Stung by autorenewal of web hosting

mattish7

Hi all, long-time observer, first time poster - I hope one of you experts can give me a bit of help here!

I've just been charged for the renewal of a web hosting package (just hosting, not a domain name) with Easyspace which I only found out about when they emailed me to say the money had been taken. I do not want or need this hosting anymore.

They say in their terms that they will contact you 60 days before to tell you autorenewal is going to happen. The only email they sent me said my card had expired (confusing, as it hadn't) and that without a card assigned to autorenew, this could not take place. Making me think that autorenew wouldn't happen, which I was happy with. Also logging onto their control panel confirmed there was no card assigned to autorenew, which suggested it couldn't happen.

Since the renewal has happened (it turns out that if a package is set to autorenew, this trumps whether a card is set to autorenew) I got in touch with them immediately to say I didn't want the package and would like a full refund but they are refusing, saying that they have 'incurred costs'.

I have since discovered the Distance Selling Regulations which give me seven days to cancel and gain a full refund. They are aware of these and mention them in their terms - easyspace.com/terms - to say that they don't apply when a service starts immediately (ie. when you first purchase it from them). However this renewal is for a year, starting 15th November (they take payment 30 days early), so that exemption can't apply here as the service is yet to start.

My main question is, do the DSRs apply to renewals? A cursory web search suggests that they do in the case of financial products such as insurance (where it's a 14 day cancellation period) but I'm struggling to find a precedent I can cite for things such as this.

Trying to get as much information as I can before my next reply to them, any help gratefully received!

arcon5

If the service begins before the 7 day cooling off period ends, you forfeit your right to cancel. Since it renewed, I assume you continued to consume resources and therefore using the service.

The lack of a valid card on file also doesn't constitue cancellation.

How is the term worded that states they will contact you 60 days before? I imagine it is worded as 'they endevour to contact you', if not you may have a case that they breached the agreement otherwise if you didn't cancel the account I can't see how you are not liable.......

mattish7

Thanks for the response arcon5. Just to be clear: the service for which they are charging me (1 year's hosting) doesn't start until 15th November, so this service hasn't begun yet (and 30 days after they took payment). However it is a renewal rather than a new purchase so I was wondering how the DSR applies for this?

Like I said, from doing some searching around I've seen that DSRs seem to apply for people having products such as insurance renewed. Is there any reason it can't apply here?

arcon5

mattish7 wrote: »

Thanks for the response arcon5. Just to be clear: the service for which they are charging me (1 year's hosting) doesn't start until 15th November, so this service hasn't begun yet (and 30 days after they took payment). However it is a renewal rather than a new purchase so I was wondering how the DSR applies for this?

Like I said, from doing some searching around I've seen that DSRs seem to apply for people having products such as insurance renewed. Is there any reason it can't apply here?

Then it would come down to are you a business or personal customer? DSRs are consumer protection legfislation and do not apply to business transaction. If for example it is a personal blog it may apply, if you are generating revenue from it, it will likely be deemed a B2B transaction and governed by their fair T&Cs.

If the DSRs do apply and therefore the service has not begun, I can see no valid reason why you cannot cancel up until the point you are in the auto-revewed period.

Remember to also read their cancellation procedure if applicable.

I would also add, DSRs to not apply to financial services -- insurance is classed as a financial service according to OFT. They do usually have a cooling off period though,