alt Hacker NewsThis should be illegal. If a contractor your hired to swap out a tile on your bathroom floor billed you for remodelling your back garden, you would obviously have the legal right to refuse that.
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My guess is that at least in Europe they would have a good chance fighting this in court and getting their money back, but it’s a pain having to go through such a lawsuit.
Your analogy is well off.
You hire a contractor and agree they'll bill you per tile, regardless of how many tiles there are. They bill you per tile. End of story.
For a more acurate comparison, consider a utility. You agree to pay for your electic bill. It's not the utility's fault you invited all your friends who decided to run a crypto mining LAN party, and they can't cut you off lightly because it might literally kill you (e.g. you live in a hot place and rely on AC to stay alive).
Not if your contractor had you first sign a 15 page contract that commits you to whatever costs they dream up and requires forced arbitration by a corporate friendly firm when any dispute arises.
Because that's somehow normal in today's tech world.