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About Hetzner's Domain Trap!

2

Comments

  • WolfWolf Member

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    Wow. :o

    Not talking to the registry means they have to trigger the renewal. If you paid and they didn't add a year, that's not just unusual, it's borderline fraudulent.

  • ObelousObelous Member

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    What if you just transfer out then? Maybe other registrars would still honor the 2029 expiry.

  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member
    edited May 2025

    @Wolf said:

    @dedipromo said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    If indeed it's the case, this is definitely mind-blowing. I've transferred at least ~50 domains over the past ten years including probably ten from @DP, and not a single time the expiration date from the former registrar was not honored.

    That's because they usually pay the registrar directly for the transfer, which in turn slaps on an extra year for most TLDs. Some don’t renew on transfer - like @emgh mentioned - but it seems most do. Pretty damn sure OVH just doesn’t give a crap and ignores your expiry date. They just send out a bill every yeay. :D

    Perhaps that is the most reasonable answer. Hetzner will not transfer the fee immediately.

    Thanked by 1Wolf
  • emghemgh Member, Megathread Squad
    edited May 2025

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    This is actually insane. Issue isn’t that previous registrar didn’t renew properly at the registry, issue is Hetzner is charging you for nothing.

    Thanked by 1Wolf
  • emghemgh Member, Megathread Squad

    @Obelous said:

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    What if you just transfer out then? Maybe other registrars would still honor the 2029 expiry.

    Yes, they likely would because I don’t think I’ve seen a single registrar doing it like this. It’s insane.

    Thanked by 2dedipromo DashKiller
  • DPDP Administrator, The Domain Guy

    I have no experience with Hetzner when it comes to domains, but I found this.

    If you are transferring a domain to us, we may charge you for the domain again depending on your order. This may happen even if you have already paid for the domain for a year at your old provider/registrar.

    Weird, but yeah, it's there.

    Reference: https://docs.hetzner.com/konsoleh/general/orders/change-of-provider/

  • WolfWolf Member

    @DP said:
    I have no experience with Hetzner when it comes to domains, but I found this.

    If you are transferring a domain to us, we may charge you for the domain again depending on your order. This may happen even if you have already paid for the domain for a year at your old provider/registrar.

    Weird, but yeah, it's there.

    Reference: https://docs.hetzner.com/konsoleh/general/orders/change-of-provider/

    Insane. Transfer the heck out of there.

  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member

    @Obelous said:

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    What if you just transfer out then? Maybe other registrars would still honor the 2029 expiry.

    This is correct, but I need to pay for another year for the new service provider. So the validity period is extended by one year for most service providers.

    Thanked by 1emgh
  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    Hold on, I might have messed up earlier – I'm not 100% sure if paying Hetzner back in 2024 actually added that year to the WHOIS record. But this new payment I made hours ago? Zero updates on WHOIS – that part I'm certain about! It's still stuck at 2029 like nothing happened. Maybe there's just some WHOIS delay... but honestly, who really knows?

    And the kicker is – we're completely in the dark about how their robot system even works!"

  • @Hetzner_OL care to bring some info to this matter by any chance?

  • emghemgh Member, Megathread Squad

    @QuenFea said:

    @Obelous said:

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    What if you just transfer out then? Maybe other registrars would still honor the 2029 expiry.

    This is correct, but I need to pay for another year for the new service provider. So the validity period is extended by one year for most service providers.

    It’s either that or keep paying for nothing for like 4 years

    Thanked by 2Obelous Xrmaddness
  • jsgjsg Member, Resident Benchmarker

    Can anyone report about netcup? Do they also fuck their domain customers like @Hetzner_OL does?
    Not that I have a domain with netcup but I'd like to know; my assumption is that netcup acts correctly, but maybe I'm wrong.

    FWIW, I use internet.bs since years and am quite happy (modulo their somewhat higher prices). A few years back I got a domain from porkbun, went smoothly, was cheap - but they email spam.
    The really ugly bomb was some indian registrar - NEVER AGAIN! They mercilessly ad spam, they even "register me for new products", seriously, that what they say and doubtlessly do. It's so bad that I'll never again even consider using an indian registrar.

    Thanked by 2dedipromo DashKiller
  • emghemgh Member, Megathread Squad

    @jsg said:
    Can anyone report about netcup? Do they also fuck their domain customers like @Hetzner_OL does?
    Not that I have a domain with netcup but I'd like to know; my assumption is that netcup acts correctly, but maybe I'm wrong.

    FWIW, I use internet.bs since years and am quite happy (modulo their somewhat higher prices). A few years back I got a domain from porkbun, went smoothly, was cheap - but they email spam.
    The really ugly bomb was some indian registrar - NEVER AGAIN! They mercilessly ad spam, they even "register me for new products", seriously, that what they say and doubtlessly do. It's so bad that I'll never again even consider using an indian registrar.

    Email, ask, let us know :)

  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member

    @DP said:
    I have no experience with Hetzner when it comes to domains, but I found this.

    If you are transferring a domain to us, we may charge you for the domain again depending on your order. This may happen even if you have already paid for the domain for a year at your old provider/registrar.

    Weird, but yeah, it's there.

    Reference: https://docs.hetzner.com/konsoleh/general/orders/change-of-provider/

    Oh no! This is mind-blowing! I never even imagined this scenario. I thought maybe Hetzner was just slow at passing the fee to the registry, which messed up the WHOIS updates.

    Thanked by 1emgh
  • This might be absolute nonsense but for some TLDs there’s a provision that if you transfer a domain less than 45 days after renewal it will not add another year. I was once sending someone a domain over and had to wait the 45 days (did 90 to be absolutely sure) before sending the transfer code to ensure that their transfer fee will extend the domain renewal.

