Is this legal?

[vslevin]

Its embarassing to say, but a few years back, I registered a few domains at Globat. I don't even use those domains anymore, but I guess that they're on auto-renew.

I got this email today, telling me that in a week they were going to be automatically upgrading me to a hosting plan, and charging my credit card $40. I have never used their hosting, nor do I want to use their hosting, nor will I ever use their crappy very-oversold hosting.

The worst part is, I don't think I have checked this email account in a couple of months. I just happened to check it today, and luckily got this message and opted out in time.

Is this legal? I think its very sleazy.

Dear David,

We would like to extend an incredible money-saving offer for
*.com to
thank you for your continued business. In 10 days from this date, we will be
providing you with an upgrade to our new TeraByte Pro(tm) Hosting package at
the low cost of just $39.95!

This amazing promotion is part of our new special upgrade program of hosting
services for our loyal customers. The feedback we received about the upgrade
program has been overwhelming. We heard from many of our customers who learned
about these upgrade promotions too late or through a friend. Many customers then
suggested that we utilize an automatic upgrade process along with some form of
an additional incentive to initiate these upgrades. Well, we have listened to
your feedback and we are ready to act!

= = = Take Your Domain to the Next Level = = =

As our dedicated domain customer, you will be receiving an automatic upgrade to
Globat.com's award-winning hosting services at a highly-discounted price of
only $39.95, instead of $95.40! That breaks down to only $3.33 per month, truly
a
price that won't break the bank!

With the TeraByte Pro package, you get:

- 100 GB of Space
- 1000 GB (1 terabyte) of Bandwidth Transfer/month
- Unlimited E-mails
- Unlimited MySQL Databases
- Host 7 Domains on 1 Account
- Easy Site Builder with Templates
- Video Publishing Software
- Blogging Software
- Photo Album Software
- $50 Yahoo! Search Marketing Credit
- Shopping Cart, SSL and Stats
- Supports CGI, FTP, PHP, Perl
- 2000/2002/2003 FrontPage® Extensions
- World-class 24/7/365 Customer Support

A total value over $95+, yours for only $39.95!

You already have the domain and now we'll help you take it to the next level.
Expand
your possibilities with this unbeatable offer for hosting package your domain.
Go ahead
and build your own blog, sell anything you want online or share your photos,
it's all
there for you to take advantage of!


= = = Important: This Is an Automatic Upgrade = = =

As one of our most valued customers and based on our customer feedback, we are
absolutely
certain that you want to take advantage of this opportunity. For that reason, we
will
automatically upgrade your domain account with a TeraByte Pro hosting package
and charge
only $39.95 for the entire first year of service to your account on file on
Thursday, February 1, 2007,
unless you specifically tell us not to upgrade you by clicking on the link at
the end of
this email. After the first year, your account will renew at our regular rates.

As part of this amazing upgrade, your upgraded account will also qualify for an
additional
3 months of free hosting once the upgrade is complete and you are fully
satisfied with it.

Ok, if you are still not convinced that this is a tremendous opportunity and you
are positive
that you do not want to participate, you need to tell us not to upgrade your
account by
clicking on the link below (if you do not click this link, your account will
automatically be
upgraded and you will be charged the $39.95 one-time upgrade fee):

No, I do NOT want this upgrade and hereby decline this super-discounted hosting
package and
my 3 free months (click below):
https://www.globat.com/*
(If link does not work, please copy and paste the entire link into your
browser.)

Thank you for your continued trust! If you have any additional questions about
these new products,
please contact our Customer Service team at [email protected], or call us at
1-877-245-6228.

Best regards,

Lou Rio
Vice President of Operations
Globat.com
(877) 245-6228 for US Customers
(323) 874-9000 for International Customers

 

[Dave_Z]

Legal? Probably, especially if you did read the fine print, and you agree to all
of them the moment you checked that box beside "I have read the terms and
agree to all of them".

But when it comes to ethics, I find it depends on what side of the fence one
chooses to be on. Take your pick.

If by saying you don't use those domain names anymore, are they registered
to your name up to now? If so, have you tried following Globat's process to
cancel your services with them?

Here's what their link says:

http://www.globat.com/about_us/legal/legal_user.htm

3.2 - This agreement may be terminated by either party at the renewal/anniversary date by giving the other party notice at least 15 days prior to the renewal/anniversary date of the Term (Customers need to use the Cancellation Request Form at https:///order.globat.com/cancel/cancel.cgi), or by Globat in the event of nonpayment by Customer or by Globat, at any time, without notice, if in Globat's sole judgment Customer has in any way breached this Agreement (Termination for Cause).

It's not enough to just send an email saying, "I don't want your services any
longer. Please cancel my account." Some providers do require something like
the one I posted above, and they have every right to do that.

You learn something new every other day, even if it sucks. Learn it well, and
move forward.

 

[vslevin]

Read my post and the email again. What you posted has no relevance to my situation.

 

[Dave_Z]

The first paragraph of my first post gave my answer to your legality question.
I posted the remainder in case something was possibly overlooked, and I have
seen that happen many times.

But I'll keep it more simple next time. Thanks for the reminder. :D

 

[angisson]

http://www.globat.com/about_us/legal/legal_user.htm


4.4

you agreed to it

 

[vslevin]

4.4 - Customer acknowledges that from time to time, but not more than once per calendar quarter Globat may automatically provide Customer with upgrades, new products, and new services that Globat introduces and Customer agrees that Globat may bill Customer for such products and services on the credit card, checking account or other form of payment Customer has provided and that is on file with Globat to pay for ongoing services. Customer understands and agrees that there is no purchase obligation and that Customer will have 30 days after receipt of any new products and services to cancel such additional products or services by opening a Billing Ticket at http://support.globat.com/ticket/ and put 'Cancel Additional Service' in the subject field for a full refund.

Still pretty sleazy. I haven't purchased any domain from a web hosting company in quite some time, and its for reasons like this.

I need to cancel my account so that they don't try to do this to me again.