Beware Of Godaddy

[steven22]

Auto-renew is set to be OFF on my account.

I received an email saying ALA.us had been auto-renewed.

I emailed my rep and told him to refund the auto renew it should be off.

He did that, quick and easy

I have a bunch of renewals coming up and wanted to do them as a batch as they would be cheaper.

I tried today to renew the name and they say I canceled the name. I never at any point said to cancel the name.

They want me to pay $80.00 because their rep made a mistake. If that is GD policies, the rep should have stated if i refund the auto-renew, it will cancel the domain name.

Now I am fighting with them to give me back what is rightfully mine.

Here are there awful responses....THEY WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

I spoke to the rep after receiving this response.

The email listed on file for your account for contact is [email protected]. You would have received several notices that this domain was set to auto renew prior to it getting charged. I cannot refund a domain that has been renewed without canceling the domain. Upon canceling the order, you would have received another notification that the domain name had been canceled to the same email address. We have a 5 day window to recover the domain in an event that it was accidentally canceled, and we're on day 6. You did not tell me that your intention was to renew the domain at bulk rates; if so I could have just refunded the difference back to you to reflect the correct pricing. Our department is here to assist in your account, but the domains are ultimately yours and it is your responsibility to monitor your account.

I looked at the cost to recover the domain, and we are able to redeem the name at cost for you, which is $40. If you want me to move forward with the $40 charge, let me know.

He is blaming me for not looking or responding to the emails. I said NONE of that means anything. I am on record that nothing should be on auto-renew. They want to blame me for not acting sooner because their site is messed up. I know I have 25 days from the date it expired to renew the name. I NEVER said cancel it. NEVER!

Then I spoke with his boss...

Goof Morning Steven,

We do have the opportunity to get this domain back, but in this situation there is a cost. Due to the miscommunication we are willing to offer this domain retrieval at 40.00 rather than 80.00, but unfortunately cannot do so for free. Time can never be removed from a domain name, so to refund any funds spent leaves only the one option to cancel the domain name, and to recover the domain name in this state has a cost. All of these rules are in place from ICANN which is why we unfortunately can't offer any other options. Let myself Brett or Pete know what next step you're wanting to take and we can go from there, thanks!

Sincerely,
Patrick R.

Godaddy is a bunch of Assclowns. They are only going to get worse since private equity invested.

The worst rep at Godaddy is Brett Myers....DO NOT USE!

 

[angel69]

Similar things have happened to many. Some even requested not to be in Premier (the old Executive) program because some manager can screw things up real bad for you. He should've spelled out that by refunding the auto-ren fee the domain would get cancelled, period. If he did not then they should take it out of redemption and let you renew it w/o a $80 or $40 penalty. Can you prove you weren't told that by cancelling the auto-ren that took place (and refunding you that charge) then the domain would get cancelled ? Did you do this in writing ? That's why I advocate email communication to and from GD, no phone. Otherwise you can't prove anything, I've been there

You only have 17 days after exp to renew w/o the $80 penalty btw, not 25. They misinformed you when they said 25, whoever it was. You have 25 days AFTER THAT to renew w/the $80 penalty, so an owner can reclaim up until day 42 after exp (17 + 25) no exceptions

My jaw drops when they say they're bound by ICANN regulations. Really ? LMFAO.... like with the 60-day registrar lock only they impose if you so much as add an initial to your name or remove a letter from your co name ? Yeah, ICANN is forcing them to do that even when no other registrar does this. And now the WHOIS database all over the net practically belongs to Go Daddy if the searched domains are regged there. Try to do a WHOIS search for a GD domain NOT using the GD WHOIS. NO RESULTS. NONE. Unless you're both logged into DomainTools and have an account there, soon DT won't be displaying any results for names regged at GD, I'll bet. ICANN is forcing this exclusivity too, uh ?

And yes, things will get worse under the tight fist of private equity. They already are. Leaner and meaner Go Daddy for all

Do you think your domain could get above $40 when GD sends it to auction on day 25 after expiration ? That's what always happens if you don't renew a domain within 17 days of exp and don't pay the $80 penalty during days 18-24. All domains get auctioneed off. And you can't bid on it (I don't think) cuz you're still the owner. But someone else can. If you're sure it'll cost you more than $40 to get it thru auctions then pay the penalty of $40 now (I'm surprised they gave you a break, normally $80 means $80) On day 42 after exp the domain would be given to someone w/a backorder if there were no bids in auction. If there are no backorders and there is no auction winner then it'll be released for public reg several days after the 42nd day but that option is risky. Good luck anyway

...... the rep should have stated if i refund the auto-renew, it will cancel the domain name......

...... You did not tell me that your intention was to renew the domain at bulk rates......

