PSA: Hostinger charged me an $80 domain redemption fee. The registry told me they charge no restoration fee. I got the $80 refunded.
PSA for anyone using Hostinger for domain names:
I recently had a domain expire and was charged an $80 redemption fee almost immediately.
What bothered me was that Hostinger's published expiration lifecycle says domains can generally be renewed for around 30 days after expiration at the normal renewal price. My domain didn't work that way at all.
I then spent several days going back and forth through AI support, emails and live chat trying to understand why.
Hostinger support repeatedly explained the redemption fee as being driven by the registry and passed on as part of the cost of restoring the domain.
So I contacted the registry directly.
They told me they charge registrars no registry-level restoration fee for this domain extension and that registrars are free to set their own pricing.
That changed the entire conversation.
After escalating the issue with Hostinger and pointing out the discrepancy between their published lifecycle information, what support had told me, and what the registry itself told me, Hostinger refunded the full $80 redemption fee.
So, if you get hit with a large redemption fee, don't automatically assume the first explanation you're given is the end of the story.
A few things I learned:
- The general grace period shown in a registrar's documentation may not apply to your particular TLD.
- Some domains can enter redemption immediately after expiration.
- A redemption fee may be registrar-set rather than a direct fee imposed by the registry.
- If you're told that a large redemption fee is required by the registry, contact the registry yourself and ask exactly what they charge the registrar.
If this happens to you:
- Screenshot the registrar's expiration/lifecycle policy.
- Find out the exact lifecycle for your TLD.
- Ask whether the redemption fee is imposed by the registry or set by the registrar.
- Contact the registry directly and verify it.
- If the answers don't match, ask for escalation to a supervisor or billing team.
- Keep the emails and responses as documentation.
It took a ridiculous amount of back and forth to get there, but Hostinger ultimately refunded the entire $80.
I'm posting this because someone else who gets hit with the same kind of redemption charge may otherwise simply pay it and assume there's nothing they can do.
