suggested and smartweb changes the nameservers to point to it, as incompetent as they (smartweb) are, if they have issues with their hosting services (which they always have) won't it affect my domain itself since they are the ones resposible for changing the nameservers. i don't know if you understood my question?

No, it would not affect your website since it is hosted with a different provider. A domain name and a Web Hosting server are 2 separate entities. Most people assume they are the same because they get them from the same company.

@Poster,

abhosts' suggestion is the best for you. find below some info you will need before you can initiate a successful domain transfer"::




Registration transfers usually take 5 to 7 days to process. There are two settings that must be correct on your domain, or the transfer will fail. Please check these two things before submitting a transfer request.

You must check to make sure if the email on your domain is correct. Once you start the transfer, the current registrar is going to email this address asking for permission to move the domain. If the email listed isn't your email or doesn't work, you can't respond to this email and thus the transfer will fail.

You must make sure the domain isn't locked. If it is locked, even if you agree to the transfer, the transfer will fail.

You can check both of the above by going to: http://www.whois.ws. Once there, type your domain.com in the field labeled "Whois Lookup:" and click submit. Find where it says "Administrative Contact:" This is where your correct email address must be listed.

Now scroll down to where it says "Status:" If the status says "locked," you must get this changed before doing the transfer.
To get the above changed you must contact the registrar (the company where you bought the domain), and ask them to make the necessary changes. Some registrars let you make these changes yourself from within their control panel.
Note: You may not transfer a domain unless it has been at the current registrar for at least 60 days. Additionally, if your domain is expired you may not transfer it until you first renew the registration with the current company.


Hope this helps to broaden ur knowledge on domain transfer issues.

Web4Africa took over Nairahost, not smartwebng

I suggest you use syskay. they are quite reliable but my best remains host gator. You will avoid all these headaches associated wit most nigerian companies.

showvic:

I suggest you use syskay. they are quite reliable but my best remains host gator. You will avoid all these headaches associated wit most nigerian companies.

@showvic, i was formerly with syskay o! and throughout the period they hosted my website for me as @ 2008, i did not have a single reason to complain. The reason i decided to try this useless smartweb was because of their enticing hosting offers which includes "Unlimited Emails and SSL for the 2k per annum plan as opposed to syskay's 10 Emails/ NO SSL for N2,500." Now it turned out that i don't even need the unlimited emails again and i am paying dearly for it. As at the time of typing this message, the school website which i was talking about is totally offline. www.christacademyonline.com. It goes offline and online @ random.
I don't know if they switch off the something after they close from work because this usually happens whenever i check the site in the evenings through the morning.

@abhosts, thanks for your advice, i would have loved to follow your instructions but to tell you the truth, these smartweb guys are too incompetent and stupid that i am so scared of having any dealings with them. u need to hear these guys on phone when i talk to them, they sound so dumb as if they do not even have a slightest idea about webhosting at all.
i would rather purchase another domain name for the school under syskay, something like www.christacademyonline.com.ng or anything similar. I am not a patronizer of .com.ng TLDs but now, i have no choice. I don't know what you think.

You guys can click on this thread to see what i was talking about:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-553330.0.html

and this: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-511945.0.html

WHY DIDN'T I SEE ALL THIS BEFORE PURCHASING DOMAIN NAMES FROM THESE F@@LS?

And this post:,

Web hosting business isn't easy, smartweb prices are too low and are just harvesting customers. I'm sure they aren't making enough profit to pay staffs, run gen sets, monthly data center charges e.t.c They should increase their prices to give customers better service.

I currently use www.QServers.net which have been around for a while and are based in ikeja. Good server uptime, fanatical support @ affordable prices.

Webmasters please remember YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

Decryptor (m) you would have solve this problem easily like Afam has said you don't even need to call them or ask for support if you register the domain and the hosting with smartweb all you need to do is login into your account and change the name server of the domain, i registered domain with smartweb but i don't host with them, so i have never heard problem with them

@ OP

You mentioned that you were with syskay and why you were with them you had no problem. You had to leave because they offered you only 10 emails. Now that's ridiculous. The problem with people is that they don't know what they want. What are you doing with unlimited emails. Are you planning on starting your own gmail or yahoomail? What you fail to understand is that even if you're offered unlimited email for a 100MB website. Then the size of your email is still limited to 100MB.

Smartwebng are not scammers, Dont mislead people please. Its quite unfortunate that it goes on this way now. Be patient Please. In the alternative, host your site for free with www.africahostings.com , you can upgrade if you are satisfied with their services. I have an account with them now, FREE, the trial account

I understand, the clients might be on your throat, but please be patient.

You might not understand smartwebng 's problem, but i do, they are in a troublesome town- Jos, they work presently from home. I spoke with them on your behalf.

I have open an account with us for you domain name. Change the DNS of your domain name to
ns1.africahostings.com and ns2.africahostings.com, but you will need to register at the site to activate the account

http://www.africahostings.com or send a mail to info@africahostings.com.

