yandig said:
I had a similar experience with yahoo domains back in 2005. I actually got my money back. Read my blog post
here.
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When all else fails, doing a chargeback is your best option.
Back in 2005, Yahoo! was a much better company, and customer service was pretty good (I didn't know much about domains then, so I had no idea about the transfer deal). It was only in late 2007 that I realized their transfer nightmare. I transferred A LOT of domains out, and had to cancel service for each one individually. After each cancellation, I filled out a block which asked "Why are you leaving?" I answered each one individually with the same paragraph that basically spewed just what I thought.
They are the only company that I know of that requires you to "cancel" your services after transfer and requires you to call before removing your financial information from their system. They seem to keep one "shadow" domain that requires you to call in order to cancel (I have heard this from others as well). Woe be on to you if you forget or can't get through to customer no-service. They'll charge you $34.99 per year for a domain they no longer manage.
Another thing: when I had hosting with them, my domain name was supposed to be included with the monthly hosting fee.
But, no. I was charged $34.99 until 2007 (yes, I know; I should have kept better track of my statements--my bad). When I caught it, the no-customer service rep said, too bad, too late to do anything about it. AFTER I cancelled hosting, I asked why this domain was still $34.99 when the others were $9.99. She said, "This is a BUSINESS domain" (whatever that means). So I said, "Make it a non-business domain." Well, we went around and around about that before that happened. In 2008, I transferred it out.
Even now, I keep a close eye on my cc statements.
Utter and complete thievery and highway robbery.
Yahoo! engages in a money-grabbing, predatory way of doing business; they prey on customers who have no idea how to deal with domains. Just BS. They care nothing about customer service and seem to be proud of their complete arrogance and incompetence. It's no accident that this "company" is in trouble and should be bought out by someone competent. Then the buyer should clean house and hire people who understand customer service and make a point of hiring English-speaking people who understand your questions (even if English is their second language--I have nothing against non-native speakers of English, but Yahoo! tends to hire people who don't understand ANY English).
Their outdated platform ought to be scrapped and rebuilt from bottom up. When I left their hosting (early 2007), they were still using the same site builder that I started with in 2001!
Meanwhile, Yahoo! ought to be reported to every state's Attorney General's Office for scum bag business practices.
Total complete idiots. (And I don't say such things lightly--I'm all for giving companies the benefit of the doubt, but in this case, I don't see much benefit to give.)
Again: if those $1.99 "teaser" domains at Yahoo! tempt you, bear in mind that you WILL pay dearly if you fall for this promotion.
Have a nice day.
8-X
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