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Recovering Domains from Negligent Registrars?
Mousit asks: "I am curious on how fellow Slashdot readers have dealt with negligent and unresponsive registrars. For a few years or so now, I've been using Jump Domain as my registrar for the domains I own and maintain. This was originally by choice, but for the last year or two it has been by force. I lost a domain to them early last year when I attempted to renew it and the automated process failed, putting it into a 'pending' status in wait for 'manual intervention' as the message told me. This intervention never happened, support tickets about it were never answered, and on top of it my money was never refunded. The domain simply lapsed, expired, and nothing was done about it. Have others experienced similar problems with Jump Domain or any other registrar, and what did they do to recover their domains? Is it even possible? Short of getting a lawyer, the options seem rather slim when a registrar decides to simply ignore you and eat your domains (and your money)."
"Attempts to transfer my domains to other registrars failed for nebulous reasons which were always attributed to Jump Domain's fault and never satisfactorily explained, at least for the .com domains. Since I can't get JD to answer their support tickets, I have never been able to obtain the EPP codes needed for transfering .org domains. I am effectively trapped in Jump Domain's service, and I am losing domains one by one. The story is currently in repetition, with two more domains now stuck in "pending" status. Support tickets are again unanswered, and this time I even have a couple telephone numbers. One simply rings endlessly, while the other answers with a machine for Jump Domain Hosting support. My messages there have gone unanswered. One domain has already lapsed into expiration as of Saturday, the other will go this Thursday.
It's worth noting that Jump Domain used to be a reseller for TUCOWS, but they appear to have been dropped. They are now reselling for the sometimes infamous eNom instead. Considering even TUCOWS couldn't get a response out of JD during the previous lost domain episode, I'm not surprised they had to change. I have contacted eNom but was summarily told I need to deal with Jump Domain, and was given no further help from them."
It's worth noting that Jump Domain used to be a reseller for TUCOWS, but they appear to have been dropped. They are now reselling for the sometimes infamous eNom instead. Considering even TUCOWS couldn't get a response out of JD during the previous lost domain episode, I'm not surprised they had to change. I have contacted eNom but was summarily told I need to deal with Jump Domain, and was given no further help from them."
Comment removed based on user account deletion
From my experience, it's quite effective if you find another registrar to take over the domain hosting. They're in the same business, and will go the extra mile to secure new clients.
Most of the time it's because we don't know what/where to ask, that's why you need lawyers to defend even the most obvious case.
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
Personally, if a registrar took my money with the understanding that they would be providing me a service in return, and then did not provide that service with obvious willful abandon and intent to remove my intellectual property from my possession (my domain is my IP), I would consider that an egregious act of fraud...
But that's just me.. Your DA may or may not believe otherwise...
Try filing a complaint with ICANN
Depending on if anyone else is out there trying to grab your domain, I guess you can just let it fall and then buy it back through someone else. Or maybe you can try godaddy's back ordering system. This would also depend on if someone else is out there trying to grab it.
What are the good/bad domain registrars? Is there a comprehensive list with feedback somewhere?
___
If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
Sorry to hear about your plight, but unfortunately usually the only option left when the company does not respond is to seek legal action. I'm hardly a lawyer, but you might be able to recoup some of your legal costs by suing the company for them, but might not be such a good idea against today's armies of corporate lawyers.
This sort of thing is exactly why I only use domain registrars and hosting companies that either have independent, positive feedback or ones that my friends use. One should always do their homework before going into something like this.
My other Sig is
I'd say someone just forgot about it.
For context, click Parent.
He already has domains registered with Jump Domain. He does not want to abandon those domains, and he can't seem to transfer them. You could suggest a thousands amazing registrars, and it won't help him with this problem
hrmm it'd be funny to re-register jumpdomain.com with another registrar wouldn't it? :-P
/* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
Slashdot Parse Error, Paragraph 1: Option #3 of business plan not literal "Profit!". Re-enter.
OK, I'm assuming this is all occurring in the USA. If so, might it be possible to file a small claims action against them? The money is not large, but at least then you would have a legal decision on your side and perhaps help from the local prosecutors office (or sherrif) to enforce the judgement. It doesn't cost much to have a case heard in small claims court.
Jump Domain postal address, even in their corporate filings, is a MailBoxes, Etc. maildrop - 790 W. 40 HWY #197, BLUE SPRINGS MO 64015.
