Hi,

I need you help. before i ask you for help.. let em explain my situation...

I used to register my domains and a local reseller of dotregistrar. However lately without my knowledge or me asking them, they have changed the status of my domains to Restricted. I want to now transfer my domains to eNom as this local reseller is looting me with really exorbitant prices. They don't even give a control panel to us to manage our own domains on the top of it. Sound slike a perfect unfair trade practice to me by these guys.

I wrote to them almost 20 days back requesting to change the status to Active, so that i can transfer out my domains, but they are yet to do it. I have called them every single day, but still no resolution or a reply to my email.

I even wrote to dotregistrar explaing them my situation almost a week back, but even they are yet to reply.

Well.. i believe me being the owner of my domains without me explicitly asking them to change the status to restircted, they are not supposed to change anything. This case looks like a good example of Hijacking the customer's domains by the reseller of dotregistrar. Now they are asking me to pay almost $3.5 for each domain just toc hange the status to Active. they even lied to em today saying that they don't have any access as reseller toc hange the status. Sounds funny... but really pi***d.. !

Someone pls give me some suggestions on how to resolve this issue. Considering to even sue them if required and have them compensate for any losses arising out of this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

How many domains are you talking about here? It may be easier to pay them their $3.50 per domain to change them back just so you can transfer them out of there ASAP!

Don't think about suing them unless a) you are a lawyer, b) are married to a lawyer or c) very rich.

It is almost 40 domains of mine. i may have to spend almost $125 for no reason... hmmm.

Actually, i am studying Busines law... in the 2nd year now. I do have some good connection who are actually industry practioners and my professors in IP law. Not sure, if it is worth persuing with them. may be i should atleast talk to them.

But can the reseller or the registrar shange the status without my permission?

Any other suggestions or links to which i can find useful info? I am also considering to write to ICANN, if that helps me... i found this email transfer-questions@icann.org. Any idea if that helps me?

Thanks much again.
Cheers

If you want a quick resolution to this problem, pay the $125 and move on. If you don't mind it dragging on a while, wait for them to respond or fight their charges. For $125, it may be a fight that's not worth fighting.

Uh.... Restricted? That's not a registry status. Unless it's their fancy way of identifying a registry status. Do a plain vanilla WHOIS on the domains and see if they're actually locked. If they're not, and if you hustle, you may be able to get 'em transferred. (And by plain vanilla I mean a WHOIS that doesn't look at their data, one that just reports the registry data.)

Last weekend (8 April) authCodes were added to the .com/.net registry and many registrars haven't added them to the older domains. Yet.

So if Restricted just means you can't do such-and-such with the control panel, and has nothing to do with the clientTransferProhibited status, pluck 'em as soon as you are able.

The .com's in your signature are registered at dotregistrar. I presume they are included in the 40 domains. Their status is PROTECTED, whatever that means. But I guess it means either a) they are locked, or b) they have privacy protection. I see that all three have privacy protection. Internic whois say they are REGISTRAR-LOCKED.

What you need to do to transfer these domains is

1) Remove the privacy protection and have your own details replace the privacy protection information. Pay particular attention to make sure you have a valid email address in the Admin Contact details.

2) Unlock the domains

When these two things are achieved you can proceed with requesting a transfer at your new registrar of choice. You will receive an email (to the Admin Contact) either to confirm the transfer or to ignore the email thereby confirming the transfer (it depends on how your selected registrar operates).

Good Luck

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

I did a quick whois on whois.sc and found they are actually Registrar-locked which means, i need to unlock them to be able to transfer out.

Worst part is that dotregistrar is encouraging such reseller perusing unfair trade practises.

As all of you suggested, i think i will shell out that $125 and take complete control of my domains and then move them to eNom.
However will think towards taking legal action on them down the line after i transfer out my domains.

I will also try to contact ICANN and see, if they be helpful... though i have heard from elsewhere that they don't get involved in individual complaints but they might have the concerned registrar informed to take quicker action...

Any thoughts? suggestions?
Thank you very much again.
Cheers

Worst part is that dotregistrar is encouraging such reseller perusing unfair trade practises.
Have you tried contacting the Registrar in the first place? If you are listed as the Registrant for these domain names in the Whois, they are obligated to unlock the domain name if you ask them to.

