I am using DTS-NET.com as my host provider (big mistake), and because they offered free Domain Name registration as part of the deal, I let them register my domains (two of them). One was registered by DTS-NET.com through GoDaddy.com, and is registered in my name, but with an incorrect contact address and the technical support DTS-NET.com email address that is currently (and has been) bouncing email back with undeliverable errors. My second domain was registered by DTS-NET.com through Names4life.com, and it is not registered in my name or with my information at all -- it's even registered with a contact email address of dtsnia@yahoo.com! Yes, DTS-NET even used a free email address as a primary registration contact, and it is (but of course!) bouncing emails back saying that the mailbox has been full for months and is at the point of being deactivated!! None of the DTS-NET.com contact email addresses (sales, tech support, management, jobs, etc.) work, the tech support phone number is always answered by an answering machine with a mumbling message that tries to make it sound like you're in a queue waiting to be transferred to "the next customer representative", and then it just beeps. None of my phone messages are ever returned. I can find no physical US Mail address for them, and even their FAX number doesn't work! To make matters worse, this isn't just a preference of mine to get the domains in my name -- I need to transfer them because DTS-NET's host service has only been working about 50% of the time during the last month and only about 80% of the time in the previous month. So much for their much-touted 24/7/365 guarantee!

Yeah, I know...I'm stuck in a real disaster!

Questions:

Is there any way that I can get my domains back into my own hands? I contacted both GoDaddy and Names4Ever, and neither one will change the registration information, even though I can provide them with information that proves I own the domains. GoDaddy will not even give me access to change the information myself, even though the domain is registered in my name! Unfortunately, the primary domain name that I really want is not registered in DTS-NET's name with Names4Ever, and understandably there's nothing they're willing to do.

Can ICANN help me or will they give me the same answer the registrars?

I intend to report DTS-NET.com to the Better Business Bureau (their parent or agent company, Cognigent, is a member and DTS-NET sports the BBBOnline logo on their site). Is there any other avenue I have for getting these idiots in the most trouble as possible?

I would go the icann route if all other avenues are exhausted.

icann or contact a lawyer to help you out...

I am at a loss for words. I think you will have a hard time getting those domains even if someone from dts-net contacts you. Most of the "free" domain hosting deals never allow the customer to take the domains with them when they leave.

Food for thought which has never failed me - I never conduct business with a company that doesn't post full contact information on their website.

Also never ever register your domain name with the host you are going to use, no matter what the sweetener is.

Originally posted by acts837
I am at a loss for words. I think you will have a hard time getting those domains even if someone from dts-net contacts you. Most of the "free" domain hosting deals never allow the customer to take the domains with them when they leave.

Food for thought which has never failed me - I never conduct business with a company that doesn't post full contact information on their website.

I agree that looking at the surface of my story above, it looks like I just foolishly jumped into a cheap domain hosting service, but I actually didn't.

This "company" (and I use that term loosely, because I really do think it's operated out of someone's parents' garage...maybe a sleazy, college apartment at best...) was highly rated for webhosting by some very reputable online magazines, websites (including Yahoo!), etc. The website itself looks very professional, and even has the BBBOnline logo, claiming to be a member (actually, only the parent agency is -- and yes, I reported misuse of the BBBOnline logo to the BBB). Multiple methods of contact are listed on their website, and when setting up my webhosting service (all done online, including paying with a credit card through a secure site -- for one of the domains, I used PayPal) their communication, updates, etc., was all very expedient. The problem is that once you subscribe to their service, pre-pay the account for a year, and register your domain through them, you don't get butt-squat out of them. I'm also beginning to think that the "owner" of the "company" must've died, OD'ed on drugs, or has been arrested (likely), because starting about two months ago, all their email boxes are bouncing, their fax number is "not configured correctly" (haha -- they're a telecommunications company?), and both their "corporate" phone number and technical support goes straight to the same answering machine (okay, it MIGHT be voicemail, but it's pretty bad quality with no extra options).