Also known as suing your socks off in a defamation suit. Even if you're right, it'll cost ya.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
5) Hemos posts a dupe of your original complaint.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Try contacting eNom again, and explain that you have made multiple attempts to contact the registrar but have not received a response. Detail your attempts. eNom surely has a procedure for transferring domain names to themselves when a reseller goes out of business or is uncontactable. They may also be more willing to help if you can find some sort of proof that Jump Domains is no longer in business.
I have had no trouble at all with AllDomains.com. They notify me by mail and email when action is required, and they allow me to lock and auto-renew my domains brainlessly if I want. I'll give them a thumb's up, mostly because I just don't have to think about them - ever.
--- I'd rather live with false hope than with false despair.
I think the grandparent is suggesting that the article's poster actually pose the same question to a third-party registrar (rather than slashdot), which isn't a bad idea at all.
In other words, rather than just trying to transfer the domain using automatic means, he might try getting in touch with a third party registrar's service line. They might know the best way to get this resolved, and might even have certain mutual contacts that could easily put them in touch with Jump Domain.
I and and some friends have had the same problems described by you and others.
Jumpdomain is not a registrar and is simply a reseller for OpenSRS (older domains) and eNom (newer domains). This is good since it means you can end run around them to get your domains transferred.
There have been three problems I've had transferring domains:
1) The admin email address is setup to be an auto@domains.jumpdomain.com (or something similar) which doesn't end up being delivered to the actual admin of the domain. This causes all of the automated transfer emails to not get delivered. You can update this information through OpenSRS at www.adminchange.com. I haven't needed to do this with eNom, but I'm guessing they have a similar process.
2) Domain is locked. This is done specifically to prevent the transfer of the domain and is usually a good thing, but in this case, it's preventing you from using your domain. The Jumpdomain admin interface worked for a few domains, but others I had to contact OpenSRS or eNom directly.
3) No way to access the EPP code needed for EPP registries (like .org and .us). I had to contact eNom directly and after explaining it was for Jumpdomain, they immediately sent the codes out to me.
I highly suggest doing all of this before your domain expires, since you'll need to rewew your domain before you can do any transfers (you might be able to get away with a reseller to reseller transfer with OpenSRS if it's expired, but I don't remember for sure).
Good luck!
I'm friends with the youngest daughter of the former head of the PowerPC division of IBM you insensitive clod!
Have a lawyer write them a letter, send it certified.
.. tell them you intend to sell their reseller account. At the very minimum this will get the attention of somebody at those respective registrars.
Explain in the letter that they either need to respond to you in writing how to transfer your domain name or you will be taking them to small claims court for the amount of the domain, along with the value of your time ($100/hr). Explain you would like to solve this amicably.
If they respond - you win!
If they don't, then take the letter to a judge and get a judgement against them.
If they show up - you win!
If they don't, You also win!
File the appropriate paperwork to the court and let them know you intend to place a lean on the companies assets.
Now, write Tucows/e-Nom a letter explaining that you have a court order to liquidate their assets.
Ask if the account is in good standing and if it has any values (your attorney will be able to put this into legalease for you)
If it doesn't -- hire a company to seize and sell their reseller account and liquidate their assets, then you buy it on eBay! Whoohoo! Now you get your domain back and you've got your own registrar. Hurray!
ps> if all this seems like too much work, then try finding another tucows reseller who can contact somebody at tucows to get the domain transferred to them. Tucows sucks, but they suck less if you're a reseller.
Administrative Contact:
Domain, Jump hostmaster@jumpdomain.com
790 W 40 HWY #197
Blue Springs, MO 64015
US
831-305-6918 Fax: 831-305-6918
Or maybe hire some thugs and have them pay a visit?
"In print it's liable..." ...uh, yeah....liable to be considered libel.
I would hope that Icann would jump in and help out even if he is a little guy. I mean that's what they exist for right?
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
The BBB says that Jump Domain has an unsatisfactory record due to unanswered complaints. It lists the contact information as follows:
Jump Domain
740 W 40 Hwy Ste 197
Blue Springs, MO 64015
Telephone: (816) 550-2376
Fax: (816) 550-2376
If any readers live near Blue Springs, perhaps they would be kind enough to go knock on Jump Domain's door and see if anybody's there.
I used to have my domain registered with a discount gig (think it was domainshop.com), that was later bought up by those crooks at Verisign.
