Written by Jerry . Published on 18 Dec, 2008 . 
My recent experience with Bluehost brought mix feelings.
On one hand, I remain satisfied with the kind of service I am getting from these two hosting companies (under the same management) – hosting server is all the time stable and responsive; on the other hand, the company’s over-sensitive scam alert is upsetting.
What happened?
A few weeks back, I bought another Bluehost hosting account for my blog contest winner. The registration process was first smooth and easy; I was able to login to the hosting cPanel immediately after the purchase. However problem comes not long after – the new hosting account is suspended due to “suspicious information abuse”.
It seems like the Verification Department is over-reacting again! Having past experience with Hostmonster (another hosting company under the same management with Bluehost), I quickly shoot a ticket to the customer supports to rectify the problem. Copies of ID card and PayPal info is submitted for verification.
Long story short, the new Bluehost account is live again 48 hours later.
The good and bad with a sensitive scam alert
The bad
It feels terrible to pay for your hosting account and get suspended (twice! Once with Hostmonster and now with Bluehost) the next hour. I suspect the Verification Department has really bad experience with registrations on Asia address. Although I can get my account back very soon but as a customer I just feel not treated right.
And hey, Bluehost was’t paying back the day I have lost due to their mistakes – don’t you think that’s unfair for the customer?
The good
However on a second thought, what Bluehost/Hostmonster did was actually a positive sign for a hosting company. It shows that the company is fighting scams and taking their business seriously. The scam alert and verification process, though troublesome, is actually a good way to avoid bad neighbor and spammy websites on my shared hosting.
Will this affect my recommendation on Bluehost?
Well, the answer is no. I wish accuracy of the Verification Department to be improved but no, it’s not a 100% bad thing to govern customers closely. Internet is a large world and there are always unethical clients who can’t wait to abuse their rights. Such strict supervision, in fact, is necessary for the safety for all.
After all, Bluehost is still one of the cheapest hosting services that offer reliable and features-riched shared hosting service. For less than $8 per month perhaps I guess I shouldn’t complaint too much.
In case you are considering Bluehost, find detail Bluehost features review and latest promotion here.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Bluehost – they are working fine with me for two years.
The purchase process back in two years ago was smooth and fast.