    I don’t think that is relevant to the OP situation but just want to point that out as a caveat to the “transfer extends the expiry” rule.

    Thanked by 1emgh
  • ObelousObelous Member

    @jsg said: FWIW, I use internet.bs since years and am quite happy (modulo their somewhat higher prices). A few years back I got a domain from porkbun, went smoothly, was cheap - but they email spam.

    +1 for internet.bs and Porkbun from me as well, used them both for years without any issues.

    Thanked by 2Wolf jsg
  • emghemgh Member, Megathread Squad

    @QuenFea said:

    @DP said:
    I have no experience with Hetzner when it comes to domains, but I found this.

    If you are transferring a domain to us, we may charge you for the domain again depending on your order. This may happen even if you have already paid for the domain for a year at your old provider/registrar.

    Weird, but yeah, it's there.

    Reference: https://docs.hetzner.com/konsoleh/general/orders/change-of-provider/

    Oh no! This is mind-blowing! I never even imagined this scenario. I thought maybe Hetzner was just slow at passing the fee to the registry, which messed up the WHOIS updates.

    If invoice says ”renewal”, and they don’t actually plan on ever renewing it, I’d argue you’d likely win a dispute if you’re lucky don’t mind your Hetzner account shut down.

    But let’s wait for @Hetzner_OL to let us know how this all makes sense.

  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member

    @emgh said:

    @QuenFea said:

    @Obelous said:

    @QuenFea said:

    @emgh said:

    @webcraft said:

    @zed said:

    @webcraft said:
    When you transfer a domain to a new registrar the contract with your old registrar, incl. the prepaid term, is terminated and a new contract starts. You have the same behavior at netcup or any other registrar.

    Wait what? Are you saying registrars don't pass on multi-year registrations to the registry?

    No, not for the majority of domain names, only where registrar forces them. What sometimes happens is that domain registrars book the expiration date in their billing system and update whois but renew at registry year by year and not all at once. In the end you have a contract with the registrar and not the registry.

    I don’t think this is correct, I KNOW some do it like this, but not sure it’s the majority.

    @QuenFea when does it expire according to WHOIS?

    2029.
    I'm starting to think when I transferred to Hetzner back in 2024 and paid them, they didn't actually add that extra year to the WHOIS expiration date at all. And get this – even after paying this new bill hours ago, it STILL shows the same 2029 expiration! I've checked multiple WHOIS lookup tools and they all agree – absolutely no change from before payment. This is ridiculous!

    Their latest response basically confirms it: Their system doesn't talk to WHOIS at all. The whole thing just runs on their internal robot billing system.

    What if you just transfer out then? Maybe other registrars would still honor the 2029 expiry.

    This is correct, but I need to pay for another year for the new service provider. So the validity period is extended by one year for most service providers.

    It’s either that or keep paying for nothing for like 4 years

    After the incident is over, I will choose to transfer without hesitation. From the current information, Hetzner is really disappointing.

  • What is the end game (point) in changing domain registrars every year? Is it to save a few pennies? It just seems like it leads to hassles and complications like this.

    Thanked by 1zed
  • yoursunnyyoursunny Member, IPv6 Advocate

    Mentally strong people only use acclaimed registrars.

  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member

    @shallownorthdakota said:
    What is the end game (point) in changing domain registrars every year? Is it to save a few pennies? It just seems like it leads to hassles and complications like this.

    No, it's not about money.
    In fact, the renewal fee of hetzner is higher than that of my previous service providers. After registering the domain with a service provider, I purchased many products from Namesilo. So I chose to transfer the domain to Namesilo.
    After that, I contacted Hetzner and purchased a cloud server for a few months. However, after a while, I found a more suitable service provider, so I cancelled the cloud server. But many people told me that if herzner does not have any products, the system may delete the account. So I had to transfer the domain to hetzner. It's that simple, there is no concealment.

  • TrKTrK Member

    Well, I won't call it a borderline fraud, it's actual fraud... I don't know how they do their due diligence in Germany, but boy oh boy, I haven't seen a service provider providing domain services, charging for renewal/transferring, and just don't update the domain records with the registry... either fix the system or outright disallow domain service altogether you aren't meant to be a domain registrar or even domain reseller with these kinds of issue hanging around with your billing system.

    Note: The above rant is just my personal opinion, in layman's terms, "just my two cents".

    Regaurds.

  • @QuenFea said:
    But many people told me that if herzner does not have any products, the system may delete the account.

    Just logging in once in a while is enough in my experience

  • Transfer to porkbun. You’re welcome

  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member

    @DrNutella said:
    Transfer to porkbun. You’re welcome

    In reality, I would choose between Namesilo or Cloudflare.

  • QuenFeaQuenFea Member

    @darkimmortal said:

    @QuenFea said:
    But many people told me that if herzner does not have any products, the system may delete the account.

    Just logging in once in a while is enough in my experience

    Maybe it's right, but I've never tried it.

  • wadhahwadhah Member, Host Rep

    Wait so you just lost like 40/50 bucks by transferring it to hetzner? like straight up lost the money? so who has that money now?

    Any luck/updates with their support @QuenFea ?

    Thanked by 1darkimmortal
  • cupcakecupcake Member

    Contact icann. Situation like that is what icann for. Hetzner is accredited so they're bound to icann accreditation and shouldn't say something as stupid as "how long you have registered the domain with another provider is irrelevant to us"

  • LeviLevi Member

    Yep, icann will cultivate their arseholes for this incident. Re-acreditation will be expensive…

  • JosephFJosephF Member

    This often is typical billing policies by German companies.

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