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Hetzner switches to new billing model

docs.hetzner.com

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Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#161

Post by thenickdude »

boplicity wrote: post #61

I don't seem capable of actually setting up an account with Heztner and logging in. Their security is so tight, it seems to constantly lock me out. What if I were an actual customer? Yikes. Does anyone else have this issue?

Yup, I bought a dedicated server because I needed a CPU with AVX2 and VT-x, and it went poof some days later.

They didn't even do me the courtesy of emailing me to tell me about it, I had to ask support:

> > When I try to log in to my account it tells me that my credentials are invalid, and when I use forgot password it tells me that my account is disabled?

>We recently did some routine reviews of our customer accounts. We noticed some suspicious information in your account.

>We have some concerns regarding this information and we have decided to close your account.

>We do not share details about why certain accounts appear suspicious. Publishing this information would make it easier for people to create fake accounts and abuse our services.

I even went through their live-video face verification and passport scan and they didn't budge on this.

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#163

Post by wyan »

AnonHP wrote: post #146
V__ wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy credits using a bank transfer [1]. You can also set E-Mail alerts in case your monthly invoice is higher then expected (more traffic etc.) [2]. However, there is no auto-delete as far as I can tell. [1] https://docs.hetzner.com/accounts-panel/accounts/payment-faq... [2] https://docs.hetzner.com/cloud/billing/faq/#how-do-i-keep-my...

I’ve been waiting for Hetzner to allow adding credits into one’s account using credit cards or debit cards (or other modes like PayPal). Being outside Germany (and the EU), a bank transfer is not possible or is difficult and prohibitively expensive. Hetzner also didn’t seem to support credits across all its services when I checked a few years ago.

You can use a bank like Wise which lets you have accounts in many currencies for such bank transfers. Fees between their accounts are quite competitive (I used them many times in the past).

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#164

Post by Etherlord87 »

reddalo wrote: post #154
Etherlord87 wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

d) the customer is black, romanian or a jew I'm awaiting donwvotes, but honestly, if they don't give you a reason, everything can be one, and refusing a service on arbitrary grounds seems illegal to me :D

It's a private service; private companies can choose whoever they want to do business with. They're not a public service.

Are you sure about that? I know of a precedent in Poland, where a company refused to service (print some kind of invitation cards) some LGBT people, and was punished for it.

I imagine the laws in Germany are similar to the laws in Poland in that regard, both countries being in the European Union.

In USA, I really doubt any company could refuse to serve black people. Or women.

I wonder if the downvoters of my previous message share your (I'd say quite wrong) opinion or there's another reason for the downvotes - I'm up for a discussion!

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#165

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

tpetry wrote: post #100
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wonna bet?

They‘ve stated clearly that you pay the same. Its just calculating stuff differently that you can now remove a dedicated machine mid-month and get the remaining time‘s money back. Which wasnt the case until now.

Why would they do that and lose money? Apparently, they plan to charge more and push you to cloud services, which are more lucrative.

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#166

Post by sodality2 »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #165
tpetry wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They‘ve stated clearly that you pay the same. Its just calculating stuff differently that you can now remove a dedicated machine mid-month and get the remaining time‘s money back. Which wasnt the case until now.

Why would they do that and lose money? Apparently, they plan to charge more and push you to cloud services, which are more lucrative.

This is actually revenue-loss for them as canceling a dedicated server in the middle of the month will no longer result in a full month charge...

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#167

Post by severino »

Saris wrote: post #145
severino wrote: post #43

It would be nice if cloud offerings like Hetzner would allow one to set the contract duration and pay in advance, for example, one year. And once that year passes, you could tell them to extend it for another year, or do nothing and get your server deleted. This way you have a control over your spending and avoid surprises. I guess some providers (OVH?) allow you to do that, but of course it requires that all costs b…

As far as I known there are no surprises on Hetzner, they're a solid company, not one of the shady ones that bill on usage without limits.

I agree it's not as bad as other companies (like the other day Netlify story) but Hetzner doesn't allow you to set limits either, so in theory you can still be charged without knowing how much it'll be in advance. You can also leave something on while thinking it's off and, yes, it's your fault too, but it wouldn't happen if it just consumed your credits and no more.

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#168

Post by StressedDev »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #165
tpetry wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They‘ve stated clearly that you pay the same. Its just calculating stuff differently that you can now remove a dedicated machine mid-month and get the remaining time‘s money back. Which wasnt the case until now.

Why would they do that and lose money? Apparently, they plan to charge more and push you to cloud services, which are more lucrative.

They are doing it to stay competitive. Remember, cloud computing is a highly competitive market and customers can and do switch providers.

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#169

Post by severino »

iforgotpassword wrote: post #63
severino wrote: post #43

It would be nice if cloud offerings like Hetzner would allow one to set the contract duration and pay in advance, for example, one year. And once that year passes, you could tell them to extend it for another year, or do nothing and get your server deleted. This way you have a control over your spending and avoid surprises. I guess some providers (OVH?) allow you to do that, but of course it requires that all costs b…

At least with the dedicated servers there are no surprises. Monthly cost is fixed, if you exceed the bandwidth limit you'll be throttled. Maybe their cloud offerings offer the same?

From what I can see in their webpage, they charge something like 1 eur for every extra TB but apparently there's no way to set a limit (so you can be protected in the event of a DDoS), only an alert.

Re: Hetzner switches to new billing model

#170

Post by StressedDev »

betaby wrote: post #91
manishsharan wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are several dedicated server providers in US but not much is known about their track review. OVH has a datacenter in Toronto which may close enough to the US for many people. They provide dedicated servers.

OVH operates data-center close to Montreal (BHS), 8ms latency to NYC. Also it's 100% green hydro electricity powered.

Hydro power is not green. The benefit are it's cheap (in terms of cost to produce) and produces no CO2 emissions. The downside is it makes it harder to fish to travel from the ocean to their spawning sites. Like all power sources, it has benefits and drawbacks and it absolutely impacts the environment.
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