Reseller won't renew my domain

unresponsive to contact requests

[leapforward]

I've got a domain name that reached its expiration date on 12/27/2009. On 12/18/2009, I paid the reseller to renew the domain. They never did and now its expired. The dotster/dotregstrar reseller registered the domain name on my behalf back in 2004. Unfortunately, the reseller's info is in the registration, not mine.

I tried contacting doster, but they said I had to deal with the reseller. The reseller won't answer emails, phone or support requests made through their website.

Am I screwed? I'd like to make sure the domain name is renewed. If I check the WHOIS through a domain seller, it shows expired on 12/27/2009. If I check WHOIS at Internic, it shows the domain name expires on 12/27/2010.

What should I do next? Hope and pray I can pickup it at an expired auction?

Thanks

[KenB]

Their information being in the registration not yours leaves you in a bad position. If they are unresponsive, your best hope might be to pick it up after it totally expires out and then get it registered in your name. Of course this depends upon someone else not beating you to it.

[leapforward]

Anyone know the best way to pickup a domain that is expiring from dotster/dotregister. I'd like to pick it up at auction before it actually officially drops.

[leapforward]

Does the fact that internic's whois shows that the domain doesn't expire until 12/2010 mean that someone else is going to pickup the domain and it will never expire? If so, how can I get in on that action? Dotster/Dotregistrar is the registrar.

Thanks

[KenB]

It means that the domain was probably renewed or someone beat you to registering the domain after it expired. Did the contact information change in the WHOIS?

[leapforward]

Internic doesn't show any contact info, but a regular WHOIS still shows the reseller's info.

InterNIC WHOIS:
Updated On: 28-dec-2009
Expiration: 27-dec-2010

WHOIS returned from any registrar:
Updated On: 28-dec-2009
Expiration: 27-dec-2009

[KenB]

Then they renewed the domain, but apparently took it for themselves. Do you have proof that you paid them to renew the domain for you, that they accepted the payment and that you had been using the domain previously? You may be in for a legal fight.

If the company is a U.S. based company you can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. They can't force the company to do anything, but it will leave the reseller a black mark in the BBB database to help warn other consumers.

[LifeinAsia]

If the company is a U.S. based company you can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. They can't force the company to do anything, but it will leave the reseller a black mark in the BBB database to help warn other consumers.

I am all for filing BBB complaints when warranted. However, the bigger the company, the less responsive they seem to be to BBB complaints.

File a complaint with the police (and the Attorney General where the company is located). This is theft, pure and simple. They're probably not going to do much over a $10 domain registration. However, if the domain has been generating decent money, you can show that the theft is potentially all the revenue the site makes.

[encyclo]

Updated On: 28-dec-2009
Expiration: 27-dec-2010

WHOIS returned from any registrar:
Updated On: 28-dec-2009
Expiration: 27-dec-2009

This does not necessarily mean the domain has been renewed - what's the status of the domain in the whois? Does the domain resolve? What TLD, is it a .com, .org...?

Unfortunately, the reseller's info is in the registration, not mine

If this was the case before the expiration, then the domain is not yours.

[leapforward]

Thanks to everyone for their comments:
The TLD for the domain is ".COM"

At InterNIC the Status is:
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 28-dec-2009
Creation Date: 27-dec-2002
Expiration Date: 27-dec-2010

[leapforward]

I have receipts for domain payment to the reseller for the past few years. The reseller isn't US based, but I am.

I'm willing to bid on it at some expired auction, but I'm not sure I can find the best place to do it, given the registrar is dotster, or if it will even go to auction given the WHOIS info at InterNIC. Any ideas on how to find out?

Thanks again everyone. This is another example of my 4+ years of paid subscriptions to WebmasterWorld paying off. The advice here is always rock solid.

[leapforward]

FYI. since December 28th 2009, a SEDO parked page with an expired notice has been displayed. The link to renew on the parked page just has the reseller's email contact, which I get no response from.

[leapforward]

Update, in case anyone wants to know.

Before the domain actually dropped, I placed a bid at a domain back ordering service. The domain went to auction and I won the auction (against 1 other bidder) for around $85.00 US. So if everything else goes smoothly, I should have ownership of the domain within a few hours.

Painful, Painful, Painful lesson learned about securing domain ownership.

[buckworks]

Whew! It's good to hear that you got the domain back.

I trust you have no more names with that reseller?

The primary lesson here for all of us is to make sure our own contact info is on our domain registrations.

The second lesson is to deal with registrars or resellers who are located in the same country as we are. That makes legal recourse easier if things get messy.

[edited by: buckworks at 3:57 pm (utc) on Feb 9, 2010]

[KenB]

Very good news. I'm happy for you. :-)

Yes the most important thing with domains is make sure it is one's own contact information in the contact name. "Private" registration is a very dicey proposition if something happens with the other party.

[bwnbwn]

That is great news.

Last week I was asked for some help. This is how problems begin.
Friend1 was contacted to build a wesite for a friend2 business. The business owner knows zit on internet, friend1 building the site knows less that zit on how to do it correctly.

Friend1 was going to register the domain for friend2 to help get it started. Great but when I asked him who was going to be the contact and admin of the domain I was told by the friend1 building the simple site he was going to register it under his name.

NO NO NO do not do this. Open an account under their name, email address and correct contact info do it the right way.

What happens if the site becomes a million dollar site, what happens if you and him have a spat, what happens if you die? I hope he doesn't do it like he said as all I can see is problems down the road.

This is how a mess starts and usually ends in problems very rarely good as leapforward'd did, most end with bitter feelings.

[piatkow]

Of course in bwnbwn's example "friend1" has probably gone to a company specialising in the amature market who has set up a system that requires the registered name to be the name on the payment card.