Legal Help Needed

[demwing]

My domain host (www.atlantishosts.com, a discount hosting service) billed my bank account for my monthly fee on July 8th, then suspended my account on July 12th.

I received no advance notice explaining this action, and after repeated emails sent to the company to straighten out the error, I have not heard from them at all.

I need a decent lawyer or at least a student of the law to help me find out where these people are, and why they suspended the hosting service. I'm suspecting one of three things:

1) They went out of business.

2) They no longer can afford to carry me at the discount rate, so they just bumped me hoping I would find a new service and not bother them.

3) They just don't like the liberal political content of my site.

Somebody help me out and lets nail these bastards, regardless of their reasoning.

[Massacure]

1. Isn't there a clause in their TOS that they can D/C you at any time?

[demwing]

2. I'm searching for the TOS doc

But in the interim, this is the text from their general policies page:

**************************************

Policies

The following are prohibited:

• Spamming (sending unsolicited email or posting messages to irrelevant UsetNet newsgroups that do not explicitly allow advertising, with references to a site hosted on our servers)

• Sites containing pornographic material or sites which contain links to adult sites, sites encouraging illegal activity or racism, sites providing instructions of performing illegal activities.

• Violations and attempted violations of system & network security. Or any type of tampering with the system with the purpose to inflict harm.

**************************************

I've done none of the above. Furthermore, if I had broken the TOS, I think I deserve some explanation.

The factthat they billed me for a month, then suspended me less than 5 days later seems clear that they are up to no good.

[Massacure]

3. Did you pay with a credit card?

If so, you may be able to list it as an unauthorized charge. I'm not sure about though. I'm not a lawyer.

[GoBucksBeatBush]

4. do you pay...

for the month coming up, or pay in arrears (like a home mortgage where you pay for the previous month)?

[GiovanniC]

5. Wonderful Sig Line

n/t

[GoBucksBeatBush]

7. thanks...

it's the exact quote, verbatum, from the case over "enemy combatants" and detention during the Civil War. I read it this spring, rather timely.

[demwing]

6. I pay in advance, using Pay Pal deductions from my checking account. /nt

[GoBucksBeatBush]

8. have you contacted paypal?

they may be able to give you more info (i.e. a phone number or other contact info) that you can use to contact atlantis. also, you might alert your bank re: your checking account, to see if the payment has posted, and if not, whether they can put a stop on it.

keep banging away at them...they may have just gone out of business, or they may be screwing with you specifically, but if you've already paid up front, you at least have a leg to stand on to argue with them. the key is getting a phone number for somebody there.

[demwing]

9. Good advice, thanks! /nt