Domain registrar asks domain registrants to pay up after reseller doesn’t pay the bill.
A reseller of domain name registrar InternetX didn’t pay for its customers’ registrations, and now the registrar is asking domain registrants to foot the bill.
The company sent an e-mail to customers of one of its resellers that demanded payment for domains the customers already paid for, or face deletion of the domains:
Dear Sir, dear Madam!
At the registry, which is in charge of this TLD, you are registered as the owner (Owner-C) of the domain(s)
[domain list deleted]
The provider / ISP (SIA CREDIT, Dmitrijs Fjodorovs, Riga) who had the domains registered with us, failed to settle any payments. As a goodwill we had offered an extended deadline, which he again failed to meet.
In order to settle the question where your domain(s) will be administered hereafter / in future, we would like to request you to get in touch with us immediately. Since the annual fee is currently not being paid by your contractual partner / our reseller, the domains need to be paid by you. Otherwise -according to ICANN rules- the domains will be deleted.
Please keep in mind that as the owner of the domain(s) you have agreed to the Terms and Conditions of that particular registry – hence you need to fulfill your duty with due diligence. Additionally we’d like to inform you that a domain can be disconnected resulting in the non-availability of the domain. *In case we do not receive any response from your side, .de domain(s) will be given to DENIC into transit at the next payment deadline. You will then receive a letter from DENIC (only if .de domains are involved) to which you should respond in order to prevent the deletion and transfer to a third person. *In case we do not receive any response from your side regarding any other domain but a .de, we will delete the domain at the next payment deadline. In this case at once!
For aforementioned reasons, please get in touch with us until Monday, October 19th 2009. Please keep in mind that a delayed response might lead to a deletion of your domain(s).
Please contact us by mail: [email protected] !!!!
This may not be a big deal to U.S. domainers — but apparently this is hitting a number of large European domainers who hold thousands of domains with the reseller.
Beyond the customer service side of asking registrants to pay for someone else’s contract dispute, InternetX’s citation of “ICANN rules” is incorrect and may get the registrar in hot water, says domain name attorney John Berryhill.
Berryhill points to section 3.7.4 of the registrar accreditation agreement, which states
“Registrar shall not activate any Registered Name unless and until it is satisfied that it has received a reasonable assurance of payment of its registration fee.”
Berryhill says that InternetX had the obligation to secure assurance of payment from the reseller prior to activating the requested domain names. Failing to do so may be a breach of its registrar accreditation agreement.
“Whenever a registrar screws up, they’ll make this reference to ‘icann rules require me to hit you over the head with a bat’,” said Berryhill. Often times, these citations of ICANN rules are either incorrect or misleading.
HenzO says
InternetX I want that you have returned me my domains. The dissatisfied guy from Russia. Vodka, dudka, matreshka, shapka ushanka, medved, vhlam
John Berryhill says
InternetX является “серебряным спонсором” конференции ICANN в Сеул на следующей неделе. Они будут иметь таблицу на выставке области. Возможно, они будут рады обсудить проблемы со своими клиентами там.
balerun says
Билеты в Сеул нам Ексклюзив тоже купит?
balerun says
Ах да, забыл.
Moroz, babooshka, vodka, prostitutki
Ivan says
Internet apteka
Вася says
Vodka
Vaisa says
Как я понял, домены не должны были регаться в аванс? тоесть не прав регистратор?
Андрей Гусаров says
Конечно не прав регистратор, потому что радом регистрировал домены когда увидел объемы надеялись на халяву, а в итоге сами сели.
Честно сказать, если немцы вырубят домены количество исков в суд по нарушению прав потребителей будет ужасно огромным:)
Mapoz says
Дед Мороз горбатый. Интернах где мои домены?
Domain Investor says
Just in case you didn’t speak russian.
Here are the rough translations of comments above.
(JB)InternetX a “Silver Sponsor” ICANN meeting in Seoul next week. They will have a table at the exhibition area. Perhaps they will be happy to discuss problems with their clients there.
Tickets to Seoul, we Eksklyuziv also buy?
Oh yes, I forgot.
Moroz, babooshka, vodka, prostitutki
As I understood, the domains were not supposed to Regal in advance? ie not human registrar?
Certainly not the rights of the registrar, because beside registered the domain when I saw volumes were hoping for a freebie, and eventually got themselves.
(A)Frankly, if the Germans had cut down the number of domains claims in court for violation of consumer rights will be terribly great:)
(M)Santa Claus hooked. Interna where my domains?
RuReseller says
I and my clients have lost access to many domains. Over 2,000 domains! Half of the domain is deleted from the registry.
Who help me? ICANN? FTC? Or russian sports guys with baseball bats?
Цыгане с медведем says
> Who help me? ICANN? FTC? Or russian sports
> guys with baseball bats?
Несколько спортиков уже разыскивают Онатолия 🙂
Поможет только случай похоже, никто ничего не делает, один Онатолий с адвокатами-невидимками там гавкает на всех, всю Германию прям на уши поднял по его словам. InternetX вообще забыл про все ))
Цыгане с медведем says
В Сеул – это вам не в Сургут за снегом, можно и съездить, кто на ДВ живет – тому скинуться на электричку )
Happy Domainer says
According to internet sources, Dmitrijs Fjodorovs from Latvia has a reputation of the swindler in Russian/Latvian internet community.
Links to some amazing stories about Dmitrijs Fjodorovs (in Russian):
http://investtalk.ru/index.php?showtopic=612
http://forum.searchengines.ru/showthread.php?t=141986
http://antireklama.lv/lv/artstyle.lv/comments/topic-7133/2.html
Or, just type in into Google “Dmitrijs Fjodorovs artstyle.lv”, or “Dmitrijs Fjodorovs eureg.lv” – you will get tons of negative information (in Russian and Latvian, though) about his activities in the past.
Thus, if “Dmitrijs Fjodorovs, SIA Credit, Latvia” and “Dmitrijs Fjodorovs, artstyle.lv/eureg.lv” are the same person then…does it mean that InternetX didn’t ask him for prepayment, offered the person with reputation of the swindler some kind of credit account and now, when InternetX failed to receive payments for him, InternetX asks the customers to pay the bill?
Happy Domainer says
Sorry,
meant “…does it mean that InternetX didn’t ask him for prepayment, offered the person with reputation of the swindler some kind of credit account and now, when InternetX failed to receive payments FROM him, InternetX asks the customers to pay the bill?”
Viking says
It’s clear to me from my own experiences and from my clients that “resellers” are a joke, and any registrar or company creating “resellers” should be liable for everything they do. It’s a no-brainer.
Димка says
блин стока бабок с Escliuzivom пропало 🙁 и главное в аске сидит – типа мой папа юрист и мну все пофиг