Complaint Review: Godaddy - Godaddy.com - Internet

GoDaddy's copyright complaint dept. is unreachable by phone, very slow, arrogant (as is the company in its TOS) and too big to care.  They will destroy everything based on an unsubstantiated complaint with no backup of your files.  When asked, the refused to provide the name of their attorney, where the office of their president (CEO) was located, or who the designated/authorized corporate agent was.  They reserve the right to take punitive fees from your credit card without your consent.  They will not refund your money despite deceptive business practices on their part.  They pursue a ham handed bull-in-the-china-shop approach...because they can!  They're a classic example of how arrogant a company (e.g. Google) can become from growing too big/fat.  While they're tech support dept. is decent, if you have any kind of legal dispute with a 3rd party, forget about reaching anyone willing to help at GoDaddy.

I have noticed that many social networking sites send me invitations from people I know to join their network. I have never opted into their list. Where does this fall?

I appreciate the tip that somewhere hidden in their control panel you can opt out. However, I want to be clear that I did not opt in, in the first place. I specifically did not check the boxes where they asked if they could contact me. And I definitely NEVER got a confirmation email sent to me saying that I had joined their newsletter. In other words, it would be difficult to say that I had opted in, even under the most liberal of definitions. Yet, I still get their newsletters from the CEO on a regular basis. Good to know I can opt out, but why should I have to do that, since I never opted in, in the first place. The obvious conclusion is that Godaddy could care less about stopping spam. What they do care about is another opportunity to charge their customers an additional fee. $$$ ka-ching!!

I have a few domains with them. Unlike the prior person who reported getting spam, I understand that buried deep inside your profile, you can customize how and when GoDaddy can contact you. I do get their monthly newsletters and special offers. I OPTED IN. HOWEVER! In my profile for each domain, I specifically indicate I prefer EMAIL correspondence ONLY. And I own and paid for PRIVACY for each domain. Yet, when I decided to give their little $3 hosting a spin, Jacob N. Nojoumi found it perfectly appropriate to leave messages on my family phone (which I do NOT want anyone to call) and then sent me follow up emails saying, "Hello, I tried calling and left a message. Let me tell you more about our hosting, etc etc etc." So I promptly canceled my cheap little hosting based on this. In the post-survey they sent, I told them why I canceled and openly wondered if they would contact me (after indicating they can contact me regarding my survey results). Of course, NO ONE DID. GoDaddy is hard on everyone but themselves. PRIVACY to them means they get to use our whois as their own personal Rolodex. Is that was protecting your business from irresponsibility is all about? I'd like to know how I can collect the $199 due to ME.

I have a few domains with them. Unlike the prior person who reported getting spam, I understand that buried deep inside your profile, you can customize how and when GoDaddy can contact you. I do get their monthly newsletters and special offers. I OPTED IN. HOWEVER! In my profile for each domain, I specifically indicate I prefer EMAIL correspondence ONLY. And I own and paid for PRIVACY for each domain. Yet, when I decided to give their little $3 hosting a spin, Jacob N. Nojoumi found it perfectly appropriate to leave messages on my family phone (which I do NOT want anyone to call) and then sent me follow up emails saying, "Hello, I tried calling and left a message. Let me tell you more about our hosting, etc etc etc." So I promptly canceled my cheap little hosting based on this. In the post-survey they sent, I told them why I canceled and openly wondered if they would contact me (after indicating they can contact me regarding my survey results). Of course, NO ONE DID. GoDaddy is hard on everyone but themselves. PRIVACY to them means they get to use our whois as their own personal Rolodex. Is that was protecting your business from irresponsibility is all about? I'd like to know how I can collect the $199 due to ME.

I have a few domains with them. Unlike the prior person who reported getting spam, I understand that buried deep inside your profile, you can customize how and when GoDaddy can contact you. I do get their monthly newsletters and special offers. I OPTED IN. HOWEVER! In my profile for each domain, I specifically indicate I prefer EMAIL correspondence ONLY. And I own and paid for PRIVACY for each domain. Yet, when I decided to give their little $3 hosting a spin, Jacob N. Nojoumi found it perfectly appropriate to leave messages on my family phone (which I do NOT want anyone to call) and then sent me follow up emails saying, "Hello, I tried calling and left a message. Let me tell you more about our hosting, etc etc etc." So I promptly canceled my cheap little hosting based on this. In the post-survey they sent, I told them why I canceled and openly wondered if they would contact me (after indicating they can contact me regarding my survey results). Of course, NO ONE DID. GoDaddy is hard on everyone but themselves. PRIVACY to them means they get to use our whois as their own personal Rolodex. Is that was protecting your business from irresponsibility is all about? I'd like to know how I can collect the $199 due to ME.

