If I choose not to renew my domain, what happens?

[#1]

Hi,
I have just had an email telling me my domain will expire on 17th January 2014.
If I wish I can renew it for £52.88
Can someone please tell me what happens if I choose not to renew it? Does my address simply revert to the .plus.com address?
I must say, I am not too impressed with the email, it does not tell me what the £52 buys, i.e. how long it is renewed for, and going to the Domain settings on the PlusNet pages is equally short on information.
Anyway, I will not keep paying this amount, so it will have to go.
Regards
Keith

[#2]

Transfer the registration elsewhere - there are many cheap options
http://www.plus.net/support/hosting/domains/cost-and-allowances.shtml
It is for two years

[#3]

Even Plusnet has a cheaper option with JTN but it's not the cheapest out there by a long way.

[#4]

Thanks to both of you for the suggestions.
Wow, 2yrs for over £50, that is disgraceful for a domain name that no one else would even want, I will definitely be shutting it down on PN anyway !
(hold on though, are you sure it is not 5yrs, why would anyone pay £52 when you can choose the £1 per month option, or does that £1 not cover hosting? Either way, PN really need to improve their explanation of exactly what is being purchased).
Anyway, I will look at the other options rather than renew,
many thanks to you both,
Keith

[#5]

As explained in the link I gave
The £1 per month is hosting
The truly exorbitant charge is registration and is only for 2 years

[#6]

Sorry Jim I was too busy ranting and not reading properly 
Yes, that is exorbitant,
Many thanks again,
Keith

[#7]

@kmw350
Thanks for the feedback on this I hope you find a better solution for your domain hosting.
Let us know if you are interested in JTN and if you have any questions about that.

[#8]

Adam,
thank you, I am confused.
I was offered renewal for  £50+, and yet I only ever had use of the name, no webspace included.
So what is the difference with Just The Name? Why is it only  £9.99 for two years?
Yes, I would have renewed for that amount., but I have now chosen the 'opt out' option so I presume I have lost my domain name?
Sorry if I am missing the point of all this, & I am also sorry if I am a little irritated, but PN offered to renew my domain for over £50, when in fact it looks like I could use the JTN service to achieve the same thing for £10.
Keith

[#9]

Hi there,
JTN are a sister company and specialise in domain names and hosting. While we did used to offer this (and maintain the service for existing customers) it's not our primary business and therefore hasn't had its offers or prices refreshed for some time now - hence why we refer people to JTN instead.
I believe there's a grace period after the expiry so even if that's passed you could still reregister it, but not sure how long that is - I thought 30 or 90 days, but if someone's pre-purchased the domain against it expiring that may not count.
Hope that helps explain.

[#10]

£92.83 for a .com
Funny how PlusNet's prices are not 'refreshed' to go down. They were certainly 'refreshed' the other way in October?
I assume the OP has a .co.uk name, as the bargain price of £52.88 has been mentioned?
This will tell you when your domain expires.
I'm not sure how it works with a .co.uk, with a .com it's around a month, and then another 5 days in a 'Pending Delete' status, then it's available again.
I let a .com expire a few months ago and re-registered elsewhere for cheaper, but that can be risky as someone else can register it.

[#11]

Quote from: Matt

Hi there, JTN are a sister company and specialise in domain names and hosting. While we did used to offer this (and maintain the service for existing customers) it's not our primary business and therefore hasn't had its offers or prices refreshed for some time now - hence why we refer people to JTN instead. I believe there's a grace period after the expiry so even if that's passed you could still reregister it, but not sure how long that is - I thought 30 or 90 days, but if someone's pre-purchased the domain against it expiring that may not count. Hope that helps explain.

Hi Matt,
thanks for the info, my gripe was that I was NOT actually referred to JTN until it was mentioned by the helpful moderators here. But enough of the moaning, my domain name is not due to expire until 17 January, but when I saw the cost of £52. I chose the 'opt out' option on the PN website. So can I still go to the JTN website, where it offers me the option to 'Transfer' for £9.99 which is a much more attractive price as I only use it for email address and not web space? (if I am the owner, which I obviously still am).
Can I just click on this option, and leave PlusNet to do the rest? DO I need to do anything else?
Also, since the domain name is already with you, why the need to transfer it in, which according to the JTN site, costs £5.82 ?
Is this in addition to the £9.99 renewal?
I am sorry for all the questions, but when dealing with these domain names, it always seems as if I am being led down a road of hidden extra costs, and it would be nice to know just how much these things will cost before starting out.
The bottom line is, I would like to keep my domain name for email use, if it is a reasonable price, i.e. less than £20 every couple of years, and I'd be very grateful for help in doing this. But I will not continue to pay over £50 for it.
many thanks
Keith

[#12]

Matt,
are you able to answer the above please?

[#13]

Hi, sorry for the delay in coming back to you. Yes you can still transfer it to JTN even though you've opted out of renewal, and yes you do still need to transfer it as they're a different registrar with a different code. Yes it's just a matter of using the transfer option on the JTN website, they'll be in touch with you if they need any more information.
Finally, yes I believe you do need to pay both the £5.82 and the £9.99.
Hope that helps.

[#14]

OK thanks,
one last question then.
If I transfer it now, bearing in mind I own it till January, I assume I will pay the £5.82 straight away, but does the £9.99 begin in January when my previous registration expires,
thanks again,
Keith

[#15]

Sorry for the delay in replying again, but yes - that's exactly how it'll work