Wayback 2010 i purchased a web hosting from Bluehost and like any typical web hostings provider the domain name was free as long you purchased a hosting account. Fast forward December 2013 i cancelled my account with them and to my surprise I was billed in my credit card this December 2015 for the domain name. I tried to log in my previous account and it is still active although it state that my hosting account was already expired. So, contacted their online chat service and asked them why I was billed for the domain name this December 2015 although i have already terminated my account last 2013.
Their customer service replied: Hosting account is cancelled but the domain was set on auto renew so it was renewed automatically. Domain registrations and hosting are two separate services, so the renewal options must be turned off separately. Canceling the hosting services will not affect the renewal settings of the domains you have registered through us. You will continue to have access to your Domain Manager to manage your domain settings, even without active hosting.
ME:but isn’t it automatic that because i only avail for the hosting and you guys are the one that gave the free domains registration that it should be automatically cancelled as you can see i never paid for the billing of the domain registration because it is free from your hosting.
bluehost: All domains kept on the default Auto-Renew setting will attempt renewal 15 days prior to the expiration date to avoid any downtime or loss of domain ownership. Domain renewal settings can be updated manually at anytime to Manual Renew or Do NOT Renew, meaning we will not automatically renew the domain registration. All domain registrations are required to receive an email notice 60, 30, and 7 days prior to the expiration date regardless of the renewal settings. If the domain is allowed to expire, status notifications will continue to be sent until it is no longer registered to you. Domain coupon was cancelled when hosting is cancelled. So you have received charge for the domain
ME:my point is i never bought the domain , what i bought is the hosting , so if i cancelled the hosting it automatic that the domain should be cancelled.
bluehost:Domain registrations and hosting are two separate services, so the renewal options must be turned off separately.
ME:after a year of non charged then you charged me, last year you did not.(referring to 2014) again show me any details that i applied for a domain registration . what i bought in 2010 is the hosting
bluehost: During the account cancellation domain coupon will automatically remove .
(domain coupon refers here as the free domain name that was from the hosting account)
ME: if it was removed you should have billed me 2014 but you did not look at the billing history if you say that the coupon is cancelled upon cancellation of account i should have been billed 2014 but you never billed me then all of the sudden 2015 you bill me then you are contradicting yourself.
bluehost:Hosting is cancelled on 01/17/2015
ME: i cancelled it manually 2014
The conversation goes on and on and on. And all bluehost said is that it is company policy…. To make it short
2014 i didn’t renew my account with them. then 2015 charged me for the domain registration take not that i am not using the domain name. Even though i don’t have a hosting account with them in 2014 they renewed in their system the domain registration for free then 2015 came they remove the free coupon and charged me for the domain name.
why do they need to charge me i don’t have any hosting with them anymore…. Worst part of it even though i am cancelled my hosting with them my credit cards account are still within their system. I need to manually delete just recently so they cannot charged me again…
I do believe what they did is unethical…