They might not resolve.

This week I transferred the domain names I’ve won at NameJet from Network Solutions to GoDaddy. I unlocked the 11 domains and requested the authorization codes. After receiving the codes, I verified in Whois that the domains were unlocked.

I was surprised to find 5 of the 11 domains in clientHold status.

ICANN’s website explains clientHold:

This status code tells your domain’s registry to not activate your domain in the DNS and as a consequence, it will not resolve. It is an uncommon status that is usually enacted during legal disputes, non-payment, or when your domain is subject to deletion.

It makes sense that domains you acquire at NameJet would have been in clientHold at some point as they worked through the expiry process. But the hold should have been removed when I bought these domains.

Unfortunately, someone or some system dropped the ball. That means that these domains have never resolved to the domain sales pages they were supposed to.

Just as frustrating was the response I got when I contacted Network Solutions chat support. When I re-read the transcript, I see that I got uncharacteristically testy. But there’s nothing more frustrating than telling a support representative what’s wrong with your domains and having them tell you you’re wrong.

01:05:48 PM [Andrew Allemann] Five of the domains in my account are showing clienthold so they aren’t resolving
01:05:52 PM [Jessica R] That is a lock the protects the domains from being stolen or transferred out with out your premission.
01:06:20 PM [Andrew Allemann] Um, I don’t believe that’s what it is. It is a lock that keeps them from resolving, so five of my domains at NetSol aren’t resolving.
01:07:04 PM [Jessica R] I am sorry that is not correct that lock has nothing to do with the Name sever change.

I did as much as I could to convince this person that there was a problem. She tried to tell me it was the nameservers I was pointing the domains to; I showed her that wasn’t the issue. I provided the link to ICANN’s website. I explained that these domains were all unlocked within Network Solutions’ account manager and the clientTransferProhibited was removed.

Finally, the representative said they had to create a ticket for the engineering team and I should hear back within two days. Two days! Can you imagine if your website wasn’t resolving and you were told to hang tight for two days? I won’t pretend that another two days of the sales landers not being there is a big issue, but imagine if you were a small business and experienced this issue.

Be sure to check the domains you buy at NameJet to verify that clientHold is removed.