Do you pay monthly or yearly for your hosting..?

[Collabora]

It is not illegal for a company not to issue a refund just because a customer changes his mind, if it is past the money-back guarantee period.
BACK ON TOPIC.

I am merely pointing out why a lot of customers shy away from annual payments. ITS THE REFUND POLICY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never mentioned the legality or illegality of anything. Can't I point this out and advocate an alternative policy without being nitpicked or accused of something. Sheesh

So yes, lets stay on topic.

 

[Artashes]

Take it easy, Collabora, I was merely making a general comment. I didn't accuse anyone of anything. No need for the dramatics.

 

[Collabora]

Take it easy, Collabora, I was merely making a general comment. I didn't accuse anyone of anything..

Look, here is sample what came before you while I was trying to respond to Gintonic's questions and posts:

its the part before the example...implying i am doing something illegal

May be immoral but not Illegal as they signed up for 12 months paying for 12 months

your accusing me of being a conman

i am just following my LEGAL TOS and LEGAL money back guarantee

And then you chime in:

It is not illegal for a company not to issue a refund just because a customer changes his mind, if it is past the money-back guarantee period.

Why would any of these comments be made if the posters had no reason to think anyone wasn't calling one refund policy illegal? Why would I think otherwise? The only people bringing this idea into the discussion is you and Terry. None of the posts I was responding to hinted at any legal issues, and neither did my responses.

One post that is glaringly missing is why my alternate policy is unacceptable compared to the other. Maybe you and Terry can respond to Gintonic like I did with your opinions. If you think my policy is full of crap, tell him. Another important post that is missing is one of mine or anyone else's calling one policy illegal. But yet here we are
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[Artashes]

Why would any of these comments be made if the posters had no reason to think anyone wasn't calling one refund policy illegal? Why would I think otherwise? The only people bringing this idea into the discussion is you and Terry. None of the posts I was responding to hinted at any legal issues, and neither did my responses.

Sweet mother of God. :rolleyes2 These comments were merely a figure of speech in defense of legally binding agreements between consumers and web hosting providers. NO ONE said that you thought something was illegal or not. You simply had an unfavorable view of a refund policy that does not refund after the money-back policy runs out. God bless you - you are entitled for an opinion. All other members have said was that such contracts are not illegal and companies have the right to pursue such practice if they choose to. That's it. Nothing else. So please stop trying to make an issue out of it.

I am not going to continue discussing this any further, and I highly recommend you do the same. Unless you just want to keep pushing my buttons to see how it ends.

Please refer to this post.

If you have questions or concerns, please keep it to a PM.

 

[Collabora]

Anything important = Monthly, I do not wan't to tie into something if it goes wrong.

What could go wrong? I suppose if you felt you had to cancel prior to the end of the annual period and the host refund policy states you don't get any refund I can see your hesitation. But what if the host had a refund policy that would offer the refund in such a way that you would end up paying the undiscounted monthly rate.

Consider this scenario:

VPS Monthly - $25.00/mo
VPS Annual - $20.00/mo

For the annual subscription your first annual payment would be $240.00 -- a $60.00/yr savings over the monthly subscription.

For the sake of simplicity let's say there is no money-back guarantee

Now let's say you cancel, for whatever reason(s), after 2 months. If I understand your concerns correctly you fear your host would keep the entire $240.00 while you received only 2 months of hosting. That's an average of $120.00/month for a $25.00/mo VPS. I don't blame you for avoiding annual plans!

Now let's change the scenario a bit. Let's say that the host has a refund policy such as the one I've been advocating (and adopted) here in this thread

You pay your $240.00 and two months later you cancel (for whatever reason). How is the refund determined now? By cancelling early you've gone from an annual subscription to a monthly subscription. Thus your refund would be based on the monthly price ($25.00/mo). Thus, after two months, your refund would be $240.00 - $50.00 = $190.00. The end result is as if you never signed up for the annual plan and chose the monthly plan instead.

