domains GoDaddy cheated me, can I sue them

[digitalocean1]

I found an "LLLL.com" very good domain for buying new in GoDaddy; I contacted the support like 6-7 times before and after buying the domain (payment) to confirm if what I see is correct or not, and every time they confirmed if I pay, I will get the domain in my account in 10-15 days. I made the payment, and I even saw the domain for a brief period in my account (it wasn't usable, like can't see settings or change DNS or anything), but later, they emailed me saying it was an error and they couldn't give me the domain, as far I can remember it was on normal GoDaddy, but after this incident, it went to GoDaddy Corporate Domains.

they did refund me, but I lost $$$$ in bank fees as my bank won't give back me their charges even in case of a refund. when I told GoDaddy to cover the bank fees as courtesy, they refused.

when I emailed GoDaddy that if they didn't give me the domain, I would sue them, they sent a legal address, and their tone seemed like we don't care, do what you want.

I might have used the wrong billing address at the time of domain payment; what can I do here? I'm from India, I bought the domain via a UAE LLC business bank account with a US billing address. The domain is REALLY good and has millions of estimated value, and I paid $$$$$ for it.

expert advice is appreciated; I'm thinking of suing them in India or something. Can the different billing and payment methods have any issue in this case?

 

[enterscope]

Godaddy is the worst. Their own terms say they don't get involved with 3rd party domain disputes but time and time again the prove to violate those terms to help insiders and others with corporate interests.

Happened to me years ago, purchased a 3 character .com and they snatched it out of my account without warning claiming the domain was stolen. Even if it was (I purchased it through Flippa), there is still the UDRP protocol for such situations.

 

[draco]

Did they explain the error?

 

[alcy]

yes sue them for 1usd lost bank fee with a lawyer at 200 per hour..
do it..its the smart thing to do

 

[enterscope]

Did they explain the error?

No they never sent an email or explanation, nothing. One day the domain was there, next it was gone. Poof

 

[redemo]

I found an "LLLL.com" very good domain for buying new in GoDaddy; I contacted the support like 6-7 times before and after buying the domain (payment) to confirm if what I see is correct or not, and every time they confirmed if I pay, I will get the domain in my account in 10-15 days. I made the payment, and I even saw the domain for a brief period in my account (it wasn't usable, like can't see settings or change DNS or anything), but later, they emailed me saying it was an error and they couldn't give me the domain, as far I can remember it was on normal GoDaddy, but after this incident, it went to GoDaddy Corporate Domains.

they did refund me, but I lost $$$$ in bank fees as my bank won't give back me their charges even in case of a refund. when I told GoDaddy to cover the bank fees as courtesy, they refused.

when I emailed GoDaddy that if they didn't give me the domain, I would sue them, they sent a legal address, and their tone seemed like we don't care, do what you want.

I might have used the wrong billing address at the time of domain payment; what can I do here? I'm from India, I bought the domain via a UAE LLC business bank account with a US billing address. The domain is REALLY good and has millions of estimated value, and I paid $$$$$ for it.

expert advice is appreciated; I'm thinking of suing them in India or something. Can the different billing and payment methods have any issue in this case?

G.D. are probably covered by their T.O.C. but that doesn't make it a fair practise.

 

[draco]

No they never sent an email or explanation, nothing. One day the domain was there, next it was gone. Poof

You should have asked before threatening to sue. There's a big difference between 'we forgot to put a reserve on the domain' and 'the Seller didn't own the domain'. Those are just examples, but you should get the idea..

 

[digitalocean1]

yes sue them for 1usd lost bank fee with a lawyer at 200 per hour..
do it..its the smart thing to do

I lost $$$$ in bank fee, the domain is valued at 5M+ in estibot and after they removed the domain from my account, it went to "godaddy corporate domains" registerer from normal godaddy (in whois record).

they were really bad to me, and in India lawyer fees won't be much.

 

[digitalocean1]

You should have asked before threatening to sue. There's a big difference between 'we forgot to put a reserve on the domain' and 'the Seller didn't own the domain'. Those are just examples, but you should get the idea..

they give me a reason - "the Seller didn't own the domain"

 

[digitalocean1]

Did they explain the error?

they said "the Seller didn't own the domain", we will take action against the seller and stuff. but the moving of domain from normal GoDaddy to GoDaddy corporate domains seems fishy to me and seems like a case I can show to a judge.

 

[draco]

they said "the Seller didn't own the domain", we will take action against the seller and stuff. but the moving of domain from normal GoDaddy to GoDaddy corporate domains seems fishy to me and seems like a case I can show to a judge.

