GODADDY WARNING: Lying and stealing expired domains

[DanSanchez]

Godaddy has gone downhill faster than most registrars in recent history, their methods for domain retention and profit are no longer based on the value they can add to a customer, but in simple deception.

Instead of providing authorization codes for expired domains (1-30 days post expiration.) They actively block the authorization codes from ever reaching the registered contact email. In my naive attempts at manually requesting 40 authorization codes, I spent most of the morning going to each domain and requesting one at a time. Nothing ever arrived, it was frustrating, but I discovered their methods of domain retention involve blocking authorization codes by default.

Meaning, any domain that goes into expiration is "no longer eligible for transfer." This is something I clarified with support staff, clearly they are trained to tell this to customers in order to avoid transfer losses. Even though it is completely against their written policy on expired domains. (Source)

After over an hour and a half with support staff, the authorization codes started rolling in. How did I get them to do it? I found a domain's authorization code that was already in REDEMPTION, post 30 days expiration, and transferred it away by unlocking it inside the "expired domains" menu, under "Domains." I had let this domain expire on purpose, it wasn't great so I didn't want to renew it. But I had to prove to them that I knew they were lying in order to block transfers out.

Here are some of the conflicting details I received...

Tldr: #boycottgodaddy.

I'll be happy to help anyone with domains stuck at Godady, I have successfully initiated transfers on all domains.

 

[mpls]

We're lucky to have Joe Styler here.
But 99.999999% of GD customer out there have not a Joe Styler ready to help them.

 

[hwgriffi]

Do you renewed any expired domains in last week or today because I'm not able to renew the expired domains which are all in (auto renewed staus not yet reached 30 days) and automatically redemption fee $80 applied to cart.

As for renewal, I don't know.

If your domains are 30 days expired you should transfer them out instead of paying an $80 renewal fee.

 

[MarkedMarket]

Dear Joe - thank you for the invitation. I'm sure your colleagues will be delighted, especially if you show them my message

I actually have 2 friends who have worked for GoDaddy and they both mentioned the (over)emphasis on sales: they had to continuously hit certain sales metrics/statistics to keep their job or get promoted. It was a competitive environment (quite well paid though) but they basically were expected to try to sell anything to any customer. When you create such a culture (only and unhealthily focussed on sales), it shouldn't come as a surprise when employees try to do anything to hit their targets and this is, in my view, an example of that.

They also mentioned that smart people with technical skills are completely underappreciated and you only count if you sell. I personally see that reflected in the lack of investment in the outdated, archaic websites of GoDaddy and Afternic (as I've mentioned in another thread https://www.namepros.com/threads/anyone-having-trouble-with-afternic-today.1085316/#post-6755314).

 

[Arca]

I have first hand experience of GoDaddy lying and stealing domains:

GoDaddy let one of their domains expire. They had 30 days to renew it. They didn't.

I bought it in GoDaddy Auctions.

It arrived in my GoDaddy account. I listed it for sale and changed nameservers. The domain was in my account and 100% under my ownership.

Then, 17 (!) days after the domain was no longer eligible for renewal, somebody from GoDaddy accessed my account without my permission, and transferred the domain out of my account into their own account. They shamelessly stole the domain straight out of my account. They said they accidentally didn't renew the domain. Well it was too late for them to take it back through legitimate means (i.e. renewing), so instead they just went into my account and stole it. They do not respect domain ownership rights whatsoever.

Here is another example of GoDaddy lying and stealing an account out of a domain owner's account a whole two years after he bought it... Your domains are simply not safe at GoDaddy. If they want to take a domain out of your account, they will user whatever made up pretense they feel like to do so.

They lie in other areas too. For example, right now my bank has frozen my bank account for investigation because GoDaddy lied to them regarding the nature of wire for a domain sale (they do this to all international sellers and refuse to send payments with true and accurate payment details for reasons I fail to understand). As GoDaddy falsified the payment details, I've been unable to explain to the bank that it's a legitimate payment... At this point looks like my bank account is going to get terminated because of GoDaddy's lies, and this situation is causing me so many problems right now.

