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Domain summit 2024

why moniker sucks with auto renewals...and we need to sue it collectively...

VIVIDDOMAIN

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This post is not retributive in any manner. It is just intended to warn domaineers about the fact that sharks exist in this industry as well, and if you dont be careful, you get beaten right and left and gulped very soon.

To Sum Up:
It is about how moniker auto renewed my domains at unexpectedly early date, and refused to revert the sale against my own wishes for renewal.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was moniker customer since last 8 years. I found their domain management quite archaic and holy when they were among the only players in the field. I was their customer for my permanent business domain name and just recently they showed their true colors.

They auto renewed my domains quite before the term end, without any pre-notification, without any policy that backed such renewals!

Last year they sold new TLDs for dirt cheap 1 USD per year and for the sake of trying I purchased 25 domains for 1 USD each. I am not a regular into this business but found really good names - personalized ones and was feeling lucky.

6 months down the line I was free from my business and wanted to try my luck. Asked snapnames to auction them, and they denied up front. Then I came to know that moniker snapnames relationship had come to an end.

It was then that I also realized there was no market for my purchased TLDs and I really thought I should get rid of them. But I had faith in moniker who once partnered with sellers and brokers. So I decided to ask them out.

When I tried logging it, their system kept throwing me out with all the password reset done correctly. At first attempt I could not login at all.

Then, 1 month before expiration I received domain expiration reminder. It was
15 days passed, and I received memo from my credit card about USD 129 charge. I spent 3 hours logging into moniker system and saved my other 12 domains from renewing. I then requested them gently to reverse the transaction because
  • There was still 12 days pending in the 1st year subscription end - renewal was not really due
  • I did not forget about renewal or cancellation but I was under consideration phase for renewal.
To which, they started slapping their policy phrases (wish I could attach pictures of my email but dnforum doesnt allow direct upload...)

A manager has reviewed your escalation request, and reiterates that we will not be able to fulfill your request.
As previously indicated to you, Moniker maintains a No-Refund policy.
All fees are due immediately and are non-refundable—including any fees used to pre-fund your account or otherwise prepaid by you—even if your Services are suspended, terminated, or transferred prior to the end of the Services term.
You further agree you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid to Moniker if, for any reason, Moniker takes corrective action with respect to your improper or illegal use of its Services.
Our policies regarding refunds can be found on our Registration Agreement.
http://moniker.com/legal/registration-agreement
none of which were related to the point that their auto renewal was unwarranted, and happened at a time undefined in their own renewal policy.

Incidentally, none of their policy mentions about auto-renewal word, as evident from the text.

Another gem:

Hello,
We have responded to your questions regarding the renewal/deletion process. It is unfortunate that you did not turn off auto renew before the domains were auto renewed. It is your responsibility to ensure that you pay attention to your domains. Please refer to the Moniker registration agreements if you have further concerns. Thanks again for your patronage.
Best regards,
Your Team @ Moniker.com
Moniker Online Services, LLC
1245 S Powerline Rd, # 293
Pompano Beach, FL 33069
Phone:
Toll-free in the U.S. and Canada: 1-800-688-6311
International: 1-954-607-1294
Fax: 954-861-3503

[format=h2]Finally, the height of lies:[/format]

Hello,
Please refer to http://wiki.moniker.com/index.php/Faq:autorenew which is found on the FAQ link at Moniker.com that explains when auto renew takes effect. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best regards,
Your Team @ Moniker.com
Moniker Online Services, LLC
1245 S Powerline Rd, # 293
Pompano Beach, FL 33069
Phone:
Toll-free in the U.S. and Canada: 1-800-688-6311
International: 1-954-607-1294
Fax: 954-861-3503

The link in the text mentions about
  • one reminder before 7 days, which was never delivered,
  • invoice before 10 days of expiration, which was delivered 13 days in advance, on a Saturday morning.
When I brought the issue to customer care it was Monday morning so obviously no domain renewal had happened from moniker side, yet they flatly denied renewal cancellation and forced me into auto renewal!

I kept mentioning them, in my most clear and concise way, that:

You keep citing the policy again and again, but here is something you should look at:
Attached is your renewal policy PDF, see the areas marked by me.
It clearly says that there will be one notification email 7 days before expiration. No such email was provided to me. Last email I have for expiring domains is dated 30th May 2016.
There is no mention of
- what is your notification policy about auto renewal
- when exactly do you auto renew
- despite the fact that auto renewal is the default without customers marking them exclusively
(now now do not please create a policy page for the sake of my dispute!)
So in essence, auto renewal is not enabled by customers by default, yet they receive no prior notice about auto renewal. This is in pure contrast with the hosting services, in which we get 75 days prior notice, and other reminders too, before it is automatically renewed.
You are right that I forgot to turn off auto renew option, but matter of the fact is that:
I have not completed my first year subscription yet, and so I have complete rights to renew, not renew, and decide whether to keep auto-renew OFF or ON, while my subscription period is ON.
If you decide it beforehand, it is your duty to notify me in much more approachable manner.
THIS IS CLEAR VIOLATION OF MY RIGHTS TO HANDLE MY OWN DOMAINS DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF SUBSCRIPTION WHICH I PURCHASED WILLINGLY.