........ I know I have 25 days from the date it expired to renew the name..........

.......... All of these rules are in place from ICANN which is why we unfortunately can't offer any other options.......

.......They are only going to get worse since private equity invested........DO NOT USE!

 

[amplify]

Pretty risky to wait and handreg it, when OP edits out contact email but not domain name, on a domaining forum.

 

[DNB]

I don't know how it works with .us but you can transfer out expired gtld domain from godaddy to avoid paying recovery fee.

 

[keyser]

Auto-renew is set to be OFF on my account.
I received an email saying ALA.us had been auto-renewed. I emailed my rep and told him to refund the auto renew it should be off.

Same problem, and it turned out that it was auctioned at Godaddy later on...

 

[katherine]

I checked and the domain name is in redemption. It was expiring on 23 April.
They are correct to say that they cannot reactivate the domain for free because it's not in grace period anymore.
At this point the registry has to do a restore, I understand that $80 is more or less the fee charged by the registry.
Personally I think this name is worth at least $80.

 

[angel69]

At first I thought the domain he mentioned was the proverbial example but reading it again it looks like it's the real thing, and if it is... forget about handregging it later :-(

Pretty risky to wait and handreg it, when OP edits out contact email but not domain name, on a domaining forum.

You can only transfer an expired name out of YoDaddy if you've both unlocked it and requested the auth code before exp date. Beginning on the day it expires GD will deny you both actions, so it's not really the ext (except for ccTLDs), it's the exp date

I don't know how it works with .us but you can transfer out expired gtld domain from godaddy to avoid paying recovery fee.

If steven22 really values it he should pay that $40 penalty immediately. They may withdraw this act of kindness anytime w/o prior notice, I'm serious. I had actually never seen GD cut that penalty in half for anybody, so steven22: you're actually worth something to them after all lol. Just never rely on any Premier managers, always do things on your own, keep looking over your shoulder, in case domains have the auto-renewal icon on in the DCC, or if some are unlocked....

 

[steven22]

Your missing the point....They are a bunch of thieves.

Beware of having ANY names at GD. This is proof they do not take responsibility for awful reps like Brett Myers.

The next name they screw up on could be yours and Demand you pay for their screw up.

 

[angel69]

Thieves, they always screw up, no one takes responsibility, eh ?.... Tell me about it, steven22.
:suspicious:

I don't think I missed your point, I was just telling you to be realistic. From what I see Brett is your Premier Rep and Patrick is his supervisor (who's Pete btw....?) In any case, I believe you that you were not told what would happen after nullifiying an auto-renew transaction. It could be your rep thought you knew about this mysterious rule no one has ever heard of, or he just forgot to tell you what would happen. But a more likely explanation is that your rep simply did not know about such strange rule himself, and therefore could not possibly warn you. Keep in mind reversing auto-renewals is an unusual transaction for any customer, so while I am on your side, have been there and do believe you, there's a good chance your rep wasn't aware this rule existed. And if so, he should've admitted it but he may be too embarrassed

The supervisor either believed your rep and not you, or he's not clear about what happened, so he cut the penalty in half for you. I'd think that for a good customer the right thing to do is give him the name back for free as a one-time courtesy but this is Go Daddy, bro. Also, when I mentioned what normally happens for names that expire (to the end of redemption period) and what your choices were, I didn't take into account this is not a standard domain that was let to expire. The domain may in fact have been deleted when it was "cancelled" (sometimes you cannot tell definitively from the WHOIS) as in when you get rid of a name because it may be a TM for example, so I have no idea if the same rules apply

Pay the $40 immediately if you value this name. And nothing keeps you from contacting Patrick's boss, another Support Mgr or even the CEO about gettin your $40 refunded. But do not wait if you already know you want the domain. It is too risky. Like I told you, I've dealt w/YoDaddy a lot and know so many who have too and not once have I seen that $80 penalty reduced at all, GD is real strict about this, some of this apparently goes to the registry and that's why. So as bad as they fukced up in your case it could've been worse. What if 10 or even 100 names of yours had been auto-renewed w/o your permission ? Where would you be now w/all those $80 charges hanging over you ? Take this as a lesson not to trust reps, Premier or any. And keep logging in every couple of days even if you have no activity, just to see what your DCC looks like afa renewals, locks and other settings. And if you have a problem or question, always contact them in writing. Or if you must do phone then email them right after confirming what was just said (always ask for a rep's full name and ID#)

That's is just how I'd handle this.....
:spy:

....They are a bunch of thieves.
Beware of having ANY names at GD. This is proof they do not take responsibility for awful reps ........
The next name they screw up on could be yours and Demand you pay for their screw up.