I have been a long time customer of GoDaddy.com for registering my domain names. I have all my domains set to auto-renew on an annual basis. There has never been a problem with this.
One of my domains was set to expire on March 14 and I received notices that it would auto-renew at 90,60 and 30 days out. I thought no more of it as this is the normal procedure. I had another domain set to expire on May 13, again the same procedure. This would be first time renewals on both. I went to look at my May 13 domain's web site on May 21 and was shocked to find a GoDaddy page stating that this domain has expired!
I logged into GoDaddy.com with my user name and password then tried to renew the May 13 domain and was told "This account does not have purchase authority", whatever that means, so I could not renew my domain. For whatever reason, they had two accounts for me, which I've tried to get fixed for over a year. Half of my domains were in one account and half in this one.
I immediately (May 21,7:35 pm PDT) called GoDaddy.com to get this resolved. I spent over an hour on the phone with 3 different people who had no clue whatsoever how to help me. The second one, Corey, finally said they would have to combine the two accounts as the second one was a "child account" that had been set up incorrectly. His exact words. I said I want ONE account with all 11 domains under that number. He said that should be complete within 24 hours and I could renew my domain then.
I went back at looked at the two accounts and my records and noticed that one of my domains (the one from March 14) did not appear under either number. This precipitated my third phone call of the evening. Mr. 3rd Phone Call assures me that it will show up when the two accounts are combined. Not one of the 3 people I've spoken with up to this point can tell me why my domains did not auto-renew as set despite me repeatedly asking them.
The next morning I get an email stating that the May 13 domain has been transferred to the other account. I write back and say they were suppose to combine the two, then they say that will take 5 business days, I write back and say, " that's not what you said on the phone last night." Lo and behold, the accounts are combined within minutes. BUT my March 14 domain is still nowhere to be found.
This starts a whole other exchange. They tell me it is expired and that I can pay them $80.00 to get it back! That's not going to happen. They try to say there was no valid credit card on file which is a bunch of baloney. They never had a problem renewing my domains before. Then try to tell me they sent me notices on March 14, March 19 and March 26. I received NOTHING from them. I would have renewed it, if I had. I find it very odd that I DID NOT receive any notice from them within the last two weeks either when my May 13 domain had the same problem with them not auto-renewing it.
I repeatedly ask that this be turned over to a supervisor or someone in charge as the youngsters I'm dealing with don't know how to think outside of a box. All I get is sorry for the inconvenience and pay the $80.00. I say I will pay the regular renewal fee I should have been charged and no more. They say it will cost them more than that to renew it now and sorry for the inconvenience. NOT my problem!
I want my domain back and at the regular renewal rate as agreed that they were suppose to give me back on March 14. I work in Internet Marketing and am surprised that no one I tell this story to is surprised. Our SEO specialist says they are the worst.
GoDaddy.com should take the millions of dollars they spend on gratuitous Super Bowl ads and invest in Customer Service classes for their employees, especially the ones I had to deal with, Steve, Corey, Mr. Third Phone Call, Levi P., Walter P., Stephanie C., Brian P., Steven C.
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