Godaddy Nightmare......

22 replies
Just looking for some thoughts and advice here.......I have a Reseller Hosting package with Hostgator for my sites (approx 80) which is great, no problem, and their support is always helpful and knowledgeable.

But my domains are registered with Godaddy....... My hosting account was subjected to a sophisticated attack of malware / phishing about 2 weeks ago, several sites affected. Hostgator were fantastic and couldn't do more to get it sorted, but I got a gobbledygook email from Godaddy suspending my domain (redirecting the nameservers to some rubbish address) and basically telling me I was a criminal.
The email read as if it was compiled by a robot, and I never managed to get a normal response from any real person with a name, added to which Godaddy responses to emails are incredibly slow. Eventually, with Hostgators support, that domain name was restored and the site is fully functional again with additional security added to the hosting.

Yesterday Godaddy started their nonsense again, this time they announced that my contact information was "invalid" and they made threats to snatch the domain name permanently and deny me access to it, and also debited a punishment charge of $12.99 to my credit card for this "misdemeanour". Thing is, the domain has been registered for 9 months and its always been correct - when I checked it on Godaddy yesterday it seems that their system dropped the international dialling code off the phone number for some reason - not me - I haven't accessed it since I bought it and changed the nameservers.

I have around 100+ domains registered with Godaddy as registrar - is it advisable to move them elsewhere, Namecheap or Name.com or similar? Or is this behaviour just to be expected from Godaddy? Are all domain registrars similarly unpleasant to customers?

I contacted them several times and got very robotic responses just telling me how everything in the world was actually my fault and my responsibility. I eventually managed to get the drone to escalate the issue and a "manager" responded - stated I had "corrected" the "invalid" details which were entirely my problem (yeah, but they WERE correct and your system dropped the international dialling code off the details. Not me. I don't check the domain details for each 100+ domain every day. Or even a few times a day. But they would refund the punishment charge as a "goodwill gesture" .

I am really unhappy with the very shoddy excuse for customer service and would love to move registrars except I think it will cost a small fortune.

Is it a good idea to trasfer the domains away from Godaddy? They seem quite crooked and unscrupulous in the cavalier way they grab your sites, domains and money.For instance, the site they claimed had a phishing page didn't - they based that on a "report" from unverified sources and no-one found any problem with the site when it was checked. Still took a week to get it working and unrestricted and lots of accusations from them as to my "criminal behaviour" which they certainly could not prove!!!

I would like to get all my business away from these shysters.

EDIT: Just to clarify, the malware issues were all sorted with Hostgators help, the site they claimed had a phishing site attached to it actually was perfectly clean with no problems. The domains for the malware sites were not affected, but the one they claimed was phishing, was suspended.
#godaddy #nightmare
  • Profile picture of the author bsmith
    This is an all-to-common tale about GoDaddy. Where there's this much smoke, I think there must be a fire....

    I would move everything from them I could.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972086].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
    I would also suggest that you move everything away from them. This is common with the big corporate service providers..everything is the customers fault.
    Signature

    |~| VeeroTech Hosting - sales @ veerotech.net
    |~| High Performance CloudLinux & LiteSpeed Powered Web Hosting
    |~| cPanel & WHM - Softaculous - Website Builder - R1Soft - SpamExperts
    |~| Visit us @veerotech Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972186].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author webdesignnomad
    Hey Condor,
    Ugh, it seems like more are being affected.
    I too, have many websites hosted with GoDaddy, and I agree it's a complete nightmare, the customer service is terrible. I will be migrating to another provider as soon as possible, and I highly advise you do the same. I have a lot riding on my websites, and after the massive crash a few days ago, and as I am making over $450 I simply cannot risk going offline again. I've got an eBook in my signature free for all Warriors to download if you'd like to move away from websites and start making money with YouTube like I now do.
    All the best, I hope the malware issue clears up.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972279].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kimkitch
    I too had my hostgator account hacked recently and again Hostgator were great in resetting things back to normal for me. I too have had trouble with Go Daddy in the past and have moved all of my domains to Namecheap. Since the move I have not had one problem with any of my domains.