As for the poll above, they've cornered the expired domains pre-release auctions and marketplace-registrar search path sales to such an extent that you simply can't boycott them if you're a full-time domainer. But trust them? Never. They're an untrustworthy company that lies and deceives and show a blatant disregard for their own users.

 

[DanSanchez]

I can confirm Godaddy removes expired domains from main domain manager screen into "expired domains" after less than 15 days. They actually blocked fast transfers to these specific names and the names are still not approved. All "Pending transfer" status. WTF

 

[hwgriffi]

All "Pending transfer" status. WTF

I have seen this "Pending Transfer" issue now myself. I called GD and was told that this was done to 'valuable' domains to make sure they aren't being stolen. The odd thing is that domains that they considered valuable were less valuable than ones I was able to transfer out without the "Pending Transfer" hold.

If you look on whois, the status will change to "Pending Transfer" so it may be that this is less nefarious as one would think. You just have to confirm with them that you do indeed want the domain transferred.

Don't wait the full 30 days. I will wait 20 - 24 days now just to be 100% sure the domains don't get "lost".

In all, allowing the domains to expire with GD has become a less than attractive option as all of the benefits from the expiration practice have been taken away.

 

[PlentyOfBrands]

I absolutely love Godaddy.com. Their team has treated me with respect and have helped me when I needed it. I can't speak on anyone else's experiences but I just wanted to put my experience out there. I try to get all of my domains at Godaddy because of how well I am treated by either my account representative or anyone who answers. I hope everyone else has positive experiences as well.

 

[DanSanchez]

I have seen this "Pending Transfer" issue now myself. I called GD and was told that this was done to 'valuable' domains to make sure they aren't being stolen. The odd thing is that domains that they considered valuable were less valuable than ones I was able to transfer out without the "Pending Transfer" hold.

If you look on whois, the status will change to "Pending Transfer" so it may be that this is less nefarious as one would think. You just have to confirm with them that you do indeed want the domain transferred.

Don't wait the full 30 days. I will wait 20 - 24 days now just to be 100% sure the domains don't get "lost".

In all, allowing the domains to expire with GD has become a less than attractive option as all of the benefits from the expiration practice have been taken away.

That's new, I've never had this many issues trying to transfer names out. Thanks for the heads up. On the phone with support now trying to resolve it, 40 names have taken 6+ hours of labor to get transferred. The biggest irony is their waiting/hold music on phone support, it's like they're operating in the 1920's and they have to manually transfer calls using a switchboard.

EDIT: Support refused to approve the transfers, stating that expired domains were not eligible for fast transfers... Yes, I tried explaining that I had just done 5 different names yesterday with fast transfer. But support simply said to wait until the transfer completed in 7-10 days.

#BOYCOTTGODADDY

 

[hwgriffi]

EDIT: Support refused to approve the transfers, stating that expired domains were not eligible for fast transfers... Yes, I tried explaining that I had just done 5 different names yesterday with fast transfer. But support simply said to wait until the transfer completed in 7-10 days.

I would stop talking with support and talk to someone in auctions or premiere services.

Support is barely familiar with how WhoIs works, let alone the complexities of an expired transfer.

Good luck, I know it's stressful when transfers take this long.

 

[equity78]

I had Photographyy.com expire 5/19 and due to nothing but my laziness I did not transfer or renew it, today I requested the auth code moved to Uniregistry and the transfer was complete to Uniregistry in less than 5 minutes.

 

[Joe Styler]

I have first hand experience of GoDaddy lying and stealing domains:

GoDaddy let one of their domains expire. They had 30 days to renew it. They didn't.

I bought it in GoDaddy Auctions.

It arrived in my GoDaddy account. I listed it for sale and changed nameservers. The domain was in my account and 100% under my ownership.

Then, 17 (!) days after the domain was no longer eligible for renewal, somebody from GoDaddy accessed my account without my permission, and transferred the domain out of my account into their own account. They shamelessly stole the domain straight out of my account. They said they accidentally didn't renew the domain. Well it was too late for them to take it back through legitimate means (i.e. renewing), so instead they just went into my account and stole it. They do not respect domain ownership rights whatsoever.

Here is another example of GoDaddy lying and stealing an account out of a domain owner's account a whole two years after he bought it... Your domains are simply not safe at GoDaddy. If they want to take a domain out of your account, they will user whatever made up pretense they feel like to do so.