That started a short but very unpleasant relationship. I would receive countless amounts of spam, and when it was time to renew, the price had gone up A LOT, and it would cost me A LOT also to have the service tranferred to a competing service. I wonder hwo many of those customers stayed on with Verisign. Couldn't have been many.
I chose instead to let my domain expire, and again Verisign was messing with me. It took much longer than the advertized amout of time for the domain name to be released, so I had to try and fail many times before I eventually could reclaim my domain.
The moral is:
If you find a cheap registrar, make sure you've subscribed for a long period. Even if they'd go belly up after the first year, you're probably better off than signing with Verisign. And if they get bought by Verisign, the renewal is not going to gobble your whole nestegg. And who knows, after 5 years, maybe even Verisign will have adjusted their prices to compete.
Since I went with godaddy.com several years ago, I've not received a single spam mail, and they've been easy to deal with, and they even have a neat mail forwarding service.
-- Another senseless waste of fine bytes.
I've heard about more than one incident of people handing over a domain at the threat of litigation even when they know they're in the right simply because it would be necessary to hire lawyers either way and a cost-benefit analysis yields that they should just bend over and give up. The 2600 guys have had plenty of experience down this path. Have there been cases where people have counter-sued for being, I don't know the word -- extored, blackmailed, whatever -- in a situation where someone with a lot of cash muscles the other side into folding simply because they know the other side has neither the money nor, in other cases, the political capital to defend themselves?
Parenthetically, I like the UK's system in which the plaintiff has to pay the defendant's legal bills if the suit loses. We should do that.
Repost of my two replies regarding this topic at DNForum.com:
... Jump Domain postal address, even in their corporate filings, is a MailBoxes, Etc. maildrop - 790 W. 40 HWY #197, BLUE SPRINGS MO 64015.
... agent is listed as Scott Ison.
p .a sp?621690
... contact Tucows and explain you want to transfer them out - either to another registrar, or at minimum, to another Tucows reseller so that you can administer your domains - no matter what Tucows tells you, get your domains away from Jump Domain.
... use the phone and tie up their staff - that way Tucows is forced to deal with the problem as opposed to putting it off indefinitely.
... or perhaps Tucows too, since some of his domains could be registered through other registrars - certainly a possibility given what I've learned so far about Jump Domain. ...
.com / .net registry/ .org registry
Firstly, you're dealing with a seemingly shady company
Worse, the agent name may be bogus (or perhaps is a partial name [ie. middle and last])
https://www.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/soskb/Cor
With that said, Jump Domain does not appear to be an accredited registrar - your domains are very likely actually registered with Tucows
Become a real pest, if that's what it takes, and *call* Tucows a lot - hopefully their customer support will help you the first time, but sometimes persistance is how these things get solved - try email, etc first, but if no adequate response
Tucows Inc.
96 MOWAT AVENUE
Toronto, Ontario M6K 3M1
Canada
416 535 0123
support@opensrs.org
** Follow-up/addendum to my above reply **
My bad on the registrar - I based my answer on searching I did on Jump Domain.
Still, the approach should be the same, just that he'll need to deal with Enom
One point I didn't make clear is even if Jump Domain is no longer affiliated with Tucows, that does NOT mean the domains they managed automatically moved from Tucows; they're still likely there - in a nutshell, the registrant will need to check the registrar of record for each domain at the links below:
http://registrar.verisign-grs.com/whois
http://www.pir.org/
Ron
Data Center:
Lee's Summit, MO
Note: For security reasons, we cannot disclose it's exact address.
Now of course, anyone who knows Lee's Summit (I used to live there, still pass through it regularly) thinks of this place, an old AT&T plant, now turned over to a number of smaller businesses. Note: I'm of course not suggesting anything happen here, as I have friends and family working in that building (no, none for jumpdomain, if you must know).
Now, I know a "data center" can also mean just a small office with a bunch of machines shoved into it, but despite that city's recent growth, I still don't know of any major location for a data center to live in Lee's Summit. If it's not there, then fine... keep the address quiet, fully understandable. However, if it *is* there, then their obfuscation is sort of like saying "I've hidden it in a 100 foot tall green statue of a woman in NYC, but I'm not telling you what it is, for security reasons" - sort of pointless.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
You could see if they will let you register jumpdomainsucks.com; perhaps that will encourage them to fix the problem?
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
You could just try dropping by their office, if you're anywhere near Blue Springs, MO (I assume that you are, since they're all about their local business).