Would that 2nd scenario calm your nerves a bit and make it more likely to purchase an annual plan? It does seem to take the risk out of the equation. What about your friends and colleagues?

thank you for your time.
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[easyhostmedia]

Consider this scenario:

VPS Monthly - $25.00/mo
VPS Annual - $20.00/mo

For the annual subscription your first annual payment would be $240.00 -- a $60.00/yr savings over the monthly subscription.

for 1 thing a Refund Policy is different to a Money Back Guarantee, but lets take your scenario and place it in another situation

For the annual subscription your first annual payment would be $240.00 -- a $60.00/yr savings over the monthly subscription.
( not all hosts give such a discount)

Annual Payment - so 2 months down the line the host folds/runs off, then you have lost all your files along with $200 as you have used 2 months service.

Monthly Payment - so 2 months down the line the host folds/runs off, then you have lost all your files but no money.

 

[Collabora]

for 1 thing a Refund Policy is different to a Money Back Guarantee, but lets take your scenario and place it in another situation

This is true. But as I recall, and correct me if I am wrong (too many posts to review), you were the first one to bring up a Money Back Guarantee in relationship to a refund and it was in defense of First Scenario. Of course, with the MBG the First Scenario would just be delayed for the term of the MBG. The formula for the refund would be the same.

I can run both scenarios with an MBG in place to illustrate this if you feel its necessary. Since the scenario is on a previous page I reproduce it here for convenience:

Consider this scenario:

VPS Monthly - $25.00/mo
VPS Annual - $20.00/mo

For the annual subscription your first annual payment would be $240.00 -- a $60.00/yr savings over the monthly subscription.

For the sake of simplicity let's say there is no money-back guarantee

Now let's say you cancel, for whatever reason(s), after 2 months. If I understand your concerns correctly you fear your host would keep the entire $240.00 while you received only 2 months of hosting. That's an average of $120.00/month for a $25.00/mo VPS. I don't blame you for avoiding annual plans!

Now let's change the scenario a bit. Let's say that the host has a refund policy such as the one I've been advocating (and adopted) here in this thread

You pay your $240.00 and two months later you cancel (for whatever reason). How is the refund determined now? By cancelling early you've gone from an annual subscription to a monthly subscription. Thus your refund would be based on the monthly price ($25.00/mo). Thus, after two months, your refund would be $240.00 - $50.00 = $190.00. The end result is as if you never signed up for the annual plan and chose the monthly plan instead.


And Terry, please don't derail this thread with the now-tired and worn out excuse "Its not illegal" as a rebuttal. This is about what is preventing customers from using annual subscriptions and what kind be done to reverse that tendency.Please, please, please stay on topic

 

[NW-Dan]

I've always paid monthly. Whether it's for colo, dedicated, shared, whatever. I always pay monthly because you never know when the service is going to change.

Paying monthly allows you to have the option to get out if you need to. Go to a new service or stop hosting all together.

Even now as a web host we still pay monthly. The reason is, and this applies to even small blogs or websites, is because if the service goes south it effects clients, readers, and users. Why would you want your brand to suffer because of another provider? Monthly allows you to provide a level of service to your readers/clients because you can always maintain that level of quality by simply moving host if you need to.

 

[easyhostmedia]

This is true. But as I recall, and correct me if I am wrong (too many posts to review), you were the first one to bring up a Money Back Guarantee in relationship to a refund and it was in defense of First Scenario. Of course, with the MBG the First Scenario would just be delayed for the term of the MBG. The formula for the refund would be the same.

I can run both scenarios with an MBG in place to illustrate this if you feel its necessary. Since the scenario is on a previous page I reproduce it here for convenience:

Consider this scenario:

VPS Monthly - $25.00/mo
VPS Annual - $20.00/mo

For the annual subscription your first annual payment would be $240.00 -- a $60.00/yr savings over the monthly subscription.

For the sake of simplicity let's say there is no money-back guarantee

Now let's say you cancel, for whatever reason(s), after 2 months. If I understand your concerns correctly you fear your host would keep the entire $240.00 while you received only 2 months of hosting. That's an average of $120.00/month for a $25.00/mo VPS. I don't blame you for avoiding annual plans!

