I can't renew my domain unless I pay Shopify $29 for the subscription. That's domain fraud.

[MsLove]

When i started my Shopify Store, I purchased my domain from SHOPIFY! Well every year when it was time to renew my domain I could not renew my domain without paying for the shopify subscription. Shopify keeps giving me the run around about they don't own my domain. The charges on my bank statements say Shopify no other Company for $14.

  They even went as far as listing Tucows as my domain provider, well Tuscow sent me an email stating Shopify is indeed my Domain Provider. I've  been back and forth chatting with Shopify about this matter. It's been 2 months the problem has not been fixed I've been paying $29 for 2 months with my store not pointing to any domain.

  So what do you do now? IT'S ILLEGAL FOR DOMAIN PROVIDERS NOT TO OFFER A WAY FOR THEIR CONSUMERS TO RENEW THEIR DOMAIN. THERE SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WEBSITE OR WEB ADDRESS THAT IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR CONSUMERS TO ACCESS THEIR DOMAIN AND SETTINGS. REGARDLESS IF THEY HAVE A SHOPIFY STORE OR NOT

1. FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE  COMMISSION.

2. FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE INTERNET CRIMES COMPLAINT CENTER . 

3. FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE BBB.

4. SEND SHOPIFY A LETTER REGARDING THIS INCIDENT.

5. SEND SHOPIFY A SECOND LETTER REGARDING THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES AND LAWSUIT

6. FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM FOR INTERNET FRAUD. 

Has this ever happened to you? If so file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, or Internet Crimes. 

[onlinemeating]

yes. money is gone 

[Trevor]

Hi, @MsLove. 

I'm sorry to hear that there has been an ongoing back and forth on how your domain is managed, and what Shopify's role is when it comes to domains purchased through our platform. To provide some context, Shopify is a reseller of Tuscow domains. While the charge will show "Shopify" and the billing, and DNS controls are managed through the Shopify platform, the actual domain manager is Tuscows (also known as OpenSRS). 

If you do not intend to continue using your Shopify store, then closing it will result in our systems being unable to renew your domain as we do not bill inactive accounts. To reactivate the account would require paying the subscription fee; however, if your goal is to use the domain, and not Shopify, then we would highly recommend transferring the domain away from Shopify and onto a new domain provider. By transferring your domain to a new domain manager, it will ensure your domain will not lapse in billing and will provide you full access to the DNS control panel when you need it. 

Reaching out to our Support would be the best step to helping with gaining access to your store without paying the subscription fee as there are a few tools we can use to bypass this requirement. However; our Support is meant to help with the process of transferring the domain away from Shopify if the domain is not actively being used by your Shopify store. Transferring your domain can take between 10-20 business days once the process has been initiated, and so long as the domain is older than 60 days (there is a 60-day lock on newly purchased domains which is enforced by ICANN and not something Shopify can bypass). 

If your store is currently active, then you can follow our help document here on how to transfer your domain away from Shopify as this will create a better user experience for you as it will avoid needing to reach out to our support every year to help with the renewal process. If the store is currently inactive, and you need to renew the domain, then let me know as I'd be happy to help reactivate the store so we can ensure the domain is renewed. If the only purpose of reactivating your store was to renew the domain, then we can also look into a refund request for the subscription fee so long as the store is fully closed within a reasonable timeframe from when the initial charge occurred. 

I hope that helps clear up any confusion. If you have any questions, let me know.

[MsLove]

Again, You keep saying transfer my domain, but from Where!

What website do i go to transfer or renew anything?

[Trevor]

@MsLove 

In order to transfer the domain way, you will need an active store as the DNS settings, and transfer option are only available via your stores' admin. If you need assistance gaining access to your stores' admin, or if the guide I have linked above does not successfully start the transfer process please let me know as I can help get this resolved. 

[Dejisholz]

Hello Trevor. I was wondering if you could help me move my domain from shopify to godaddy without the need to pay the monthly shopify requirement. 

[Trevor]

@Dejisholz 

If you don't have a pending invoice on your account, then Shopify Support can assist you with the transfer process. If you have a pending amount, then that amount will need to be paid before the transfer can be processed. You can do this by logging into your store through the help center, searching your question/issue, then selecting "continue" at the bottom of the page that displays the search results.