I have a few domains with them. Unlike the prior person who reported getting spam, I understand that buried deep inside your profile, you can customize how and when GoDaddy can contact you. I do get their monthly newsletters and special offers. I OPTED IN. HOWEVER! In my profile for each domain, I specifically indicate I prefer EMAIL correspondence ONLY. And I own and paid for PRIVACY for each domain. Yet, when I decided to give their little $3 hosting a spin, Jacob N. Nojoumi found it perfectly appropriate to leave messages on my family phone (which I do NOT want anyone to call) and then sent me follow up emails saying, "Hello, I tried calling and left a message. Let me tell you more about our hosting, etc etc etc." So I promptly canceled my cheap little hosting based on this. In the post-survey they sent, I told them why I canceled and openly wondered if they would contact me (after indicating they can contact me regarding my survey results). Of course, NO ONE DID. GoDaddy is hard on everyone but themselves. PRIVACY to them means they get to use our whois as their own personal Rolodex. Is that was protecting your business from irresponsibility is all about? I'd like to know how I can collect the $199 due to ME.

Here is what I would like to know. Why is it that I get more spam from GoDaddy than from anyone else? If I register a domain at godaddy I am then inundated with endless emails in my inbox. Monthly newsletters, quarterly newsletters, warnings every other day that my domain expires in 237 days. I never received a confirmation letter stating that I am now part of godaddy's email of the day club. GoDaddy deserves to be on blocklists. In all fairness, they are among the worst violators of their policy.

Blaming GoDaddy.com for your problem and going elsewhere will not prevent you from having problems in the future. I recommend that you (and anyone else with a mailing list) accept the suggestion to make your list a verifiable opt-in system to prevent issues in the future. I have been a customer of GoDaddy.com for several years now. Every time i've encountered an issue, I have called, e-mailed or chatted online with an employee and they resolved it. I agree that being tough on spam is helping their business reading about your experience makes me even happier to be their customer.

I'm wondering--for those of you who are supporting Godaddy's tough stance on spam--why aren't YOU using them as your service provider? Part of my problem with Godaddy wasn't just WHAT they did, but how they did it, and how they treated me personally, as a loyal customer and a human being. ...and, "clinton" (see above) seemed confused as to why I called (at his invitation) on MY dime (again-4th time) when he asked me to do so by leaving a message on my answering machine as well as here. When I tried to explain that part of my distress with goddady was their treatment of me, he seemed disinterested. He "invited" me to send a letter (as if everything I've done wasn't enough). I'm done with this. I will move everything from Godaddy as soon as I can recover from the time they had me waste on this. I suggest all of you who believe they treated me fairly, sign up. Those who think they've been over the top, consider my story as it can definitely happen to you. It takes guts to put yourself out on a public forum. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't felt justified. Thank you all for your comments.

Upon further review of your issue with our abuse department we have come to the following conclusions and would like to share our thoughts with you. We do apologize for any misunderstanding caused by the situation. Your mailing did generate multiple complaints; one possibility for this is that the email contacts that you send to are not put through a confirmation process. We make every effort to help customers in your situation understand what caused the issue and what can be done to avoid any future occurrences. We do realize that you did not send these emails with malicious intent and we hoped, through the phone conversations with our Abuse Department, that we would be able to help you gain a better understanding of the situation Though we do have an abuse fee in place, this fee is not meant to wash away crimes. Our primary concern is developing a strong understanding of our policies and a desire to adhere to those policies in the future. This fee exists to compensate GoDaddy for the costs that are associated with a spam complaint against one of our customers. We do require that our customers who engage in email marketing or soliciting be able to provide proof of confirmation and prior consent for anyone to whom they send a solicitation. An emailed confirmation message that does not contain any solicitation would be an excellent way of obtaining this consent. Extra care is required from a person or business that takes part in the highly scrutinized area of email marketing. Using a free tool to send email, without a firm understanding of what it does on your behalf, is not recommended. Please accept our assurances that we would not make intentional efforts to harm you or your business. Our time spent with you on the phone was made in an effort to explain how to bring your site back online and how to avoid any such issues in the future. If you have any further questions about our Anti-Spam Policy, it is available on our website. You may also contact us via email at [email protected] Kindest Regards, Clinton Fields Office of the President GoDaddy.com [email protected] (480) 505-8828 Phone

I figure that's where you got bit. Anyone can fill out a freedback form with any information, whether it's them or not. I could go to your site right now, and submit 50 people to the 'mailing list', all of whom would be correct in reporting you for spamming. After all, they didn't sign up, but you're sending them mail. Secure is confirmed opt-in, where a name is put into the database, an e-mail is sent to them to confirm that they signed up, and no other mail is sent until and unless they click a unique link provided in the e-mail. (Normally referred to as double opt-in) Freedback isn't intended to be used as a mailing list anyway, which is why it is not secure. I'm not totally familiar with mailing lists, never had the need to use one, but I believe Majordomo is a pretty good and secure one for Linux... Not sure about if it works for Windows. And yes... GoDaddy is probably the best registrar for dealing with Spam. They have a Spam policy with teeth and they enforce it. They will even suspend/cancel spamvertized domains, so you don't have to actually send the spam from their servers, or be hosted on their servers for your domain to be suspended.

Way to go, GoDaddy... actually enforce your TOS. You will be hearing from me next spring when I move my domain from the old folks who still charge $35 a year.

