Domain Name held hostage

[michellek]

A friend of mine registered a domain name with Spiderhosts.com. The billing module on their website has shut her out since mid-summer, preventing her from renewing the registration, which has now expired as of 9/13/06. She has been trying to reach Spiderhosts since well before the registration expired, and they have never responded to (and continue to ignore) her numerous support tickets and emails. The only phone number listed in their contact information goes to either a fax machine or a generic voicemail box. Meanwhile, the site is losing money every day while Spiderhosts continues to hold the URL hostage.

She needs someone to help her get Spiderhosts to release the URL immediately, so she can re-register it somewhere else and get the website back up.

She has filed complaints with Public Domain Registry, ICANN & the FTC.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get Spiderhosts to release the URL?? Has this happened to any of you?

[CyberCrone]

Yes, it most certainly has happened to me. I lost two domain names to Names.com when they expired as a result of their not sending me expiration notices. They told me I couldn't redeem them because the names had already been registered by Names.net, obviously a counterpart to Names.com, when I looked it up I found it even has the same street address. At Names.net I found that the names were available by auction and they were valuable enough to me that I offered their minimum bid of $90 for each, whereupon they notified me that they had received a counterbid of $425. I knew this was extremely unlikely to be true, and when I complained again to Names.com and told them I knew they also owned Names.net, all of a sudden the names were re-registered to some 'agent' in Colorado. I started trying to trace who that agent was, and was led a merry chase to agents owned by agents owned by agents, all registered in Wyoming, where apparently very little information is required to register a business name. The chase dead-ended with a company in British Columbia and I gave up. Obviously this is a racket. If you have any success in prosecuting this matter, do let us all know.

By the way, I have since moved all my domain names to GoDaddy, and can vouch for their honesty. I let a domain name expire (through my own carelessness this time) and they not only sent me several notices about it, they allowed me to re-register with zero penalty.

Toni

[visio]

I use namecheap, for some of my domains, do you think they are ok?

[Dinghus]

You absolutely need to know who you are dealing with when you register a domain name. GoDaddy is very good, as mentioned, and very reasonable. I have received excellent customer service from them. On the otherhand, I had a customer who registered through another service and had the same thing happen. The name expired even tho he tried to pay for it. Then he was told he would have to bid on it to get it back with a starting bid of $1000. We traced the company to Africa so there was little we could do.

However, as I recommend to all small business owners and especially freelancers, get legal advice. This may sound like a sales pitch but seriously, you MUST have a lawyer. I use Prepaid Legal and it has served me well. Inexpensive and excellent service.

I run every contract through them and when I get a deadbeat customer they send letters and give me advice on how to best pursue the matter.

Unfortunately, they sometimes tell me "nothing you can do". This will probably be the case with your situation. However you CAN register a complaint with the BBB and Attorney General for the state they are registered in. Also be sure to get the company name out to as many people as you can so others will be warned. Stick to facts tho. If you spread rumors or lies about them you could be in trouble. Once again, check with a lawyer.

If you have the lawyer send a letter, this will usually get some response because they know you are not fooling around. Once again, not to send like an advertisement, but I really believe in this, get Prepaid Legal (unless you can afford megabucks for regular lawyer fees)

[Dinghus]

TRIPLE POST! Wooohoooo.

Hey, webmaster, the whole thing threw an error when I tried to post and then posted this 3 times with no further action from me.

Guess the program decided what I had to say was very important. :)

[TrafficProducer]

Web Master Tools and Utilities Some links that may help out, you've used some ICANN etc..

(About a 1/2 way down.)

[Dinghus]

Wow. Double post. Some glitch going on.

[visio]

Quote:
Also be sure to get the company name out to as many people as you can so others will be warned. Stick to facts tho. If you spread rumors or lies about them you could be in trouble. Once again, check with a lawyer.
End Quote.

Yes, go to alexa.com and write a review, stick to the facts.

[danno]

I prepared a detailed press release including all the emails back and forth and sent them the preview link to it.

Miraculously, they released my domain.

Dan

[Mads Dam]

Quote:
Also be sure to get the company name out to as many people as you can so others will be warned. Stick to facts tho. If you spread rumors or lies about them you could be in trouble. Once again, check with a lawyer.
End Quote.

Yes, go to alexa.com and write a review, stick to the facts.

After alexa.com I would suggest you try siteadvisor.com as well...

Mads Dam / www.mads-dam-larsen.dk