Took money and refused to set up VPS A friend recommended OVH. I saw their very cheap VPS SSD 1 package, and thought it would be perfect for my needs for a test server (as card payment gave instant setup, apparently), so as not to interfere with my live websites. I wasn't expecting top-notch service with blistering speed for the price, but it was a short-term solution that wouldn't have costed me much had it not worked out.
Whilst my card payment went through successfully, I didn't even receive an e-mail - that arrived 30 minutes later, and told me my order was set up but to click here to pay. Alarm bells rang - I'd already paid! Clicking the link showed my invoice with a note that payment would have to be processed manually. Great - they're not open for 9 hours!
However, I got another e-mail 9 hours later, requesting photo ID to confirm my identity. For a £2.49 VPS! I replied, refusing to send personal identification over a method such as e-mail that isn't secure to a company I don't know. At any rate, I am disabled and have no need for a driver's licence, nor a passport. We're never going to meet, so photo ID seems excessive - and my bank balance is none of their business. In 18 years dealing with web hosts and data centres, this is the first that required ID - other than the data centre, naturally! I offered a .com domain that is registered to the same address and has been since 2001 - naturally ICANN-verified since 2013. They could also look me up on 192.com as they have the electoral roll. It is the company asking for ID, not the payment processor - they've already taken payment. When I signed up, I saw no mention that they may require photo ID, nor is it in their T&C. What is in their T&C is a ton of spelling mistakes - very unprofessional. This is probably down to their French origins as some elements were still in French... or Franglais if you prefer!
I phoned them, and spoke to the very pleasant Danny. He was friendly and understanding, but would not budge on company policy. He stated that I must have been randomly flagged (not by the card payment processor, as my payment went through!) for fraud prevention. I've never had a problem with this card. He explained that people probably won't lose their card and ID at the same time, so ID helps verify who I am. Absolute rubbish! Having worked in a shop that required photo ID from customers, I can categorically state that most people keep their driver's licence in their wallet, next to their cards.
As they wouldn't accept any forms of verification I was offering, I requested a refund. I am told that this has been processed.