Now let's change the scenario a bit. Let's say that the host has a refund policy such as the one I've been advocating (and adopted) here in this thread

You pay your $240.00 and two months later you cancel (for whatever reason). How is the refund determined now? By cancelling early you've gone from an annual subscription to a monthly subscription. Thus your refund would be based on the monthly price ($25.00/mo). Thus, after two months, your refund would be $240.00 - $50.00 = $190.00. The end result is as if you never signed up for the annual plan and chose the monthly plan instead.

it is all regardless in that if your have a set MBG of say 10 days which is also stated in your TOS and someone pays annually and then after 2 months decides to leave, so you refund then the difference taking the 2 months and full monthly charge then what is the point of having a set MBG period if you are going to break this.

as other have stated if a client signs up agreeing to the TOS/MBG then the host has done nothing illegal or wrong by not refunding any funds.

How is the refund determined now? By cancelling early you've gone from an annual subscription to a monthly subscription.

WRONG because you have not changed contracts you signed up and agreed an Annual contract, cancelling does not change contract terms.

 

[Collabora]

I've always paid monthly. Whether it's for colo, dedicated, shared, whatever. ....
Paying monthly allows you to have the option to get out if you need to. Go to a new service or stop hosting all together.

Hi Dan,

I believe I understand your reasoning. Many customers feel the same way. I also believe I have identified the problem and I am offering other hosts a possible solution. Here it is in a nutshell:

1) Customers stay away from annual subscriptions due to the risk of losing lots of money if cancelled without refund.

2) If host allowed annual subscription to revert to a monthly subscription at cancellation and offer refund of difference between the annual payment and the sum of the now-monthly payments, annual subscriptions would be more attractive

I have offered many example in this thread. As an objective customer and/or host, please review some of my comments and solutions, a couple of which can be found here, and provide input:

http://www.hostingdiscussion.com/167778-post97.html

http://www.hostingdiscussion.com/169889-post165.html

Thank you for your time.

 

[easyhostmedia]

you are confusing the term subscription and the term contract.

when you sign up to a host to agree and annual contract or monthly contract

subscription is only the payment method during the contract term

so if you cancel the annual contract during the contract term then without a get out/refund clause in your TOS then you are not entitled to anything back. cancelling an annual contract you cant just revert to a monthly contract as these are different contracts, so you would have to sign up again accepted the new contract as since signing for annual a host may have made amendments to their TOS.
also an annual subscription would need to be cancelled at the payment provider by client and then set up again for monthly, so cant just be reverted from annual to monthly.

 

[HostHatchKelvin]

To answer the initial question, I've always and will always be paying based on a monthly subscription. Unless the yearly/annual subscription is extremely cheap relative to the cost of the monthly subscription, then I will be paying on a month-per-month basis. I wouldn't want to lock myself into an annual subscription if I'm not positive the service wouldn't change during my stay with the service.

As a web host, we do offer annual billing plans, and we have many customers who are on the annual billing plans.

With that being said, most annual subscriptions are definitely cheaper on a per month basis so that is why people chose to pay on the basis of a year.

But know what you're getting yourself into if you sign up for a year -- don't get locked in and not have a way out like you do with the per month services!

 

[Collabora]

you are confusing the term subscription and the term contract.

when you sign up to a host to agree and annual contract or monthly contract

I and other hosts that I have checked use the same contract (TOS) regardless of subscription term. Are you using two different TOS?

The host can create a contract to suit his refund policy. Host is not bound forever by the one he used yesterday or the one you think he should use. Besides, we usually find a clause that the host is free to change the terms of the contract, according to the contract.

I really don't understand your continued resistance to, if not outright decrying, they use of this alternate refund policy I am advocating. Every time I present it to someone here you feel the need to swoop in and bash it with the same out-of-context and obfuscating complaints.

 

[easyhostmedia]

I and other hosts that I have checked use the same contract (TOS) regardless of subscription term. Are you using two different TOS?

No I have my TOS checked by UK Trading Standards and the TOS form the contract while a subscription just like one off payment is just the payment term used to make payments that you agreed under the contract.

 

[Collabora]

No .

