Bluehost
Reviews and Complaints

I thought Bluehost was a big name but when I actually started using for my website domain, I have never ever ever felt more frustrated with a company's helpdesk and services.

So Bluehost is a bully. It sends just an email informing you that your services will be renewed. The prices go up, the informing part is so subtle. And by the time you realise what has happened they have already auto-renewed. I immediately asked them to cancel my services. But they said it has already been auto-renewed. I requested them to deduct fees for one month (though the service used was only for 2-3 days) and cancel rest. Bluehost said that neither they can do that nor they could even cancel for next year. I will have to come back after a year. So bad !

It takes jumping through hoops to get a domain, one I've had for multiple years, transferred. I notified them of my intent to transfer. Changed the dns information, requested the transfer from bluehost to the new provider. Finally got the transfer code. All this because I couldn't get my website running on bluehost despite chats & multiple phone calls. WordPress support is worthless. I spent weeks working on the new domain server's site and finally got everything set up & hit the publish button. We'll crud. I can't publish because the domain I requested the transfer on is locked & Bluehost refuses to transfer it. They also tell me they will stop holding it hostage for $99

I tried for three days to sign into bluehost to set up my blog site, but help was of no value. On one particular interaction, the people who? Helped? Me ended up getting me to try using seven different account numbers, none of which got me into the system. I was given a site name that did nothing to gain access. After fatigue and frustration, I gave up and asked multiple times to cancel my account, as nothing helped me gain the crucial access to properly set up a site.

I gained my computer programmer skills at nsa, where I began with a three-year aopprentice period. I learned cobol, fortran, snobol, smalltalk, several assembly languages, at least one interpreter language, and associated skills such as database setup and use, sql optimization, computer graphics, mapping, etc.

I later worked as a consultant, involving customers in addition to nsa, both in the us and europe.

I had a website through Bluehost for 2-1/2 years. All of sudden they lost all the images in my gallery page and cannot find them. I do not know how long this has been going on since I rarely go to my webpage. They have not been able to resolve the issue and will not refund my money for the rest of this year even though no one can see what I am selling. It has been very frustrating dealing with them. Every time I call I have to wait to talk with someone and then am routed to a different person every time even though I have a case number.

I have never been so disappointed in my life. I created a new website and wanted to migrate my domain to the new one. The process was terrible and took around a week. Later when I asked for an SSL, customer support deleted the website in the process I have been writing them for over a week and they have been asking me to wait for a day or two and each time it didn't work. Eventually, I decided to recreate the whole thing on WordPress which took me hours and hours of work. An hour later, all my work was deleted from one of the support workers. Now I am going to remake it but honestly, this is insane. How come the customer support is so bad they are themselves the problem? I asked them to never touch my website again and I hope they just sit around and play Tetris but please don't try to USE YOUR HEAD!

Renewing the website is always problem. With all outsourcing, communication is a BIG problem. Last week, they offered to renew my website with everything, at $191. But this week they wanted to charge me for the domain registration at $19.99. This is so tacky!

So, tonight I decided to call them. I was on the phone with 2 different customer service persons for 3 hours and I wasn't too happy so I asked for the refund. Some how some reason, instead of giving me a refund, she deleted my website. I logged on to my blue host account, there's nothing left there on blue host panel. Then I proceeded to seek help online. After another 2 hours of typing, they said, it would take 24 hours to get my backup running.

My point is outsourcing is NO good. It's so hard for communications. Those agents don't understand enough English. It is just like you try to get the blind to help you find your ways out from the woods.

It's been 20 days since I signed up for bluehost and my website is still not running properly. This is such an unethical company. The customer service takes days to complete even the smallest task and there are dozens of steps to get your site running. The attached screenshot is what my website looks like now. Who knows how much business I've lost over the past sever weeks. Now my domain is locked and I'm stuck with them for at least 60 days. This has been a nightmare experience.

After using their services for a few years, I didn't want to continue with Bluehost anymore. Hence, I tried to shutdown the website and close my account, but their portal doesn't provide any such option.

Hence, I went for the next best option, and that was to disable auto renew so that the account will automatically retire after the paid period was over.

But Bluehost went ahead and billed my credit card for auto renew anyway. Now I have been waiting on phone for a frustratingly long time for a customer care agent. They have put me in hold for an indefinite period after finding out that I want to cancel, most likely to discourage me into disconnecting and stop trying to cancel.

