If i bought 3 .co.uk domain names 2 years ago - are the company that I bought them from (in this case www.1and1.co.uk) allowed to renew them AND charge me without even asking me?

I've had several other domains from other companies in the past and they have all simply lapsed at the end of their registration period.

I'm now being charged for 3 domains that I never wanted to renew....

Help!!

 

Guess it depends on the T&Cs they run. I'd expect a warning 60 days before renewal is due and then again at maybe 30 days, then 15.

 

According to their 'Customer Services' it is in their T&C's. Would have been nice to have received a warning letter though

I've emailed them to ask if they'll waive it

 

I'd move well away from them. Transfer the domains somewhere else.

I had something like that happen with Fasthosts (sic) last year, was running out of space on my site and thought I'd give them a try and found that they didn't deliver what they sold so set up a server with bluewho (superb if you need shared hosting). Wrote asking for my money back and never did get it back. Then last month they took the money for an additional years subscription without authorisation from my account. Took about a month to get the money back when I started to wave the trading standards at them.

Grrrr.

 

I have moved away from them - thats my point. I bought 3 domains but never got round to using them so just left them. Next i hear 2 years later they've been renewed and I've been billed. Oh and unless I pay in the next 16 days they'll pass it onto a debt collection company.....

I like the Trading Standards idea....i may just have to play that card if they start to get shirty....mind you they are a German company so it may be a little easier to sort out.....

 

I currently have a couple of domain names from UK2.net - can I put these somewhere else so I don't have to keep paying (like my broadband supplier)?

It almost seems like paying for something that I already own!

 

You don't "own" a Domain name, you only "own" the right to determine how it is used.
If you have the rights to a Domain, you have to pay a regular registration fee to keep those rights - regardless of where the Domain record is kept. So moving it to your ISP will not save you much money.