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04-26-2012, 06:26 PM #1WHT Addict
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"Domain Registry of America" Deceiving People?
I was wondering if anyone else has been getting deceptively worded communications from a registrar called "Domain Registry of America"?
Today in my (physical) mail I received a letter from them urging me to "renew" one of my domains registered through Internet BS. The letter included something like "we are sending you this notice as a result of a privatization of the domain registry" and used "renew" instead of "transfer" everywhere except in small print below the signature line of the "renewal" form they wanted me to send back.
This seems more than a little deceptive because not only are they writing as if you must "renew" through them, but their name, "Domain Registry of America", sounds very official, not to mention that they want the exorbitant rate of $35/year for a .com. This wouldn't fool most people here, but has anyone else been getting these kinds of letters from them?
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04-26-2012, 06:31 PM #2
They've been doing it for years, so apparently what they're doing is not against the law.
It's still a pretty shadey tactic though.SimpleSonic - We Make Fast... Easy!
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04-26-2012, 06:33 PM #3Disabled
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Yup I get those all the time.
Just threw them away, but I might call them and give them a hard time. Got a phone number?
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04-26-2012, 06:33 PM #4Web Hosting Master
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Call them and get removed, I did it while ago and have not received one in quite a while.
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04-26-2012, 06:43 PM #5Disabled
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Exactly what I want to do, except I don't have any sitting around
Do you have to do it per domain? Because I get multiple because I have multiple domains...
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04-26-2012, 06:47 PM #6Web Hosting Guru
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They've been doing this for at least 5-6 years (if not more). We've had a few clients who got duped by the letter.
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04-26-2012, 07:13 PM #7WHT Addict
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They've been doing this for a long, long time. It looks like a bill. If I remember right they had to add "this is not an invoice" or something similar to the letter because it was too confusing for people.
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04-26-2012, 09:40 PM #8Web Hosting Master
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It's a scam. I've gotten hundreds of those, just bin them.
I could tell you a joke about UDP. But I'm not sure you would get it!
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04-27-2012, 12:29 AM #9Web Hosting Master
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_scams
"In 2002, the UK Advertising Watchdog Authority (ASA) slammed Domain Registry of Europe over similar mail shots.[14][15]
In response to this, Alan Freeman, Relations Manager for DRoE, said that the company - which also trades as Domain Registry of America and Domain Registry of Canada - had registered 1.1 million domains for customers and was registering between 5,000 and 7,000 new domains a day."
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/12/domainreg.shtm
In 2003... "Under the terms of the stipulated final order announced today, Domain Registry of America (DROA), based in Ontario, Canada, may be required to provide redress to up to 50,000 consumers, is prohibited from engaging in similar conduct in the future, and is subject to stringent monitoring by the Commission to ensure its compliance with the court order.
DROA is a re-seller of domain name registration services for a company called eNom, Inc. (eNom), an accredited registrar of Internet domain names."
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04-27-2012, 12:46 AM #10(formerly WhichGunDotCom)
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I get one of this at least once a year for every domain that I own. They go straight into the circular file.
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04-27-2012, 01:41 AM #11Premium Member
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Well certainly nothing new. Unfortunately they operate in a grey area I don't see which institution would be able to stop them
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04-27-2012, 03:05 AM #12Disabled
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But isnt there any way to stop them.. There should be some way / authority where this could be highlighted and a complaint could be raised... Cant the United States cyber laws have anything to do to control them...
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04-27-2012, 04:18 AM #13Newbie
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Yes they have been doing this for a long time, one of my our client paid them£65 for her domain name renewal before she realise that she has made a mistake. If you get a letter from Domain Registry of America just throw it away.
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04-27-2012, 09:26 PM #14Web Hosting Master
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04-28-2012, 10:42 PM #15Newbie
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Definitely shady, definitely deceptive but very hard to combat without new legislation preventing it.
As stated above, this is an ongoing issue which likely won't go away anytime soon.
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04-29-2012, 06:05 AM #16Web Hosting Master
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The problem is... they are probably not breaking any laws.
They are a genuine registration services provider (registrar or reseller, not sure which).
If you move your domains to them they will manage them for you in much the same way as any other registrar/reseller. They charge a lot more than their competitors, but that in itself is not a crime. So it's not a case of taking customers' money and running with it - they do provide a genuine service.
Their letters are made to look like invoices, but the small print (VERY small print) makes it clear that they aren't. Deceptive - yes. Illegal - no. The information is there, just not easy to find.
What they do is extremely unethical - they trick people into parting with large sums of money. But, unfortunately, there seem to be no laws about trading in ways that are unethical, so the only thing we can do about DROA is spread the word and warn people against their business practices.
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06-14-2012, 12:56 AM #17Web Hosting Magician
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I've received several mailings from these people and did a little checking today. Instead of starting another thread I did a simple search here and found one fairly current.
Eric Voisard
Customer Relations Manager
1-866-434-0212 ex 248
evoisard@droa.com
They were apparently also cited by the FTC in 2003 and changed the wording on their mailings but they still look like invoices.
There is also an attorney in NY who is willing to pursue the matter. his name is,
Brendan James Gilbert, Esq.
The Gilbert Law Office
http://thegilbertlawoffice.com
If you have clients being duped by these people then they should get together and stop these people.
There's a number of sites that have info about this company. gotta love the name of this one though
http://www.the-name-i-wanted-was-alr...-america-scam/
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06-14-2012, 06:39 AM #18Junior Guru Wannabe
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Registrar will always intimate you on the time of domain expiration, they will continuously intimate you on the domain renewals in order the domain owner should not to loss the domain.
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06-14-2012, 09:04 AM #19Web Hosting Magician
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06-17-2012, 10:27 AM #20Newbie
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This is fraud by misrepresentation (UK law). The FTC in the U.S. took legal action, and they were banned from doing it over there. Elsewhere, they seem to have a free reign.
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06-17-2012, 10:38 AM #21Web Hosting Magician
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06-17-2012, 04:38 PM #22Newbie
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Looks like the FTC has taken their eye off the ball. After the ruling they were supposed to be monitoring their future conduct. Seems like the FTC is about as effective as the SEC.
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06-17-2012, 04:51 PM #23Web Hosting Master
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06-17-2012, 04:51 PM #24Web Hosting Master
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Yeah goes in the shredder for me. Would be nice if they stopped.
Nothing here right now.
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06-17-2012, 07:08 PM #25Junior Guru
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I've had plenty of these, this is the best way to handle them.
1) Comes through mailbox.
2) You see their logo.
3) You can write on it: Wrong Address or return to sender. (Not required)
4) Send it back unopened.
5) They will endure an extra postage fee.
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