    Regards

    Kim
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972314].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I had over 300 domains registered with Godaddy. I went through them and decided which ones I was going to let expire. I kept them with Godaddy. I transferred all others out to Namecheap. Finally, all the domains in Godaddy that I had there are now expired and I am Godaddy Free! I'm really glad I made the move. The more I hear about the company, the more evil it seems.

    Move to Namecheap. You won't regret it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972365].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Nics
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I had over 300 domains registered with Godaddy. I went through them and decided which ones I was going to let expire. I kept them with Godaddy. I transferred all others out to Namecheap. Finally, all the domains in Godaddy that I had there are now expired and I am Godaddy Free! I'm really glad I made the move. The more I hear about the company, the more evil it seems.

      Move to Namecheap. You won't regret it.
      I'm in the process of doing this. GoDaddy is a mess and I hate their advertising as well.

      It's a pretty easy transtion. Just follow these steps.

      Godaddy to Namecheap transfer
      Signature
      List Building Demystified --> http://internetpoweredincome.com
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972490].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author aboss3
    a couple of days ago godaddy was hacked. affected me too unfortunately
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972423].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author azmanar
    Hi,

    Seems the GoDaddy hype I used to hear is fading away afterall.
    Signature
    === >>> Tomorrow Should Be Better Than Today

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972448].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DWolfe

    I would do what Suzanne did. Contact Namecheap (Cheap Domain Names Registration, Domain Transfer, SSL Certificates, Free DNS, Privacy Protection • Namecheap.com) transfer your money sites there. Let the domains you no longer want expire on godaddy. If you need help with the re-direcet on name severs,contact Namecheap they will walk you thru the steps.

    You won't have to worry about being held hostage with godaddy!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972450].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WraithSarko
    godaddy and nightmare are synonyms

    oh yeah , if u are gonna transfer make sure to look for one of them spiffy discount coupons
    Signature
    SuperExpensiveNUKE...SubmitterEnvyNUKE...SENukeXCRaptastic
    I've spent the last 59 months building 412 MFA sites. Each site averages 8 cents per day...I said average, some make up to 17 cents per day, PASSIVE INCOME! This income allows me to live comfortably and buy ANY flavor Jolly Rancher or Skittles I desire. Don't give in to fear, it CAN be done!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972508].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Nics
      Originally Posted by WraithSarko View Post

      godaddy and nightmare are synonyms

      oh yeah , if u are gonna transfer make sure to look for one of them spiffy discount coupons
      Transfers to Namecheap are free but you do have to renew registration for one year. I think you will get free WhoisGuard for one year if I remember correctly. If not you can get it for $0.99.
      Signature
      List Building Demystified --> http://internetpoweredincome.com
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972550].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
        Originally Posted by Nics View Post

        Transfers to Namecheap are free but you do have to renew registration for one year.
        It's not free. You're paying for a renewal no matter where you transfer it to. When you transfer a domain, you pay a fee unless it's with the same registrar from account to account.
        Signature

        |~| VeeroTech Hosting - sales @ veerotech.net
        |~| High Performance CloudLinux & LiteSpeed Powered Web Hosting
        |~| cPanel & WHM - Softaculous - Website Builder - R1Soft - SpamExperts
        |~| Visit us @veerotech Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972674].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Walter Parrish
          <-- sounding like grandpa lol

          I guess you will listen the next time I say stay away from godaddy!!!

          I recommend:
          Hostgator if you are just looking for a small account resller maybe vps

          Knownhost if you are looking for something larger vps+, semi dedicated etc, btw they have me spoiled with their 5 min wait customer support and they work with 3rd party.

