Complaint Review: sitebuilder.com

If I can warn even one person off Sitebuilder.com/ wzukltd.com/ PublicDomainRegistry.com, this complaint will be worth it. Beware!!

I had web hosting and domain name services provided by this company for one year.  I had paid for more than a year, but come the beginning of December this year, my website went offline without notice or even a billing request. This came at the worst possible time of year, as my site is closely tied to a particular conference, and the site was down throughout that entire week.

Subsequent efforts to get our site restored and transferred to GoDaddy.com have met with a complete run-around. I have received strange and unhelpful emails from phone numbers that don't accept inbound calls. There is no one you can actually call about a problem. I have received emails from "privacy@wzukltd.com," which appears to be another front for SiteBuilder. I've also been told to contact "publicdomainregistry.com," which states that they can't do anything, and that I should consult with SiteBuilder, who is one of their resellers. None of these businesses seem to have an actual published headquarters other than perhaps a shady postbox somewhere––my web searches thus far are inconclusive.

After nearly a month of prodding and many emails, I have been provided an EPP code to transfer the site. Problem solved? Not at all. GoDaddy.com tells me their hands are tied until SiteBuilder aka wzukltd.com aka publicdomainregistry.com provide the necessary transfer code and security code. Requests for those codes are ignored, and I am simply sent a repeat of the previous email, stating that I now have the EPP code, which is all I should need. GoDaddy assures me this is not the case.

In effect, Sitebuilder.com/ wzukltd.com/ PublicDomainRegistry.com are holding my website hostage. I can't move it to a safe harbor at GoDaddy.com. I can't update the site as I'm not willing to throw more good money after bad by returning to SiteBuilder.com. A search of whois.net shows that my site is still registered through SiteBuilder and PublicDomainRegistry, which would seem to suggest that they are one and the same.

The weird thing is that had this company simply sent me a billing or a notice before taking me offline unannounced, I probably would have paid it. These people clearly don't give a rip about decent service. Don't trust them. Don't use them. I note that there is already another Ripoff Report complaint about fraudulent charges on that user's credit card account. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE THEM CC INFO. Steer clear!