Over the years I’ve amassed a lot of domain names. Some are for sites I currently run (like this blog earnsavewin.com!), others are old projects, a few are parked generating ad revenue, and then I have a lot that I no longer need.
I’ve been bad with making sure my domains are switched to not automatically renew. This morning I woke up to an email from Godaddy renewing 5 domains I meant to let expire. Ouch, thats $50+ out the window that I could really use elsewhere.
Luckily for me I found out within the last year that just because a domain automatically renews at Godaddy, doesn’t mean I have to pay for it.
GoDaddy’s Refund Policy
Godaddy has a long refund policy you can read here. The following is the important part concerning automatically renewed domains.
Domain Name Auto Renewals: For one-year renewals, refundable if canceled within 45 days after expiration (not necessarily within 45 days after renewal). For multiple years, refundable if canceled within five days after expiration. The ICANN fee is only refundable within 5 days of renewing a domain name.
Domain Name Manual Renewals: Refundable if canceled within five days of manual renewal.
You actually can get a refund for automatically renewed GoDaddy domains if done within 45 days after the expiration date (not the renewal date) and if it was a one year renewal. If it was a multiple year renewal you have to act fast, and do so within 5 days.
Get Your Refund From Godaddy
To get your refund you have to complete 2 steps. First up, you have to cancel your domain.
How to Cancel a Godaddy Domain
- Login to GoDaddy.com
- Go to your Account Settings page
- Click onto Renewals and Billing
- Select the checkbox by the domain, and click on Cancel at the top right.
How to Get a Refund on GoDaddy
Now you are ready to contact GoDaddy for your refund. When you contact them they will want to know the reason for canceling your domain, the reason doesn’t matter. You will also have to specify you want to be refunded back to your credit card / paypal / debit card, or whatever you purchased with. Otherwise they will try to refund your order as store credit.
- Login to Godaddy.com
- Go to their Support page
- Either call them available 24/7 or click for a live-chat if it is available (at bottom of page)
- Tell them the order number you want to cancel, the reason for canceling the domains, and how you want to be refunded (store credit, credit card, paypal, etc)
Hope this helps someone who forgot to cancel their GoDaddy domain autorenewal! Take this as a lesson and try to stay on top of your domain renewal dates, that way you can not only save money but also save time not having to do this again!
Thank you for reading!