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Links on this page do not work! It is archived here for the content only. JavaScript and some URLs and images have been stripped from the source code. Visit the LessGovernment.com Web site here. In the search for a new virtual host for LessGovernment.com, I came across the U.K.-based True Hosting. I had previously heard some relatively negative things concerning the business, so I sought a direct response from the company about some of the allegations. Little did I know, some very interesting commentary was about to ensue. Every message below is 100% intact as it was written originally, with an occasional note inserted for explanation. If you're in the hunt for a hosting provider, please take the time to read these exchanges. And please, DO NOT use True Hosting. If you would like to view the full headers from a message below, click here. If you really want proof and the headers I've provided aren't sufficient, e-mail webmaster@lessgovernment.com, and I'll send you enough headers to keep your reading for a while. |
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Alex Morris's (LessGovernment.com's) messages appear in blue. |
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Hello, I recently encountered your Web site and began considering using True Hosting to host my sites. Your pricing is
very good, and your root server seems to have a nice response time. However, I do not make a decision without researching the options thoroughly first, and I have unfortunately found quite a large number of people who
have had very negative experiences with your business. Not to mention the archive of exchanges at technogirl.net, I have found multiple Usenet postings and reviews on various other Web sites that raise some very
disturbing questions about the legitimacy of True Hosting. Please elaborate on this matter. I have not yet ruled out True Hosting by any means, but I would indeed like a direct response from the company concerning
these issues. Regards, Alex Morris ********** Dear Alex, Thanks for your email :-) What you have found is the result of fraud being
committed by one individual named Annette Howard. She has used many (over 30) different aliases, and faked email exchanges with those people, in order to commit this fraud. She is already being investigated and it looks
certain that she will receive a long prison sentence for this, she is already a well known fraudster. Please don't hesitate to email us back if you have any further questions. Regards, Customer Support ********** Hello,
Thank you for replying so quickly. Unfortunately, I have searched high and low for pending litigation against Annette Howard of technogirl.net and have been unable to find any. Nor have I been able to locate similar
action being taken against anyone else. Seeing as how all legal filings, whether domestic or foreign, are public record, I must confess this is extremely strange. Furthermore, I have been unable to verify your claim
that Annette Howard is "already a well known fraudster." Also, the allegedly "forged" e-mail messages posted at various Internet locations and Usenet groups appear to contain completely valid
headers. After several years of Unix administration and dedication to tracking spammers, I am quite apt at interpreting headers, and these do not look fake at all. In light of these looming questions, I am
afraid it will not be in the best interests of my company to seek virtual hosting services with True Hosting. If any of the aforementioned allegations surrounding TH are even remotely true, it could have a
catastrophic effect on my business in the long run, namely due to potential down time. Thank you again for replying in such a timely manner. Regards, Alex Morris ********** Alex,
It is not the headers she has forged, it is the message bodies she has very simply invented. She is indeed being sued. True Hosting
********** Greetings, The fact that Annete Howard is going by her real name both on her site and in the InterNIC registration (she is the tech
contact and the zone contact), it would seem very foolish and counter-productive to perpetrate such an elaborate "fraud" scheme in the manner in which you are claiming. And I say again, I have found no
evidence of any legal action being taken against anyone regarding this type of case, involving Annete Howard, True Hosting, or, most importantly, anyone from Florida or the UK. There is currently a large class action
lawsuit being file AGAINST the Texas, USA-based CI Host for failure to uphold service guarantees, but beyond that, lawsuits of this magnitude are nonexistent at present. My searching has been very thorough. Perhaps if
you could provide the case number(s) and the names of the leading attorneys for both parties, this could be settled easily. If you are indeed being defamed unjustly, I would certainly be willing to keep True Hosting in
my list of potential hosts. Thank you again for such a quick reply. Good day. Regards, Alex Morris ********** Alex, I would welcome
you to investigate further the claims made on her site, and the email "logs" she has posted, as to whether those people exist. Do some whois searches, etc. and you will quickly find they are either free
hotmail (or similar) addresses or domains owned or controlled by her. She is under investigation by several US government agencies for fraud, as well as a few other offences. Legal action is being brought against her
by several individuals, both in the USA, the UK, and a couple of other countries. Please don't hesitate to email us back if you have any further questions. Regards, Customer Support ********** Hello, Taking your suggestion, I have proceeded to
investigate the majority of claims against True Hosting that have been posted at technogirl.net. And the majority of them have been made by legitimate REAL individuals who own their own domains and have POP e-mail
accounts on their own servers or ISPs' servers. They are most assuredly not fake personalities invented by Annete Howard, and this has been proven. On top of this, you still have not provided a case number for your
alleged litigation against her, nor have you specifically identified any of the legal action she is supposedly facing from federal agencies in the U.S. or elsewhere abroad. You have merely insisted that "she is
indeed being sued", yet I have seen absolutely nothing from you or any other source to support this claim. Furthermore, the sheer magnitude of complaints about True Hosting I have found scattered across the
Internet are simply too numerous to have been systematically invented by one individual. Also, the complaints have originated from all over the place, not just domains controlled by Annete Howard as you purported
earlier. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I do not buy your conspiracy theory. There is too much evidence against True Hosting in this matter, and you have provided absolutely no information with which to defend your
business. In fact, the attempts you have made have been nothing short of MISinformation. If you could simply provide a case number...but I am no longer counting on it, as you seem most unwilling to do so. I'm beginning
to believe there is no case. Regards, Alex Morris ********** Alex,
That is okay, it is your loss. It does not matter to us, she will face jail in the end. All the so-called complaints have indeed been faked by Annette Howard, and she will face the proper action for it. True Hosting
********** I do not mean to push this matter further -- I intend for this to be my last message. However, I must state that I have CONTACTED
the individuals who composed the messages you claim were published maliciously by Annete Howard. The messages ARE NOT FAKE, and I have now confirmed that.
