Time to look for a new web host

I’ve been using Micfo as my web host for several years, suffering through some very uneven service the first few years. Things have been good the last few years, however, and the price is very reasonable. Unfortunately tonight they suspended my account for a few hours due to a “complaint” from AOL about my “mailing list”.

No notification that they were doing this, mind you, just up and suspended the account. Noticed it when I came upstairs to check mail and saw that every email account was rejecting my logon. Started a chat with tech support and it took them several minutes before they noticed what they had done to my account. When I asked why they said AOL complained about my mailing list. Mailing list? What mailing list?

When they finally emailed the complaint to me at another address, it turns out AOL complained about a message I sent to someone who provided an email address to get updates about the Dingler Family Reunion which we attend every year. Did I mention it was an email I sent back in March? Apparently no one at Micfo actually reads the complaints because it was obviously not spam, not unsolicited, and not a mass mailing list.

How did Micfo’s abuse person respond? They were quite helpful, telling me “You have to be careful while sending emails at aol.com and comcast.net.” and “Please get back to us if in case you have any more questions. We will be glad to assist you further.” Yes, you can assist me further. How about restoring my account?!?!?!?!

They finally did. If I could get some credible assurance that this won’t happen again I’d probably leave things as they are, but that doesn’t seem to be forthcoming, so I’m going to take my business elsewhere.