Results 1 to 25 of 29
-
03-22-2013, 04:36 PM #1Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Posts
- 42
Constant - be aware - monthly contracts question
Its not often that i post review, but Constant deserved.
I was using a dedicated Server from Constant for some time for development system, i had no problems with them. support fixed all issues properly, upgrade also worked without problems.
I don't need it anymore so i decide to cancel it, and this is the response i got:
> We require a 60 day notice on all cancellations per
> our Terms of Service:
> https://www.constant.com/corporate/t...conditions.php
while its true that it is written in TOS, its stated nowhere in the order itself. so basically constant is not offering any monthly contracts, which every client would assume when he see "xxx USD/month" and no statement of a minimum contract period.
IMO hiding this part is extremely scammy. 30days is fine, this is something someone expects, but 2 months is to much. i checked some other TOS, and still need to find one with more than 30days.
-
03-22-2013, 04:42 PM #2Disabled
- Join Date
- Jan 2006
- Location
- Canada
- Posts
- 303
-
03-22-2013, 04:44 PM #3Managed Service Provider
- Join Date
- Feb 2004
- Location
- Atlanta, GA
- Posts
- 5,662
That is nothing out of the ordinary all of their 1/2 dozen or more brands require a contract of some sort. Choopa for example is (or at least was, if they haven't changed it) a 12-month contract for all services.
-
03-22-2013, 04:51 PM #4Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Apr 2000
- Location
- Nevada, US
- Posts
- 5,550
If it is in the contract, well then...you agreed to that upon placing your order. Too late now. Whether you remain with them long term is a decision up to you, but you can't be made at them, for you not reading the contract fully originally. 60 days cancel clause isn't the norm these days on Dedicated Server, but it is not unreasonable. As long as I knew about it it in advance, I would not be mad about it.
.
.SmartHost™ - Intelligent Hosting! - Multiple Locations - US/EU! - Ultra-Fast NVME SSD VPS!
http://www.smarthost.net - sales@smarthost.net - Resale/Affiliate Programs
Cloud Hosting - VPS Hosting - Dedicated Servers - Colocation - Flux Capacitors
-
03-22-2013, 04:57 PM #5Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Posts
- 42
what is the problem with a contract and a minimum contract period, nothing. i have a monthly contract with a one year minimum contract period for my production system. as it was written on the offer - pretty standard.
Payment Terms: Monthly
Min Contract Period: 12Months
Sign here ..
you'd be rather surprised if they hide another 12months in the TOS, or?
I don't even have a problem with 30days notice, that is reasonable to expect. 60days for an out-of-the-box service is not reasonable. On top of that, they want those 2 months in advance, even less reasonable.
(its also stupid imo, because you alienate clients. i was satisfied with constant and was thinking about using them again for another project - removed from the shortlist)Last edited by fifilein; 03-22-2013 at 05:05 PM.
-
03-22-2013, 05:48 PM #6Newbie
- Join Date
- Feb 2004
- Location
- Piscataway, NJ
- Posts
- 5
FiFileIn,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. I assure you there is nothing "scammy" about our services. Private message me your account number and I'll look into it.
Regards,
David
-
03-22-2013, 06:51 PM #7Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Posts
- 42
I am not gonna do that.
I did not post to get attention from Constant, but to make other people aware that you are hiding disadvantageous things in the TOS.
I checked burst.net, Hetzner, Server4You, and none of them has 60days (for dedicated servers). 30days is the max i could find and this is also within the range to be expected.
-
03-22-2013, 08:38 PM #8Newbie
- Join Date
- Aug 2004
- Posts
- 7
incero does the same thing. lure customers in with 'no contract monthly plan' and then pull out the 60-day cancel TOS thing when you try to cancel.
i think its very disingenuous. if there is a 60 day cancel period then dont advertise it as a 'no contract' offer.
fwiw here in Australia legislation prohibits companies from hiding important terms in the fine print.
-
03-22-2013, 08:51 PM #9I LOVE Cogent!
