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Contabo auto-renewed me into a 3-year plan I didn't want

Reviews by pieter_rtm 14 replies 2.6K views
pieter_rtm

Member OP

4 #1

To be honest I am done with this. Facts:

  • Plan was monthly at 4.99 EUR
  • Renewal notice email: "plan updated" buried in marketing
  • Charged 179.64 EUR for 36 months
  • Control panel shows "annual" selected, I never clicked this
  • Refund policy: 14 days but "setup fees non-refundable" (there were no setup fees, they invented one for 29 EUR)

As said, I opened ticket 6 days ago. No answer.

Specs of what I actually run here:

  • 1 vCPU (shared)
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 20 GB NVMe
  • 1 TB traffic

Not worth 179 EUR. Anyone else with this host? Did you get refunded?

Containers before it was cool
admin

Administrator

Administrator

#2

Thank you for raising this, and we are reviewing the thread carefully.

We have identified a UI issue in our control panel where the renewal period selector defaults to "3-year (best value)" when payment method is updated. This was not intentional dark patterning. The "save" button applies both changes without clear confirmation of the plan change.

Effective immediately:

  • We are adding a confirmation modal showing total charge before any plan change
  • 3-year plans now require explicit checkbox: "I understand this is a 36-month commitment"

For existing cases from the past 30 days, we are processing refunds. Please DM your account email.

— Admin

sudo make me a sandwich
jane_ffm

Member

#3

Hi @pieter_rtm, I'm sorry to hear about this experience. That's frustrating, especially when the communication wasn't clear.

I'd like to check if there's anything we can do from our side — Contabo has a migration credit for situations like this. Happy to look at your specs and see if we can match or improve.

Feel free to DM me directly.

— Jane @ Contabo

Single mode till I die 💀
pdxltd

Member

1 #4

Contabo sliding into DMs while the guy is still locked out of 179 EUR

Doug

Member

New Jersey

#5

Omg same thing hosting happend to me with Hetzner. They charged me for 2 years and I was like wtf. Server wasnt even that good.

Got refund after 3 tickets tho keep pushing!

grabs popcorn, checks /r/drama
declan6

Member

Ex-Telco

4 #6

This is why I run my own ethernet. Someone else's computer, someone else's billing "mistakes"

Back in the day we had T-1s with verbal contracts. Now you click through terms of service longer than RFC 791 and wonder why you get burned

That said, admin response here is actually decent. Rare. Most providers would ghost you until chargeback threat

check your card issuer. Many have 120 day dispute window for "goods not as described." dont let them run out the clock

prague1983

Member

btw I use Arch

#7

What ram and disk on that vcpu?

oops: 0000 [#1] SMP
pieter_rtm

Member OP

#8
admin said:
For existing cases from the past 30 days, we are processing refunds. Please DM your account email.

DM sent. Will update here when it lands.

Doug said:
Got refund after 3 tickets tho keep pushing!

Cheers. Three tickets is still three tickets too many but good to know it can work.

declan6 said:
Check your card issuer

ING here in NL, they have decent chargeback. Keeping it warm if needed.

Containers before it was cool
pdxltd

Member

#9
pieter_rtm said:
DM sent. Will update here when it lands.

Plot thickens. Admin swoops in with the "UI issue" defense, Jane slides into DMs with "migration credit," now we wait to see if the refund actually materializes.

My money's on pieter_rtm updating in 2 weeks that he's still waiting.

declan6

Member

Ex-Telco

#10
pieter_rtm said:
ING here in NL

ABN AMRO has 180 days for services not rendered, for what it's worth to anyone else reading. Dutch banks are generally solid on this.

The "UI issue" excuse is wearing thin industry-wide. I've seen the same "unintentional dark patterning" from three providers in two years. Funny how the default always nudges toward longer commitment and higher upfront, never the reverse.

jane_ffm said:
Contabo has a migration credit

Translation: please don't leave, we'll match your hostage price with store credit. Classic.

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