It appears that the ISP billed me for the hosting each year but forgot to renew the domain when it came for renewal. When it expired, someone else registered it - suposedly.
I didn't notice the ISP hadn't renewed the domain, because it was one of several aliased onto the same account, so I was still able to use the account. And yet, I was specifically being charged by the ISP to host this particular domain, whilst they had not renewed it.
The ISP in question are acting dumb and ignoring emails. Any idea what legal action I can take against them. The domain was quite valuable to me as it was to form the core of a business I intended to grow in the future. This belated loss, puts my business plans on hold, as someone else now owns a domain relating to my company name.
Anybody come across a similar issue.
Thanks
EZ
It appears that the ISP billed me for the hosting each year but forgot to renew the domain when it came for renewal.
Hmm, you registered a domain and you leave it up to your ISP to take care of renewing that domain?...
Surely the fact that the ISP billed me for each year's package (hosting/email) etc, which I paid, means something?
Apart from the fact that I paid a years hosting and got absolutely nothing, is it not considered the responsibility of the ISP to renew it when due, if I'm still paying them? This wasn't a simple domain registration, where the ISP has no responsibility to renew. This was a hosting package which they invoiced me every year, and I paid their invoice.
The ISP was the admin/billing/everything contact for the domain. Isn't this a 'dereliction of duty' (non-legal term)!
I was paying for the domain for a year before I realised the domain was gone. Yes, very busy on other projects. After all, I was paying for the hosting etc, so assumed it was ticking over.
It was only when I got the bill this year, from the same ISP, that I realised the domain was gone, and the ISP was still charging me for it (a year later)!
I would laugh, only the domain is worth money to me.
Anybody got details of lawyers who specialize in this sort of case?
I would think it's the same with domain registering if they did the administration for you.
On the positive side, at least you weren't running a crucial business centered around that domain name. A lot of people give their "house keys" for someone else to administer only to find that it got lost, and an adult store opened in their living room. :)
Why not scour lists of domain names that are expired or on hold, and see if you can find a good one related to your subject. Maybe even a better one.
Problem is that in this case the .com is exactly the same as my official ltd name, so it was needed.
Like:
Red Sky Holidays Ltd
owns www.redskyholidays.com
if you think of anything else, let me know!
For all of you reviewing this topic, check the status of all your domains. Create a spreadsheet and save information such as...
And whatever other information is of importance to you when managing your domains.
If you are dealing with multiple Registrars, I would suggest consolidating everything with one Registrar. It makes it much easier to manage everything from one place. Unless of course you have reasons for spreading things out. ;)
The reality though, is that apart from people on this forum who are clued up on domain registering, the average Joe small businessman who runs a non-internet business and pays a company to do his internet hosting for him is not going to know that he should check whether he is listed as a billing contact. His contract is historically with the ISP who registered the domain for him, and set up his hosting package. As long as he pays the invoices they send him, he has a right to expect that they will honor their contract and keep it all working. He doesn't know about ICANN or any other body, and shouldn't need to know. A contract is a contract.
EZ
The problem is that I now want to switch hosting services, but first I have to transfer the domain name to my other registrar, so I'm paying for it anyway.
I would think you could find a lawyer to handle this for you as you have (in my opinion) suffered damages but it would be much cheaper to get a new domain name, host, etc and this time around keep them separate! ;o)
Apart from that...
If the domain name is as specific as you mention in your example, chances are it might be worthless to almost anyone but you.
If that's the case...
Find another good domain name, build your website around it. Do not register the lost domain name with dashes or a ".info" extension or such, that would just assert your ongoing need for the .com. Find something sufficiently different.
A couple months later, check the whois database and email the current domain owner if they would sell the domain. They'll quote an outrageous price, maybe $3000. Tell them "thanks for the information, but the most I would be able to pay is $500. It's a hassle switching anyway, I just need it for the type-in traffic." Be friendly and nonchalant. Don't contact them again. (The $$$ numbers above are just examples and depend on your domain name, and how eager you are to get it back.)
Maybe they'll come back to you a few months later and offer the domain at your price. It's a better deal for them than sitting on the domain for years in hopes of a different buyer.
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If you have an established website that ranks well for your company name, it makes it less likely for anyone to open shop with the same company name. That's why I recommend, do not wait building the site. You can always do a "301 redirect" later for easy transition from "old" to "new" domain.
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The above strategy will only work (maybe!) with domain squatters. If a competitor registered it, you're probably out of luck.
Did the domain have some links to it? You mentioned it was pointing to your account. Maybe someone registered it to make a few bucks off the free traffic. In that case, try to ensure that the domain doesn't keep the links. Maybe they'll be ready to get rid of it after a year.
Don't count on the fact that you will get the domain eventually. It's just worth a try.
