As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have had a terrible time moving my sites to a different host. My former host and domain registrar, AFMU, got hacked in early December. The only reason I found out is because one of my sites (52drawings) got hacked, too. It was a group drawing blog, so it was more of an annoyance than a real security problem.
However, I have yet to able to get a reply from AFMU. They never notified their customers in any way. They only have an online ticketing system that also went down with the hacking issue. When it came back online only one of my hosts was available and again after numerous attempts to contact them, I still haven’t received any reply. I’m not even sure they’re really in business anymore.
Before they went down completely, I had been able to get some of my domains transferred and pointed to my new hosting provider. However, I still had three stuck in limbo.
Here’s where the testimonial comes in. I contacted my other registrar, Simple Online Solutions and asked for help. They were able to work with the powers that be who control domain registry at some higher level and get my last three domains transferred. This was no small feat. Many emails and verification of identity were needed. SimpleURL really came through and kept me in the loop the entire time. If you need to find an affordable and customer oriented domain registrar, I can’t recommend them enough. The contrast between AFMU and SimpleURL couldn’t be more stark. I’m glad what started out as customer service nightmare with one company ended up with a customer service delight with another.
Update: January 25, 2012
I finally heard from AFMU in the form of a form letter. They thanked me for my continued patience but didn’t explain what happened other than “recent issues”. They also mentioned that they are trying to merge with another hosting company. I was finally able to login to cancel all my accounts. I’m happily doing business elsewhere. (Thanks Hostgator!)
My hosting and website with AFMU went down in December and was down for over a week. I was eventually able to transfer, after loosing much business. This company is a joke and the owner, Michael Carr, should be taken to court for false business practices and for all the many people who lost revenue. The worst part is that there is no support. No answer to tickets- just silence for days. Tell anyone to not use AFMU- a disgrace.