Upgrade needs a phone call from you?

[serennau22]

I'm rather confuzzled. I decided to try to upgrade to your premium plan. But I see that I need to accept a phone call from you before I can. That seems rather odd. Why would you want to call a UK phone number from the USA? Wouldn't that be rather expensive? I'm not at all happy about that. Wouldn't an email do? Surely if I'm going to pay, and I already have a free account here, wouldn't that be enough?

Frankly, I don't think I'll bother now. A pity. I liked your free service and thought I'd actually like to pay.

 

[Anna]

@Corey @Bryon maybe you can help out with this.

 

[Corey]

The phone call is automated and reads off a PIN # you need to enter on the site, it takes about 10 seconds to do. This is in place to protect against fraud, anyone can have an email address and respond. Even though some still do, not many people will provide a phone number if their intent is malicious. Web hosting is the target of fraud due to the ability to send email (spam), put up pages (phishing), or distribute malicious code (botnets, malware, etc). A lot of providers require documentation such as a copy of a photo ID that matches your billing address, utility bill, or other form of authorization. We find that a quick automated phone call is the simplest solution for both parties.

 

[serennau22]

Fine, but I won't bother. I have several resellers and paid hosting elsewhere and I've never, ever been asked to provide an ID photo, or answer a phone call, or anything else. So sorry X10, but you won't be getting any money from me. Pity. I'd planned to pay an annual one. Ah well. Thanks for replying.

 

[Corey]

Unfortunately that is the way it is, we rarely have people that have an issue with taking 10 additional seconds to help us cut down on fraud and keep our prices low and quality of services high. It is of course your choice to not do this verification procedure and we can't make you. If you change your mind you're welcome to sign up now that you know the reason why this extra verification procedure is in place.