They lie in other areas too. For example, right now my bank has frozen my bank account for investigation because GoDaddy lied to them regarding the nature of wire for a domain sale (they do this to all international sellers and refuse to send payments with true and accurate payment details for reasons I fail to understand). As GoDaddy falsified the payment details, I've been unable to explain to the bank that it's a legitimate payment... At this point looks like my bank account is going to get terminated because of GoDaddy's lies, and this situation is causing me so many problems right now.

As for the poll above, they've cornered the expired domains pre-release auctions and marketplace-registrar search path sales to such an extent that you simply can't boycott them if you're a full-time domainer. But trust them? Never. They're an untrustworthy company that lies and deceives and show a blatant disregard for their own users.

I let you know that we would be happy to speak with the bank if that helps and also how to show them what you were paid for.
As far as the domain being taken from your account I can look into that if you would like. Taking a name from someone's account is extremely rare and normally only done with a court order or similar governing body with jurisdiction over domains. If that is the case the name would have been taken anywhere it landed even if you moved it. I am happy to take a look at the domain if you want to send it to me.

 

[Joe Styler]

That's new, I've never had this many issues trying to transfer names out. Thanks for the heads up. On the phone with support now trying to resolve it, 40 names have taken 6+ hours of labor to get transferred. The biggest irony is their waiting/hold music on phone support, it's like they're operating in the 1920's and they have to manually transfer calls using a switchboard.

EDIT: Support refused to approve the transfers, stating that expired domains were not eligible for fast transfers... Yes, I tried explaining that I had just done 5 different names yesterday with fast transfer. But support simply said to wait until the transfer completed in 7-10 days.

#BOYCOTTGODADDY

There have been a lot of changes over the past couple weeks as companies around the world scramble to stay in compliance with ICANN and the EU GDPR and protect their customers so domains do not get stolen. The standard way of transferring domains has changed as various companies changed access to the WHOIS in different ways. Company A may show everything for every customer on the WHOIS, Company B may not show anything, Company C may block certain ways of seeing info, etc so that the normal way of getting auth codes and checking the WHOIS contact for approval is not possible in all cases. ICANN came out with an approved solution of using the Auth code only but not all companies have implemented the same processes. Industry wide transfers have changed. We are continuing to work with ICANN, other registrars and industry stakeholders to work on ways to make the transfer process easier and safer while complying with all laws.
You are able to transfer domains away after they expire. Some may take longer than others to move to the new registrar. If any appear stuck we can escalate them and make sure that they are moving as they should. We typically do more transfers in and out than anyone else if you take a look at https://www.DomainState/registrar-stats.html you can track the transfers. We are not stopping people from moving out and are here to help if you have any issues.

 

[Arca]

I let you know that we would be happy to speak with the bank if that helps and also how to show them what you were paid for.

Yes you did, and I thanked you for your offer, but this approach is unfortunately not workable at all in this situation, and it even takes me endless frustrating hours with CS to at best get through to someone vaguely related to my case at the bank. I haven't even been given the name/contact details of whoever is in charge of looking into my account. I'm facing an indifferent corporate black box, and you're telling me that someone from GoDaddy going to call the general CS number of my bank and spend half a day getting through numerous layers of customer support in an attempt to talk to find related to the investigation of my account? As a third party, how would you even be able to reach whoever you need to talk to about my account? Even as the accont owner I'm left in the dark and unable to communicate with them. I think it's safe to say they're not open to phone calls as proof, and that by lying to my bank, GoDaddy simply created an issue that cannot be resolved. They wanted to see proof to confirm the veracity of your payment details. But because the details are false, there just isn't any proof. There is no way getting around that. I have submitted them the screenshots you suggested, but because a check that was supposed to take a few days has been extended to weeks already, I think it's safe to assume that those screenshots were not satisfactory to them...

What would be better than GoDaddy trying to talk to the bank on the phone, is GoDaddy not lying and causing the issue in the first place.

