Domain Theft

[Jeremy-IYC]

Hi,

On the 19th of October 2006, I did a Bulk Transfer of 50 domains in 1 payment using www.hostway.com via their sister company www.domainpeople.com, they charged my Paypal Account and I waited for the Domains to appear in my Control Panel. I repeatedly asked Hostway when they would be visible in my control panel for 1 year.

I assumed that it was a standard process, that took some time. Last week, my emails were bouncing back. After some investigation, my home page as been put up for sale by www.sedo.com .
I realize this is standard procedure for "expired domains".

The Registrar/Host "Domain People"/"Hostway", has sold 6 domains which are still my property as when I have transferred the domains, it also includes an additional year to the original expiry period. Though Domain People - Hostway sold my domains based on when the Transfer took place.
i.e. Domains expired 1 year after the Bulk Transfer 19th October 2007.

The Domains are 5 letter .com, most have over 8 months before they expire.

Can anyone advise me on who I should contact?
i.e. ICANN, Google, Yahoo etc..
Any idea of approx. costs of fighting this case?

I live in Italy and an International Law Suit could be very expensive, I have operated two successful business for 4 years on 2 of the stolen domains.

I am very worried about the Google and Search Rankings, as almost 6 days have passed.

When I spoke to Domain People, they said they sent emails and I have lost the Domains.
-- I received NOTHING... and I read ALL mail, even SPAM!!!

I advised them that the 50 domains have never appeared in my control panel and that I was taking Legal Action.
Within 90 minutes 44 domains suddenly appeared in my Control Panel after 13 months...

I suspect that there is some Domain Hijack, Identity theft Scam going on, though I have never heard of a Host/Registrar Selling "Non-expired Domains."

The Current "Who Is" points to the New "Suspicious" owner and he is using Domain People.
That's like robbing the Bank and visiting the next day, depositing your Loot...

When I called Domain People, I was told that I was the next caller and finally after 40 minutes I was advised that a supervisor would call be back - still waiting...

I look forward to any help/suggestions.

[wige]

Honestly I have heard of these issues happening quite a bit, where a "valuable" domain finds its way onto the auction block for a variety of reasons, simply because a company can make more money selling it off than letting you keep it. Unfortunately, contacting the search engines will be a waste of time, they have absolutely nothing to do with domain names. Your best avenue to start would probably be filing a complaint with ICANN.

[cw1865]

On the 19th of October 2006, I did a Bulk Transfer of 50 domains in 1 payment using Get exceptional Web hosting, dedicated servers and domain names from Hostway. via their sister company domainpeople.com, they charged my Paypal Account and I waited for the Domains to appear in my Control Panel. I repeatedly asked Hostway when they would be visible in my control panel for 1 year.

This has been going on for a year already?

[Jeremy-IYC]

The Transfer was confirmed 1 year ago. I received confirmation in writing, the same day. Though whenever I checked in the control panel, I could never see the transferred domains. The Domains had different expiry dates, so I just assumed that I would be notified as is to be expected with any ICANN Registrar.

I thought it was strange, I sent many emails, though a typical response was:

"We have submitted your message to the concerned department for consultation on the matter. They will get back to you as soon as they can with a response. You may also contact them directly at dnr@hostway.com.

We appreciate your patience in this matter."

[Jeremy-IYC]

A very disappointing evening. I contacted Hostway 1800 hrs to find a solution and after the usual 30 minute wait, I then left a message for them to return my call. I then spoke to their representative Joshua Valouche and his Senior Manager Dan "Somebody". At first they blamed the whole problem on the previous registrar.

I then advised them that I have the receipt proving that the previous registrar, had fulfilled their promise and sent a copy via PDF. They then advised me at 2215 CET that they would contact me in 45 minutes.

It is now 0010 my domain has been stolen 9 days ago, my business has vanished and I am very annoyed with Hostway - Domain People - Net Nation or whatever they call themselves... Their Customer Service is disgusting.
I took legal advice and they advised me to try and solve the dispute directly with the Registrar. Though it seems that they prefer International Legal Disputes.

A small piece of advice for any Small Business Owner, do a google search on any future Hosting or Domain Registrar for complaints and actual testimonials form real clients, instead of reading that trash that they post on their homepage.

I learned this about 6 months ago, which seems a bit too late. Tomorrow I will file an ICANN Complaint and Hopefully sometime soon we will be able to report some Internet Justice.