I sell online services similar to web-hosting,
here's what my lawyer has crafted clause on our TOS:
EU & UK CONSUMERS: YOU HAVE A STATUTORY RIGHT TO CANCEL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WITHIN 14 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE CONTRACT. HOWEVER, WE ARE ENTITLED TO CHARGE A REASONABLE AMOUNT FOR THE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE ALREADY PROVIDED TO YOU AS AT THE DATE OF CANCELLATION. THEREFORE, A FULL, OR ANY, REFUND MAY NOT BE DUE. PLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOT AFFECT THE "PRODUCTS WITH SPECIAL REFUND TERMS", WHERE FULL REFUNDS MAY BE GIVEN, AS APPLICABLE. THIS REFUND POLICY DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR STATUTORY RIGHTS.
Generally, I deduct reasonable amount for the services we already performed within first 14 days. This includes any provision charges, man-hours invested, or percentage of work completed. Rest amount I refund them.
Now in OP's case if a customer uses a $5 VPS for 14 days OP can charge a reasonable amount for services like bandwidth utilized, server provisioned, etc.
@webhostingservers said:
Now in OP's case if a customer uses a $5 VPS for 14 days OP can charge a reasonable amount for services like bandwidth utilized, server provisioned, etc.
Lucky you do not have a nuisance fee cause in that case, he may need to pay extra on top of what he already paid
@Abdullah said:
A client recently pulled out the EU Law card, for a full refund, citing the mighty EU law for a VPS service which they customized to their liking and used for 7 days already.
Did you know that while EU law grants a 14-day cooling off period for online purchases, there are exceptions to this rule?
This cooling off period doesn't apply to goods or services that are made to order or clearly personalized.
The law exempts tailor-made services—just like the one-of-a-kind suit you can't return once it's crafted to your exact measurements.
Here is our conversation -
Client -
I would like to proceed with ordering vps as we talked about. But i would like this :
600mbit unmetered
2 cores
2gb ram
20gb disk
$40 per month
600mbit, so i can use the vps as vpn for my own pc and phone aswell.
Traffic wont be hitting 600/600 at all times. It is just a good to have, and peace of mind thing.
If all good, go ahead with this. Thank you.
Me -
I've added Invoice #1428 to account , kindly confirm once paid.
Client -
Hello sir. Are you still here?
Me -
Please advise how you'd like to proceed.
Client -
Since you are running a rather small business, i would like to have a invoice showing the specs agreed upon. Please delete the current invoice, and state all specs on a new one instead.
2 cores
2gb ram
20gb disk
600mbit unmetered connection with no limits
Once this is done, please go ahead and provision the vm. I will pay the invoice asap.
Me -
Invoice sent.
Client -
I tried to reach you via live chat.
Me -
I've set the invoice as per your request.
Paid & activated, client uses the service for next 7 days.
Client -
Hello sir. Just one question for you :
Are you DMCA ignore?
Me -
If we receive any report we will forward it to you.
Client -
Can we lower the price if i want 400mbit unmetered instead?
Me -
I understand that pricing is an important consideration, and we appreciate your interest in exploring different options. However, I believe that the current plan you have, with a 600Mbit unmetered connection, offers the best value.
With the 600Mbit plan, you have a higher bandwidth capacity, allowing for multiple connections.
400Mbit will cost you around $35 with the same vps specifications.
Client -
In that case, i would like to cancel at the end of this billing period.
Client -
Since there has been less than 14 days, i would like to use my right for refund for my server on IP x.x.x.x
Reason being it is from time to time getting some packet loss, and i got a better deal for cheaper, thats why i asked about the pricing. Feel free to take it down any time and perform the refund. If you want, you can paypal me $30 (or send litecoin for $30 instead of refunding $40 back to my card.
paypal : ...
LiteCoin : ...
Me - Issues a prorated refund of $30.
Refund has been issued
Please allow 3-5 business days for the refund to appear on your original payment source & feel free to
let us know if there's anything else we can help you with
Client -
By eu law i have the Right for a FULL refund within 14 days for any online service or items. Please issue the rest of the money.
Me -
We understand that you believe EU law grants you the right to a full refund within 14 days for any online service or items. However, we would like to clarify the applicability of the law in your specific case.
As per EU law, the 14-day cooling off period does indeed provide consumers with the right to request a refund for certain online purchases. However, there are exemptions to this rule, and one of those exemptions includes goods or services that are made to order or clearly personalized, such as our customized plan.
In your situation, the plan we provided was tailored specifically to your requirements and preferences, making it a personalized service. Therefore, the standard 14-day cooling off period does not apply in this instance.
However, we value your satisfaction as a client, and we strive to maintain a positive business relationship with you. Considering this, we issued a prorated refund based on the number of days you had utilized the customized plan. This refund amount accurately reflects the portion of the service that you did not use.
It is not like you cannot resell those resources. Give full refund, or i will take this furter.
In the spirit of fairness, we issued a prorated refund, deducting only for the days the customized service was used. A fair compromise, don't you think?
What's your take on applying this to Hosting services ?
Are you a firm believer in the right to a full refund within 14 days?
Maybe you have a unique perspective to share!
Cheers!
My country is not in the EU, but we also have that law for "online purchases."