At this point it looks like my account, all all other financial services I have with the bank are going to be terminated as a result of GoDaddy lying to my bank. This has caused me an enormous amount of stress and been a huge waste of time. And what's most disappointing is that you have made it entirely clear that GoDaddy has no intentions of ending their practice of providing fake payment details. So when I eventually get up and running with a new bank, this whole quandary may just repeat itself. All because GoDaddy is set on falsifying payments to international sellers, even though there seems to be no benefit of doing so.

As far as the domain being taken from your account I can look into that if you would like. Taking a name from someone's account is extremely rare and normally only done with a court order or similar governing body with jurisdiction over domains. If that is the case the name would have been taken anywhere it landed even if you moved it. I am happy to take a look at the domain if you want to send it to me.

Whenever I raise a GD issue, you tend to counter that with X being extremely rare at GoDaddy. Yet many of these rare things that 'almost never' happen at GoDaddy (or Afternic) I have experienced personally on multiple occasions. If someone like me with such a small GD portfolio and average buying activity can encounter all these serious issues over and over again, they can't be rare.

As for the domain GoDaddy took from me, you previously confirmed that it was taken from account, and that I will not be getting it back.

There was absolutely no court order or equivalent, it was just a case of GoDaddy doing whatever they please, own terms and conditions be damned:

GoDaddy failed to renew some GoDaddy (NameFind) owned domains. These went through the regular expiry process and sold at GoDaddy Auctions. After the auctions had ended and the domains been delivered to the buyers (I was one of them), GoDaddy decided that they would not take responsibility for letting their domains expire and that they wanted to take the domains back from the new owners. But the GoDaddy system did not allow for these domains to be renewed any more. So instead, someone at GoDaddy accessed my account and initiated a push from my account to GoDaddy's own portfolio account. I did not discover the theft until I got the push confirmation notification by email. All the other new owners of these domains also had them taken from their accounts, and put into the GoDaddy domain portfolio.

I called support and they gave told me a blatant lie about what had happened. You then clarified that what CS told me was not true, and that GoDaddy took back domains that they did not intend to let expire, but that were let to expire. You said GoDaddy absolutely has the right to do so, yet you did not provide where in your terms and conditions this is outlined (and I have not been able to find anything that indicates that GoDaddy was within their right when taking a domain from my account). Could you please point me to where in your terms it says that you can access domain owners accounts' and push domains you let expire back into your own GoDaddy/NameFind portfolio? There seems to be a big conflict of interest here, and GoDaddy does not seem to balance the position as registrar and the position as portfolio owner well, so it would be a useful reference for all reading this to get some clarity, so at least we know what GoDaddy can and can't do when it comes to taking domains from our accounts.

For sure, GoDaddy doesn't need a court order or anything of that nature to take a domain out of our accounts. Just feeling like doing so seems to suffice, at least in my own experience.

Imagine I accidentally let a domain expire. Then, 17 days after it's no longer possible to renew the domain, and the domain had sold at GD Auctions and was in the account of a new owner, I proceeded to log into the new owner's account and push the domain back to myself. Wouldn't that be considered domain theft as the domain had already been under new ownership for some time? Yet GoDaddy had no qualms about going into my account and stealing a domain that was then legally under my ownership.

 

[Joe Styler]

The auctions department or myself can let the bank know what domains those payments were for. If you do not know who to contact at the bank that would make it more difficult. If you can get a contact we can provide them with a break down of the payments. It should be clear from the account sales section what the payments are in reference to. Again on International payments (non US) we use a third party payment company who is contracted to make the payments.

 

[tonyk2000]

You are able to transfer domains away after they expire

Joe, my experience is somewhat more complicated. Earlier this year, I elected to renew/transfer a few domains that were expired on or about the same date. The results were:

1) Domain No 1. Retreived authcode, submitted to gaining registrar, transfer was started on registry level. GoDaddy as losing registrar simply denied the transfer request. Got a refund from the gaining registrar. Repeated a few times. Ended up renewing through GoDaddy and was charged "restoration/redemption fee" - small 2-figures amount, not remember exactly what it was. The relevant fact is that the domain was not in registry redemption yet. So no portion of this extra fee was sent to the registry. Why is this?

2) Domain No 2. All fine, retrieived authcode, transferred away or maybe renewed with no extra redemption fees.

