Be cautious when dealing with Go Daddy as they may engage in an auto-renewal scam.

PhiaWise

PhiaWise

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About a month ago, I started a thread highlighting how outrageous Go Daddy's renewal prices are. At that time, I had already made up my mind to switch to other web hosting providers since their web hosting and SSL plans were excessively expensive.

Several weeks ago, I received an email notifying me of an upcoming auto-renewal for my SSL certificate. The email specified that the SSL certificate would renew on a particular date in March. Since I was preoccupied with several projects for the new year, I decided to wait until February to take any action.

However, I was taken aback when I received an email today stating that the SSL certificate had been automatically renewed.

It's unacceptable behavior, and I'm currently speaking with a customer service representative to request a refund for this unethical practice.

Update: The customer service representative told me that the email had a small print at the bottom that stated I would be charged on January 22nd to avoid any "security lapses." However, this is still five days earlier than today, and it's ridiculous.
 
Why continue paying for an SSL certificate when you can get one for free from Let's Encrypt? It's surprising how many people aren't aware of this. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things. At the beginning of the year, I cancelled around $450 worth of monthly services because I was tired of paying for things I didn't need. SSL wasn't even on my list of cancellations.
 
Have you tried contacting the company to request a refund? I've done this on a Swedish website before, and I didn't experience any difficulties.
 
SellFunky said:
Have you tried contacting the company to request a refund? I've done this on a Swedish website before, and I didn't experience any difficulties.
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I'm in the process of trying to contact the company to request a refund, but the customer service representative is currently investigating the issue. However, the representative has informed me that there is no record of a receipt on file. This is confusing since I have already received an email notifying me that the SSL certificate has been renewed and that a new SSL certificate is ready. This unethical practice is incredibly frustrating and unacceptable.

Update: The customer service representative has now assured me that there were no charges made. I also checked with my bank and confirmed that no charges were made. I asked the representative if I would be charged in the future since I cancelled the auto-renewal before the renewal date and received a new certificate. However, the representative provided a vague response and ended the chat. This is unacceptable and incredibly frustrating.
 
PhiaWise said:
I'm in the process of trying to contact the company to request a refund, but the customer service representative is currently investigating the issue. However, the representative has informed me that there is no record of a receipt on file. This is confusing since I have already received an email notifying me that the SSL certificate has been renewed and that a new SSL certificate is ready. This unethical practice is incredibly frustrating and unacceptable.

Update: The customer service representative has now assured me that there were no charges made. I also checked with my bank and confirmed that no charges were made. I asked the representative if I would be charged in the future since I cancelled the auto-renewal before the renewal date and received a new certificate. However, the representative provided a vague response and ended the chat. This is unacceptable and incredibly frustrating.
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It's GoDaddy we're talking about here. They will go to any lengths, legal or not, moral or not, to extract as much money from you as possible. They've been doing this for at least a decade that I can recall, but most likely for even longer. It's best to transfer all your services to a more trustworthy company.
 
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It's not just SSL certificates that are overpriced with GoDaddy; all of their services are overcharged compared to other providers. I recommend transferring all of your products away from them. If you don't receive a refund, you can still file a claim with your bank for unauthorized transactions and receive your money back.
 
Update: Even though the auto-renewal was cancelled before the renewal date, my card was still charged without my authorization. I have gathered all the necessary evidence to support my legal claim.

GoDaddy is undoubtedly a scam. After being their customer for many years, I have lost all trust in them.

I am currently in communication with their support team to obtain a refund. If that fails, I am considering doing a chargeback, but I am concerned that they will suspend my account.
 
PhiaWise said:
I'm in the process of trying to contact the company to request a refund, but the customer service representative is currently investigating the issue. However, the representative has informed me that there is no record of a receipt on file. This is confusing since I have already received an email notifying me that the SSL certificate has been renewed and that a new SSL certificate is ready. This unethical practice is incredibly frustrating and unacceptable.

