Why Do I Have to Cancel? Why Am I Still Being Invoiced?
If you are still receiving invoices from us for a service you thought was canceled, then for some reason, we have not received your cancelation request. Or, if we do receive your cancelation request, you did not complete the verification process.
The following are common questions and misconceptions on how to cancel. Unfortunately, HostGator will only accept cancelation requests in writing via the cancelation form found in the Customer Portal.
Why do I have to cancel?
To help protect your account from accidental or unauthorized deletion, we have specific procedures for canceling services with HostGator.
To better understand our policy, please see the sections below:
Why can't I cancel over the phone?
Because canceling your account also results in the deletion of your data, we require the cancelation request to be in writing. This protects you from someone impersonating you on the phone or chat, like an ex-employee, ex-web designer, etc., and provides you proper notice that a cancelation request has been received on your account before we cancel it (since we try to contact you to confirm).
What does "in writing" mean?
In the digital era, we mean submitting your cancelation request via the online cancelation form in the Customer Portal or contacting us via phone or chat if you're having issues using the cancelation form. Paper forms are not required for canceling.
Canceling your web hosting
There are a few reasons why HostGator requires written consent when you cancel your account:
- We require that customers fill out the online cancelation form to let us know they want to cancel and authorize us to delete their data, website, and files.
- We verify with the account holder that they indeed want to cancel the hosting account and authorize their data, website, and files to be deleted for security reasons.
How to stop invoices & cancel the hosting plan
Filling out the cancelation form in the Customer Portal will stop the invoices, authorize us to delete your data, and cancel the hosting account.
Please note that your account is NOT canceled until we verify your identity and confirm you want to cancel. This helps us verify the request is coming from you, the account owner, and not someone else.
Please check out the article How Do I Cancel My Account? on how to cancel a hosting plan and other services in your account.
Canceling your domain name registration
Domain names are assumed by HostGator to be automatically renewed each year unless notified otherwise. As per our Terms of Service, the following applies to a domain name purchased with HostGator:
- We automatically invoice domains for renewal unless you turn off the Auto-Renewal feature within the Customer Portal.
- If you have a card on file, turn off the Auto-Renewal of the domain in the Customer Portal as we will automatically attempt to charge the domain renewal.
- We also do not automatically cancel your domain name when you cancel your web hosting plan.
Why does HostGator do this?
Once a domain expires, it can be hard or even impossible to get back. So our policies and procedures related to domains are geared towards protecting your domain name. This is why we will automatically invoice and try to renew your domain name unless you specifically tell us not to.
If you cancel your web hosting, we do not assume you want to cancel the domain because many customers either want to hold onto the domain until later or are hosting the website somewhere else but still want to keep the domain registration with HostGator.
Finding a good domain name can be difficult, and we would hate to assume a customer did not want their domain renewed when they did.
How to stop invoices & cancel the domain
To cancel a domain name, you have to turn OFF its Auto-Renewal feature in the Customer Portal so you will no longer be billed or invoiced in your account.
Please refer to the article, How To Cancel My Domain Name, to cancel the domain name.
Domain renewals canceled due to non-payment
Unlike hosting, domains names will fail to renew if you do not pay your invoice within 29 days of the expiration date. However, we try to renew your domain name using the card on file (if there is one) unless you turn off the Auto-Renewal in the Customer Portal. Renewal of the domain is contingent on whether the payment was successful. Review the article How Do I Renew My Domain Name? if you're still interested in keeping your domain.