why doesn't WHMCS renew expired domains with eNom?

[SilverNodashi]

Can someone please tell me why WHMCS doesn't renew expired domains registered with eNom?

 

In this particular case the client hasn't paid for the renewal when the invoice was due, but paid it today and needs it renewed

 

 

So now when I try and renew the domain through WHMCS, I get this:

Error: Domain name not available

 

I also tried to register it and got the same error.

Yet, when I login to eNom, I can see the domain in my expired domains list, and renew it from eNom. I've had this before and was wondering why I have todo it manually, if WHMCS can register new domains, and renew current active domains.

[mustafa420c]

this mean you probly don't own the domain anymore under your enom account. i rember getting this error when a customer transfered domains on me

[SilverNodashi]

sure, but then who owns the domains? Surely if I don't own the domain anymore, I wouldn't see it in my eNom account - which is the same account details that WHMCS uses.

[Matt]

Check you've definately got the expiry date set correctly on the domain in WHMCS. As the renewal command for an expired domain is different to that of a domain that hasn't expired in Enom's API so the date is important. And then WHMCS should be able to renew it. The only time WHMCS won't auto renew is once the domain has entered the redemption phase and therefore is more than the cost of a standard renewal.

 

Matt

[SilverNodashi]

I use the eNom sync script which syncs all domains every night. And like I said, if the domain is renewed before it expires then it's fine, but once the domain has expired this problems happens.

[Richie]

Your lucky, I've just found the 3rd domain name that our WHMCS system has NOT renewed correctly, and now that domain is in redemption @ $250 cost, when the WHMCS system charged the customer for 2yrs renewal in Nov 2009, but the domain only got renewed for 1yr.. Nothing flagged to tell us, and now its expired...

 

For me, personally, the problems we face with WHMCS, that we always end up finding out about when its too late, are very costly, and this is not the first time this has happened either, I've had domains before that have been billed, and charged to the customer, yet have expired.

 

Looking at the clients domain name, it still has a "Next due date" of Nov 2011, which clearly shows that the sync script isnt working somehow, because if it was, it would have sync'd the domain expiry correctly, and rebilled for its renewal.

 

AAAAHhhhhhhhhhhhh

[bear]

now that domain is in redemption @ $250 cost

I had that happen to me as well, and now check the names once each week in WHMCS. I can't say for sure it wasn't something I failed to do in the first place, but I had to eat that $250, as the customer was not at fault. No recurrences for quite some time now.

[simplybe]

I just checked my list of expired domains in enom against whmcs and just found two domains that had had their invoice paid but did not renew. This was not due to a lack of enom funds or anything they just didn't renew.

Seems to happen if a client pays a day late and the domain is expired in whmcs the order does not go through. the next due date gets updated and the expiry remains the same. so whmcs knows it didn't renew but doesn't do anything about it other than add it to the todo list which to be honest is full of things to do that don't actually need doing.

 

eg when a client orders a new domain name it has to be manually approved (not renewals) so gets added to the todo list even when the order has been accepted, so the todo list is always full so you don't notice the domains that failed to renew.

 

as a billing system whmcs is the best but please improve the domain part of whmcs. We can't be losing domains like this.

[Matt]

Hi,

 

WHMCS won't ever just not issue a renewal command when a domain is paid for (providing it is set to a registrar) so to look into this we need to know what response you guys are seeing from the registrar in Utilities > Activity Log when the renewal is attempted. Prior to the expiry date it's an extend command that is issued but following that it's an UpdateExpiredDomains command so hopefully the error response from the registrar will reveal something about the issue.

 

Matt

[Richie]

I'd say its not a case of WHMCS NOT sending over the renewal, its the "Next due dates" that have been the problem. Our latest in Nov 2009 was billed for 2 years, invoiced, and was paid on time, but for whatever reason, the domain name was ONLY renewed for 1 yr, yet our system still kept its "Next due date" at the 2 yr mark "Nov 2011", thus allowing the domain to expire, and showing the client it still has a year left before it expires.

 

Thats happened several times to us, and we DO have the enom sync script ticked to set "SyncNextDueDate" but for whatever reason, its letting us down and costing a lot of money and red faces...

Edited January 24, 2011 by Richie

[othellotech]

Your lucky, I've just found the 3rd domain name that our WHMCS system has NOT renewed correctly, and now that domain is in redemption @ $250 cost, when the WHMCS system charged the customer for 2yrs renewal in Nov 2009, but the domain only got renewed for 1yr.. Nothing flagged to tell us, and now its expired

 

This happens when you change the "years" field in WHMCS on the domain record to 1 from 2 between the generation of the invoice and the renewal - simple solution - dont fiddle with the data ...

 

As to "flagging" it you'll need a copy of the sync that only reports discrepancies, instead of changing the DB

[Richie]

We dont fiddle with the data, thank you very much. Where exactly do you get a copy of the sync that only reports discrepancies?