They list their address on their website:
Although they say it's not open to the public, I'll bet that popping by would yield better results than you've experienced previously. You probably want to be on your best, most diplomatic behavior; and most importantly, never show that you are angry (by raising your voice, calling names, making physical threats, wise cracks that can be misinterpreted). Ask the receptionist if you can speak with someone in support. If she gives you a hard time, politely ask to speak with her supervisor. Whomever you speak with, explain that your showing up there was a last resort, as your support requests were not being handled. This place sounds like a pretty small operation, so there is likely a single support person -- and I doubt that they'll just laugh in your face in person.In the unlikely event that he/she does give you a hard time, politely ask to speak with their manager. If the manager gives you a hard time, take down their name, and politely inform them that you will be disputing all charges with your credit card issuer, as well as disputing the issue with ICANN, and reporting them to the local BBB chapter. Then thank them for their time, excuse yourself, and be on your way. Most places don't want to deal with bureaucratic headaches, whether with credit card issuers, ICANN, or the BBB. Lastly, you can spend $100 and get an attorney to simply write a letter (you don't want to retain counsel, since that will be incredibly expensive compared to your potential returns, but a letter can have massive sway). Again, they probably just don't want to deal with the hassle. They'll give you what you want and you can part ways as pleasnatly as possible.
-Turkey
Because the moderators are either:
+5, Optimistic
or
-5, Naive
What do you mean USED to?
netsol is still the worst.
I think that at the point you cannot actually administer your domains, you've just made yourself familliar with a domain registar that's worse than netsol...
- Leon Mergen
http://www.solatis.com
I used to have an account with Namezero. I tried many times to contact them, with no avail. They never answered any of my questions (through their website) or replied to any of my emails. I did a whois lookup on them to get a number and called them on that number. There were no returned called. I eventually just ended up saying "fuck you" to them and went with network solutions. I got them to transfer my stuff over to them because Namezero actually used to be a reseller or something for network solutions and I actually ended up with them because I had no one else to get in touch with. They went ahead and transferred me. A few weeks after the transfer a representative from Namezero contacted me apologizing profusely and saying that I should come back to them and that they would provide better service. In addition to reporting them to the better business bureau, I told them to fuck off. The best thing to do is just go with someone else AND report them.
Vivin Suresh Paliath
http://vivin.net
I like
Doesn't look like a house :) more like an office building..
google maps has it
i dont like the feel of godaddy, it frankly feels like im being spammed the whole time i use the site... check out registerfly.com (thought a bit on the slow real-time-site-response side from florida sometimes)
Cheers.
This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
I know it's a bit costly, but in the case when your domain does expire and your current registrar doesn't renew it, by backordering your domain using another registrar, but be the thing to save your domain at the end.
godaddy offers this service for only $18.95.
network solutions and namecheap goes through snapnames which cost $60, probably more reliable and better service, but i've never used either of them to really tell you what the difference is.
What is Domain Name Backordering?
If you "backorder" this name, we will ATTEMPT to grab it and to register it on your behalf, if and when it expires and once again becomes available.
The low $18.95 backorder cost includes the registration fee, ICANN Fee, plus automatic monitoring and email alerts on changes to the Registrar, Status, Expiration Date, and Name Servers. Your domain backorder fee can be re-assigned to other names as often as you like, until you are successful in acquiring a domain name.
You also have the option of making your backorder private -- which means your personal identifying information (name, phone number, email and home addresses) is shielded from public exposure in the WHOIS directory from the very moment the backordered domain is successfully acquired.
Please understand that a backorder does not guarantee that you will acquire the domain name being backordered. The domain name you are backordering may be renewed by its current owner and not become available or we may be unsuccessful in our attempts to grab it and register it on your behalf.
Once again if your backorder is not successful, it can be reassigned to another domain name. (And if your unsuccessful backorder is a private one, your private registration can be applied to any other backorder).
hopefully your domains aren't that popular. then you shouldn't have much problem backordering them.
