For 25 days now, Yakubu Afuye’s internet business activities have been temporarily shut down owing to a disagreement he had with a web hosting platform he subscribed to.

On May 26, 2021, Afuye, an internet affiliate marketer, purchased a reseller hosting plan from Garanntor.ng, which he intended to resell to other people who would like to host their websites.

But upon making payment of N69,600, he discovered that there were certain “necessary” features that were restricted on the platform, especially what the “add on domain feature”.

According to Afuye, the add-on domain functionality guarantees that if he sells an account to someone, they will be able to add more than just a name to their newly acquired platform.

READ ALSO: How HoneyPays’ Jeremy Woyens Left Investors Bitter before Disappearing with their Millions

“I contacted them to inform them of the missing functionality, but they said that there was nothing they could do. I informed them that there was no way I would develop certain features that my potential customers would need. I inquired as to whether they could activate such capabilities, but they said that it was impossible,” he explained.

Afuye asked Garanntor.ng why it was not stated clearly on their website that they do not add certain features as requested by clients if they did not intend to mislead people, but they insisted there was nothing they could do.

“I agreed with them and told them that since they were not going to integrate the features that I wanted, they should refund my money. I was told that it would take three t 25 working business days for them to refund my money,” he said.

“I would have argued that three to 25 working days was not ideal because they are a Nigerian company, but I told them I would wait as long as I got my money back. That day was May 26, 2021.”

On June 25, 2021, the Garanntor.ng support group emailed Afuye, assuring him that they were working to resolve the issue. But on July 2, 2021, two days after the 25-day payback period had elapsed, Afuye wrote to Garanntor.ng, asking them why they breached their refund policy contract.

“I called them repeatedly and even visited their office in Opebi, but I was told no one was around to know why I hadn’t gotten my refund. No one has been able to give me any reason for the delay,” Afuye told FIJ.

“I also noticed that whenever I called their customer care, they would always assure me they would get to the root of the issue, but nothing has been done.”

Afuye said he was no longer comfortable with receiving emails from Garanntor.ng, as they failed to keep their promises, adding that he had reported the issue to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) with the case ID-# FCCPC/DSE/C/37969.

In a mail sent to Afuye, dated August 9, 2021, Garanntor.ng wrote: “Our call channels are undergoing some very important upgrades, which make it impossible to receive calls at certain intervals. The alternative channels are open to reach us. It’s our policy to refund, and our company stands by its words. “

When FIJ contacted their customer care centre by phone, Garanntor.ng said their billing department was working on the issues.