How it works in practice:
I buy a HDD in a brick-and-mortar store and it makes clicking sounds.
Technically, it has no bad sectors, it reads and writes normally.
The warranty-claim service guy knows it's going to go bad. I know it's going to go bad. But it is technically OK (for now).
I'm fucked.
I order a HDD online.
I don't like it, for whatever reason (or no reason at all). I can ship it back and get a full refund on my account (I only pay for the shipping).
The same goes for buying monitors. Many manufacturers claim that one dead pixel (even if it's in the middle of the screen) is considered good by them and will not honor a warranty. If I order a monitor online, I can still get my money back.
I've never ever bothered abusing that system. It's a hassle (having to pack and ship stuff back to the manufacturer, fill out the paper forms etc.). However, anything that costs more than a few dollars, I buy online nowadays. Because otherwise, refunds in case of faulty goods can take over 30 days and are not always guaranteed.
As a seller, I'm happy to give full refunds, and if the warranty claims are not reasonable, I cross that customer of the list of people I'm willing to work with. Of course, in EU, one is not allowed to store customer data even for such a blacklist (as emails and cards can be changed). That sucks.
@Abdullah said: What's your take on applying this to Hosting services ?
Are you a firm believer in the right to a full refund within 14 days?
I get a few of these. They only have the right to be refunded for the part they didn't use. As long as you prove they used it for 7 days and there was a cost to you during that 7 days, the customer needs to pay for those 7 days. Many get confused because others will fully refund, that is their choice to do that, it's not required.
@Mumbly said: Bbb..but, UK isn't part of the EU anymore :P
Indeed, but we kept all the rules/regulations/laws. So we largely still act as if we are still part of the EU. That will change over time but Governments and speed...
The EU law is similar to that of Brazil, with a specific focus on intermediate consumers. In the EU, it is permissible to reject refund requests for intangible services meant for public use or services that generate profit for the intermediate client.
Comments
I sell online services similar to web-hosting,
here's what my lawyer has crafted clause on our TOS:
EU & UK CONSUMERS: YOU HAVE A STATUTORY RIGHT TO CANCEL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WITHIN 14 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE CONTRACT. HOWEVER, WE ARE ENTITLED TO CHARGE A REASONABLE AMOUNT FOR THE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE ALREADY PROVIDED TO YOU AS AT THE DATE OF CANCELLATION. THEREFORE, A FULL, OR ANY, REFUND MAY NOT BE DUE. PLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOT AFFECT THE "PRODUCTS WITH SPECIAL REFUND TERMS", WHERE FULL REFUNDS MAY BE GIVEN, AS APPLICABLE. THIS REFUND POLICY DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR STATUTORY RIGHTS.
Generally, I deduct reasonable amount for the services we already performed within first 14 days. This includes any provision charges, man-hours invested, or percentage of work completed. Rest amount I refund them.
Now in OP's case if a customer uses a $5 VPS for 14 days OP can charge a reasonable amount for services like bandwidth utilized, server provisioned, etc.
Lucky you do not have a nuisance fee cause in that case, he may need to pay extra on top of what he already paid
Somik.org - Server admins cheat codes
My country is not in the EU, but we also have that law for "online purchases."
How it works in practice:
I buy a HDD in a brick-and-mortar store and it makes clicking sounds.
Technically, it has no bad sectors, it reads and writes normally.
The warranty-claim service guy knows it's going to go bad. I know it's going to go bad. But it is technically OK (for now).
I'm fucked.
I order a HDD online.
I don't like it, for whatever reason (or no reason at all). I can ship it back and get a full refund on my account (I only pay for the shipping).
The same goes for buying monitors. Many manufacturers claim that one dead pixel (even if it's in the middle of the screen) is considered good by them and will not honor a warranty. If I order a monitor online, I can still get my money back.
I've never ever bothered abusing that system. It's a hassle (having to pack and ship stuff back to the manufacturer, fill out the paper forms etc.). However, anything that costs more than a few dollars, I buy online nowadays. Because otherwise, refunds in case of faulty goods can take over 30 days and are not always guaranteed.
As a seller, I'm happy to give full refunds, and if the warranty claims are not reasonable, I cross that customer of the list of people I'm willing to work with. Of course, in EU, one is not allowed to store customer data even for such a blacklist (as emails and cards can be changed). That sucks.
Detailed info about providers whose services I've used:
BikeGremlin web-hosting reviews
Honestly, there are times when you can sense problems incoming right from the beginning when interacting with a client.
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I get a few of these. They only have the right to be refunded for the part they didn't use. As long as you prove they used it for 7 days and there was a cost to you during that 7 days, the customer needs to pay for those 7 days. Many get confused because others will fully refund, that is their choice to do that, it's not required.
Indeed, but we kept all the rules/regulations/laws. So we largely still act as if we are still part of the EU. That will change over time but Governments and speed...
we say spring is noticed from far away.
guess you have your share of crappy clients.
The EU law is similar to that of Brazil, with a specific focus on intermediate consumers. In the EU, it is permissible to reject refund requests for intangible services meant for public use or services that generate profit for the intermediate client.
https://purplehost.com.br - Reliable, secure and affordable game hosting.
LET?
https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/comment/3665140/#Comment_3665140