HD Trailers
The data center is here
All your Sybase are belong to us.
network solutions has been less of a pain than some. It is about the most expensive way I have ever parked a domain. I just transfered a domain from Nonworking solutions to Tucows, and all on the day its registration expired. NS now leaves such domains in REGISTRAR LOCK status and you have to call to get it unlocked so your new registrar can pick it up...awkward but safe. The transfer went down smoothly. Ask me about Tucows [and their reseller canaca.com] in a year.
other than outrageous cost, the thing about NS that bothered me the most was that the default "under construction" page they provide for parked domains was festooned with links to hard core porn labeled as "related" pages. Can you imagine trying to stake out a name for your business only to find that customers who visit your site when you finally turn on your content are saying "hey where's your pornography" [and imagine all the customers you really wanted who will never visit you again and you never know why]
SLASHDOT: news for people who can't concentrate on work or have no life at all and got tired of yelling back at the TV.
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
registrars.
Who the hell even had the power to create a lease/lien situation on domains for these entities?
It is now time to change by FORCE the model in which site name registrants own and control their names.
For example, motorists in NO WAY surrender ownership of their to a toll booth operator when their car breaks down or runs out of gas on the road. The vehicle has a license, and it is allocated, issued, and annually or every two years checked by a DMV.
For registrars to have a mafioso grip on domain names is insane, thievery, and unctuous. It ought to be ILLEGAL for a registrar to take the name of a defunct site operator or to sell it.
However, the registrars will cry foul, and will also say they invest time, energy, research, and other resources into setting up and activating domains for users. Well, to me, that's no justification for locking an account.
But, this BS stance can be alleviated simply by charging the applicant/registrant $10 more for an insurance fee that their domain will NEVER be locked, blocked, or obstructed and that the registrant can change to any registrar at any time, without any DNS-excusing mumbo-jumbo.
Registrars should be forced to operate under a "toll road analogy" in which derelict or broken-down or abandoned vehicles (sites/domains) are tagged, warned, then towed, but NOT owned by the registrar. However, as is typical in modern corruption, sometimes tow companies are as unctuous as rogue and self-serving policy makers can be. SO, we need an electronic grave yard or tow yard which the site's owner can come to reclaim their site. SO, the boneyard/graveyard/towyards also are prohibited, under this model, from hijacking and extorting or bulk-selling off domain names.
Yet, there IS the problem of cybersquatters and of those who don't in timely fashion reasonably respond to questions by other companies and domain holders about potential infringement of name or likeness. If people would be more reasonable about being a "player in the field" instead of impeding competitors who are doing a legitimate, fair job of competing, and if instead of unfairly sidling up to a domain name for unfair purposes people would cease or desist their acts, the registrars would by default be rightfully stripped of some of the inexplicable and far-ranging powers they wield over domain holders.
I would propose that anyone registering for a domain would need to show intent or proof to use the domain imminently (as in under 10 to 20 days time). If they need more time, they could PARK the domain, provided it is for marketing or tactical reasons and not for mere cybersquatting or extortion purposes.
I would propose that the domain contact details require that an identifiable person be physically cataloged if that person can appear before a local office. Otherwise, the business or non-profit or research entity registering a domain should be electronically tied to a city, county, state or federal employer/business registry. This would make it possible for legit companies to establish fair-play appearances.
Individuals, or entities not actually doing business but intending to later convert to profit or non-profit business status, such as bloggers, certain reporters, and information sites should be required to personally register the domain via some utility-like office in their community (unless facial anonymity is a paramount requirement, in the case of authors or publishers of factual but contentious/controversial intellectual material/stories).
That said, some measures may make my above suggestions irrelevant or partially covered. But, there also needs to be an implemented method to deter individuals and business or marketing entities from just making up and registering a warchest/ database of names that never get used, never get surrendered, and clog up the domain registration systems. Maybe an activity counter (possibly Google could do this but ONLY for a country in which that government ALLOWS Google to do this:) to in
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Sue them. That is why we have the Goverment. You don't need a lawyer. Just take some time off, go to the local circuit court, fill out the paper work and figure out what your damages are. Put it at something reasonable like $500. If they even bother to show up, just present your paperwork and some screenshots of what your website looked like. The judge will likely find in your favor and you can move on. If he doesn't then who cares? They would have a HUGE legal bill fighting a $500 complaint.
Offer to settle out of court first, give them time to respond to your complaint (30 days is normal) then submit the paperwork. Its a simple civil process.
Why are people on Slashdot so afraid of exercising their rights and using the courts to protect them? That is what they are there for.
I registered a couple of domain names (including one that is my first and last name.com) with one of those "Free" domain / hosting thingees where you pay $30 and get 1 year of low quality web hosting and a domain name registration for a year.