This kind of behavior is rampant with all subscription providers, but Bluehost is definitely amongst the worst of the worst.

Hello,

i want everyone to know -- stay away from this company.

They started out great as "hostmonster." i paid them for years. When their customer service starting deteriorating, i went elsewhere. Now i am trying to build one of my new sites at my new hosting company (very responsive customer service), and i encountered endless errors attempting to use the weebly option with one of the sites formerly hosted by hostmonster. Siteground determined very quickly the issue was with bluehost, specifically that weebly files had never been deleted on weebly's end and that as a reseller of weebly, bluehost was obligated to resolve the problem between themselves and weebly. They refused to do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. And weebly? forget ever, ever trying to reach anyone at that company.

Stay away from both!

Bluehost: Regarding Fraudulent Charges - on AMEX - MAYRA ROMAN VERY URGENT!

Have been charged over a year now for a website we do not own or have service for.

NEED Credit to my account ASAP! hundreds of dollars so far lost

The last email reply was last year in SEPTEMBER 2022 as seen below

Hello Mayra,

Travis here with the Bluehost Escalations Billing team. It is never a good situation to be in when someone uses your card information to make purchases you had no intention of making and I am here to help review the charges processed on "waifuwolf.com".

As you don't recognize this payment, and you believe that this was set up without your consent, we would want to look into the charge closer. In order to help us do that, we need two pieces of information. The first is a photo or screenshot of your actual card statement, and on this document, we should be able to see the cardholder's name, the last 4 of the card, and the Bluehost charge. Any other information can be redacted or removed. To match this statement, we ask that you please provide a photo of your ID, matching the cardholder's name. Again any other information can be removed or hidden if you do not want us to see it.

Once we've received these details, and your permission, we can move forward with refunding this charge and removing the payment method from the account. We thank you for your assistance in this process as we want to limit and remove as much suspicious activity from our system as possible. We look forward to hearing from you so that we can assist you further. There is a quick three-question survey at the bottom of this email that takes 10 seconds to complete with an opportunity to leave feedback for me as well(expires after 48 hours). In the meantime, I hope that you have an excellent rest of your day!

Best Regards,

Travis G

Escalated Support

I deeply regret to express my utmost dissatisfaction with the company in question. If it were possible, I would give them the lowest rating imaginable. Despite being a customer of Bluehost since 2014, my experience has been plagued by a consistent stream of issues over the past few years. Unfortunately, in recent months, the situation has escalated to a catastrophic level, with the company losing all of my valuable content and emails not just once, but multiple times.

Initially, they offered me a gesture of goodwill by providing three months of free hosting as compensation. However, to my dismay, they reneged on this offer, leaving me in a state of frustration and disappointment. Astonishingly, just yesterday, two months later, they repeated the same grave error, resulting in the loss of a significant business contract valued at $10,000. Despite the severity of the situation, the company has shown a complete lack of initiative or concern, taking no meaningful action to address the issue at hand.

The support team and agents, regrettably, have proven to be utterly inadequate and incompetent in their roles. They demonstrate a disheartening inability to actively listen to customers' concerns or perform their duties with the required level of competence. Instead, they resort to creating tickets that are addressed at their leisure, with little to no tangible results. It is disheartening to witness such an unprofessional approach to customer support.

Adding insult to injury, Bluehost attempts to evade responsibility by asserting that issues with VPS accounts are considered "self-help" matters. However, it is crucial to note that shutting down websites and losing content without valid justification cannot be classified as self-help. This is unequivocally a problem originating from Bluehost's own internal deficiencies, as evidenced by their reckless actions that have led to the complete obliteration of my data.

The consequences of their negligence extend far beyond mere financial losses. I have suffered significant monetary setbacks and detrimental effects on my business. The loss of databases, folders, and emails due to their actions has had an irreversible impact. Despite being initially promised three months of hosting as compensation in May, they abruptly reversed their decision, shutting down all services and erasing every single piece of data on my server. To exacerbate matters, they refuse to rectify the situation or take responsibility for their actions. It is clear that Bluehost's deliberate actions are causing harm not only to me but also to my business and clientele. The loss of my clients' information is a severe blow, and legal action is actively being considered.

