Why you should never register a domain with GoDaddy

GoDaddy is one of those companies based in the United States that borders along the lines of a criminal enterprise. Many of the things GoDaddy does make you wonder how the company is still allowed to operate. From the way GoDaddy treats their employees to the way GoDaddy treats their customers it is astonishing that GoDaddy has been able to do the things they have been doing for so long. GoDaddy has been sued more times than anyone can imagine for things like cyber squatting, false advertising (in particular: illegal charges for something they claim is free), domain name status registration, illegal charges in general (in particular: After failing to give customers proper notice that their domain name has expired, GoDaddy then forces customers to pay this extra $80 fee to get their domain name back), violating their guarantee, illicit wage theft scheme (filed by a former employee), nickel-and-dimming employees, and so much more.

RELATED: Beware of the $50 “Domains By Proxy” Scam

GoDaddy is not a safe place to register or host your domain. There are various legitimate reasons why you should never register a domain with GoDaddy. If you do have a domain registered with GoDaddy you should immediately transfer it to another registrar. Google Domains is a great choice as a domain registrar if you are looking to get away from GoDaddy and they offer free domain privacy registration (like many other registrars do). Google Domains is also relatively inexpensive and easy to use as a domain registrar. The point is: Get your domain names as far away from GoDaddy and Domains By Proxy as you can!

Reasons why you should never register a domain with GoDaddy

• GoDaddy essentially owns your domain and can do whatever they want with it at anytime and for any reason. GoDaddy can cancel your domain at anytime and control the content on your website.
• GoDaddy can control your bank account or PayPal account that you have connected to your GoDaddy account. GoDaddy can charge you for any purpose at anytime as outlined in their 31,000+ word service agreement (they have been sued for this before). If you file a dispute or claim against the charge from GoDaddy they will cancel your domain’s registration and any other service you purchased from them, which leaves you in the dust.

• All the payments you make to GoDaddy are considered non-refundable. Let’s say you purchase domain registration for 5 years with privacy from Domains By proxy and hosting for the same amount of time and GoDaddy decides to cancel your services after 1 day. You will not be able to acquire a refund from GoDaddy. In fact, asking GoDaddy for a refund is seen as a form of harassment or a threat as reported by GoDaddy employees.
• Once GoDaddy has cancelled your domain name’s registration they will lock you out of your account and will ensure that you cannot speak to any of their employees aside from the employees who work in the office of the CEO. This means that you cannot gather information you may need to move your domains or cancel payments. If you are locked out of your GoDaddy account and have received authorization codes for a transfer and follow through with the transfer they can still charge you for domain registration because you were never able to access your account to cancel the payment.
• If GoDaddy or Domains By Proxy receives a legal complaint about your website (even if it is hosted elsewhere) they will charge you a minimum $50 administrative fee. The legal complaint doesn’t even have to be true. It can be patently fake and complain about websites that you do not own or associate with.
• If you try to transfer your domain name away from GoDaddy to a new registrar they will procrastinate and take much longer than the usual amount of days, which is typically 5. It can take a month or even more to transfer your domain name away from GoDaddy. In the meantime, GoDaddy can still charge you for any reason.
• If you have purchased private registration from Domains By Proxy through GoDaddy they have the right to hand out your personal information to anyone who asks or makes false threats. Even if you cancel your service with Domains By Proxy they can still hand out your information as outlined in their 31,000+ word service agreement. It doesn’t matter if you are no longer a customer and registered and protected elsewhere.
• Customers have complained about a decrease in their web traffic after complaining to the company. Some users claim their traffic immediately when down by 80%. This is mostly linked to complaints to Domains By Proxy and it has been found that links to and from DBP may be seen as spam by Google which can cause your website to lose rank.

In conclusion, if your domain is registered with GoDaddy you should leave them now! Don’t become another victim and hesitate to transfer your domain name away from GoDaddy before it’s too late. If your livelihood depends on your domain name(s) you are putting your life at risk by staying with GoDaddy.

http://www.hattislaw.com/cases/godaddy-class-action-lawsuit-80-dollar-redemption-fee-to-renew-domain-name/

http://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/1716-godaddy-domain-registration-class-action-lawsuit/

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/techflash/2014/06/former-godaddy-employee-suing-company-claiming.html

http://www.abestweb.com/forums/showthread.php?124367-GoDaddy-com-Unethical-Practice-Class-Action-Law-suite

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/76907.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/21/go_daddy_class_action_suit/

http://domainnamewire.com/2012/09/20/class-action-lawsuit-filed-over-go-daddy-downtime/

http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1257&context=historical