Please note , for the future . Complaining to the wrong person don't solve issues. Bringing Smartwebng here doesn't solve issue than talking with them directly. I know Murtala the CEO of Smartwebng is a listening person.

Smartweb Nigeria Ltd are scammers, i paid for domain registration, due to their own so called security reasons they were unable to register and host my domain even after paying for the services.

their website is www.smartwebng.com

I requested for a refund and they told me to send my account number that they will refund. i need to tell you honestly that since on the 5th of may 2011 that i requested a refund till now, they have not refunded my money.

Whenever i call, a young lady will pick and she will start shouting at me then she will then drop.

If you need a domain or hosting package, do not try Smartweb at all, they will be nice at first, talk well to you on the phone and after you pay for any services, it is a new ball game.

Beware! Beware!! Beware!!!
they are scammers

Sorry mehn.i use them for my blog and am yet to have issues,send them a mail again.Sorry Bro

i have sent smartweb numerous email and till now no response. They are scammers. ripp offs. thieves. the bad thing is they do it to their fellow nigeria just for pea nuts.

God will never make them profit if they continue collecting people's money and doing nothing. My money is still with them. they are scammers period.

I just want everyone to watch out and beware so that they do not fall victim like i did.

Emmanuel.B:

i have sent smartweb numerous email and till now no response. They are scammers. ripp offs. thieves. the bad thing is they do it to their fellow nigeria just for pea nuts.

God will never make them profit if they continue collecting people's money and doing nothing. My money is still with them. they are scammers period.

I just want everyone to watch out and beware so that they do not fall victim like i did.

NAH, THEY DONT REPLY EMAILS VIA YOUR INBOX, CHECK YOUR SUPPORT TICKET, I USE THEM, NO REGRETS

There is nothing like unlimited anything. Its just a marketing gimmick/lie.

You dont go to buy land with a certain amount and get offered unlimited acres of land at your fixed amount, do you?

I hate it when I see hosting companies list 'unlimited everything' on their offerings.

i have checked my inbox, my ticket support on smartweb it is still the same stroy, there is no doubt that smartweb are scammers. i wonder why you are always in support of smartweb?

I am beginning to support you.

___________________________________________________________________________
UNLIMITED HOSTING(2,500 NAIRA PER YEAR)+FREE DOMAIN contact http://9jahoster.com

9jahoster.com offers web hosting with unlimted space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email, cpanel and more benefits for just N2,500/year contact the following channels
WEB http://9jahoster.com
EMAIL support@9jahoster.com
PHONE 07067458707, 08091820866

START YOUR OWN WEB HOST WITH UNLIMITED RESOURCES (STARTING FROM N1,250/MONTH)
UNLIMITED WEB HOST RESELLER (STARTING FROM N1,250/MONTH)
With 9jahoster.com you can start your own web hosting company of UNLIMITED SPACE AND BANDWIDTH.Your customers will never know us because we will give you all that it takes to customize your brand.
Our reseller plans are ( CPANEL RESELLER, MASTER RESELLER, ALPHA MASTER RESELLER ).
You will get the following benefits
-$200 dollar worth billing system (WHMCS)
-1 year free domain of your website
-custom name server
-Your own whm account
-sell unlimited cpanel account (all plans)
-sell unlimited whm accounts (master and alpha resellers)
-sell unlimited master accounts (Alpha resellers)
24/7 support
a lot more,
contact the following channels
WEB http://9jahoster.com
EMAIL support@9jahoster.com
PHONE 07067458707, 08091820866
$100 of google ads for N7,500
Register a new google ads account or we will register it on your behalf. We will credit it with $100 while you pay us N7,500
contact the following channels
WEB http://9jahoster.com
EMAIL support@9jahoster.com
PHONE 07067458707, 08091820866

It is true, they are incompetent, I have also bought a hosting package from them, and their server is always down, when i complained to them, they threatened to even suspend my account. They are fraudsters

Hello everyone,

I have hosted my site www.josiangems.com for a very long time now and i have no any big deal than a normal server issues which i used to have with Hostgator also.
There is no way you can run away from server simple error.
To me they are doing a wonderful job.
Please follow this link to prove me right http://www.webhostingstuff.com/uptime/SmartwebNigLtd.html
Their servers are doing very well. even in US, Germany Or any where the uptime is well encouraged unless if you have any personal problems with them.

Thanks,
JosianGems
http://www.josiangems.com

Hello everyone,

I have hosted my site www.josiangems.com for a very long time now and i have no any big deal than a normal server issues which i used to have with Hostgator also.
There is no way you can run away from server simple error.
To me they are doing a wonderful job.
Please follow this link to prove me right http://www.webhostingstuff.com/uptime/SmartwebNigLtd.html
Their servers are doing very well. even in US, Germany Or any where the uptime is well encouraged unless if you have any personal problems with them.