3) Domain No 3. It had somebodys initial $12 bid on expired auctions. The auction was not yet finished. Nothing could be done at least in aspects of transfer-away. I am unsure whether it was possible to renew for an extra redemption fee, as the domain was barely worth regfee for my needs, so did not try to renew.

Joe, in light of the above, can you please clarify what exactly happens and how with exireds transfers in different sceanarios indicated. For the record, from domainers and auctions buyer point of view, I can only appreciate the changes introduced in (3) above, as it is what should have happened, in sense that auctioned expired domain sales _should_ be as "final" as possible with minimal refunds or returns.

 

[mr-x]

I haven't had a problem at GoDaddy that couldn't be sorted out with a little persistence. They email me a dozen times before a domain expires and if I don't renew, they will call me!

If you have a problem loosing domains at GoDaddy, it's probably you're own fault.

Yes, they have a terrible interface, the up-sell is annoying but customer service has improved greatly in the last two years. When I call, chat or email they have solved everyone of my issues.

 

[Joe Styler]

Joe, my experience is somewhat more complicated. Earlier this year, I elected to renew/transfer a few domains that were expired on or about the same date. The results were:

1) Domain No 1. Retreived authcode, submitted to gaining registrar, transfer was started on registry level. GoDaddy as losing registrar simply denied the transfer request. Got a refund from the gaining registrar. Repeated a few times. Ended up renewing through GoDaddy and was charged "restoration/redemption fee" - small 2-figures amount, not remember exactly what it was. The relevant fact is that the domain was not in registry redemption yet. So no portion of this extra fee was sent to the registry. Why is this?

2) Domain No 2. All fine, retrieived authcode, transferred away or maybe renewed with no extra redemption fees.

3) Domain No 3. It had somebodys initial $12 bid on expired auctions. The auction was not yet finished. Nothing could be done at least in aspects of transfer-away. I am unsure whether it was possible to renew for an extra redemption fee, as the domain was barely worth regfee for my needs, so did not try to renew.

Joe, in light of the above, can you please clarify what exactly happens and how with exireds transfers in different sceanarios indicated. For the record, from domainers and auctions buyer point of view, I can only appreciate the changes introduced in (3) above, as it is what should have happened, in sense that auctioned expired domain sales _should_ be as "final" as possible with minimal refunds or returns.

We can't just deny the transfer. There are only a small number of reasons a company can deny a transfer. It is kind of hard to say without the specifics. If there is an error we can fix it if you contact support but transfers out can happen up to day 30 after expiration. The same timeframe holds true of renewals.
If this was before GDPR then it should have went pretty smoothly. After GDPR we have seen some other companies using different transfer rules and sometimes we need to step in but by and large both companies want to get the domain name moved as quickly and easily as possible and will work together to get that done. If you see any issues though the sooner you alert us to them the better so we can have time to work through them before day 30.

 

[tonyk2000]

They email me a dozen times before a domain expires

Yes, sometimes I wish I could opt-out from these emails... for domains that I decided not to renew.
The issue is that expireds renewal/transfers policy is still not 100% clear @ GoDaddy. What if a request or an offer is received from a potential buyer on a domain that is already expired and was not intended to be renewed. A good reason to renew or otherwise restore the domain if it is not yet in pendingdelete status.

 

[mr-x]

Yes, sometimes I wish I could opt-out from these emails... for domains that I decided not to renew.
The issue is that expireds renewal/transfers policy is still not 100% clear @ GoDaddy. What if a request or an offer is received from a potential buyer on a domain that is already expired and was not intended to be renewed. A good reason to renew or otherwise restore the domain if it is not yet in pendingdelete status.

Agreed.

That's a far cry from "stealing" domains. Godaddy adds liquidity and opportunity to the domain market and I'm grateful for it.

 

[Arca]

on International payments (non US) we use a third party payment company who is contracted to make the payments.

Do they specifically require you to falsely label payments to international sellers?

 

[anantj]

It should be clear from the account sales section what the payments are in reference to

I have no skin in the game but I feel for @Arca's predicament. Not only are they being extremely polite and professional but exceptionally patient with Afternic. I quoted the above statement specifically because based on Arca's description, while it *should* be clear, it isn't. For the Bank. Why do you assume that Banks are well versed with this business and also are willing accept a random 3rd party site over the actual payment description as included by the sender of the funds? I use my primary bank account for receiving funds and if my account (including funds) had been blocked for weeks like @Arca's, I'd have lost my shit and flipped.