Also, Peter Francis-Macrae, how do you justify this Registrant WHOIS entry? _______________________________________ Clearly, you and True Hosting (one in the same, obviously) have something to hide. This combined with your refusal to provide the name of your "attorney" or a case
number, your refusal to identify yourself in this e-mail correspondance, my inablity to uncover ANY information relating to the lawsuits you are supposedly "filing", and the vast quantities of complaints
against you . . . well, I have come to the conclusion that the liar here in not Annette Howard; it is True Hosting. I cannot fathom how or why you continually maintain this charade. Your behavior is disturbing, to say
the least. My only logical deduction is that you must be a very young individual, and you have no concept of taking responsibility for yourself. Having now seen True Hosting's deception firsthand, I must now join
those who are fighting to bring your operation to a halt. I was willing to give True Hosting a chance, and you have done nothing but lie and refuse to provide any information to support your claims. The business
practices of you company are a disgrace to the computer industry and worldwide commerce in general. Again, I intend for this to be my final message. Regards, Alex Morris ********** Alex, Firstly, if you wish to contact Peter directly then he is no longer here.
We have nothing to hide, we value our privacy. Those messages are fake, and she is a fraudster. True Hosting ********** I said my last message would be the final one, but I've decided otherwise. If Peter has "left", then you should assuredly be suspect of his activities, because he
still owns your domain. However, I still believe YOU are Peter and that YOU alone constitute "True Hosting", and you are indeed running a scam operation that will go down in the annals of Web history. When
you are in a service business and you have a matter such as this that affects that service, the customers are just as entitled to the information as you are, ESPECIALLY a lawsuit. Your refusal to provide it only makes
you look more and more deceptive. The whole situation could be resolved by your providing of an attorney name and/or case number, yet you will not. Doesn't do much for your reputation.... I have proof otherwise
[concerning the claims of Annette Howard's "fraud"], and I am becoming more and more tempted to share it with the world. All I have been seeking is information from your company countering the claims made by
numerous individuals that you say are mere "fraud". Over the past few days, you have made absolutely NO EFFORT to refute ANYTHING with fact. How do you expect to gain the business of individuals such as myself
if you cannot even tell the truth when asked a direct question? Your method of operation is beyond mortal comprehension. No one likes to believe this type of thing goes on, but you are rapidly affirming that it indeed
does. I only hope one day you will change your practices and begin treating customers like customers, as opposed to treating them like temporary avenues to quick cash. -Alex Morris ********** There are no "activities" to suspect of.
