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  1. #1

    Question PLEASE HELP! Lost domain:Namebargain let Enom ClubDrop take domain;can I get it back?

    Summary:
    (please also see a concluding summary at the bottom with some more info)

    PLEASE HELP! Can I get my domain back? I think it got taken in an "internal" type of "enom club-drop transfer". (the registered date still shows 2000, but now it's in someone else's name)... I think it's kind of like a "NetworkSolutions-to-Snapnames" situation.

    What ticks me off is that Namebargain let it go into ClubDrop early (I think) and their support service was so slow in telling me that I wasn't able to renew it myself.

    If you can provide any info on what the Namebargain-to-"Enom ClubDrop" procedures are like, that would be hugely appreciated!

    Or anything on what Enom's internal ClubDrop procedures are like would also be helpful.


    Like what kind of timelines are involved?
    Does anyone know how many days it takes (after the expiration) for a domain to "expire" into the Enom ClubDrop?

    PM messages are also very welcome.


    Details:

    I've got a few hundred domains, and unfortunately have kept about 300 of them with Namebargain.com since around 2001/02

    They're a division of Register.com, but since about 2004, the Namebargain platform has actually been on enom's system (no idea why).


    Anyway, my problem is that I had 3 domains with them that expired on April 19. Since I knew they had a 35-day grace period (and partly due to cashflow issues), I generally wait about 3 weeks before renewing.

    I check my spreadsheet of domains about every week or so, but I also check my control panel every few days (Namebargain uses the Enom control panel)... and when I do, I check the control panel's tab that's supposed to specifically list "Expired Domains", so that I can renew any domains that are around day 25 to 30.
    (since the grace period is 35 days)

    (I write more about their control panel near the bottom...)


    So on May 20, I checked the tabs, and in the "Redemption" tab, I found there were 3 domains that were in "Extended Registration Grace Period" (for which the web interface wants you to pay $160 each to renew the domain).

    This isn't the ICANN Redemption period, but just an artificial one Namebargain creates. [I figure Namebargain simply renews any domains that are long-time registrations (since sucky domains would have gone unrenewed in previous years)].


    Anyway, I was kind of surprised, because I thought I would have renewed those 3 domains already (like around day 25 or so).

    [near the bottom of this write-up, I talk about the control panel, and I think its screwiness contributed to the lapses].


    So I was surprised, but figured "no biggie", because I've had this happen a few times in the past few months, and if you phone them or submit a support ticket, they'll renew it for $8.88.

    So this was Saturday, May 20, and the department in charge of the renewals isn't available on the weekend (so I couldn't phone them... plus the time I did a couple of weeks earlier, they said I had to send an email). So I submitted a support ticket on May 20, and on Monday, May 22, I get an email reply saying the cost would be $160 for each domain due to a "new procedure".

    Not agreeing with that, and not wanting to wait 2 days for another reply, I decided to phone them... After I pointed some things out relating to the terms & past info they provided (and how no notice was give about this "new procedure"... the site's Terms hadn't changed in months), they agreed to renew for $8.88.

    This was at about 2:30pm on May 22 (which is like day 34 if you count April 19 as a full day). They said they would renew the 3 domains and send me an email... I expected one that afternoon, but didn't get one and figured they were just slow.

    That evening, I checked one of the domains, and it was renewed, so I figured they all had been renewed.
    (bad assumption )

    Then the next morning at 8am (Tues, May 23), I get an email saying they were able to renew 2 of them, but that the 3rd one (and best one!) "was released and registered by another party before we could catch it."

    But even if you count April 19 as a day, then May 23 is still only day 35 of the grace period.


    So now my domain still shows the original registration date as like April 2000, but it's registered in the name of someone else. Also, although the whois used to show it being registered with Register.com, now it says Enom (although I already knew Namebargain uses Enom's system... seems like Register.com's phone support people don't realize it though).


    The worst thing is I didn't realize it till now... I was checking whois info on some of my domains, and this is when I found the domain was registered under the name of someone else.

    When the email from Namebargain came in my inbox on Tuesday, May 23 I had assumed it was just the usual confirmation stuff like they always send, so I hadn't opened it because I've been so busy with other things. (again, bad assumption )



    Although I know I should have renewed it by the expiry date to avoid any of these problems, what really ticks me off is that I just found out how much their stupid control panel sucks!!! (it's the same as Enom's)

    The control panel's tab for "Expired Domains" is supposed to tell you which of your domains is expired and needs renewal.

    After all the problems I had last week, I checked it on May 22 to make sure there were no domains listed in that tab with expirations in April. And so when I checked, there were none listed for April (and I'm actually fairly sure there were none [for April] listed in the tab the week before either]

    But I just noticed that I have 4 domains that expired in late April, and they aren't listed in the "expired" tab! They aren't in my "Expiring Domains" tab either [and aren't in the "Redemption" tab fortunately].

