Now, according to the "REGISTRAR" website there seems to be only one reseller in the UK, and they aren't proving too responsive either. It's a bad situation, and any advice would be appreciated.
[edited by: Patrick_Taylor at 10:32 am (utc) on Nov. 15, 2006]
Some will help. Others will just refer you back to the reseller, which gets you nowhere, obviously.
Not at all surprising they are located in the UK as England is well known by domainers to be the home to a couple of the worst (and costliest, with poor customer service) registrars in the world, IMO, not sure why.
Last year, a well known UK firm (name not given due to WW TOS) called me (overseas phone call, so nothing in writing) and said they would only authorize the transfer away of my registar imposed lock .org names if I would agree to early renew (none of the names were expired) all of them for 2-yrs each, at their very high renewal fees. Reluctantly, I agreed to the extortion as it was worth the few hundred dollars to get out of there!
The wholesale registrar... could this be an organisation with two heads (a well known farm animal)? If so, they can't be contacted directly.
[edited by: Patrick_Taylor at 11:52 am (utc) on Nov. 16, 2006]
The wholesale registrar... could this be an organisation with two heads (a well known farm animal)? If so, they can't be contacted directly.
Oh, yes, dealt with them. One time they actually intervened and helped. The next time, they would only refer me to the non-responsive registrar.
At least with some other wholesalers, they have policies where they will step in if the registrar is negligent.
Anyway, go to the farm animal organization's web site. You'll see them advertising the registrar that they operate. Two words, each starts with a D. Try registering through them. Since they are a "reseller" for the farm animal, you can easily get your name transferred from a negligent reseller to them.
I did that on several domains recently.
The whois record now says:
Updated 13-nov-2006 Expires 01-nov-2007
and the nameservers have been changed to:
NS1.RENEWYOURNAME.NET NS2.RENEWYOURNAME.NET (am I allowed to post this?)
I'd appreciate it if some light could be thrown on this! Has someone stolen the domain? Am I still the owner?
I'd appreciate it if some light could be thrown on this! Has someone stolen the domain? Am I still the owner?
The registrar does that (automatically). They'll hold your name (and run ads on it or auction it off or whatever) if you don't renew it.
You are still the owner (grey area) but you need to get it renewed quickly.
If the wholesaler is the farm animal company, go to the double D site they promote, and pay for the domain name transfer to the double D. Do it now. Don't waste time eMailing the farm animal company. Just pay for the transfer. If it doesn't work, request a refund. Otherwise, that should save your domain, as it is a simple transfer from one reseller to another and no action on the part of the defunct reseller is required.
That's how I rescued a couple domains from a negligent reseller, that was a reseller for the farm animal company.
I'll repeat my (refined) prudent rules:
1. Always make sure YOUR name is on the registration.
2. Do not accept "free" registration offers. See 1.
3. Be skeptical of deeply-discounted registration offers.
4. Do not buy your registration from your hosting company.
5. Do not buy your registration from a reseller.
6. Use only one the the biggest registrars, as they are least likely to go out of business.
Small registrars and resellers go out of business or act flakey on a regular basis. While legally you are protected when this happens, it is NOT worth the trouble for a few dollars saved!
1. Always make sure YOUR name is on the registration.
Yes.
2. Do not accept "free" registration offers. See 1.
Depends on what "free" entails.
3. Be skeptical of deeply-discounted registration offers.
Be skeptical, yes, but that doesn't mean that there aren't good deeply-discounted registration offers out there.
4. Do not buy your registration from your hosting company.
Depends. See 1, 3, 5.
5. Do not buy your registration from a reseller.
Depends upon the wholesaler's policies. My opinion is that the wholesaler should intervene if the reseller is defunct or negligent. They should have that as part of their agreement with the reseller. Referring a person back to a negligent registrar is hardly helpful. Myself, I will not register a new domain with any of the farm animal company's resellers. If the wholesaler will not help me when their reseller fails to do so, I don't view the wholesaler in any brighter light than the reseller. It's like they're in cahoots to provide poor service.