I didn't think so. But when you wrote

when you sign up to a host to agree and annual contract or monthly contract

it seemed that's what you were saying. So you are now saying (as I said) that its not an "OR" situation. There are not two different contracts. The customer and the host are bound by the same contract whether or not there is a monthly or annual subscription. Right?
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[easyhostmedia]

I didn't think so. But when you wrote



it seems that's what you were saying. So you are now saying (as I said) that its not an "OR" situation. There are not two different contracts. The customer and the host are bound by the same contract whether or not there is a monthly or annual subscription.
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yes it was a typo i missed. a subscription contract is what is formed between the client and payment provider. the only contract between the host and client is the TOS/AUP.

Yes you can also say how many clients actually read your TOS, but still tick the box saying they have and agreed to them.

 

[bunnykins]

for 1 thing a Refund Policy is different to a Money Back Guarantee, but lets take your scenario and place it in another situation

For the annual subscription your first annual payment would be $240.00 -- a $60.00/yr savings over the monthly subscription.
( not all hosts give such a discount)

Annual Payment - so 2 months down the line the host folds/runs off, then you have lost all your files along with $200 as you have used 2 months service.

Monthly Payment - so 2 months down the line the host folds/runs off, then you have lost all your files but no money.

I have actually had that happen to me. Although I didn't loose 200. This is why I prefer to pay monthly.

 

[Collabora]

I have actually had that happen to me. Although I didn't loose 200. This is why I prefer to pay monthly.

Even when host sticks around the loss is the same if you just cancel -- according to the issues listed since beginning of thread (http://www.hostingdiscussion.com/we...monthly-yearly-your-hosting-8.html#post167827). But I have a different refund policy that I believe resolves that issue. In short it would simply convert your annual subscription to a monthly subscription upon early cancellation. Thus the only loss to the customer is the annual payment discount.

Here is my original post with the scenario remarked on by Terry. Tell me what you think:

What could go wrong? I suppose if you felt you had to cancel prior to the end of the annual period and the host refund policy states you don't get any refund I can see your hesitation. But what if the host had a refund policy that would offer the refund in such a way that you would end up paying the undiscounted monthly rate.

Consider this scenario:

VPS Monthly - $25.00/mo
VPS Annual - $20.00/mo

For the annual subscription your first annual payment would be $240.00 -- a $60.00/yr savings over the monthly subscription.

For the sake of simplicity let's say there is no money-back guarantee

Now let's say you cancel, for whatever reason(s), after 2 months. If I understand your concerns correctly you fear your host would keep the entire $240.00 while you received only 2 months of hosting. That's an average of $120.00/month for a $25.00/mo VPS. I don't blame you for avoiding annual plans!

Now let's change the scenario a bit. Let's say that the host has a refund policy such as the one I've been advocating (and adopted) here in this thread

You pay your $240.00 and two months later you cancel (for whatever reason). How is the refund determined now? By cancelling early you've gone from an annual subscription to a monthly subscription. Thus your refund would be based on the monthly price ($25.00/mo). Thus, after two months, your refund would be $240.00 - $50.00 = $190.00. The end result is as if you never signed up for the annual plan and chose the monthly plan instead.

Would that 2nd scenario calm your nerves a bit and make it more likely to purchase an annual plan? It does seem to take the risk out of the equation. What about your friends and colleagues?

thank you for your time.
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[easyhostmedia]

Even when host sticks around the loss is the same if you just cancel -- according to the issues listed since beginning of thread. But I have a different refund policy that I believe resolves that issue. In short it would simply convert your annual subscription to a monthly subscription upon early cancellation. Thus the only loss to the customer is the annual payment discount.

Here is my original post with the scenario remarked on by Terry. Tell me what you think:

But this would mean that your client would need to cancel the annual subscription with the payment provider and then set up another monthly one on next invoice as subscriptions are handled by payment providers

 

[Artashes]

Even when host sticks around the loss is the same if you just cancel -- according to the issues listed since beginning of thread (http://www.hostingdiscussion.com/we...monthly-yearly-your-hosting-8.html#post167827). But I have a different refund policy that I believe resolves that issue. In short it would simply convert your annual subscription to a monthly subscription upon early cancellation. Thus the only loss to the customer is the annual payment discount.

Here is my original post with the scenario remarked on by Terry. Tell me what you think:

Everyone is now fully aware of what your policies are and what you are advocating, there is no need to keep repeating it time and time again in this thread. We get the point.

If you'd like feedback on your refund policy, start a new thread about it.