Thanks,
JosianGems
http://www.josiangems.com

I have a similar experience.
Is there a way folks like that can be sanctioned?

josiangems:

I have hosted my site www.josiangems.com for a very long time now and i have no any big deal than a normal server issues which i used to have with Hostgator also.
There is no way you can run away from server simple error.

Webhosting isn't about running servers with zero problems. Its about having the technical know-how to run servers with zero fatal problems. A webhosting firm should have redundancy and shouldn't build its architecture on a single point of failure. Looking at the domain smartwebng.com, it is being pointed to nameservers of the same subnet (the same server) and that's a single point of failure. If that server goes down, there is no alternate DNS route. A webhosting firm that doesn't have DNS clustering as part of its disaster preparedness is not serious.

It beats my comprehension how (Linux) servers can be mismanaged by humans to cause huge downtimes. Its Linux, not Windows . . . d'uh! Linux won't tell you there's no keyboard present and ask you to PRESS F1 to continue.

You call Hostgator like Hostgator is a standard, not in my books. They are as terrible.

serverman:

Web hosting business isn't easy, smartweb prices are too low and are just harvesting customers. I'm sure they aren't making enough profit to pay staffs, run gen sets, monthly data center charges e.t.c They should increase their prices to give customers better service.

I currently use www.QServers.net which have been around for a while and are based in ikeja. Good server uptime, fanatical support @ affordable prices.

Webmasters please remember YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

Ping
[qservers.net]
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Average time over 10 pings: 0 ms


http://testsitefor.me/?url=qservers.net

People should just let this industry be run my people who can sustain it

africahost:

You might not understand smartwebng 's problem, but i do, they are in a troublesome town- Jos, they work presently from home. I spoke with them on your behalf.

I have open an account with us for you domain name. Change the DNS of your domain name to
ns1.africahostings.com and ns2.africahostings.com, but you will need to register at the site to activate the account

http://www.africahostings.com or send a mail to info@africahostings.com.

Please note , for the future . Complaining to the wrong person don't solve issues. Bringing Smartwebng here doesn't solve issue than talking with them directly. I know Murtala the CEO of Smartwebng is a listening person.

Ping
[africahostings.com]
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Unknown error: 1214
Average time over 10 pings: 0 ms

http://testsitefor.me/?url=africahostings.com

deji-oke:

___________________________________________________________________________
UNLIMITED HOSTING(2,500 NAIRA PER YEAR)+FREE DOMAIN contact http://9jahoster.com

9jahoster.com offers web hosting with unlimted space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email, cpanel and more benefits for just  N2,500/year contact  the following channels
WEB      http://9jahoster.com
EMAIL   support@9jahoster.com
PHONE  07067458707, 08091820866

START YOUR OWN WEB HOST WITH UNLIMITED RESOURCES (STARTING FROM N1,250/MONTH)
UNLIMITED WEB HOST RESELLER (STARTING FROM N1,250/MONTH)
With  9jahoster.com you can start your own web hosting company of UNLIMITED SPACE AND BANDWIDTH.Your customers will never know us because we will give you all that it takes to customize your brand.
Our reseller plans are ( CPANEL RESELLER, MASTER RESELLER, ALPHA MASTER RESELLER ).
    You will get the following benefits
-$200 dollar worth billing system (WHMCS)
-1 year free domain of your website
-custom name server
-Your own whm account
-sell unlimited cpanel account (all plans)
-sell unlimited whm accounts (master and alpha resellers)
-sell unlimited master accounts (Alpha resellers)
24/7 support
a lot more, 
contact  the following channels
WEB      http://9jahoster.com
EMAIL   support@9jahoster.com
PHONE  07067458707, 08091820866
$100 of google ads for  N7,500
Register a new google ads account or we will register it on your behalf. We will credit it with $100 while you pay us N7,500
contact  the following channels
WEB      http://9jahoster.com
EMAIL   support@9jahoster.com
PHONE  07067458707, 08091820866

http://9jahoster.com/

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But add index.php to http://9jahoster.com/
http://9jahoster.com/index.php
You see the site 

This is its WHMCS admin: http://9jahoster.com/admin/login.php
meanwhile check 9jahoster.com on http://www.whmcs.com/members/verifydomain.php
the domain does not have a valid WHMCS license.
Its either the license has expired or 9jahoster.com is running on a nulled/cracked WHMCS.


Need to get back to work. . . those shady "host companies" can breath a sigh of relief. In my retirement years I will create a "Webhost Dead Pool" thread here or a site to torchlight things 


EDIT
Further checks shows its a Nulled/Cracked WHMCS License running on 9jahoster.com
http://9jahoster.com/admin/?licensedebug

Message to the host: better start getting a license for WHMCS or an entirely new billing system cuz I will check that thing again someday and will report your site here http://www.whmcs.com/members/verifydomain.php if you haven't repented.

Ok seriously, these rogues are overbearing!
They won't give the services that I have paid for and they won't let me transfer my domain.