IONOS WordPress PHP add-on.
I start off today receiving my monthly bulk invoice from IONOS and to my shock and horror I see 7 contracts with an add-on of £7.03 plus vat each for a PHPExtended Support add-on.
You can just imagine the anger I was feeling seeing as non of their packages if you were to buy them state there will be an add-on charge and that all the packages in fact have PHP support included (according to the screenshots).
This is against trading standards and here are the Managed Packages.
Manage WordPress
Managed WordPress Hosting UK | From £1/month | IONOS
This Screenshot below is what I believe is a misinterpretation of wording.
Wording Misinterpretation.
Enlarged Screenshot Of Above.
This last screenshot states they do not charge more than what is stated in their packages which is a contradiction in terms, yet they sneakily added the add-on. Some of my sites have been going for a few years and some do not even have WordPress 7.02 never mind the latest version WordPress 8.0. I aim to show IONOS this article and I will screenshot proof of both the managed and unmanaged options, just in case they edit their site.
Unmanaged WordPress Packages
Most of my sites are managed but for the unmanaged here are the screenshots:
WordPress Hosting | Domain Included First Year | IONOS UK
Do take note that if they change their website after I publish this article you will know if any links are broken and you can compare both my screenshots to their published site.
Phoning Customer Support
As you can imagine I sent two emails and had autoresponders, but because I suffer from cognitive impairment I sometimes miss blocks and sentences out reading or writing and did not read that their emails are no longer monitored.
I should have just made this post and started a chat, but will need to phone them again before the 30th of this month as they have deferred payment until I back up my sites.
I did not read the email properly as I also had another email for IONOS on the 2nd March 2023 notifying me of changes, again I skimmed through the email without reading it word for word.
However, after a close inspection today, the telephone support agent told me to re-read the email again. Here is the screenshot. Nowhere in the email does it say about the costs involved in the ‘PHP Extended Support’. They could just as easily charge £100 per contract because nowhere does it state actual pricing.
Email Support (No Longer Available)
Coginitive Impairment Issues
In my defense, I stated I have cognitive impairment issues, and coincidently a website that is hosted by IONOS I actively talk about my health and may in some cases not read emails properly.
PHP Extended Support
I was told if I disabled PHP Extended Support all my websites would crash. Considering I have Managed WordPress on all of them if that was the case I could take legal action. I aim to back up all the sites before this takes place and will not be happy if God forbid my sites go AWOL.
According to the IONOS website, I should not be worried about disabling the add-on, yet the customer support agent stated otherwise.
PHP Extended Support – IONOS Help
Updating PHP
I thought a managed site meant that the hosting provider updates your PHP.
Display or Change PHP Versions – IONOS Help
Update your PHP version and cancel PHP Extended Support – IONOS
My Disputed Contracts
- 85681128 £7.03 u*t**s***e.co.uk PHP EXTENDED SUPPORT
- 85690451 £7.03 r****ae*********r.com PHP EXTENDED SUPPORT
- 80534683 £7.03 d*******e**********r.uk PHP EXTENDED SUPPORT
- 85278136 £7.03 r*****a.pl PHP EXTENDED SUPPORT
- 86072811 £7.03 u*b*******b*****g.co.uk PHP EXTENDED SUPPORT
- 76728095 £7.03 c******p******s********s.co.uk PHP EXTENDED SUPPORT
- 78411787 £7.03 p**t******w****.co.uk PHP EXTENDED SUPPORT
Conclusion
What gets me every time is the number of agents that say “You have so many contracts“. The impression I get is they are being ungrateful and complain that I give them so much business.
Seeing as they do not have email support any longer I will start a chat next week and will forward them this article to read. No way I am going to have to repeat myself again, although I still have a couple of direct emails to people within IONOS which I may try. They certainly do want to push my buttons.
I have wanted a whole day sorting this out rather than actually doing some work. My tolerance levels are at a high because I really want to scream.
I am going to double-check that all my sites are managed and all hell will break loose if they aren’t. Why is it that some of my websites are on WordPress PHP 5 version, that is the question, yet they want to charge me for PHP Exented support for PHP 7?
I will update this article once I back up all my sites, which is a job I could have done without.
#ionos #ionoshosting #ionoswordpress #ionoswebsitedesign #ionosdomains #ionosssl #ionossql #ionoscloud #ionosecommerce #ionoswebbuilder
