GoDaddy threatened to lock my account while on vacation. (1 Viewing)

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I was not going to talk about this because I did not want it to look like I was picking on godaddy but with all the issues of late with them I thought I would share this story.

I recently went on vacation to Jamaica and data plans there are pretty meager and expensive. Thinking about it I figured I had wifi at the hotel so what could possibly go wrong?

Well as it happens there were a couple of important things that creeped up and I needed access to my godaddy account. I had two factor security security activated which means I needed to verify login. In my home country I basically log in and it asks me for my authenticator app. code and I'm in.

As I am trying to log in from Jamaica it does not allow me to log in. Instead of asking me for my authenticator code it asks me for my pin. No problems, I enter it and it gets rejected, I enter it again and rejected. What the heck, I know my pin, been the same for years, never changed but rejected nonetheless.


So I phone godaddy and say I need access to my account and the guy says no problems I will send you a text. I told him text does not work because I have no data in Jamaica just internet. Then like always I told him my authenticator code which he promptly rejected. Was it wrong NOPE, he just told me he cannot use it. What!!!! Every single time I call godaddy the first thing they ask me for before they ever talk to me is my authenticator code. Now in Jamaica they need a text. I can verify all account details and instead of working with me the service rep threatened to lock my account. I said ask me anything, been a godaddy client for many years but with each question I asked he became more belligerent threatening to lock my account if I could not respond to a text. I gave him account info, pin, address, anything possible to reason with him but no luck. The godaddy machine was broken and I had to break off communication before my account was locked.

So much for me getting anything done on vacation.

Coincidentally, I was in the midst of moving about 500 domains to WHC and I also needed to make a few changes. An email to @FM and some PM's through our forum and things were done. How are your holidays Frank?... great how are you Frank? (yes we are both Frank's). The conversation was light and things got done exactly how I needed them to. There is really no comparison when dealing with a big behemoth and a small agile registrar. WHC is responsive to my needs, they service us to death on the forum and things just get done. Other members have similar experiences with small registrars like BareMetal @bmetal yet godaddy gets more complex with authentications not working, logins disabled and outages. Yes so many times I simply cannot log in to godaddy.

The big mistake godaddy is making is them thinking everyone wants to do business with them, they had Dan and I was looking forward to them becoming a registrar. Everything just worked but it all got screwed up somehow. Afternic is an even hotter mess than godaddy and they are still trying to force everyone there with the 25% name server policy. Had godaddy been responsive to domainers and listened they would have kept uniregistry or dan.com alive. Now I have to add my name to the list of those who absolutely cannot recommend them anymore.

I am done with godaddy until two things happen....

1.
The 25% name server commission is dropped.

2. They give us back a service like dan or uniregistry that actually works.

PS. I know someone is going to say we still have dan but you before you put in the time and effort count on the "to serve you better" email announcing the closure in the near future.
 
Hey Frank,
Afternic/Uni/Dan is another thing - but I'd like to know whether you're still having issues with logging in? Will DM you for more details.
 
GettyImages-1160947136 (1).jpg


I was not going to talk about this because I did not want it to look like I was picking on godaddy but with all the issues of late with them I thought I would share this story.

I recently went on vacation to Jamaica and data plans there are pretty meager and expensive. Thinking about it I figured I had wifi at the hotel so what could possibly go wrong?

Well as it happens there were a couple of important things that creeped up and I needed access to my godaddy account. I had two factor security security activated which means I needed to verify login. In my home country I basically log in and it asks me for my authenticator app. code and I'm in.

As I am trying to log in from Jamaica it does not allow me to log in. Instead of asking me for my authenticator code it asks me for my pin. No problems, I enter it and it gets rejected, I enter it again and rejected. What the heck, I know my pin, been the same for years, never changed but rejected nonetheless.


So I phone godaddy and say I need access to my account and the guy says no problems I will send you a text. I told him text does not work because I have no data in Jamaica just internet. Then like always I told him my authenticator code which he promptly rejected. Was it wrong NOPE, he just told me he cannot use it. What!!!! Every single time I call godaddy the first thing they ask me for before they ever talk to me is my authenticator code. Now in Jamaica they need a text. I can verify all account details and instead of working with me the service rep threatened to lock my account. I said ask me anything, been a godaddy client for many years but with each question I asked he became more belligerent threatening to lock my account if I could not respond to a text. I gave him account info, pin, address, anything possible to reason with him but no luck. The godaddy machine was broken and I had to break off communication before my account was locked.

So much for me getting anything done on vacation.

