Hosting outfit goes PERMANENTLY TITSUP after 'lifetime' plans kill biz

A US-based web hosting firm has gone bust after it discovered too late that its "lifetime" plans for customers pretty much cost the company its (ahem) life.

NodeKi told subscribers in an email message (h/t to Reg reader Darren) that it would be going titsup for good as of 1 February.

"We want to inform you in advance that the NodeKi lifetime plans and server will cease to exist on February 1st of 2014," it told customers.

NodeKi admitted in its miserable missive that the deals had killed the company.

Unfortunately, the "Lifetime" plans were not a sustainable business model.

We can't continue paying for servers, software, bandwidth and support if there's no incoming money to cover these costs.

It's not remotely possible to provide any product "for life" that has recurring costs associated with it.

Worse still, the existing management team had been saddled with the plans that were implemented and sold by NodeKi founder and one-time CEO Jonathan Tittle.

The misery continued for the company's customers, too.

They were told "we are not able to offer refunds. This is not something that is open to debate." NodeKi apparently had a "no refund" policy in place.

Finally, those users who haven't already scarpered in the foolish search for another "lifetime" deal with a rival hosting firm, were told that support would only be provided on a "best effort basis" until NodeKi hits the kill switch at the start of next month.

It "respectfully" told customers that they basically have two weeks to skedaddle to another service.

Remember kids, agreeing to a "lifetime" deal does not normally refer to your lifetime - it's all about the sustainability of the biz and its eventual death warrant, which in this instance was signed by NodeKi. ®