- Join Date
- Dec 2002
- Location
- California
- Posts
- 2,005
I love this place sometimes. Only here can a printed agreement be a scam. You agreed to it, it's not their fault you lack the reading skills to read what you've agreed to. Whether or not you think it's reasonable or what you would do, it doesn't matter. It's their service and they can do a 30 day or a 60 day or a 42 day. You agreed to it. Learn from it and move on. +1 vote on making "scam" a censored word here, or perhaps a reading comprehension test before being allowed to use it.
I wish all my traffic went through AS174.
-
03-22-2013, 09:10 PM #10Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Posts
- 42
-
03-22-2013, 09:15 PM #11Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Mar 2003
- Location
- chicago
- Posts
- 1,781
webmaster cant seem to read so its a scam lol
-
03-22-2013, 09:23 PM #12Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Posts
- 42
scam [skćm] Slang
a stratagem for gain; a swindle
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
selling a "monthly" contract and hiding a two month notice period, which by definition makes it a "bi-monthly" contract, meets the definition!
or do you call the contracts from cell companies when you get subsidies for a new phone also a "monthly contract", despite being stuck for two years?
-
03-22-2013, 10:25 PM #13
Last edited by Postbox; 03-22-2013 at 10:38 PM.
-
03-23-2013, 12:49 AM #14Hello World
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
- Location
- /etc/my.cnf
- Posts
- 10,657
Is this another case of "sign-up" and read the ToS later?
UK Based Proactive Server Management.
Zabbix Enterprise 24/7 Monitoring.
-
03-23-2013, 01:21 AM #15Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Nov 2000
- Location
- localhost
- Posts
- 3,771
Only here can a printed agreement be a scam
I like the phrase pot-kettle-black Im pretty sure most us skip over the lengthy TOS on many things (did you read TOS on joining gmail, hotmail, faceache and so forth), if a company promotes monthly contract then it would be reasonable expectation not to be bound by 3 months of payment (1 month + 2 months cancellations). This is kind of nonesense is like the urpad deal, advertise 30 day money back guarantee as headline on frontpage and then buried in TOS exclude the main/primary products, it stinks.
Rather, only here can someone headline promote something and then exclude the exact benefit in the TOS, and only here would someone dream of defending it. Just to be clear a cancellation period of such isnt neccessarily a negative point or an extreme amount, it is the method and wording used to promote the product inferring something opposed what the TOS indicate.
Lets promote clarity rather than defend ambiguity and arguably deceptive marketing!Last edited by MattF; 03-23-2013 at 01:29 AM.
MattF - Since the start..
-
03-23-2013, 08:19 AM #16Newbie
- Join Date
- Aug 2004
- Posts
- 7
It really shouldnt be that hard to inform potential cutomers of the cancellation period required in the TOS right on the page where servers are advertised.
like hetzner does it - http://grab.by/kY6q
No need to bury something this important in the fine print.
-
03-23-2013, 08:56 AM #17Radiant Troll
- Join Date
- Jul 2000
- Posts
- 2,063
-
03-23-2013, 09:50 AM #18
Interesting. Thank you for the review.
I see these guys have been running a HUGE advertising campaign. Not only through GoogleAds but even on FB. I see them all day long. With that being said, I agree that 60 days cancellation is out of the norm you see from most hosting companies. Typically it's 15-30 days most of the time. But if it's in their AUP and you checked off you read it on sign up, it's not really their fault or them being "scammy". It's clearly posted.
/2ctsBLAZINGSWITCH | sales /@/ blazingswitch.com
SEO HOSTING | 1500 CLASS-A/B/C | CLEAN IPv4 LEASING
RESIDENTIAL IPS | 10G UNMETERED | IPV4 SOLUTION PROVIDER SINCE 2008
-
03-23-2013, 10:19 AM #19Need Moar KAWFEE
- Join Date
- Apr 2003
- Location
- Atlanta, Jawja
- Posts
- 3,074
Doug Hazard - "retired" Web Hosting Master
* Full Stack (Web/WP) Dev for The Catholic Diocese of Richmond (160+ sites)
* Sports Photographer, Media Personality and CFB Historian
* Tech Admin for several Sports Networks/Sites
-
03-23-2013, 11:38 AM #20Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Mar 2013
- Posts
- 38
-
03-23-2013, 11:46 AM #21Rockin' the beer gut
- Join Date
- May 2006
- Location
- NJ, USA
- Posts
- 6,645
-
03-23-2013, 11:52 AM #22Web Monkey
- Join Date
- Dec 2005
- Location
- Finland
- Posts
- 1,471
I try to read through these TOS and contracts, but you tend to forget the details. I've cancelled a couple of servers, and always asked the company way beforehand about the last possible moment to ask for cancellation. Works every time.