The response was standard text:

Hello,
We've already explained that there will be no refund for the auto renewals that took place. We can continue to reiterate that if you prefer.
Best regards,
Your Team @ Moniker.com

Slap on the face. End of discussion. I was losing more energy than the entire worth of forced domain subscription sale. Period.

[format=h1]Key takeaways:[/format]

  • Never buy domains from moniker. If you are already their customer, DO NOT RENEW. Get your domains transferred. Bigger the portfolio, bigger is your loss and their gain. You want to do your business, and not keep looking over your shoulders when your registrar might cheat on you.
  • Auto renewal is a system of cheating customers - especially when there are no set dates for auto renewals in registrar policies.
  • Auto renewals suck because you never know they are enabled BY DEFAULT! They are deliberately KEPT ON by crooks such as MONIKER.COM.
  • Auto renewals DO NOT SUCK when done rightly, like it is done by all streaming services free trials such as amazon, netflix etc. They warn their customers right after purchase about their trial and subscription expiration, and also remind them about the same. If the intent is honest, it shows.
  • If someone is willing to bring CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against CROOKS IN DOMAIN INDUSTRY, especially moniker, I am all ears, and willing to support it.
ATTACHMENT:

Moniker's renewal policy, my failed attempt to convince them about truthfulness of my claim, printed as on 21st June. But they turned deaf ears to my reasoning and took my money before renewing my subscription, against my wishes and cancellation requests.
 

Attachments

  • Renewal, Deletion & Recovery Info - Moniker.pdf
    328.4 KB · Views: 0
Domain summit 2024

AXN

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Joined
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Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
This post is not retributive in any manner. It is just intended to warn domaineers about the fact that sharks exist in this industry as well, and if you dont be careful, you get beaten right and left and gulped very soon.

To Sum Up:
It is about how moniker auto renewed my domains at unexpectedly early date, and refused to revert the sale against my own wishes for renewal.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was moniker customer since last 8 years. I found their domain management quite archaic and holy when they were among the only players in the field. I was their customer for my permanent business domain name and just recently they showed their true colors.

They auto renewed my domains quite before the term end, without any pre-notification, without any policy that backed such renewals!

Last year they sold new TLDs for dirt cheap 1 USD per year and for the sake of trying I purchased 25 domains for 1 USD each. I am not a regular into this business but found really good names - personalized ones and was feeling lucky.

6 months down the line I was free from my business and wanted to try my luck. Asked snapnames to auction them, and they denied up front. Then I came to know that moniker snapnames relationship had come to an end.

It was then that I also realized there was no market for my purchased TLDs and I really thought I should get rid of them. But I had faith in moniker who once partnered with sellers and brokers. So I decided to ask them out.

When I tried logging it, their system kept throwing me out with all the password reset done correctly. At first attempt I could not login at all.

Then, 1 month before expiration I received domain expiration reminder. It was
15 days passed, and I received memo from my credit card about USD 129 charge. I spent 3 hours logging into moniker system and saved my other 12 domains from renewing. I then requested them gently to reverse the transaction because
  • There was still 12 days pending in the 1st year subscription end - renewal was not really due
  • I did not forget about renewal or cancellation but I was under consideration phase for renewal.
To which, they started slapping their policy phrases (wish I could attach pictures of my email but dnforum doesnt allow direct upload...)



Incidentally, none of their policy mentions about auto-renewal word, as evident from the text.

Another gem:



[format=h2]Finally, the height of lies:[/format]



The link in the text mentions about
  • one reminder before 7 days, which was never delivered,
  • invoice before 10 days of expiration, which was delivered 13 days in advance, on a Saturday morning.
When I brought the issue to customer care it was Monday morning so obviously no domain renewal had happened from moniker side, yet they flatly denied renewal cancellation and forced me into auto renewal!

I kept mentioning them, in my most clear and concise way, that:



The response was standard text:



Slap on the face. End of discussion. I was losing more energy than the entire worth of forced domain subscription sale. Period.

[format=h1]Key takeaways:[/format]

  • Never buy domains from moniker. If you are already their customer, DO NOT RENEW. Get your domains transferred. Bigger the portfolio, bigger is your loss and their gain. You want to do your business, and not keep looking over your shoulders when your registrar might cheat on you.
  • Auto renewal is a system of cheating customers - especially when there are no set dates for auto renewals in registrar policies.
  • Auto renewals suck because you never know they are enabled BY DEFAULT! They are deliberately KEPT ON by crooks such as MONIKER.COM.
  • Auto renewals DO NOT SUCK when done rightly, like it is done by all streaming services free trials such as amazon, netflix etc. They warn their customers right after purchase about their trial and subscription expiration, and also remind them about the same. If the intent is honest, it shows.
  • If someone is willing to bring CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against CROOKS IN DOMAIN INDUSTRY, especially moniker, I am all ears, and willing to support it.
ATTACHMENT:

Moniker's renewal policy, my failed attempt to convince them about truthfulness of my claim, printed as on 21st June. But they turned deaf ears to my reasoning and took my money before renewing my subscription, against my wishes and cancellation requests.

Good to know and thanks for the share. Luckily I am with real registrar (fabulous), with out any glitch for past 18 years.......
 

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