Registrar is holding on domain name > 2 years

regsiter.com is keeping domain name

[GuntherR]

A domain name, which expired over two years ago (registrar: register.com) is kept by register.com and was just 'registrar renewed' for another year. The previous owner (Registrant) did not continue paying after 8/2003 and the domain should therefore expire.
But the domain is still in status ACTIVE and register.com is keeping it.

I contacted them a year ago and here is what they replied:
"When a domain name registration is about to expire, the current registrant is given the opportunity to renew the domain name registration.

If the current registrant chooses not to renew the domain name, the domain name registry will release the name back into the pool of available names.

Please note that the expiration date listed in the WHOIS information for a domain name may not coincide with the name becoming available for registration. The WHOIS database may not be updated immediately to reflect the renewal of the domain name registration.

The registrar of the domain name (for example, Register.com or Network Solutions, Inc.) may also allow the registrant of a domain name a grace period in which to renew the domain name registration once it has expired. We suggest you to check the whois at regular basics and visit www.register.com for registration purpose when the domain is available for registration."

Well, the "grace period" is now going into it's third year!
What can I do?

Thx

[chicagohh]

What can I do?

Not much. You can try contacting the previous registrant and make them an offer for the domain.

When this last happened to me I bothered the registrar often enough that the name was suddenly made up to date in the system with the registrant.

So, they fixed the problem. ;)

[GuntherR]

Thought so ;-(

[cabowabo]

This is one of my biggest complaints about the system as well. If the domain is good and is flagged, they hold it. Completely unfair to us little guys!

Cheers,

CaboWabo

[GuntherR]

yeap! ... I actually got the domain finally. By contacting the previous owner, who renewed the domain w/o problems and then paid 200 bucks for it ...
Well, even register.com acted in favour of the previous domain name owner, I will avoid using register.com and of course netsol!

[davezan]

Hello everyone!

Some of you may have seen my nick since I
participate in as many domain name forums
as I can find.

A registrar is supposed to keep a domain
name only until a maximum of 45 days, so
what register.com is doing isn't exactly
"legal" for lack of a better term.

I don't know if ICANN can do something
about it but perhaps you can try submitting
a complaint to ICANN about it here:

[reports.internic.net...]

Also email a copy of your complaint to
[e-mail].

It won't hurt to try...

David ;o)