CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion
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Lol wow... good thing I don't use small-name cloud services to save pennies.
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@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@DustinB3403 said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@RojoLoco said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@DustinB3403 said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@gjacobse said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
Q: What if I found a way to use my services without agreeing to the Terms of Service, can you still legally charge me?
A: Yes, circumventing intended use is a violation of our Terms of Service, and is grounds for termination. However, our Terms of Services also state, "EACH TIME THE CUSTOMER USES THIS SITE OR THE SERVICES, THE CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT HAS READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE".haha. . .
Yeah... I'm never using CloudAtCost
"Our Ts and Cs have changed so that we can try to extort money from everyone who visits our site. Would you like some info on our premium plans?"
The ToS might as well say "BY READING THIS TOS AGREEMENT YOU AGREE TO EVERYTHING WE MAY EVER WANT"
Pretty much all agreements say that these days.
Legally though it can't. Contracts have to have exact terms as to who is responsible for what. Not everything that may occur.
I could write in a ToS that anytime I walk by someone with orange juice, they have to give it to me because I'm within arms reach of them.
Doesn't make it legal.
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@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@RojoLoco said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@DustinB3403 said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@gjacobse said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
Q: What if I found a way to use my services without agreeing to the Terms of Service, can you still legally charge me?
A: Yes, circumventing intended use is a violation of our Terms of Service, and is grounds for termination. However, our Terms of Services also state, "EACH TIME THE CUSTOMER USES THIS SITE OR THE SERVICES, THE CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT HAS READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE".haha. . .
Yeah... I'm never using CloudAtCost
"Our Ts and Cs have changed so that we can try to extort money from everyone who visits our site. Would you like some info on our premium plans?"
I don't think that Ts and Cs can apply to things already sold. That's like Chevy coming into your garage and repo'ing your car after you completely paid it off and have owned it for years.
I hear ya - but T/C change all the time at different services I've used - like ebay and Paypal. But perhaps you're right - this is a sold product, the sale is done, finished, nothing else to do but use the product. In cases like this it's challenging, because it's not just a thing in your presence, it's something you're using that 100% depends on someone else to manage/maintain it. It would be an interesting legal challenge.
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@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
I hear ya - but T/C change all the time at different services I've used - like ebay and Paypal. But perhaps you're right - this is a sold product, the sale is done, finished, nothing else to do but use the product.
That's the thing. What they changed was the PRICE after the sale. The ENTIRE basis of that sale WAS the up front, one time price so that you owned the service after that point. So nothing like those other things where you have an ongoing relationship that can be severed at any point if you don't mutually agree to the new terms. They can't change the terms without your approval.
This is not changing the future terms, this is going back in time and changing your past price. It's literally selling you a product for any price that you can talk them down to... then having unlimited ability to charge you later whatever they want without negotiation.
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@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
It would be an interesting legal challenge.
I doubt it. It's clear breach of contract through intent to defraud. I don't think they'd even get to approach the bench with a T&S argument.
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This bugs me so much that I actually posted on FB about it, with some links to ML posts. So now I have a pic of @scottalanmiller 's face on my FB wall.
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@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
In cases like this it's challenging, because it's not just a thing in your presence, it's something you're using that 100% depends on someone else to manage/maintain it.
Only challenging in that you have no physical recourse, you are left only with the court system. It's clear cut that you bought and paid for a service and they chose not to deliver the paid for service after they took off with the money.
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@RojoLoco said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
This bugs me so much that I actually posted on FB about it, with some links to ML posts. So now I have a pic of @scottalanmiller 's face on my FB wall.
You're welcome.
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@RojoLoco said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
This bugs me so much that I actually posted on FB about it, with some links to ML posts. So now I have a pic of @scottalanmiller 's face on my FB wall.
I have an account, but haven't used it in years. This (ML) is as much social media as I think I need.
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@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
In cases like this it's challenging, because it's not just a thing in your presence, it's something you're using that 100% depends on someone else to manage/maintain it.
Only challenging in that you have no physical recourse, you are left only with the court system. It's clear cut that you bought and paid for a service and they chose not to deliver the paid for service after they took off with the money.
