Anyone else get those offical-looking letters from DROA that are supposed to look like bills. They send them to whomever is the adminstrative contact on a domain. The idea is that you'll be stupid enough to send a check back and this will be used to switch your registrar.

A while ago, I heard someone filed a class action lawsuit against them but I can't seem to find my bookmark about it.

Does anyone have any other information on DROA and any lawsuits filed against them?

Hi kkimmel,

One of my clients received the same "bill" for his domain. He was ready to send them a check but luckily he called me first. I did a search here and found the thread you're referring to. Here's the link (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33196&highlight=Domain+Registrar+of+America)

I imagine they catch quite a few innocent victims.:mad:

The Sad Thing is that it must work for them. Otherwise, they could not continue to spend the huge amount of letters they send. Yesterday, alone, I received 37 from them. I estimate over the course of the last 12 months, I have received at least 300. I trash them all, but someone out there is signing up to make it pay off for them.

I got a stack of six of them from DROA.

I got two others under the name of Internet Corporation Listing Service.

They also apparently use the busines name of "Internet Corporation Listing Service" because the postage permit number that they mail the letters out on is the same, its the same scammy message with a different look/name.

They are all mailed from permit #4205 in Buffalo, New York.

Those permits cost a registration fee of $600.00 a year plus a load of other expenses just to have them, its not like domain names where you can afford to have one for each of your DBAs.

Don't trash them. Get a shoebox and save them. I think there is a class action lawsuit against them already and even if there isnt someone will stick them with one soon for false and deceptive advertising.

I like to turn my junkmail into money. And thanks to the Indiana state legislature, spamming is illegal here now too. All spammers can be sued for up to $500.00 per e-mail if they dont put "ADV:" in the subject line of thier ad.

catfished:

Your link was to the Register.com case. I thought there was another class action going for all of us (not just Register.com customers).

I got one from the Domain Registry of Canada.

We get the same thing in Canada, but from the Canadian version. I get calls from my customers all the time asking if they should be sending in a check to renew their domain. They seem to do it 6 months before expiry so that they pre-empt any reminders from their actual registrars.

Personally, I find it to be a seedy marketing tactic...

Vito

Originally posted by vito
I get calls from my customers all the time asking if they should be sending in a check to renew their domain. They seem to do it 6 months before expiry so that they pre-empt any reminders from their actual registrars.

Personally, I find it to be a seedy marketing tactic...

Vito

Agree..that very thing has happened to us as well. They think HostCaters is affiliated with them in some way, especially if we registered the domain for them. We've actually had a few clients that did renew through DROA and then contacted us after they had done so. :-(
It still seems to happen even though we send out a reminder via email about every 6 months, and post a notice in our forum that we are not affiliated with any of them.

Originally posted by kkimmel
catfished:

Your link was to the Register.com case. I thought there was another class action going for all of us (not just Register.com customers).

Sorry kkimmel,

I thought I had read about a class action suit in that thread but after reading all the posts, I guess not. I tried another search but to no avail.

Originally posted by kkimmel

They are all mailed from permit #4205 in Buffalo, New York.




Buffalo?! Why the... Gimme their address and I'll send Vito over...

Domain Registry of America
2316 Delaware Ave, #226 (Sounds like MBE)
Buffalo, NY 14216-2687

The sad part is their an enom reseller, they have been sued by multiple registrars and enom still allows them to be a reseller. Anything for a buck

I wonder how many large companies just pay them? Its no secret that major companies pay loads of bogus invoices for small amounts because the accountants are usually authorized to pay invoices below a certain dollar amount without matching the invoice to a PO or whatever.

Of course, this is yet another manifestation of laziness in action.

I got a few the other day for domains I'd already renewed.

Anyway if you get your clients to set registrar lock they can't be moved until unlocked.

As an opensrs reseller we had them put registrar lock on all domains just to protect our customers from DROA/C. In the past 3 yrs i have registered about 500,000 domain names, the opensrs reports say that 10,000 have switched to the DRO people (before we started locking the registrations). So yes there are a number of people falling for DROA/C crap why else would someone want to pay double for their domain names? I'm just one reseller and as far as im aware they target everyone.

10K X 35.00 a year = 350,000 cost about 7 bucks each or 70,000 so yes they can afford to mailbox spam everyones customers


Steve

Ya know what!

I got one from the Domain Registry of Canada yesterday!

( droc.ca )

And it tells me to transfer to them and pay $70 for my .com for 2 years registration

And it tells me to transfer to them and pay $70 for my .com for 2 years registration

What a bargain!

Scammers :mad:

I got one the other day in the mail.. this domain I received it for was about a month old!!

I forgot to look to see if it was a return postage paid on it.. will check tonight and if so, I will mail them a brick with the words "no thanks" wrote on it ;)

Originally posted by InternetPEI
I got one the other day in the mail.. this domain I received it for was about a month old!!

I forgot to look to see if it was a return postage paid on it.. will check tonight and if so, I will mail them a brick with the words "no thanks" wrote on it ;)

I like it:D If I ever get another one and it has return postage I'll send them "something:puke:" with "no thanks" written on it.

mail them a really huge large dead fish with it engraved into it lol

nasty! good idea though lol

Or send them a professional looking letter letting them know that you will renew *thier* domain for you for the superlow price of $35. ;)

I have a little rubber stamp that I got from an anti-establishment store (for the uninitiated, these are people that hate mega corporations, advertising and telemarkerters) that I use a red stamp pad with.

It show sthe little finger and it says "Return to Sender - Stop Mass Marketing" on it.

Comes in handy for pre-approved credit card applications, too.

Originally posted by PCLink
Ya know what!

I got one from the Domain Registry of Canada yesterday!

( droc.ca )

And it tells me to transfer to them and pay $70 for my .com for 2 years registration Thier website saysRenew your domain name now for only $40.00!
for a two year term, or $25.00 for a one year term.
Versus the industry standard price of $70.00 for a two year renewal:rolleyes:

Originally posted by kkimmel
And thanks to the Indiana state legislature, spamming is illegal here now too. All spammers can be sued for up to $500.00 per e-mail if they dont put "ADV:" in the subject line of thier ad. The only place in the USA where spamming is illegal is Delaware (and maybe also California too, if a pending bill passes this year). Requiring "ADV" in spam just makes companies think it's OK to send spam.

Just got 2 this morning from the Domain Registry of America - same *sweet* deal :P

Looks like they have got UK offices now, in Gloucester! Went straight in the shredder :)

these guys are stubborn... they have been told repeatedly to stop this practice but they stop for a month or so and then start it straight back up again...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/27752.html

Originally posted by chicago
The only place in the USA where spamming is illegal is Delaware (and maybe also California too, if a pending bill passes this year). Requiring "ADV" in spam just makes companies think it's OK to send spam.


I dont give a damn what it makes them "think". I am not responsible for thier thoughts (or lack thereof) and sending SPAM is FINE WITH ME if they include ADV. I kill *all* messages on the server with those first three letters as a subject.

Out of sight, out of mind.

For those who are curious, I am refering to IC 24-5-22:

http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2003/HE/HE1083.1.html