Coincidentally, I was in the midst of moving about 500 domains to WHC and I also needed to make a few changes. An email to @FM and some PM's through our forum and things were done. How are your holidays Frank?... great how are you Frank? (yes we are both Frank's). The conversation was light and things got done exactly how I needed them to. There is really no comparison when dealing with a big behemoth and a small agile registrar. WHC is responsive to my needs, they service us to death on the forum and things just get done. Other members have similar experiences with small registrars like BareMetal @bmetal yet godaddy gets more complex with authentications not working, logins disabled and outages. Yes so many times I simply cannot log in to godaddy.

The big mistake godaddy is making is them thinking everyone wants to do business with them, they had Dan and I was looking forward to them becoming a registrar. Everything just worked but it all got screwed up somehow. Afternic is an even hotter mess than godaddy and they are still trying to force everyone there with the 25% name server policy. Had godaddy been responsive to domainers and listened they would have kept uniregistry or dan.com alive. Now I have to add my name to the list of those who absolutely cannot recommend them anymore.

I am done with godaddy until two things happen....

1.
The 25% name server commission is dropped.

2. They give us back a service like dan or uniregistry that actually works.

PS. I know someone is going to say we still have dan but you before you put in the time and effort count on the "to serve you better" email announcing the closure in the near future.
When it comes to .CA domains and Registrars, it’s ALWAYS best to be with a Canadian Registrar. Several non-Canadian Registrars canvassed for my business and have made offers (including GD and their brands now) but I stayed with local Canadian Registrars. Our own Registrars provide everything they provide including peace of mind to top it off.

We all should take this as a lesson and support Canadian Registras including @WHC, @bmetal, @CatchDrop, and others who are members here.

Time to go #belocal #buylocal #buyCanadian
 
Yes it was a lesson I agree with you @Eby

James, I was not able to conduct business from Jamaica so I gave up and completed it when I got back.

The only domains left in my GoDaddy account are those set for non-renewal so it's not an issue anymore.


I look forward to sending more business to godaddy when they rethink the 25% nameserver policy.
I had my domains on most marketplaces sedo, afternic, godaddy, dan, etc but I prefer to point my nameservers to my own landers so I can get the odd commission free sale. The policy change from godaddy basically means I have to pay 25% on any sale and that is not acceptable so I had no choice but to move out.
 
the plus side of that experience, is it shows how hard it would be for a hacker to get into your Godaddy account through a rep, if the actual account holder can't even do it!
 
So I phone godaddy and say I need access to my account and the guy says no problems I will send you a text. I told him text does not work because I have no data in Jamaica just internet. Then like always I told him my authenticator code which he promptly rejected. Was it wrong NOPE, he just told me he cannot use it. What!!!! Every single time I call godaddy the first thing they ask me for before they ever talk to me is my authenticator code. Now in Jamaica they need a text. I can verify all account details and instead of working with me the service rep threatened to lock my account. I said ask me anything, been a godaddy client for many years but with each question I asked he became more belligerent threatening to lock my account if I could not respond to a text. I gave him account info, pin, address, anything possible to reason with him but no luck. The godaddy machine was broken and I had to break off communication before my account was locked.

So much for me getting anything done on vacation.
That's an unfortunate situation.

This is difficult because you need to balance security and customer service.

There was a situation several years back that involved GoDaddy and social engineering -
GoDaddy owns up to role in epic Twitter account hijacking

I believe after that point GoDaddy really changed the process to access accounts, especially when it comes to low level customer service employees.

GoDaddy has relatively awful level 1 support IMO. Really the only way to resolve these situations is via the right contact.

Brad
 
the plus side of that experience, is it shows how hard it would be for a hacker to get into your Godaddy account through a rep, if the actual account holder can't even do it!
I agree with this. As inconvenient as this is, I would prefer that companies err on the side of security.

What should have really happened was the customer support agent should have escalated the situation to a higher position that was more equipped to deal with it.

Brad
 
I agree safety is the utmost but there is so much security.

  • I entered my user name
  • entered my password
  • told them my pin
  • had access to my authenticator code (virtually fool proof)
  • called them and talked to them personally to explain.

The only thing I was not able to do was answer a text which is a big thing they need to llok at. A lot of travelers do not have access to text in a different country. My android phone can receive text over internet but only if the other user has rich text not only the basic.

So the main point is that LEGITIMATE users cannot access their account because godaddy does not have RCS active and they only have SMS for messages.

RCS allows users to text over wifi and I was able to text over the internet to anyone who had RCS activated. RCS is basically a check mark in your settings. I explained this to godaddy but nope, I had no access because I could not answer the text. I told the rep the AUTHENTICATOR code was 10 times more secure and showed without a shadow of a doubt I was the account owner. Authenticator should trump insecure SMS any day.

Why have authentiocator if they don't know how to use it, it is foolproof when combined with the pin, password and verbal questions.
 

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