0

A few months ago, I was using Hetzner Cloud for my VPS, and they blocked a server because someone seems to have DDoSed it. I requested it to be unblocked, and they ignored me. I also noticed they are trying to charge me about €50 for bandwidth overuse, which my bank is blocking. I am now banned from the Console, and cannot delete my account because I have "unpaid products".

I have contacted Hetzner's support email, and they proceed to tell me that they require me to use the Contact Form on the Hetzner Robot Dashboard (and that I should be able to delete my account), and then they ignore me. I contacted them numerous times 3 months ago, and now I try every few weeks. Nothing changes.

Hetzner Delete Account Screenshot

I'm not a lawyer. Is this illegal? Can I report them to the GDPR authorities for not allowing me to delete my account. I will not pay a €50 fee because some random guy decided to DDoS me.

Hetzner Email #1

2
  • If you owe money to someone you can't just ask them to forget you because of GDPR. Check their Terms that you accepted — you might be responsible for random guys' attacks. If you believe they breached the contract then either take them to the court or forget.
    – Greendrake
    Sep 28, 2018 at 7:19
  • Well I am unsure why they are trying to charge me, and they're contact form seems to be useless
    – user21049
    Sep 28, 2018 at 11:17

1 Answer 1

3

They provide a snail- and e-mail way to end the contract here. This will not eradicate the €50 that they say you owe, but you can sort that out separately. That email address might also respond to inquiries about the validity of the charge. At any rate, they also give a link to online dispute resolution per Art. 14, para 1 of the EU Online Dispute Resolution Regulations. GDPR does not give one the right to be deleted so as to avoid an existing liability.

3
  • Okay, that's kinda helpful, seeing as most of their stuff is in German, but I don't get why they're charging me for the DDoS when they should've had the server protected.
    – user21049
    Sep 28, 2018 at 22:24
  • The second link is to the "impressum". In Germany it is required to list 2 ways to contact them, in this case there is a phone number and email address. Using one of those, you should be able to communicate with them. If you use that email address (ie. not support@..., but info@...), I believe they cannot force you to use the contact form. I believe they would violate the "Telemediengesetz" if they would not answer you on that address. (tbc)
    – wimh
    Sep 29, 2018 at 23:49
  • In 2017 a Berlin court ruled (Kammergericht Berlin, Az.: 23 U 124/14) that google violated the law by not answering emails but just refering to help pages and other ways to contact them. So Hetzner must answer your email too.
    – wimh
    Sep 29, 2018 at 23:54

You must log in to answer this question.