This Cancellation Policy explains how to cancel Motherhost services, when a cancellation takes effect, and what happens to your data, invoices and domains. It forms part of our Terms of Service. For step-by-step help, see Cancel products in my Motherhost account.
1. Services Renew Until You Cancel
All services renew automatically for the same billing cycle until you cancel them. Not paying an invoice doesn't cancel a service. An unpaid service is suspended and may then be terminated (see section 8), but you remain responsible for charges up to that point. If you no longer need a service, please cancel it.
2. Who Can Cancel
Cancellations can be requested by:
- the account owner, or
- a delegate with the Place New Orders/Upgrades/Cancellations permission.
For your security, we only accept cancellations made from your Motherhost account, or sent from the email address registered on the account. We don't accept cancellations by phone.
3. How to Cancel
| Service | How to cancel |
|---|---|
| Hosting, email, cloud servers, licenses and other services | In your account, go to My Products/Services, open the service, click Cancellation Request, enter a reason, choose when it should take effect, and submit. |
| SSL certificates | Open the certificate under SSL Certificates, use Cancel This Certificate, choose when it should take effect, and submit. |
| Domains | Open a support ticket, or email support@motherhost.com from your registered email address, asking us to turn off auto-renewal or cancel the domain. See section 6. |
| A service that isn't Active (for example, suspended) | Open a support ticket or email us. |
You'll see a confirmation on screen when your request is submitted. Our team then reviews and processes it.
4. When a Cancellation Takes Effect
When you request a cancellation, you choose one of two options:
- Immediate: the service is cancelled as soon as our team processes your request. It stops working at that point.
- End of Billing Period: the service keeps working until its next due date, then it's cancelled and doesn't renew.
Changed your mind? Contact us as soon as possible. We can withdraw a cancellation request that hasn't been processed yet. Once a service has been cancelled, it can't be restored, and you'll need to order it again.
5. What Happens When a Service Is Cancelled
- Your data is deleted. Website files, databases, mailboxes, server disks and all other data on the service are permanently deleted. A cancelled service can't be restored from our backups. Download everything you need before you cancel.
- Unpaid invoices: any unpaid renewal invoice for a cancelled service is cancelled, so you don't need to pay it.
- Usage charges: usage-based charges, such as overage or pay-as-you-go usage, for the period up to cancellation are still billed.
- No partial refunds: cancelling a service doesn't refund the unused part of a billing period, except as set out in our Refund Policy. If you're within a money-back period, ask for a refund when you cancel.
- Free domains stay yours: if your hosting plan included a free domain, the domain isn't cancelled with the hosting. It renews at the regular price unless you cancel it too.
- Free DNS: free DNS hosting linked to a domain ends if the domain is cancelled, expires or is transferred away.
6. Domains
Domains are registered with the domain registry for a fixed period, so they work differently from other services:
- Stopping renewal: when you ask us to cancel a domain, we turn off auto-renewal. The domain stays registered until the end of its current term, then it expires. We don't send renewal invoices for domains with auto-renewal turned off.
- Cancelling a new registration: some registries allow a new registration to be cancelled within a short period. See our Refund Policy for the refund window and fee.
- Expiry: after expiry, a domain may go through the registry's grace and redemption periods before it's released. Restoring a domain in redemption costs an extra registry fee.
- Transferring away: to move a domain to another provider, you don't need to cancel it. Get its transfer code under My Domains → (your domain) → EPP/Auth Code.
- Notices required by registries, such as renewal and expiry notices, continue to be sent while the domain is active.
7. Closing Your Account
To close your Motherhost account completely:
- Cancel every active service and domain (sections 3 to 6).
- As the account owner, go to My Profile → Delete Account and submit the request.
We review each request and confirm by email. Once approved, the account is closed permanently and can't be recovered. We keep records such as invoices for as long as the law requires. See Close my Motherhost account and our Privacy Policy.
8. Suspension and Termination by Motherhost
- Unpaid invoices: if a renewal invoice isn't paid, the service may be suspended a few days after the due date, until it's paid in full. If it remains unpaid, the service may be terminated and its data deleted.
- Breach of our Terms: we may suspend or terminate a service, with or without notice, if it breaches our Terms of Service, for example through spam, abuse or illegal content. Services terminated for a breach aren't eligible for a refund.
9. Contact
Email support@motherhost.com.