Yeah, it's not a scam. "Fine print" maybe, and perhaps not even that.
-
03-23-2013, 01:26 PM #23Need Moar KAWFEE
- Join Date
- Apr 2003
- Location
- Atlanta, Jawja
- Posts
- 3,074
First of all... lose the attitude, kid.
Second of all, not reading but still signing that you have read and understand the Terms of Service or Acceptable Usage Policies is not an excuse for not actually reading the page(s).
Ignorance often fails as an excuse. Running to WHT and posting about said ignorance often fails as well.
I had ZERO issues locating the specific section where it states that all cancellations must be submitted in no less than 60 days.
For the record, 95% of hosting providers handle their Terms of Service agreement (and signing) in a very similar fashion.
Oh, as a side note (different product/service, but still the same issue): I got hit with the same exact thing last year. I wanted to cancel my Comcast Business class internet so I could downgrade to the Residential side of Comcast HSI. I originally signed a three year contract.
In that contract it states that if a cancellation request is not received no less than 60 days from the end of the current cycle (again, three years) that the contract would be renewed on a yearly basis. I contacted them April 10th, 2012 to cancel for May 6th, 2012. Because I brainfarted on the time-frames, the contract was renewed for one additional year. My wallet took a hit, but you can be damn sure I did not make that mistake again for this year.
If you do not read (nor remember) the cancellation policy, you are legally obligated to the terms stated. In this case, the OP needs to pay the bill, file a PROPER cancellation and learn from this experience.Last edited by Douglas; 03-23-2013 at 01:31 PM.
Doug Hazard - "retired" Web Hosting Master
* Full Stack (Web/WP) Dev for The Catholic Diocese of Richmond (160+ sites)
* Sports Photographer, Media Personality and CFB Historian
* Tech Admin for several Sports Networks/Sites
-
03-23-2013, 01:27 PM #24Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Feb 2004
- Location
- Toronto
- Posts
- 2,308
I think the point the OP is making is if they required 60 days in advanced cancellation request, then it shouldn't be labelled month-to-month.
For example, if you tried them with one month. Found their services do not suit you and want to cancel. Under their ToS, this terms of "month-to-month" becomes invalid. Which I believe should be false advertisement if brought to small claims.
Just because it's written in a ToS it doesn't mean it's legal.
The least they could have done is Month-to-Month* with an asterisk.VimHost >> 30 Days Backup | cPanel + LiteSpeed + JetBackup | DMCA FREE!
20 Years in business ~ Premium Hosting in Toronto, Canada ~ 151 Front Street (Canadian owned and operated)
-
03-24-2013, 04:31 PM #25Junior Guru
- Join Date
- Jun 2012
- Posts
- 235
+1 Same thing:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...t=constant.com
Similar Threads
-
[EU] Guaranteed BW servers - 100mbit/s from 89 Euro. Monthly contracts. Free panels.
By dinek in forum Dedicated Hosting OffersReplies: 2Last Post: 02-18-2010, 05:30 AM -
Australia + USA Ventrilo Servers: $0.25/Slot - Monthly Contracts - Starting At: $2.50
By leckley in forum Other Hosting OffersReplies: 1Last Post: 12-16-2008, 03:30 PM -
Ventrilo Servers: $0.25/Slot - Monthly Contracts - Starting At: $2.50/Month!
By leckley in forum Other Hosting OffersReplies: 0Last Post: 07-06-2008, 11:53 AM -
Ventrilo Servers: $0.25/Slot - Monthly Contracts - Starting At: $2.50/Month!
By leckley in forum Other Hosting OffersReplies: 0Last Post: 06-07-2008, 11:32 PM -
NGZ unitedcolo.de servers be aware they ending contracts for high traffic servers
By jockey99 in forum Dedicated ServerReplies: 14Last Post: 05-25-2007, 04:17 PM