UPDATE: At this juncture, I have sought legal counsel to pursue appropriate legal measures. I can no longer tolerate this situation, as it has had a profoundly negative impact on my business. I deeply regret the detrimental impact this ordeal has had on my business, resulting in substantial financial losses and hampering its growth.

In light of these circumstances, I emphatically advise anyone considering their services to steer clear of this company. Their actions have proven to be detrimental, causing significant harm to businesses and individuals alike. Exercise caution and avoid the distressing consequences that have unfortunately befallen me.

Our emails went down on June 24, 2023. We were also locked out from our bluehost domain login and the password reset provided an error. We filed an escalation ticket on June 26th 2023 at 9:15am. We were assured that the issue would be fixed promptly but worst case 48 hours. However after speaking with 3 supervisors over the course of the 48 hours there was no help provided. The first supervisor at 9am on June 27, 2023 said to give it a few hours and it would be fixed. It is now June 28, 2023 and past the promised maximum of 48 hours. Our emails are still down, we can’t login which stops us from changing providers even if we wanted to and we are losing orders and progress with current business. This is unacceptable.

Bluehost has taken seven days to connect my domain after I pointed nameservers. Their support team is the WORST support team I have ever interacted with in my career. Their responses often take 10+ minutes, they continuously quote the same scripted responses, and just generally don't seem to know what is going on. This last time, I was asked to wait for an email as they needed to look deeper into my issue, and that email just never came. Customer service and support are an absolute nightmare. I was even told there was an issue that was known and something had to be manually fixed. If it's known, why are you waiting for people to call/chat to your support team before it gets fixed? Just give us a working product, please.

Save the time and headache and go with literally any other host. I have never had any of these issues anywhere else.

UPDATE**

I called Bluehost during business hours to work this out. I spent 21 minutes on the phone with a support rep who went silent for extended periods of time. This person started SNORING on our call, and when I repeatedly said "hello?" told me "oh I think i've figured it out, one sec." He then started snoring again, and the line went dead.

What is happening at this company?

I phoned bluehost support to ask what should have been a simple straightforward question. Apart from the fact that I could hardly understand the agent, I was told that my question would have to be answered "by experts" and that these "experts" are a paid service. Then I was told I would have to pay $175 for a one-month subscription to the "experts".

All I was asking for was the URL address for where bluehost hosts my project files.

I am writing to file a formal complaint against Bluehost regarding the unacceptable service I have experienced and the significant loss of investment as a result of their actions. Despite being a more expensive hosting provider than my previous one, GoDaddy, Bluehost had promised enhanced security features. However, my experience with Bluehost has been highly unsatisfactory and has resulted in the loss of years' worth of investments.

Upon transferring my websites from GoDaddy to Bluehost, I encountered a series of issues that have severely impacted my online presence. Both of my websites were quickly compromised by malware, which led to their immediate takedown. These unforeseen attacks were devastating, as my websites were integral to various personal and professional endeavors. In response, I contacted Bluehost for assistance, expecting their expertise to swiftly resolve the situation.

To my great disappointment, Bluehost's customer service response has been disheartening and unhelpful. I was advised to delete my websites entirely and start from scratch, a daunting task given the substantial investment of time, effort, and resources I had already dedicated to them. Furthermore, I had recently renewed my Bluehost plan, with 18 months remaining, and I was unwilling to forfeit that significant investment.

Reluctantly, I decided to pay for one of my websites to be recreated from scratch, hoping this would mitigate the situation. However, the problems persisted. Norton Anti Virus continued to flag my website for malware, indicating that the underlying issue had not been resolved. This ongoing problem has significantly impacted my website's reputation and credibility, resulting in a loss of potential visitors and customers.

Upon contacting Bluehost once more to address this recurring malware issue, I was informed that I needed to upgrade to a more expensive Sitelock subscription. The representative stated that the subscription I initially purchased was primarily suitable for blogs and insufficient for my website's needs. This sudden demand for a substantial additional payment, amounting to several hundred dollars, came as a shock, as my website was new and had minimal traffic, making it incomparable to a high-traffic blog.

Bluehost's failure to deliver on its promised security and subsequent lack of appropriate support have not only caused me financial losses but have also resulted in considerable stress and inconvenience. As a paying customer, I expected reliable and competent service. Instead, I have experienced a series of failures and inadequate solutions.