Dear Alison, We appreciate very much your concerns and apologize for the frustrations that you have experienced. We would like to discuss your issue further and determine if there is any other resolution that we might be able to provide. Unfortunately, your report does not provide sufficient identifying information to contact you directly. You can speak with us at the phone number (480) 505-8828, or if you prefer, we can be reached via the email address [email protected]. We look forward to speaking with you soon. Kindest Regards, Clinton Fields Office of the President GoDaddy.com [email protected] (480) 505-8828 Phone

Dear Alison, We appreciate very much your concerns and apologize for the frustrations that you have experienced. We would like to discuss your issue further and determine if there is any other resolution that we might be able to provide. Unfortunately, your report does not provide sufficient identifying information to contact you directly. You can speak with us at the phone number (480) 505-8828, or if you prefer, we can be reached via the email address [email protected]. We look forward to speaking with you soon. Kindest Regards, Clinton Fields Office of the President GoDaddy.com [email protected] (480) 505-8828 Phone

Dear Alison, We appreciate very much your concerns and apologize for the frustrations that you have experienced. We would like to discuss your issue further and determine if there is any other resolution that we might be able to provide. Unfortunately, your report does not provide sufficient identifying information to contact you directly. You can speak with us at the phone number (480) 505-8828, or if you prefer, we can be reached via the email address [email protected]. We look forward to speaking with you soon. Kindest Regards, Clinton Fields Office of the President GoDaddy.com [email protected] (480) 505-8828 Phone

Dear Alison, We appreciate very much your concerns and apologize for the frustrations that you have experienced. We would like to discuss your issue further and determine if there is any other resolution that we might be able to provide. Unfortunately, your report does not provide sufficient identifying information to contact you directly. You can speak with us at the phone number (480) 505-8828, or if you prefer, we can be reached via the email address [email protected]. We look forward to speaking with you soon. Kindest Regards, Clinton Fields Office of the President GoDaddy.com [email protected] (480) 505-8828 Phone

Thanks for your response. You bring up some important points. But I am not a slick spammer or a computer geek, so I signed up for a free responder service (I think it is called freedback). As far as I know it works and I have had no complaints, and I guess a confirmation email is not part of what they do (or am I supposed to personally generate a note to every person that writes to me saying I got it)? And, Godaddy doesn't require you to send a confirmation to anyone. THAT wasn't the issue, the issue was that someone complained. Apparently the sender is liable regardless, even though this doesn't make much sense to me or the others I've told it to. There is nothing more to the story that I can report (even though you are implying that there is)! As to being more than ONE person, the only proof Godaddy showed me of my supposed indiscretion in sending email was ONE email. In fact, the supervisor told me that it was just one, but that just one could get me in trouble. As to cleaning up a mess, the only mess that was created was by Godaddy, but yanking my site within less than 24 hours of reporting any alledged problem, and then not allowing any type of resolution (other than my paying $199--and they COULD have charge $1199 or more--the charges are not stated on their web site anywhere that I could find).

A spam complaint to GoDaddy must have merit. Ie, that means they must've received more than just one complaint. They received a "lot" of complaints about your website or your "spam". It wont take "1 complaint" . It takes many, since they KNOW that people are vindictive and will file false complaints. ARe you sure you have PERMISSION from all of your "subscribers" to email them your "newsletter". Do you have CONFIRMED opt-in for your newsletters ( ie, VERIFIABLE proof that the person receiving the newsletter asked for it ) Like the TIME AND DATE and the IP they signed up from. And do you send an email to that person asking "hey, you signed up via my website at: blablah, at "This time" on "This Date" from "IP address". If you did, then please reply to this message to confirm your subscription. IF YOU didn't, please ignore this message, your email address will be removed from our system if we receive no confirmation within 24 hours of this message." If not, then you're not running a good mailing list/newsletter system, and would allow anyone to sign up ANYONE for ANY REason to receive your newsletter, and without anything to verify that you run a "tight ship" they have every right to TERMINATE you for ANY REASON at all. I went to your website, and signed up, and nope I did not receive a CONFIRMATION email to reply to nor did i receive a "welcome email" stating that I signed up for this newsletter. THIS IS OPEN AND PRONE TO BE ABUSED! They have a right to charge a "fee" to clean up your mess, if you created it by running an unsecure newsletter sign-up system. If your 'acitivities' cause them to be listed in any Spam blocklist, you THREATEN their business. They have every right to protect themselves from any abuse from their own customers as well as protect themselves from getting listed in a blocklist. What is your IP address and your domain? Did you check the varied Abuse websites (SORBS, SPEWS, SPAMHAUS, and google groups news.admin.net-abuse.sightings to see if someone posted your newsletter as spam? ). Do you have a working "[email protected]" to receive complaints about your newsletter? How do you handle your complaints? Your story is lacking on the details. Their logic is spot-on. GoDaddy is known as the most spam intolerant ISP/webhost on the net. if you dont run in full permission opt-in lists, then you are at fault. And spamming is a criminal and FEDERAL crime. You should read up on your laws. (CAN-SPAM)