6. Use only one the the biggest registrars, as they are least likely to go out of business.
On the other hand, some small registrars got big because of the way some of the biggest registrars jerked people around. ;-)
Record last updated on 14-Nov-2006.
Record expires on 01-Nov-2008.
does this mean I'm safe? I seem not be able to transfer the domain to double-D. The page says:
"If you are the owner of this domain, but your Administrative Contact email address (domadmin@defunctreseller.com) is listed incorrectly, you must correct it before you will be able to transfer your domain. Please see the directions listed below for assistance correcting your email address.
Once your email address is listed correctly, you will be able to transfer your domain to double-D."
[edited by: Patrick_Taylor at 7:11 pm (utc) on Nov. 17, 2006]
Q:If my provider does not help me, can you assist?
A:OpenSRS, as a wholesale domain registrar, likes to leave customer service issues between the Registration Service Provider and the end user. However, if you have tried repeatedly to contact your Registration Service Provider, using all traditional means (including telephone and email), to no avail, please follow the Email Tucows link at the bottom of this page and use the form there to let us know of your problem. The compliance department will normally respond to your query within 24-48 hours. The compliance officer will not necessarily deal directly with your issue; their first step is to try to contact the RSP to get the issue resolved. Failing that, they can take action to remedy almost all situations. NOTE: Please do not contact the OpenSRS compliance officer unless you have exhausted all other means of contacting your RSP.
and I would expect them to sort you out if your reseller is unresponsive.
Try a polite email to reseller-support@opensrs.org FAO the compliance department explaining that you are an end-customer, and your reseller has gone bust and is unresponsive.
hth, a.
Record expires on 01-Nov-2008.
Is that literal? Does it mean someone, somewhere, has properly and fully renewed the domain for me, or is it a holding operation by the two-headed farm animal?
[edited by: Patrick_Taylor at 8:00 pm (utc) on Nov. 17, 2006]
They will answer the phone immediately, unlike their parent farm animal company - who doesn't like to talk to end users. I've found them very responsive and helpful. I have most of my registrations with them, specifically because they passed the "phone test".
Try a polite email to reseller-support@opensrs.org FAO the compliance department explaining that you are an end-customer, and your reseller has gone bust and is unresponsive.
That may depend on who replies to the eMail. This past summer, I had this situation with a reseller. After attempts to contact the reseller failed, I did contact the wholesaler's compliance department. They made the changes necessary for me to transfer my domain to another provider.
Encountered the same problem with another domain with the same reseller this fall. Attempts to contact the reseller failed. Again, I contacted the compliance department and, again, explained the situation. This time, all they would tell me is that they don't get involved and referred me back to the reseller.
I was able to transfer to the double-D and rescue my domain name. But, once the 60 days are up, I plan to transfer to another registrar. I just want to get away from the farm animal company. It's not just that they didn't help the second time that bugs me, but the inconsistency in doing so. I don't feel comfortable having my domains with someone where the possibility of being helped is going to depend on who answers that day.
I'm going to resort to the dusty old FAX machine to try to get this resolved.
What do I have to do to get my domain name <snip> back again?
I know I have a grace period but just do not know where to turn to fix this mess. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
[edited by: Webwork at 4:20 pm (utc) on Dec. 5, 2006]
[edit reason] Charter [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]
This late in the expiration/deletion process I'd definitely pick up the telephone, with credit card in hand, and start by calling the reseller's parent company.
As a final measure you might want to see of the parent company runs a drop catching auction service and place a bid (as a fail safe).
You are still the owner (grey area)
It's not really that grey. Your registrar's service agreement and current "applicable" ICANN policies indicate what your rights are.
I decided to just let it expire and start over but that did not work either.
That’s a common misconception which some people, unfortunately, learn the hard way. Do what Webwork suggested as it’s possibly the moreimmediate solution.