GoDaddy Corporate Domains is domain management for corporations. It doesn't mean GoDaddy owns the domain. I've purchased domains on GoDaddy auctions before where the Seller didn't own them.

My guess is that the domain was registered with GCD before you bought it, but somehow the Seller exploited a bug or weakness in GoDaddy's system to list the domain.

 

[twiki]

It looks to me like you might have bought a stolen domain. In such case, GD was right to return it. It happens sometimes. Ask yourself, was the price right for the domain? If not, if it seemed like a good deal, then chances are high it's a stolen domain.

Side note I've never had a domain returned by them unless for serious reason.

They might have various nasty practices otherwise (as long discussed all over the internet; just quoting here, as I didn't have major troubles with them), but I doubt what you think was happening.

If they did, this would backfire massively on them from serious portfolio holders (we have some here on forum) because word travels fast. And they don't want that.

They are also covered most likely, I'd say chances of you suing and suceeding are nil. You'll just waste time, money and "brain damage".

Breathe and on to the next domain. Put an unpleasant moment behind.

 

[Lox]

I found an "LLLL.com" very good domain for buying new in GoDaddy;

It's not unusual for frontrunners & scamfreaks to list corp. domain names (especially, zero NS domains) @ Afternic Network > GD/Registrars search result.

#1 Always Due Diligence bf buying.

Regards

 

[Surya Giri Kurniawan]

It is like the case of Metaverse.com that seems fradulandly listed in Afternic by member just registered an account in Afternic from August 2022. It makes all afternic partners like Dynadot, Godaddy, offered Metaverse.com for only $5000. I had inform Joe Styler from message in Namepross but no answer. But I saw the listing is already disappeared. Hopely not because someone bought Metaverse.com $5000 with his creditcard payment.

 

[gilescoley]

This stuff happens pretty often..just move on from it.

Another thing, don't fall for the newbie mistake and use Esibot. The name is more than likely not worth anywhere near $5 million

 

[karmaco]

GD “cheats” everyone. There is no way to force them to do anything. It happens all the time.

I do know one guy here said he was suing them over an auction he won I think. Don’t know what became of it if anything.

Your only recourse is filing complaint with ICANN imo.

 

[jberryhill]

I do know one guy here said he was suing them

Most of the time, that's just talk. If you are actually suing someone, you go ahead and do it, and don't post about it on web forums.

"I'm gonna sue (whomever)" threads are a dime a dozen on Namepros.

You want to sue somebody? Get a lawyer, pay the retainer, and file the suit. Going off about it on web forums is usually not a good idea because the odds are that the plaintiff will say something stupid like "I'm mainly doing it for the negative publicity for the defendant" or "'I'm seeking the publicity that a mega million dollar law suit can have" which is an admission the suit was filed for an improper purpose and would be a reason for the defendant to file a counterclaim.

But, again, most of the time, it is simply someone blowing off steam.

 

[honestbobby]

Well I purchased GD closeout domain... Their given date has passed After few days it's still not my account...i checked whois... It's says it's on redemption period of different registrar? How is it possible?

 

[forge]

This stuff happens pretty often..just move on from it.

It's happened to me more times than I can count. It's now more of a running gag where I might just as well flip a coin. Though for awhile my track record has been pretty good.

Having been sold a stolen domain was another adventure.

 

[redemo]

Does anybody know the Godaddy terms of service about banking transaction fees? Because if they cover their backs in this document there's really nothing you or any lawyer could do about it. You have two options, first don't use the service or second, use the service and be bound by its terms. Are the terms fair? I'd actually say yes they are fair, because they are enshrined in law and you know in advance what they are, but probably haven't read them. I don't like Godaddy. I don't use Godaddy. Just saying read the terms of service before you agree to them.

 

[UseYourWords]

Does anybody know the Godaddy terms of service about banking transaction fees? Because if they cover their backs in this document there's really nothing you or any lawyer could do about it. You have two options, first don't use the service or second, use the service and be bound by its terms. Are the terms fair? I'd actually say yes they are fair, because they are enshrined in law and you know in advance what they are, but probably haven't read them. I don't like Godaddy. I don't use Godaddy. Just saying read the terms of service before you agree to them.

[You have two options, first don't use the service or second, use the service and be bound by its terms. Are the terms fair? I'd actually say yes they are fair, because they are enshrined in law and you know in advance what they are, but probably haven't read them.]

Not quite, since anti-monopoly law might trump the terms of service if consumers have no choice but to accept unreasonable TOS to prevent themselves from being excluded from free markets. Godaddy though is clearly smart enough to pick their battles and not mess with the wrong counter-party.