(I work for FastMail) Many apologies about this. It was due to an unexpected interaction with our billing system when we added the free trial functionality. We never intended to spam or harass people who decided FastMail wasn't for them. We fixed this about a month ago and overhauled the wording in our notices as well to make them friendlier and easier to understand.

To nmjenkins, thanks for the reply and apology - please do not take this as a personal shot: I appreciate that issues occur with automated systems - but ignoring emails of complaint sent to addresses advertised on your website suggests that a different issue is in play. Not one of my emails was replied to, and the lasting impression is that - as I do not wish to become a customer - there was no point in responding at all to my complaint. Your reply above is appreciated, however - thank you.

> I've since had over 100 (yup) emails telling me of my "OVERDUE PAYMENT" (the caps are theirs),

Oh god, yes. This was annoying as hell. I actually liked their service but at the end of the month I didn't think I was using email enough to justify paying 40 bucks a year, so I decided to keep using the one I got for free when I got a domain. But even if I was going to buy, I wouldn't have just because of this harrassment. Here's a screenshot from my inbox: http://i.imgur.com/meNhlAr.png (there are some more that couldn't fit into the screenshot)

That's absolutely crazy. I'm a paying Fastmail customer, and that really puts me off. I'm "trialing" them for 6 months at the moment with a personal domain before I decide whether I want to permanently switch to them, and so far had been very impressed... but that makes me think twice. I hope they're paying attention to this!

While it's a relief that I'm not alone in this, it raises a concern that this policy of bludegoning people to sign up via email DOES appear to be a company policy. Plus, they refuse to even acknowledge emails on the subject.

I cannot recommend them less. Shabby treatment of potential customers.