Member
My friend, for this price you can get new server at Hetzner auction, no need fight for old board
I check now, H13 with 64GB RAM around €89/month, you own nothing but also no headache
Better than €800 + $1,200 for mistake they make
No, no, this is wrong thinking. Wendy already has server, already has RAM, already has investment. To say "rent instead" is to give up and let Hetzner win
Also auction server is in Germany or Finland, not Hillsboro. If she needs US latency, this is not solution
I say again: fight it. Do not accept. Do not rent instead. Make them pay for mistake
I had similar with OVHcloud in Gravelines, not bent pins but dead motherboard after remote hands installed NIC. They tried to charge for board, I refused, they eventually credited after I threatened small claims in French court
EU consumer law is strong even for business accounts sometimes. Hetzner has German entity, you can use German law if needed. Mahnverfahren is cheap and they know it
Following this. I have remote hands at Hetzner Falkenstein next week for a PSU swap and now I'm nervous.
Bro just ask for timestamped pics of every step yeah? I do this standard now after my InterServer thing. Takes two seconds for them, saves you weeks of drama
Also specify "photo of CPU socket before DIMM install" in the ticket, make it part of the request. If they refuse you know something's sus
Chur
Member OP
This is brilliant and I'm furious I didn't think of it. I asked for "photos of completed work" which is obviously when they just want to get out of there.
Update: I sent the formal demand letter GeorgeNmp suggested, cc'd my card issuer. Hetzner's response was that "installation errors are not covered under remote hands liability" and the tech "followed all procedures." The photo of the badge and misaligned notch means nothing to them apparently.
This is a fascinating legal position for them to take. If the technician is their employee or contractor, and the service is billed as "certified remote hands," they are implicitly warranting competent execution. An installation error by their technician is precisely what liability coverage addresses.
Their terms of service likely contain a limitation clause, but those are construed against the drafter in most jurisdictions. The visual evidence of defeated keying is dispositive—no competent technician should be able to force a DIMM in backwards.
I would escalate to their legal department directly. The support tier is trained to deny. Legal understands litigation exposure.
This is why I only use providers where I can drive to the DC. Hetzner's closest to me is Helsinki, not happening. OVHcloud Roubaix I can do in a day.
I am in Budapest, same problem. Closest Hetzner is Helsinki or Falkenstein, both half day minimum. OVHcloud has Warsaw which is closer but still not "drive there today"
For critical hardware I just do without remote hands. Ship server pre-built, never open it at DC. If RAM fails, rent temp server, migrate, fix later at home
Member OP
This is what I should have done. I was adding RAM to a server already in colo, thought "certified tech, $400/hour, how hard can 8 DIMMs be."
Hard apparently.
