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I just spent $150 to “retrieve” the domain name
that (I thought) belonged to my company. Our MISTAKE was to choose Network Solutions for registering
this domain name. We have around
200 total, so management is a problem for our SMALL IT
department. We WISELY registered most of these through GoDaddy. But
some holdovers, and those that Network Solutions simply refused to release,
remain at NETSOL. One of these expired in August. No warning. No notice. The wrong email
address for verification – their mistake, not ours. And NEVER did Network Solutions ever warn that an expired
domain name would be sent over to a profit center at its sister company, Verisign, so that we could be held hostage to pay $150 for
the privilege of renewing our own domain name after NETSOL’s
“generous” grace period of 30 days. Do they advertise this when they
initially seek your business and ask for you to use them as your registrar? Of course not. I’ve already confirmed that. Again, lots of marketing and email
to me to seek our business in other areas. But NEVER an email about this renewal! But, surprise – the SISTER
COMPANY has my correct email address and sends me an email directly enough
regarding getting the expired domain name out of Verisign
purgatory – for $150. QUESTION 1: If
they had the wrong email address associated with the domain name (this is their
explanation for why I did not receive the reminders), how in the world did Verisign associate this expired domain name with the CORRECT
email address and succeed in reaching me about “retreivel”? Why did NETSOL not use this CORRECT
address to warn me about their own brand of domain
name purgatory in advance of expiration?
Why indeed! QUESTION 2: Is
there NO END to how Verisign will use its authority
and Network Solutions its registrar position to con, disrupt, mislead,
misrepresent, overcharge and under serve the poor, unwary individuals who think
that the price difference of $35 for registration (NETSOL) and $9.95 (GoDaddy) has any relationship at all to a higher level of
service or protection from abuse? To the contrary – NETSOL and Verisign
are clearly in cahoots to squeeze every misrepresented dollar they can out of
domain name owners. And the salt in
the wound is that they use OUR OWN PROPERTY to do this, with apparently no
regard or conscience for the trust we place in them by using NETSOL as our
registrar. Where do I carry this complaint next? (NOT NETSOL, because
they don’t take complaints over the phone – just orders where payment
of money is involved). Department of Commerce? Federal Trade
Commission? At what point
does this so clearly become a deceptive trade practice that our rights will be
protected? James E. Giles |