The owners of crazydomains.com.au, Dreamscape Networks International Pte Ltd, have been fined $56,340 for failing to declare freebies that automatically renew for a fee without making this clear to the customer and for failing to provide advertised security features.
Between October 2019 and July 2023, customers received a free website builder for three months at checkout.
Some customers also purchased a domain privacy product that claimed to hide personal data and prevent hijacking. At the time of purchase, it was not made clear to customers that the website builder auto-renews for a fee and that the privacy product did not hide contact names or email addresses.
“Precise information”
Liza Carver of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissionwho issued the fine said;
“Companies must provide consumers with accurate information about the products or services they purchase. In this case, consumers may have thought they were receiving a free product in addition to the product they purchased because they were not given clear information about the ongoing subscription costs for these so-called free products. Subscription traps are a concern and the ACCC will not hesitate to take action against companies using these tactics in violation of the Australian Consumer Law.”
Many web hosting companies are often accused of questionable sales practices. These include raising base prices to make discounts appear bigger, countdown timers that reset when they reach zero, limiting hardware, bait-and-switch tactics, and offering unlimited resources that provide no real additional value. While these practices rarely cross the line into being illegal, it is frustrating for customers and it’s nice to see immoral practices being punished.
Not all web hosting companies use these tactics and some for example Crystal, were created to directly combat these problems. Simon Blackler, Founder and CEO of Krystal says:
“We have been denouncing these unfair practices for more than twenty years. In fact, Krystal was founded in 2002 as an ‘honest, trustworthy and personal’ alternative to exactly these types of nefarious tactics. Whether it concerns ‘renewal shock’, where introductory prices increase by as much as 250% upon renewal, ‘visual interference’, where information is hidden behind asterisks or in pages of terms or through the use of ‘dark patterns’, where the visitor is psychologically manipulated into making a purchase that is not in their best interest. Unfortunately, these practices still occur today, including at some of the largest hosting companies. We have created our unique one Switch Credits initiative to address this abuse and provide victims with the means to move away from these providers without losing the money already spent.”
Finding a web hosting provider that meets your needs is not easy, especially when some of them use questionable tactics in an attempt to boost sales. Our experts have tested the best web hosting providers on the market and help you cut through the noise with concise, transparent advice.