You keep ignoring the primary issue. I work in the Fintech industry and I can confirm this is, fraudulent, and will run afoul of AML regulations in several countries (mine being one of them). Afternic is, not only, perpetuating a fraud, but also making their customer a party to it. No all countries or all banks in all countries are accommodating or even in mood to listen to such explanations.

 

[anantj]

on International payments (non US) we use a third party payment company who is contracted to make the payments

• Are they the ones who set the description in the payment field or is that decided by Afternic?
• Are you okay with them putting in incorrect/false/fradulent information for the payouts?

 

[Joe Styler]

I have no skin in the game but I feel for @Arca's predicament. Not only are they being extremely polite and professional but exceptionally patient with Afternic. I quoted the above statement specifically because based on Arca's description, while it *should* be clear, it isn't. For the Bank. Why do you assume that Banks are well versed with this business and also are willing accept a random 3rd party site over the actual payment description as included by the sender of the funds? I use my primary bank account for receiving funds and if my account (including funds) had been blocked for weeks like @Arca's, I'd have lost my sh*t and flipped.

You keep ignoring the primary issue. I work in the Fintech industry and I can confirm this is, fraudulent, and will run afoul of AML regulations in several countries (mine being one of them). Afternic is, not only, perpetuating a fraud, but also making their customer a party to it. No all countries or all banks in all countries are accommodating or even in mood to listen to such explanations.

I'm not a lawyer we have lots of them who clear things like this. I can't comment on the law. What I can say is that I personally have said we (even I) would be happy to speak with the bank with Arca on the phone as well with them but have not been taken up on this. I think it can be fixed relatively simply. I can also say that to my knowledge in ten years of being in the Aftermarket Arca is the only one who has reached out about this. I am happy to speak with the bank or send them something on company letterhead if that is what is needed but again, I have not been taken up on this. I have not been given any information about the bank or what reason they are investigating him or what specific evidence he needs of payments from us.

 

[anantj]

What I can say is that I personally have said we (even I) would be happy to speak with the bank with Arca on the phone as well with them but have not been taken up on this. I think it can be fixed relatively simply

From the bank's perspective - who are you? Why should I give a damn about what some random dude in a country which I've probably never visited says is true? What is their incentive in believing you over what they can read and see in the transfer statement?

Let's say @Arca took you up on this offer but the bank refused to accept your explanation. What then? Are you guaranteeing that your speaking to the bank will fix the situation and that it trumps regulations in their country (assuming the account block is due to regulatory reasons). While I do think quite highly of yourself, I think you're offering a solution that does not (and you cannot) guarantee. I can only speak from experience with banks in my country. I can assure you, here, they'd not accept your word.

I have not been given any information about the bank or what reason they are investigating him

Umm, no. @Arca has clearly stated that they came under scrutiny and were at the receiving end of an account block due to them being unable to provide that the funds were from "Advertising revenue" as stated in the transfer comment. Not too hard to understand this.

what specific evidence he needs of payments from us

Accurate comment accompanying the fund transfer? Not sure how much more specific they can get

 

[anantj]

I'm not a lawyer we have lots of them who clear things like this. I can't comment on the law. What I can say is that I personally have said we (even I) would be happy to speak with the bank with Arca on the phone as well with them but have not been taken up on this. I think it can be fixed relatively simply. I can also say that to my knowledge in ten years of being in the Aftermarket Arca is the only one who has reached out about this. I am happy to speak with the bank or send them something on company letterhead if that is what is needed but again, I have not been taken up on this. I have not been given any information about the bank or what reason they are investigating him or what specific evidence he needs of payments from us.

Also, in all of this, you've not once explained (at least to my knowledge. Apologies if you did explain and would appreciate if you could explain again) the absolute need for the misidentification of the funds. What is Afternic's (or your payment processor's) burning need to misidentify the payment? For a second, let's ignore the effort to correct the transfer comment. Why does it need to be "Advertising revenue", which, I think we all can agree on, is inaccurate?