Quoting from ICANN's transfer policy...

"The Registrar of Record may deny a transfer request only in the following specific instances:

7. A domain name was already in “lock status” provided that the Registrar provides a readily accessible and reasonable means for the Registered Name Holder to remove the lock status."


"Instances when the requested change of Registrar may not be denied include, but are not limited to:

Domain name in Registrar Lock Status, unless the Registered Name Holder is provided with the reasonable opportunity and ability to unlock the domain name prior to the Transfer Request. "


I will also try to contact ICANN and see, if they be helpful... though i have heard from elsewhere that they don't get involved in individual complaints but they might have the concerned registrar informed to take quicker action...


They do get involved, but only if the Registrar happens to be the offending party. In such cases, they'd just forward some kind of Problem Report to the Registrar, which would effectively be no better than you contacting them yourself.

Do as I suggested and you'll be able to transfer the domains, or is that what they're charging you $3.50 per domain for? If they don't remove the privacy and put your details back, then possibly the $125 is going down the drain if they don't agree to the transfer, since they are still going to be the ones receiving the transfer email request. They might charge you again for that response. So make sure your email address is in the Admin Contact AT THE SAME TIME as the status change.

Wrecker...

Yes, I have contacted dotregistrar almost 8 to 10 days back and i have not got and response from them. Well... in my support request to them, i had not mentioned any domains though, but had asked them if they can change the status as they will have the master or atleast a better control than their resellers. So I feel they should be obligated to unlock my domains.

Would you suggest me to email them my domains and ask them to unlock or wait for their respose to my first support request?

I am really not sure, if dotregistrar can be a offending party here... i will definetly like to explore this... i atleast want to keep ICANN in loop.
----------------
stu2...

All those domains have my contact details as admin information. Only problem is i don't have access to managing myd omains... for every little change like changign teh DNS, i need to contact the reseller who takes his own sweet time. This reseller is charging $3.5 approximately for each domain, just to unlock the domains... and the reality is I had never ever requested to lock my domains.

I might pay this reseller and quickly transfer them out... however I definetly want to teach them a lesson in Ethics in business, which they are seriously lacking in. So I might take a little bit of risk with a domain or two of mine which are up for renewal in month of december.

Thank you again very much.
Any further thoughts/suggestions would greatly help me a lot.

Cheers

sorry duplicate post... so deleted it...

sorry duplicate post... so deleted it...

Moderators... pls delete these two posts as it happened because of my lost internet connection.

Thanks

Talking as someone who uses Dotregistrar...:

Yes, they do encourage resellers to lock domains - but there is nothing wrong with that per se. Having your domains locked protects them against domain name hijacking. I don't think you have a case against Dotregistrar just because they recommend locking one's domains.

As you are listed as the registrant Dotregistrar should give you control of your domains by letting you move them into a separate account. If they don't let you do that THEN you have a case against them, but I believe they do have a mechanism for moving domains from one reseller account to another, so you should be able to take control of your domains and move them away from your current reseller.

I appreciate that your long-term aim is to move the domains away from Dotregistar, but for now you should concentrate on the short-term aim of getting the domains out of your reseller's clutches, and it looks like the easiest way of doing this is to open your own account with Dotregistrar and move the domains across to that account. I've never had any major problems with Dotregistrar, and have always found them to be fairly quick to respond to customer support queries; so while they may not be your first choice of registrar I don't think you're going to lose anything by opening an account with them as a short-term measure.

Thanks Lubeca.

I understand the precautionary measure they take to encourage locking the domains, but that should be valid enough only if they give control to the end user... but this reseller seems to be deliberately doing it with the primary motive of making extra bucks for no service as such... which i odd in my opinion.

If i create a new account and move my domains to that account... do i have to renew them all for another year atleast? or can i just move them to a different account within dotregistrar without any renewals?

Cheers

I don't believe there is any regulation that forces you to renew with them...an internal move does not amount to a transfer, where one year is necessarily added. Never used Dotregistrar, so I'm not aware of their internal mechanisms.

