M Hosting

[Acorn]

Dear Xara...

I updated my Update Service on 31 May 2018.
At the same time, Magix advised I had a Coupon for "Website M" account upgrade & domain.
This coupon is redeemable until 31 December 2018.

I intend to redeem the coupon on 31 December 2018 but your EULA States:

D. UPDATE SERVICE
The license for updates and features delivered within the scope of the Update Service is limited to the installation(s) in place at the first anniversary of the initial registration of the Software, or at the date of last renewal if that is more recent. It will therefore terminate if you re-install the software after the Update Service has lapsed, and you will fall back to the version of the software at the date of your initial purchase and registration, or the date of last renewal if that is more recent. These limitations do not apply if you extend the Update Service beyond the initial 12-month period.

Any online services included in the Software (M hosting, Xara Online Designer and the Online Content Catalog) will end as soon as the Update Service expires, unless the Update Service is extended beyond the initial 12-month period.

The red text in the above EULA declares I therefore will only have use of the "WebSite M" account & domain for 01 January to 31 May 2019, which contradicts the offer of "12 month free usage".
The purple text even contradicts the first clause as clearly I have extended the Update Service in buying an update.

Will you please advise what is right and amend the EULA accordingly.

Acorn

[browj2]

As you know, I have supported Xara and Magix or at least corrected misconceptions about the update service many times. I just renewed Xara DPX for another year with the understanding that I would, once again, receive a coupon for a year's worth of M Hosting. The first time round, the offering with Xara was for an M Hosting or something like it on the Magix website. The following year, I used the Xara coupon for the Magix website, if memory serves me correctly, and I was able to apply the coupon again the invoice for the hosting. The next year, Magix/Xara changed this to Xara hosting and the coupon was no longer good for renewing the Magix hosting. So, I have been paying annually for Magix hosting (with one domain). I used the coupon for Xara M hosting (a second domain). I used the first Xara M hosting coupon 6 months after receiving it - received in July, used in January of the following year. For the last 2 years, I have used the Xara M-Hosting coupons when the anniversary date rolled around. Each time, I had to contact Xara to be able to apply the coupon against the invoice as there was no way to do this on line. This astounded me. Xara, do you not realize that people expect to use the coupons each time to renew their M Hosting rather than pay? I don't need an extra M Hosting every year!

Now, I find with the latest renewal of Xara that the rules for the M Hosting coupon have changed significantly. I have to use it before my M Hosting date rolls around as it expires by the end of this year - not a year from purchase, and even doing so, it will expire when my Update Service expires in July. Xara/Magix does not supply the domain, another party does, and they require payment upon the true anniversary. How can you charge me (and others) differently? The coupon is for one year of M Hosting, I expect one year of M Hosting, and that, from whenever I choose to use the coupon (I can accept a one-year limit to use the coupon, but not a few months).

This is totally, and I mean, totally unacceptable! Please correct this ridiculous new scheme.

Failing this, I will not be renewing next year. You have already seen the dislike for the Update Service scheme, the apparent inability of anyone who does not renew to obtain bug fixes if they have to reinstall, and the unhappy users stating that Xara has not been seen to put much effort into producing new features that the community has been asking for (we don't need a million royalty-free images). I can't even use some third party plugins like FilterForge and Perfectly Clear with Xara, which reduces greatly the value of having Xara. You may think that you have produced many new features, but you haven't, it's mostly content, and you have even been experiencing difficulties in producing new content/features with any type of regularity.

Having just renewed, I find that the biggest problem is paying money but feeling like I have received nothing. The excitement or satisfaction of a major upgrade upon paying of money is gone. One pays, one locks in the previous year's worth of new features, and new bugs. Now, with the M Hosting debacle, you have taken away the last remaining little bit of satisfaction I had of paying money. Not happy!

[handrawn]

is a gimmick - 'free hosting' is always that, nothing is 'free' - a hook for new customers, once they have you onboard job done for them and the cost of it is making them squeeze any flexibility out

what magixara care about is their bottom line - this is not a criticism they are a commercial entitiy....

[Acorn]

I actually would prefer a voucher for £23 or a sensible discount against the cost of Updating. Xara will gimmick itself away.

I try being sensible with Banks: just pay the best interest you can on all my money without me having to shuffle it around and open and close accounts once a year.

I am not a moron and wish to be treated with logic and courtesy, but I will continue to point out idiocy wherever it erupts.

Acorn

[browj2]

For me, the M Hosting is worth about 29 CAD out of the 149 CAD renewal. I don't consider M Hosting to be free, even though the Xara publicity says so. It's like my wife buying something on sale and coming home to tell that she saved 500$. The product is worth 1000$ but she got it for only 500$. My first reply is, "Great! Can I have the 500$ that you saved?" My second reply is, "No, it's worth 500$, not 1000$, if it was worth 1000$, they wouldn't have sold it to you for 500$." Anything bundled with software is not free, the cost is included in what you pay.

On Magix.com, it states, "Xara Designer Pro X offers everything you need for a successful Internet presence, including 2 GB web storage and your own domain*- free for one full year!."

This is not what is in the details provided above by Acorn.

Furthermore, the * beside the publicity goes on to state, "The offer includes one domain with one of the following endings: com, .de, .net, .org, .at, .be, .biz, .ch, .co.uk, .es, .eu, .fr, .info, .it, .name and .nl. After the contract is terminated, you may continue to use the domain(s) according to the applicable conditions (special offers are excluded). The offer is limited to a duration of 12 months and is renewed automatically if not terminated 8 weeks before the end of duration. The terms and conditions of The Xara Group Ltd. apply, which may be read at www.xara-online.com. The payment for the total amount is made at the time the contract is signed, and thereafter each time it is extended."

Xara must change the new policy as it is contradictory to what is clearly stated on the web site.

As Acorn implies, if the coupon is not good for renewing M Hosting upon it's anniversary and for one full year, when I update I should be given the option of a discount without the coupon. Like I said, I don't need a new website every year.

[handrawn]

"so we all agree - it 'aint free" [cue song]

don't know about you guys but whilst I used to think incompetence or 'idiocy' even, lately I have come to thinking it's a question of priorites being elsewhere [cue xara cloud]

xara never was that well resourced, whatever help they get from magix it is to be hoped that xara are 'waving not drowning'