Network Solutions business model

My Network Solutions domain name expired and NS created a new one

[FunClassic]

Hullo all, this is my first post. This looks like the right place.
Here's the story (so I don't break rule No.1, I'll call my domain names "wyzywyg", which according to whois.net is not registered).
Until this year I had registered with Network Solutions a domain name, wyzywyg.net, which I let expire.
The day it expired, wyzywyg.info appeared in my account's list of domain names - with private registration and web forwarding.
I never registered it and never paid for it - luckily my credit card had expired.
So it's been there on my domain name list with something like "awaiting verification" beside it for about 5 months.
Since then, I get emails from NS saying: "You already own wyzywyg.info - why not buy wyzywyg.net?"
I took seriously a page on the NS website about "raising a ticket" which, as expected, led to an email asking me to call them.
(Plenty on the web about NS phone calls.)
So, what's going on? My feeling now is to let all my remaining domain names just expire to avoid having to pay for their renewal with my credit card and have NS immediately pocket $45 for wyzywyg.info. As a business model it clearly sucks, but from a look around the ICANN website it looks pointless to complain there,
Anybody had a similar experience (can't find one with Google)?

[robzilla]

Just transfer your domains to another registrar?

[FunClassic]

Thanks, but not easy to do ("Guess what? My domain transfer is now locked for security reasons. 3.5 h on the phone to no avail." - [consumeraffairs.com...]
And there's always the $45 they could demand I pay them for the domain they added to my account.
I had another domain, let's call it wyzywyg.net again, and I got NS emails for months saying "wyzywyg.com could be yours for $200."
I looked it up and the .com was an active domain, registered until 2018 and registered with Godaddy.

[not2easy]

Hi FunClassic and Welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com]

My first thought would be to do a whois search and see who registered it and when. If you did not register it and find it is registered in your name, I would definitely move to a different registrar. Changing registrars would take care of the concerns about charges for unwanted domains. If you find that they registered that domain to you without your consent, you do not need to pay for renewal any more than you need to renew any domain. It's an option.

BTW, the domain "example.com" cannot be registered by anyone, it does not form an automatic link on the forums, so it is the preferred "domain.name" to use. That domain is recommended to use here in place of making up a domain that may be registered by tomorrow.

Read the details here in the Charter [webmasterworld.com]

[FunClassic]

Thanks for the suggestion, not2easy. I looked up the domain in question at icann.org and it's in my name.
On ICANN I found this: [forms.icann.org...]
which is an "Whois Inaccuracy complaint" form. Might be a place to start?

[robzilla]

It seems more likely that you did register the .info at some point, but you may not have been aware of it. Some registrars will offer you special deals, for example when you're placing a different order for a renewal or new domain. Something like, renew example.com today and get example.net 1 year free. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the opt-out button, especially with more aggressive registrars like Godaddy and Network Solutions. Legally, they're probably in their right to charge you for the renewal of that domain name, so you should try to cancel it ASAP if you don't want it.

As for transfer locks, you can unlock individual domains from within your account. I have not heard of an account-wide lock, but in such a case obviously you will need their help. Keep sending tickets.

[toidi]

Network solutions is a nightmare to get away from. They refuse to let the domains go. They are definitely breaking the rule/law in the way they handle it. Once i got my important domains moved i gave up on the others. From what i have heard, this is pretty common with them.

[FunClassic]

robzilla, many thanks for prompting me to look closer. I went to my NS account, found billing history, and discovered I had paid $0.00 for example.info for 1 year, including $0.00 for privacy registration and $0.00 for web forwarding. I knew nothing about it, a gift I guess from the folks at NS.
I also checked the fate of the domain I let expire (example.net, which inspired NS to "gift me" example.info and offer me the chance to buy back example.net) and it's now parked with a different registrar which redirects to NS. So essentially, no harm done(?). Thanks to all for your interest in my problem.

[robzilla]

Network Solutions imposes a 3-day waiting period if you want to get your transfer codes. I submitted a ticket saying I thought that was ridiculous, and got the codes reasonably fast after that, so I have no experience with them holding names hostage. I was forced to use them because I caught some dropped domain that were registered there, but then I ran like the wind. Many registrars nowadays have slow and unusable control panels, annoying offers, and other nuisances. There are a few exceptions; I keep all my domains at one registrar (same initials, coincidentally) with a no-nonsense approach and I love them for it.

[creeking]

a few years ago some registrar was adding a matching domain to a .COM order, no charge. and without asking.

it was done to increase the use of the "other" TLD.


this sounds like the same thing.