Web for GlittersnifferCosmetics.com/Glittersniffer.net Followup

I received an email today from Fasthosts, the host of GlitterSnifferCosmetics.com. It contained no confidentiality disclaimer, so I present it here, unedited, except to remove my personally identifying information.

Dear redacted,

Ticket Reference Number: redacted

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

As a hosting provider, we are unable to confirm absolutely that the website in question is fraudulent or is involved in a malicious malpractice.

We do take reported cases of fraudulent activity extremely seriously. However before we can take further action (as may be appropriate) we require your concern to be verified by the appropriate authorities or regulatory parties.

With this in mind, we ask that you forward the evidence which you have gathered to The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) either via letter or by contacting their consumer advise/advice line on 0845 4040506.

They will then make any additional enquires that they feel appropriate to prove the complaint.  If and when action is required by Fasthosts, the OFT will liaise with us directly on the issue. We will then take the appropriate action to edit or disable any website which has been designed for or is involved in fraudulent activity.

Please rest assured that we are fully committed to acting as a responsible hosting provider, and will take the strongest course of action available to us with anyone we find to be misusing our services.

We thank you for your understanding and co-operation.

Best Regards
Fasthosts Misuse Team.
Fasthosts Internet Ltd.
http://www.fasthosts.co.uk

Sure, it may be a form email, but it's better than what I got from the US host of GlitterSniffer.net (nothing). It has the added benefit of providing me a resource where I can register my complaint with the appropriate agency.

I will be calling the OFT on Monday and outlining the situation. I read up a little bit and it seems that GS may be covered under the Distance Seller Regulations, which covers internet sales. From the OFT site:

The key features of the regulations are:

• you must give consumers clear information including details of the goods or services offered, delivery arrangements and payment, the supplier's details and the consumer's cancellation right before they buy (known as prior information)
• you must also provide this information in writing
• the consumer has a cooling-off period of seven working days.

I have worked in the internet business before, and I know there are laws that apply in the jurisdiction where the servers are located. Since information flies through the ether in the internet, and thus is hard to pin down to prove jurisdiction, it became common practice to place jurisdiction in the physical locality of the servers, which is why I am going to file a complaint in the UK, where the servers are located.

I will post a followup when I know more.

3/2/11 ETA: Correct the title and the reference to glittersniffercosmetics.com