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VMBox
Long story short: VMBox just sent me an advertising email, despite me making it very clear that I never want to do business with them again, so here goes a list of all the indications that they have no clue what they are doing.
I signed up with them on 2017-04-15; Easter yearly deal I think.
Opened a ticket asking whether they could provide IPv6 connectivity, considering their upstream announces two prefixes from the same AS (spoiler alert: no IPv6 for me). However, I didn't receive the usual WHMCS acknowledgment email after creating the ticket — or so I thought.
Turns out they are using SendGrid to deliver all their emails, and have configured it to replace all links and image URLs with click-tracker links (so far so usual), while displaying the original URL as the link text (as you would expect from your average phishing scheme) — which sends the mails straight to the spam bin.
Okay, probably just an accidental misconfig and easily fixed. Let's open a ticket to let them know.
Even got a fairly speedy reply (though the notification email was of course flagged as spam): "I'll look into it, thank you."
A week later, I got the usual "Your Feedback is Requested for Ticket #xyz" email. In my spam folder. So I bumped the ticket, letting them know the problem was still unchanged, and got "Thanks for letting us know, we'll look into it." — after several days. Followed by another "Your Feedback is Requested" a week later, still with obfuscated links, still going to spam.
Clowns. Let's take a better look at them…
- Their login uses unencrypted HTTP by default. (Though you can manually switch to HTTPS if you're paying attention.)
- The juicy bit: "VMBox.Co is a UK based VPS and dedicated server provider with international presence." (quoted from yesterday's ad email), but…
- Their website doesn't state any legal representative or postal address at all.
- Their domain whois address is "25883 N Park Ave, Unit A245540, Elkhart, Indiana, US" which seems to have a surprisingly large number of tenants according to a quick Google search. Letterbox company, anyone?
- The only registered UK company named "VMBox" was dissolved in September 2016: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08965146
I opened a ticket citing the still unfixed email problems and the sketchy company information, and asked for a prorated refund of the remainder of my contract period.
Cue the usual "you've already started using your service, we won't refund you" discussion (even though I explicitly asked for a refund of the remaining time on my contract).
All the while, they never even mentioned my comments about their company information…
TL;DR
VMBox doesn't know and doesn't care how to configure even a hosted, third-party email service correctly.
VMBox also has some really sketchy company information (company officially dissolved, company address appears to be a letterbox in the US while they claim to be UK-based).
Draw your own conclusions.
Comments
Oh, by the way:
Going to take a guess they used the cheap company rego in the UK and forgot to keep it updated
What's the problem here other than causing drama?
You was sent a marketing email, you requested to unsubscribe and we obliged? Am I missing something?
As for the marketing email, it was only what triggered this post, not what the post is about. If it weren't for the email, I would have just forgotten you and moved on.
I think we need a snowflake tag.
We've been around for 7 years, we're not 'dodgy'. I'm a sole trader not a LTD. stop trying to cause drama buddy.
if you're legit company atleast show some proof to @op so he can move on
I don't care it's a sole trader, don't care about their marketing emails either. All I care about is their service. I've been with them for years and their shit just works and support is there when you need them.
Sure, I get your point but it's just nitpicking imho. Look at any random LE host and you'll find issues like this. Give them some credit. They've been around for years, delivering great services.
Oh. When you sign up, I believe that you're automatically opted into the email program. I get offers once every few months also.
@ucxo: It sounds like you're overreacting. (Didn't you also overreact to BuyVM a month ago?)
Have a look: I haven't been with them in over a year, but I still receive:
In Canada, it is illegal to not have an unsubscribe link, and to send emails to customers that haven't dealt any business in over a year.
I'm certain that there's something in the US sanctioned CAN-SPAM act also, but eh... I'm too lazy to search that up.
EDIT #2: Can confirm my CAN-SPAM thought. According to the US gov't, emails must have an unsubscribe link that works, and they're (legally) not allowed to blame Sendgrid for not putting such a link.