In light of these issues, I kindly request the Better Business Bureau's intervention in resolving the following matters:

1. Compensation for the financial losses incurred due to the malware attacks and subsequent website downtime.

2. Prompt and effective resolution of the persistent malware issue affecting my website, ensuring comprehensive security and the elimination of any threats.

3. Reimbursement of the additional payment made for recreating one of my websites from scratch, as the issue was not resolved satisfactorily.

4. A thorough investigation of Bluehost's customer service practices, including a review of the information provided to customers, the appropriateness of the solutions offered, and the timeliness of support.

I trust that the Better Business Bureau will prioritize consumer rights and take appropriate action in addressing this complaint. I request your assistance in holding Bluehost accountable for their inadequate service and the resulting financial and emotional distress I have endured.

Please inform me of the steps the Better Business Bureau will be taking to resolve this matter. I appreciate your attention to this complaint and look forward to a swift and satisfactory resolution.

Thank you for your assistance.

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]
[Date]
Bluehost Customer Service
Bluehost Inc.
560 Timpanogos Pkwy
Orem, UT 84097
United States

Subject: Complaint Regarding Poor Web Hosting Service and Site Security

Dear Bluehost Customer Service,
I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction and frustration with the web hosting service I purchased from Bluehost on [Date]. I had high hopes for a reliable and secure hosting platform when I decided to migrate my two WordPress websites from GoDaddy to Bluehost. However, the experience I have had with your company has been nothing short of a nightmare.
On [Date], I purchased a web hosting service package with WooCommerce for a total cost of $455. I specifically opted to pay extra for Sitelock, as I wanted to ensure the security and integrity of my websites. Additionally, I signed up for a two-year plan that included SSL certificates for both sites. I expected that by investing in these features, my websites would be protected from any potential threats.
To my dismay, both of my websites were hit with malware shortly after migrating to Bluehost. The consequences were devastating. My business website, which had years of hard work and crucial data, was completely destroyed and rendered unsalvageable. This loss has had a severe impact on my business, both financially and in terms of reputation. I had no choice but to comply with Bluehost and Sitelock's recommendation to delete everything and start over.
In an effort to rebuild, I started from scratch with the non-profit Christian site. However, even after all the effort put into creating a clean and secure website, I continue to receive warnings from Norton Anti-virus. These warnings inform viewers that my site contains malicious code, thus undermining the trust and credibility I have built with my audience.
Upon contacting Bluehost and Sitelock regarding these issues, I was deeply disappointed by the lack of assistance and meaningful solutions offered. Instead of taking responsibility for the failure of your security measures, your support team simply recommended purchasing an upgraded Sitelock service. This response is not only inadequate but also feels like a desperate attempt to extract more money from a dissatisfied customer.
Furthermore, I want to bring to your attention an additional problem that compounds my frustration. While I do have Sitelock on my account, I have discovered that Bluehost only allows the Sitelock subscription on the one site that I am not currently using. This limitation is highly inconvenient as I urgently require Sitelock for the site I am currently building and investing time and resources into. As a paying customer, I should have the flexibility to choose where I want to allocate the Sitelock service for my websites.

Considering the amount of money and time I have invested in your services, I expected a much higher level of support and security. Bluehost has failed to deliver on its promises, and as a result, my websites have suffered irreparable damage. I demand a prompt resolution to the following issues:
1. Full reimbursement of the $455 I paid for the web hosting service, WooCommerce, SSL certificates, and Sitelock.
2. Compensation for the financial losses incurred as a result of the destruction of my business website.
3. Immediate assistance in resolving the ongoing issue with the non-profit Christian site, including the elimination of all malware and the removal of warnings from Norton Anti-virus.
4. An explanation for the failure of your security measures and the steps Bluehost is taking to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
5. A change in the policy regarding the allocation of Sitelock subscriptions, allowing customers the freedom to choose which sites to protect.

August 2022 change host to Bluehost from Hostgator (not that one is better than the other) all three websites never migrated, redid and published sites over and over and over and to this date, almost April of 2023 this is unresolved. Do not go with these guys, best to get your money back. I want ALL my money back and time wasted on them being a host.