As far as getting help from them, (from personal experience) it rarely, if ever, pays to wait for them. They must have a lot of such cases anyway. I'd recommed you get it touch with their support/compliance teams, and ask for some kind of Control panel access for all your domain names.

Bound to agree with Lubeca...before transferring away, you should look at getting control over your domain names with them.

before transferring away, you should look at getting control over your domain names with them.

wrecker....
Actually... i am moving them to a new account to gain complete control of my domains... but you mentioned about gaining control before moving? A little confused.

Thanks agian.
Cheers

Sorry if I confused you...

I assumed that your intention was to transfer away from Dotregistrar.

I just meant to suggest that you ought to move the domain names to another control panel, and then think of transferring out of Dotregistrar.

I take it Dotregistrar has complied to your request for control of your domain names?

Not yetThanks wrecker... Dotregistrar has not yet replied back to me. What i understand by now is that if i can move them into a new control panel, within dotregistrar, i can unlock them and transfer away to enom?

Best Regards

All those domains have my contact details as admin information. Only problem is i don't have access to managing myd omains... for every little change like changign teh DNS, i need to contact the reseller who takes his own sweet time. This reseller is charging $3.5 approximately for each domain, just to unlock the domains... and the reality is I had never ever requested to lock my domains

So that privacy email address I see in the Admin Contact is you? I'll send you an email to see if you get it, ok?

I might pay this reseller and quickly transfer them out... however I definetly want to teach them a lesson in Ethics in business, which they are seriously lacking in. So I might take a little bit of risk with a domain or two of mine which are up for renewal in month of december.

I certainly wouldn't recommend it unless you don't mind losing the domains. It's high risk, hoping to capture domains when they drop.

This reseller is charging $3.5 approximately for each domain, just to unlock the domains...

I would NEVER use a company which charges me for changes to my whois info. So you are right to move. I recall you saying you don't have access to a Control Panel. Do they not have any CP for their customers to use?

Stu2...

I am not sure, if you have sent me an sample email. If yes, couid you PM me the emaila ddress you are seeing on whois? I have not recieved your sample/test mail yet.

I know, i should have never used them in the first place. I have been their customer for last 6/7 years or so, and now they have become very greedy and employing these kind of business practises. Its unfortunate and unfair to say so.

Also... if i create a new account with dotregistrar can i move my domain into the new account without the reseller help or unlocking my domains and if i can move them after moving, will i get a full control of my domains?

Thanks much again.
Best Regards

Also... if i create a new account with dotregistrar can i move my domain into the new account without the reseller help or unlocking my domains and if i can move them after moving, will i get a full control of my domains?


I don't think you'd be able to do it, but I'm sure that DotRegistrar can do it for you...

Once you've moved away from the Reseller, I guess managing them is entirely upto you. You will indeed have full control of the domains...so you can choose to stay with DotRegistrar, or transfer away.

Thanks wrecker. I think i understand it now.

Basically create a new account with dotregistrar and have dotregistrar transfer out myd omains into the new account there. Once there in the new account, i get complete control and then transfer away to wherever i want them.

Any other inputs greatly welcome.
Thanks again to everyone.

Cheers

I dont think thats how it works PurpleCow. Why would you get any better control over your domains in a new account at the same reseller. Only if you change reseller will you regain total control over your domains.

i just went to the www.dotregistrar.com home page. It looks like any other registrar. Why don't you have a username and password to login? If you don't have one why not just sign-up for one and ask them to put your domains in your account. From there, you WILL have direct control over your domains.

By "asking them", I mean of course asking your reseller to push the domains to your new dotregrstrar account.

Why would you get any better control over your domains in a new account at the same reseller. Only if you change reseller will you regain total control over your domains.

Thats taken for granted, in't it? :eek: I thought he obviously meant an account with DotRegistrar or another Reseller, and not the Reseller.

In any case, you're spot on.

Yes, I actually meant a new account with dotregistrar and not with the reseller.
I guess that will give me complete control.

Best Regards

Yes it will. After you pursuade your reseller to push your domains to your new account :)