EDIT #3: Not trying to bash VMBox, but I want to add to the Canadian side's law. In Canada, fines go up to $800,000-$1,000,000+ for violations. Violations can occur when 1) mail is sent with regards to an offer (Section 1.2 in definitions of the Canadian Consumer Protection act. Section 2a, b, and c state that contact information must be placed, and they (again) must have an "unsubscribing mechanism" in place. Building on my first statement, emails are allowed to be sent to a customer (whose consent is implied) for up to 6 months, and can be extended up to one year. After this point, consent should automatically be revoked, or according to the act, subscription confirmation must be sent.
@ucxo You're welcome :P
Is there a setting in your account profile for this mailing list? If not, then I agree, an unsubscribe link should be included.
No clue about the legal aspect in the UK, but either way it's just extremely bad practice.
So this is how it looks for me:
What else don't they know how to do right?
At this point, I have zero confidence in their services, hence the cancellation and the whining on here.
If it works for others (e.g. @Saragoldfarb), that's great for you. I'm just calling it like I see it, so you're free to read it and decide for yourself whether I'm a paranoid nutter and whether you want to use VMBox.
Even so, every email (according to the CAN-SPAM act and the Canadian Consumer Protection act) state that contact information and details on unsubscribing must be available on every email sent for commercial (even non-profit) purposes. The only exception to this on the Canadian side is that the email is directed to someone you know, and it is for personal matters.
To conclude my legal crap: company information MUST be valid for minimum 6 weeks after sending the email. If you're dissolved, and people in countries such as Canada get them, you're technically violating the law.
Okay, fair enough. (Your four points are strictly compatible with good VPS services, but I see what you mean.)
Just my 2 cents since someone created a post about this.
I was a customer of VMBox back in 2014 - got it just for the SSL cert and that was it. They kept sending promotional emails since - I requested to be unsubscribed and even received a "You have been unsubscribed" notice. And yes, I still get those damn emails till today.
I just swear out loud, mark them as spam in Gmail and move on. But maybe I should report to CAN-SPAM and this will eventually stop.
Which is it?
@VMBox your whois shows a US phone number, yet your site a UK phone number? Confused.
A sole trader can employ people so it can be both
Dont know about their legal stuff.. But, vmbox is providing solid vps service.
Yeah, I'm receiving these too as of yesterday.
Didn't find any unsubscribe link on the latest sale email, got pissed and marked it as SPAM.
Then I calmed down, checked the previous ones with vmbox in subject line
The previous ones DID have an unsubscribe link, that I clicked to unsub properly.
Appears to be a hit and miss. Here's one from 2015:
Out of interest, what's shown on the invoices you receive in terms of name and address etc.
Yeah that's not a legit invoice at all. UK Sole trader or otherwise.
I was going to say "But isn't that just how WHMCS templates are?".
Then I checked my records and found that everyone else (InceptionHosting, Leaseweb, LoveServers, OnePoundWebhosting, OneProvider, Snapserv, VMHaus) at least puts their address on the invoice. InceptionHosting even has their UK company registration number on there. @AnthonySmith You might want to add your logo instead of the logo placeholder, though.
VMBox on the other hand: zilch.
God damn it, must have overwritten it on upgrade
Thank you!
Yeah as a sole trader you actually have more responsibility to let people know who they are dealing with, that invoice is not the correct way of doing it.
The LTD looks like it never traded, it only declared £1 share capital in dormant accounts then got struck off for none filing, I hope no one ever got an invoice from the LTD, that would be very dodgy.
As it stands though the invoice info should be updated to say "name t/a vmbox, address."
Don't get me wrong: I'm sure they're not trying to scam anyone (they've apparently been around for years and their VPSs seem to work fine for several people in this thread).
They just show too many signs of carelessness, which makes me want to go elsewhere, to someone who looks more like they know what they're doing.