Lanex Web Hosting
http://www.lanex.com
Brookfield Wisconsin 53005
U.S.A.
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Lanex Web Hosting $1600 ripoff for website Brookfield Wisconsin
5Author
2Consumer
0Employee/Owner
First off I'm a police officer and I wanted to start my own, personal web site for fun. I have no experience with web sites and know nothing about html, etc... Well, I met this guy on a christian message board and he runs his own business and I saw some of his work and heard good things about his product.
Basically, all I told him was that I wanted a personal web page. He first told me that he wouldn't charge me a lot and that with buying the domain name and the template for my site along with a little bit of work on their end, it would cost around $500. I thought that was pretty expensive, but I thought it was worth it.
Long story short, after my site was up and running, he billed me 3 separate checks for the work they did on my site like putting my pictures on it and text I sent them, and I had to pay a little over $1400. When I needed some updates and a few minor changes made, he charged me another $200. Completing the total to $1600. I have all my receipts by the way to prove this and my statements.
I quit doing business with him and dropped my site after I found out from 10 other web site hosting businesses in my area, that it should have only cost $500 at tops for the ease of making my web site.
I was never given a price sheet and was just told over the phone how much it would cost. It was like a gentlemen's agreement basically.
Well, I learned the hard way and I don't want this to happen to someone else who wants to have a website and needs to know how much a simple, personal webpage should cost.
Currently, someone who knew I had been ripped off by this guy, has made me a free web site and has done a wonderful job. I have sent this person money for their kindness because of the great work they are doing for me currently.
I REPEAT.... DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH LANEX E-TOOLS FOR BUSINESS, BASED OUT OF WISCONSIN. Their website is www.lanex.com
I could have spent $1600 for a better cause.
Thanks.
Brandon
Des Moines, Iowa
U.S.A.
Click Here to read other Ripoff Reports on Lanex Web Hosting
REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
5Author
2Consumer
0Employee/Owner
Updates & Rebuttals
#1 Update By Author
AUTHOR: Brandon - Des Moines (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, November 07, 2004
POSTED: Sunday, November 07, 2004
The last bill I recieved was suppose to be for $40, for re-arranging some text on my web site, that took no more than 5 minutes, but I guess they charge $40/half-an-hour. So, my last bill arrived and it was for $80. Unbelievable!! I emailed Matt and told him that was wrong but I wasn't going to argue over a mere $40 because it was a he said/she said case. I ended doing business with him from that point on.
I have learned not to do business ever again with a small, privately-owned company because they can charge higher than bigger companies. I have also learned to shop around first before doing any type of business with anyone again.
#2 Update By Author
AUTHOR: Brandon - Des Moines (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, November 07, 2004
POSTED: Sunday, November 07, 2004
The total was around $1500 not $1600 for the price of my web site. I just added up my receipts and caught that I had made a mistake. See how honest I am? :) Still, A HUGE RIP-OFF!!!!
#3 Update By Author
AUTHOR: Brandon - Des Moines (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Monday, November 08, 2004
POSTED: Monday, November 08, 2004
I will say that Lanex and their staff was easy to work with. I guess if you are a business, they might suit your needs better than for a personal, homepage.
Like I have stated, my purpose and intent for reporting this is to help someone else out in the future so they don't get juked out of $1500 for a web site from any web site hosting business they work with.
You can have a very nice, home webpage for no more than $500 tops, that includes excellent graphics, accessories, etc. I learned the hard way. It won't happen again!
#4 Update By Author
AUTHOR: Brandon - Des Moines (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, January 12, 2005
POSTED: Wednesday, January 12, 2005
I am very happy to announce that Lanex is refunding me money back. I'd like to thank Herb, their Vice President for working with me and being very professional.
#5 Consumer Suggestion
AUTHOR: Nancy - Steilacoom (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, January 13, 2005
POSTED: Thursday, January 13, 2005
ALMOST ALL isp's like aol, MSN, comcast and the like provide FREE web sight space for personal web sights. ANd they are usually just sort of fill in the blanks or very easy to use. You should NEVER pay any money for a personal web sight. I assume that if you are on the internet, you have some sort of ISP, check with them. And a business web sight does NOT need to cost more than 200 dollars. before you get a web sight or pay some so called "consultant" or web sight designer some outrageous amount do research. I usualy go to cnet.com and comapre the prices of several different hosting services.
Serenity
#6 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Marlene - Grayslake (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, January 13, 2005
POSTED: Thursday, January 13, 2005
Hi, this comment is not to discredit anyone, but the statements I've been reading e.g., "a web site should never cost more than $500 or $200" is tantamount to asking, "how much does a car cost?"
My analogy is this...if you are a car salesman and someone walks up you to and asks, "how much does a car cost?" Your first thought is "huh?" Why? Depends on make, model, year, miles, features, etc.
Sure, a simple one or two page web site should cost only $200 from a beginning web designer or, "webmaster" as they like to be called.
However, when you want all the bells and whistles, you want to work with a competent developer and programmer, your site includes database, real-time credit card processing, Flash, CGI forms etc. (not knowing Brian's URL), if his site had any of these features, $1,500 is the biggest bargain I've ever heard of.
Also, yes you can use your personal web space your ISP provides, but you'll have to redirect your domain name to the /~ address, which isn't hard to do.
Why do I know this stuff? I'm a web developer/designer for DuPont.