It's it hosted in Canada? which makes it just that much harder to sue over.
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@DustinB3403 said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@RojoLoco said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
This bugs me so much that I actually posted on FB about it, with some links to ML posts. So now I have a pic of @scottalanmiller 's face on my FB wall.
I have an account, but haven't used it in years. This (ML) is as much social media as I think I need.
Some day they might close your account because you aren't paying the annual fee
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@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
In cases like this it's challenging, because it's not just a thing in your presence, it's something you're using that 100% depends on someone else to manage/maintain it.
Only challenging in that you have no physical recourse, you are left only with the court system. It's clear cut that you bought and paid for a service and they chose not to deliver the paid for service after they took off with the money.
It's it hosted in Canada? which makes it just that much harder to sue over.
Yes, it's Fibernetics, a Canadian ISP. Another reason to be wary of doing business in Canada.
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@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@DustinB3403 said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@RojoLoco said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
This bugs me so much that I actually posted on FB about it, with some links to ML posts. So now I have a pic of @scottalanmiller 's face on my FB wall.
I have an account, but haven't used it in years. This (ML) is as much social media as I think I need.
Some day they might close your account because you aren't paying the annual fee
I'd better be careful.. cause there is so much important information on my FB page that I couldn't live without. ..
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@DustinB3403 it's not like anyone sees my FB posts (all 1 or 2 per year), but I also posted some article links on C@C's page. Y'all know I'm all about the name and shame.
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@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
In cases like this it's challenging, because it's not just a thing in your presence, it's something you're using that 100% depends on someone else to manage/maintain it.
Only challenging in that you have no physical recourse, you are left only with the court system. It's clear cut that you bought and paid for a service and they chose not to deliver the paid for service after they took off with the money.
It's it hosted in Canada? which makes it just that much harder to sue over.
Yes, it's Fibernetics, a Canadian ISP. Another reason to be wary of doing business in Canada.
You know...it's not like you're doing business with a company in North Korea. Lmao. You'd find that in many cases, the laws here don't differ greatly than the US. Except that a US address does make seeking legal action a bigger p.i.t.a.
I do smell a class-action lawsuit coming for this change in their ToS. Will be interesting to watch. I also got caught up in the one-time cost but hadn't used it in forever, simply because it's completely unusable, and just chalk it up to a good lesson.
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@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
In cases like this it's challenging, because it's not just a thing in your presence, it's something you're using that 100% depends on someone else to manage/maintain it.
Only challenging in that you have no physical recourse, you are left only with the court system. It's clear cut that you bought and paid for a service and they chose not to deliver the paid for service after they took off with the money.
It's it hosted in Canada? which makes it just that much harder to sue over.
I have a truck, a baseball bat, spray paint etc and I'm willing to drive long distances to... express frustration... for a fee
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@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@RojoLoco said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@DustinB3403 said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@gjacobse said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
Q: What if I found a way to use my services without agreeing to the Terms of Service, can you still legally charge me?
A: Yes, circumventing intended use is a violation of our Terms of Service, and is grounds for termination. However, our Terms of Services also state, "EACH TIME THE CUSTOMER USES THIS SITE OR THE SERVICES, THE CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT HAS READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE".haha. . .
Yeah... I'm never using CloudAtCost
"Our Ts and Cs have changed so that we can try to extort money from everyone who visits our site. Would you like some info on our premium plans?"
I don't think that Ts and Cs can apply to things already sold. That's like Chevy coming into your garage and repo'ing your car after you completely paid it off and have owned it for years.
You know that's an issue still in court right??
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@MattSpeller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@scottalanmiller said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
@Dashrender said in CloudAtCost Turning to Extortion:
In cases like this it's challenging, because it's not just a thing in your presence, it's something you're using that 100% depends on someone else to manage/maintain it.
Only challenging in that you have no physical recourse, you are left only with the court system. It's clear cut that you bought and paid for a service and they chose not to deliver the paid for service after they took off with the money.
It's it hosted in Canada? which makes it just that much harder to sue over.
I have a truck, a baseball bat, spray paint etc and I'm willing to drive long distances to... express frustration... for a fee
Could have a bidding war for those services. They are practically in my backyard