He is the legal owner of the domain, but only until Network Solutions manages to get it right. For all practicle purposes we control the domain. We are not running any scam operation. [And] No, they [customers] are
not [entitled to company information]. We choose not to give this out. We are not going to do this [release an attorney's name and a case number]. It does not involve anyone else. We do not have to refute anything because she will pay with a jail sentence. We are not looking to increase our customer base, it is already growing fast enough. There is nothing wrong with our methods of operation. If there was, then we would not be hosting over 1600 domains. [Webmaster's note: It has been discovered in recent weeks that True Hosting very well may host less than 400 domains.] True Hosting ********** I am not sure you understand. I live within a few hours' drive of Annette
Howard, your alleged saboteur, and I have PHYSICAL PROOF [absence of court records] that I have seen with my own eyes that you are lying. There is no lawsuit, no litigation, nothing. You continually say there is,
but that's it. You offer no information to prove it, and I've located no publically available information relating to this . . . because there IS NONE. The lawsuit you are claiming to have filed DOES NOT EXIST. I can
PROVE it. Why do you continue this childish falsity? As far as your domain goes, Network Solutions is a very reliable organization. I've been working with them since the early 1990's. If they DO make a mistake
concerning a domain, it is fixed within a couple of days under most circumstances, if not hours. If something is wrong with the registration for an extended period, it is typically the fault of the registrant. On this
note, why are you even dealing with Network Solutions? On your Web site, you claim to be able to "bypass Network Solutions" and register domains to the InterNIC yourself. Seems to be merely another of your
many self-contradictions. I'm afraid I've come to the conclusion that the claims made against True Hosting are indeed accurate. I have contacted the alleged senders of the "fake" complaints and verified that
they are legitimate after all, I have searched through every means available for your lawsuit and verified that it does not exist, I have discovered absolutely no impending litigation against Annette Howard of
technogirl.net, I have seen your lame domain registration information (which, by the way, you never commented on), and I have seen the unending wave of complaints against True Hosting that are scattered all across the
Internet. You lie. I no longer have any doubt. You can insist all you want, but I no longer have any reason to even consider anything you say to be true. I will most assuredly be using the information I have gathered
to discourage others from using True Hosting. And for your information (assuming you actually host the number of domains you claim), 1600 is a very small number in the Web hosting business. CI Host, another notorious
hosting provider, hosts over 40,000 by itself. If anything, your 1600 is further evidence that you are a small, one-man operation. You are the paramount of deception, and I intend to refer people AWAY from you.
Alex Morris ********** Annette Howard is indeed a fraudster, and is being investigated by many organisations and authories in the USA.
We refuse to do business with anyone associating themselves with her. ********** Same baloney, same lies. No longer surprising. You are not
"refusing" my business. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I have proven through careful research that True Hosting is a dishonest company, one that I wish to avoid. In light of this, I will be beginning my
own campaign against True Hosting. I am affiliated with a somewhat popular site, and I intend to publish my findings there, as I believe your practices to be irresponsible, deceptive, and very, very childish. I have
determined beyond all doubt that the information I have received from you has been false. Still, you continue lying and failing to answer simple, direct questions, as if ignoring the truth will somehow make it vanish.
Unfortunately for you, this is reality, and the truth will endure until this is resolved. You can't hide forever, and I wish the best of luck to those who are fighting to shut you down. Regards, Alex Morris
********** We refuse to do business with you. **********
1. I do not accept your services. You can't refuse business that is not being sought. 2. Why does your nameserver (speedyservers.com) WHOIS information have the same street address as True Hosting, yet the e-mail
contact points to "admin@speedyserver.net" (singular "speedyserver"), which is based in New York, USA? Record last updated on 02-Feb-1998. Domain servers in listed order:
NS.SERVINT.COM 209.50.225.13 3. Also, a traceroute of truehosting.com reveals a path through Alabanza -- strong evidence that you are, for all practical purposes, a reseller.
You are dishonest, and I intend to publicize my findings. -Alex Morris ********** We already have done [refused your business]. It [True Hosting's
nameserver] is not based in New York. We are based in England and own both anonymous domains. No, we are not [a reseller].
No [we are not dishonest], you are a liar. Do not contact us again, loser. ********** See? All you do is SAY things. You have no factual evidence to back anything up, a sure sign of being a spoiled teenager using mommy's computer to make a few bucks on the
side. And why do you have need for any "anonymous' domains, especially for the nameservers? Got something to hide? Taking into consideration what most "anonymous" domains are used for, that's certainly
a reasonable assumption. Why do you use Alabanza? Why is your domain still registered to the allegedly departed Peter Francic-Macrae (whom I believe you to be, or at least a facsimilie thereof)?
Why do you refuse to provide valid domain registrant information? Who is your attorney? All very simple questions with very simple answers. Regards, Alex Morris ********** We use anonymous domains so people can resell for us without it being traced back to our site, this is perfectly normal. We are a legitimate company, and a very successful one. We refuse to do business with you. **********
Well, I hate to inform you, but I was able to track your "anonymous domains" back to your site with relative ease. You are a legitimate
company reselling through Alabanza and doing its best to hide from allegations of shady business practices via threats of fake lawsuits and spamming.
You cannot refuse business that is not being sought. Is that such a complex subject? What is the case number of your lawsuit against Annette Howard? Why do you omit vital WHOIS information?
Why does a person you claim to have "left" your company own your domain? How do you explain the traceroute below? [Censored for the sake of conserving space. Link
to traceroute info in the next paragraph.] You can view this for yourself at My findings regarding your business practices and sub-par ethics will be publicized at every available outlet. Regards, Alex Morris |
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To read more True Hosting hilarity, visit http://www.technogirl.net and view the True Hosting Follies. |
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