I've learned a lot in the pass one to two days of fighting this fiasco -- first of all, DTS-NET, LLC, pretty much doesn't exist except as a website clone (with a different logo) of the Cognigen.net website. Turns out Cognigen is their parent agency, and DTS-NET is nothing more than a vague webhosting/telecommunications reseller/agent for Cognigent. Most of their support links that were down before are now working again, but they're not working properly. What happens now is that all their support links go to the Cognigent.net website, and then when I try to go further into the Cognigent.net website to webhosting technical support, all trouble tickets generated online go to some company called "EP" which stands for "Extreme Programming". They were just as puzzled for getting my trouble ticket as I was for them receiving it. Apparently, they do some web design work for Cognigent from time to time, but say they are not part of their technical support team.

Fiasco -- definitely the correct word.

I just went ahead and filed an official BBBOnline complaint against Cognigent yesterday, since they're the ones who are actually physically hosting my website, and it's their rogue reseller/agent causing all the problems. I will also follow up with ICANN to see if they can do anything about my domains, especially if Congnigent worms out of the BBBOnline complaint on some technicality like, "We have no control over what our independent agents do to their clients." Yeah, I already see that sliding down the pike.

I'm glad both of these are just hobby sites. One of the domain names are not even really active (it was replaced with the second one). I'm thinking about just closing down the site and moving on to a woodcarving hobby...maybe toothpick collecting...anything that doesn't involve a CPU and the internet/computer industry. I'm a career network engineer with 15 years experience. Computer/network support is going to hell in a handbasket because every moron with a cable modem who can figure out how to use a mouse is opening up their own webhost reseller site, but can't offer any support or even operate with proper business ethics.

Thanks for the advice, folks. I really appreciate it. In the end, at least I did get a good deal on the registration and hosting of these domains. I've seen messages here and elsewhere describing very similar situations and they paid exponentially more money than I did! Whew! :o

Originally posted by internetpilot
I'm a career network engineer with 15 years experience. Computer/network support is going to hell in a handbasket because every moron with a cable modem who can figure out how to use a mouse is opening up their own webhost reseller site, but can't offer any support or even operate with proper business ethics.


Have we worked together before? Two years ago a group of "geeks" were at a conference and somebody said these exact same words.

No, I don't do conferences, those are my own words/real opinion, and unfortunately generated by my own experiences in the industry. It's even worse if you're IT management and you have to filter through all the false resumes and interviews of people who have memorized the current lingo out of IT magazines and yet wouldn't even know what to do with a DOS prompt. My favorite is when I'm typing batch file or server login script, these same people call that programming. "Dude, he's like programming in something called a 'Dose' window...he's like Bill Gates or something!" I just laugh. I always enjoy asking them hardcore, theoretical troubleshooting or implementation questions during an interview, and then watch them squirm or flat-out lie.

I'm sure if I finally did reach a person at DTS-NET.com, I'd probably get a response like, "Uh...okay...dude, like what are we providing you? Oh, yeah...webhosting. So...we like...uh...have your website or something, right? Ah, crap! I just got majorly fragged! Hey, you checked out Doom3 yet, man? It totally rocks! Okay, well...uh...try rebooting and see if the domain registry information changes, and then call us back! Ah, man! sAurON666 just fragged me again! Gotta go, dude!"

Let the buyer beware when it comes to DTS-NET or Cognigent. I'll be making the rounds to all the review sites once all this is over (one way or the other). They'll be changing their names to something else in a few months, and still ripping people off.

Originally posted by internetpilot
It's even worse if you're IT management and you have to filter through all the false resumes and interviews of people who have memorized the current lingo out of IT magazines and yet wouldn't even know what to do with a DOS prompt.

Ha Ha! I real good friend of mine got hired by MITRE because he was the only applicant that could describe the OSI Model.