          For domain registration
          Tadah
          Namecheap.com

          If you have a ton of domains go with Enom btw in case you didn't know namecheap.com also uses Enom.

          Whatever you do I recommend staying away from Godaddy.
          Signature
          Use Feeder Sites, Articles, And Social Media Sites To Generate Unstoppable Traffic, FREE! Click Here Now To Get It For FREE
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972727].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Nics
          Originally Posted by Kingfish85 View Post

          It's not free. You're paying for a renewal no matter where you transfer it to. When you transfer a domain, you pay a fee unless it's with the same registrar from account to account.
          Hello... that's what I said. There is no fee for the transfer but you pay for an additioinal year of registration at the time of transfer. You would have to pay for another year eventually anyway if you stayed with Godaddy. So the transfer is in fact free and it's the renewal that you pay for.
          Signature
          List Building Demystified --> http://internetpoweredincome.com
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972885].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    You should switch over to something like Yahoo Webhosting.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972741].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Chris Silvey
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      You should switch over to something like Yahoo Webhosting.
      Thanks Randall, now I am going to have nightmares.
      Signature
      WP Animate - Increases Conversions & Clicks!
      Create Amazing CSS3 Animations in just a few Clicks - New!

      WPHeadline.net - Create Blazing Headlines in just a few clicks. Updated to WordPress 4.1.1
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6973771].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author azmanar
        Originally Posted by Chris Silvey View Post

        Thanks Randall, now I am going to have nightmares.
        Hi,

        I once warned about how John Chow, the blogger, lost his main domain for some days for the same reason as the OP. His city address Richmond was missing an "R" and GoDaddy brought his domain down.

        Here's the link : GoDaddy Is On My Shit List

        And that was in December 2010, almost 2 years ago.

        So whatever GoDaddy has been doing isn't new. And there are many other cases.

        Even if you opt for Namecheap, it is better to put half of your other domains on an alternative registrar.

        The same goes for hosting your sites. Have at least 2 different providers or more.

        There are 2 points here I want to share:
        => Stay clear from herd mentality and hype, you'd be safe.
        => Never put everything in the same basket, you'd be safe as well.

        2 cents.
        Signature
        === >>> Tomorrow Should Be Better Than Today

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6979083].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AF54
    thank you for this post , it is a bit of an eye opener, didn't know these things happened. Will keep this in mind.
    Signature

    visit us at holidayhotelbooking for your travel bookings.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972979].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SandraLarkin
    Banned
    MOVE THEM. Godaddy is, and always has been borderline criminal in dealing with domains.

    Hostgator is easily the best host.

    I use luckyregister for domains.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6972991].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Maui Joe
    Namecheap.com or Internet.bs or go home.

    The only thing I use godaddy for is auctions. And when I get something I immediately transfer it out.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6973007].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author The Real Deal
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      The more I hear about the company, the more evil it seems.
      I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with this. Seldom have I experienced a more arrogant company with complete disregard for their customers needs, (hmm, Paypal perhaps? :rolleyes.

      Your domain name is your most valuable asset. A hacker can take down your site temporarily but if you lose your domain that you have spent years building up a brand on you have lost it all.

      Don't entrust your most valuable asset with a company like Godaddy just to save a few bucks...it's just not worth it.

      I once had my Godaddy account hacked and several domains stolen. Although I got most of them back in the end, Godaddy were incredibly unhelpful in getting them back.

      I would strongly recommend that you keep any valuable domains with a reputable registrar that offers an executive lock-down function, so that even if your account gets hacked they can't steal your domains.

      Besides, do you really want to do business with a company who's CEO takes joy in killing elephants?

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6973629].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author onegoodman
    ouch. I am having most of my domain with GoDaddy and was considering moving the rest from name.com (they are terrible with notifications I lost many domains because they never notified me a domain is going to expire).

    I have a bad image about namecheap from what I hear they would do what it takes to let a profitable domain expire and take it over
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6973768].message }}

Trending Topics