    I found out because I was checking my own spreadsheet of domains, and looked up the whois info (for ones with expirations in late April) to make sure they were okay... and that's when I saw they were expired and needed renewal. I was fortunately able to add each to the control panel shopping cart individually and renew for $8.88.

    But there was also 1 in the damn "Redemption" tab... to avoid the problems described above, I went and paid the $160 to renew it, but Namebargain better refund me the extra amount over $8.88

    What annoys me is that I closely went through the control panel tabs (for "Expiring", "Expired", and "Redemption" domains) on May 22 after having the problems with the other domains, and these 5 domains weren't listed in any of the tabs.


    And if I hadn't looked into it in-depth now, I bet I wouldn't have seen the other 4 domains until they turned up in the "Redemption" tab.

    The damn control panel doesn't list domains like it should, so I obviously shouldn't have trusted Namebargain like I did


    So, a summary of my thoughts:

    - I know that after a domain expires, the owner kind of has no claim on it... but grace periods listed in Terms & Conditions should be followed at least...

    - I know that the onus is on the owner to ensure their domain is renewed... but what ticks me off is the damn control panel is faulty!
    (either by accident, or maybe they've done it on purpose in order to get more domains to fall into the $160 renewal phase, or auctioned off at Enom's ClubDrop)

    --- I think the fact that some "expired domains" weren't listed in the "Expired Domains" tab led to me not realizing that some of the domains were in that status.
    (in my case, if I didn't see a domain listed in the "Expired" tab, it led me to assume I had renewed it a few days earlier [in my prior check of the "Expired Domains" tab])


    - I realize that the onus is on me to manage my domains, but damn... the control panel should work properly at least

    - And finally, the Terms & Conditions still state there's a 35 day grace period... and yet I contacted them on Day 32 (or even 31 depending on how you count it), got a reply on Day 34, talked to them on the phone on Day 34 and they said they would renew the 3 domains. And then on the morning of Day 35, they tell me one of the domains was "caught" by someone else, even though it essentially stayed in the Enom internal system the whole time...


    So:

    1) The domain didn't even stay in the grace period for the full 35 days.

    2) The domain was still renewable from the web interface for $160 on Day 34. If the jerks had simply told me on Day 34 that it couldn't be renewed for $8.88, I would have gone and renewed it for $160! Instead, they didn't bother telling me anything until the next morning when they said "someone else caught it"

    3) Don't trust Namebargain's control panel to work properly.


    Sorry this got so long, but if anyone could provide information on how Enom's ClubDrop works (and especially what their "Namebargain-to-ClupDrop" procedures are like), I would hugely appreciate it!

    Or if you have any other thoughts on what I could do to try and get my domain back, I would be very grateful.

    Thanks
    Last edited by canadia; 05-27-2006 at 09:45 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    South Park, Colorado
    Posts
    3,522
    You asked quite a few questions, but answers to ALL of them are available at the registrar's legal papers. So you better check them. Unless you REALLY want this work done by us, but then I don't understand your reasons - why?.

    Another thing is that you'll hardly get any sympathy here. You yourself (being fully aware!!!) let the domains drop. Cashflow isn't an issue, unless you're living in a country where USD7-8 is big money.

    Sorry.
    Respect My Authoritah! - Eric Cartman (a friend of mine).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    NE USA (Almost Canada)
    Posts
    993
    Quote Originally Posted by canadia
    Since I knew they had a 35-day grace period (and partly due to cashflow issues), I generally wait about 3 weeks before renewing.
    Don't do that. Now you know. Grace is best defined as mercy that is undeserved and grace periods are known to be fickle critters. You'll need to see your registrar for any help as Stan's already mentioned.

    KGIII
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    UK
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    2,042
    I know it's not what you want to hear... but you took a gamble, and you lost. A bit like trying to bid on Ebay two seconds before the auction ends. If a domain is important to you make sure you renew it on time.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    5,929
    Anyway, my problem is that I had 3 domains with them that expired on April 19. Since I knew they had a 35-day grace period (and partly due to cashflow issues), I generally wait about 3 weeks before renewing
    That's your problem right there. Never let a domain expire. You need to bring forward your proceedure by about 3-4 weeks. All registrars, including Enom, renewal is at their discretion. AFAICR, Enom also state "approximately", and can be any time between 29 and 42 days before it goes into redemption, probably because they might sell it to someone else at Club Drop. They also have about 3 choices of what they can do with the expiring domain, entirely at their discretion. So you domain is GONE. You'll have to buy it back from the new owner. I'd have thought you might have learnt your lesson when they've been asking you to pay $160 redemption fees.

    I can't comment on the CP issues.

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