Update: The customer service representative has now assured me that there were no charges made. I also checked with my bank and confirmed that no charges were made. I asked the representative if I would be charged in the future since I cancelled the auto-renewal before the renewal date and received a new certificate. However, the representative provided a vague response and ended the chat. This is unacceptable and incredibly frustrating.
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It may be advisable to lose faith in the company the day after your initial business transaction with them. However, the responsibility for the renewal issue lies with you as you authorized the auto-renewal when you set things up, even if it was difficult for you to understand.

If you struggle to manage the renewal aspect before the company plans to bill you for renewal, it would be beneficial to use a Virtual Credit Card (VCC) to purchase from companies with recurring billing.

Furthermore, like many others, I would not choose to do business with Godaddy unless my life depended on it.
 
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SosaHelpful said:
It may be advisable to lose faith in the company the day after your initial business transaction with them. However, the responsibility for the renewal issue lies with you as you authorized the auto-renewal when you set things up, even if it was difficult for you to understand.

If you struggle to manage the renewal aspect before the company plans to bill you for renewal, it would be beneficial to use a Virtual Credit Card (VCC) to purchase from companies with recurring billing.

Furthermore, like many others, I would not choose to do business with Godaddy unless my life depended on it.
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I understand that you cancelled and removed the auto-renewal on January 17th, which was five days before the stated renewal date of January 22nd. However, it is still concerning that the company has misleading information in the small print of their renewal email.

Regarding the chargeback, it is difficult to predict how the company will respond. It is possible that they may suspend your account for violating their terms of service. However, if you believe that you have been wrongly charged, it may be worth considering the chargeback option and contacting the company to explain the situation.

In any case, it is important to spread awareness about your negative experience with this company to help others make informed decisions.
 
PhiaWise said:
However, it is still concerning that the company has misleading information in the small print of their renewal email.
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When you made your initial purchase with that circus-like company, you consented to auto-renewal. While I do agree with you, disputing the charge will only create further complications. Sharing your experience is likely the best course of action.
 
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In my experience, Godaddy is a subpar company. I decided to transfer all of my domains to Namecheap in 2014, but Godaddy made it challenging by requiring me to disable the private whois feature on each domain. They claimed they could not assist with this process, despite owning the privacy company responsible for the feature.

Moreover, their website often fails to function correctly when managing domains. All in all, I wouldn't recommend Godaddy for purchasing domains or any of their other services.
 
I suggest that you disable auto-renewal and clear any unnecessary services when you purchase domain or hosting services. I always do this, regardless of how significant the domains are. I keep a rough record of the renewal dates and check my emails regularly, so it's never been an issue for me.
 
Following my conversation with the customer representative, I was able to obtain a refund as he acknowledged that I was correct. However, during the conversation, I found it peculiar when he requested that I delete the current SSL certificate before issuing the refund. When I askd about my previous SSL certificate that was still valid for two more months, he informed me that it would be forfeited since the certificate was renewed until 2023. Consequently, my website would be without SSL protection, which is not an acceptable option.

Losing my payment of US$100 is disappointing, to say the least.
 
PhiaWise said:
Following my conversation with the customer representative, I was able to obtain a refund as he acknowledged that I was correct. However, during the conversation, I found it peculiar when he requested that I delete the current SSL certificate before issuing the refund. When I askd about my previous SSL certificate that was still valid for two more months, he informed me that it would be forfeited since the certificate was renewed until 2023. Consequently, my website would be without SSL protection, which is not an acceptable option.

Losing my payment of US$100 is disappointing, to say the least.
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Move your things, dude—they won’t be considering what’s best for you until the year 2525.
 
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They typically charge a steep renewal fee, which is how they make their profit. However, I always opt to use Let's Encrypt SSL which is FREE and ignore those insane fees.
 
They always charge a lot for renewals, which is how they make their money.

I prefer using Let’s Encrypt SSL for that reason.
 
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IONOS is even worse than GoDaddy. I consider it the top contender for the worst domain and website service provider.
 
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