It actually worked well for about six months, then, the company was "bought" by someone in Costa Rica or some place in Central America... then, my web sites were down for several weeks, would come back up for a week or two and then would be down again for ridiculous amounts of time (basically, no one was monitoring them).
Of course, their "Support Desk" was more like a circular file and I got one response after numerous attempts to contact them saying they were on it, then nothing (radio static).
Part of the $30 was for the domain name (which they unfortunately registered "on your behalf"). This means all but one of the domain contacts was me!
I started to get worried that I would have my domain name fall off the face of the earth and I didn't have access to change the DNS servers or anything because the hosting company had registered for me and gave me no self-serve login.
I finally tracked down the company the actual registrar (for which the hosting company was just reselling, of course) and after a long series of increasingly unpleasant emails from me to them, they finally tried to do something about it.
The first thing they told me was to contact the reseller. I told them, thanks but I've been trying that... for months! After a lot of convincing they got off their butts and tried to contact their reseller and got the same radio static I got so they helped me out (they made it seem like they were doing me this huge favor when all I wanted was approval to transfer to another registrar to be able to salvage my domain name out of this mess even if I would get screwed with the web hosting).
They finally approved me and I transferred to Godaddy... I lost one of the domain names (it wasn't a big deal to lose this one and I didn't put much effort into fighting it) but kept the one with my name because I basically complained and ranted until someone got annoyed enough with me to do something to get me to shut up.
So, basically, my strategy to get this was to go over their heads to the actual registrar and make enough noise to become annoying and have them do something to get me off thier case! Patience is the best thing for this as a lot of the replies to weeks to a month to get back to me and they took forever trying to contact the reseller and finally gave up (they gave them a huge benefit of the doubt) and let me get what I wanted.
Basically, as someone else pointed out... If you don't have a lot of money to hire a lawyer and/or take this to court you're almost at the mercy of the companies that are screwing you over. Be persistent and logical and if that doesn't work, be annoying to get results.
Actually an unsatisfactory record due to unanswered complaints just means they didn't respond one way or another to the BBB. Either you have responded to the BBB or you haven't. If you have responded to the BBB but not made anyone happy you get a satisfactory rating. If you just blow off the BBB because they lack any power or jurisdiction over you and you don't want to take the time to respond to some nut case then you get an unsastifactory rating. Ratings from the BBB really don't mean anything anymore. The only benefit you get with the BBB is if the company is willing to work the the BBB (they are under no obligation to do so ever) to negotiate between the customer and the company. Take the rating with a grain of salt
Quality Hosting e3 Servers
Jump Domain went to the dark side about two years ago. I had a similar experience with one domain - but it was an .org which was still with Tucows while they were transitioning, and Tucows' own DomainDirect.com was able to slip me the secret code required to confirm the transfer. Subsequently with a couple of other domains I did manage to get eNom to help. So you might want to try again to get through to the right people there by phone. Also, although ICANN tries to say they will not help, if you get an e-mail through to the right place, they did in the latter case send their own query to eNom letting them know that they were looking over their shoulder on this.
I've had no problem with a couple dozens domains at DomainDirect so far. In past experience Network Solutions, Dotster, Register.com all suck, although none as badly as JumpDomain does now. Scott at JumpDomain used to be responsive, but I don't even know if it's his operation any more.
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
In my defense, I told her no matter what happened I'd maintain the site and make any changes she wanted or had someone else do and then upload it myself, a gesture of good faith, and she immediately brought up lawyers.
This isn't much of an argument -- you're forcing her to "trust" the guy she just broke up with to maintain a site all about her? An act of good faith would be to give her the domain and let her take down the site; this is a mind game. You're trying to "punish" her for her attitude, or for whatever other grievances you have. I know how this kind of stuff happens; someone hurts you and you want to hurt them back... but the fact is that the best way to get back at her would be to move on with your life, enjoy yourself, and make yourself a nice life as if she'd never existed.
Shut the site down, pass off the domain name to her brother or something (so it's off your hands), and move on. Doing something (like hanging the domain name like a sword over her head) expressly to drive her nuts are what you do while you're still in a relationship -- if there's no relationship anymore, it's time to quit.
They would lose, but swamp you in time and money consuming legal "stuff" during the trial. You'd most likely need to hire a lawyer. It would cost you more than the value of your domains (in most cases) to fight it out.
Opinionated Law Student Strikes Again!
Even if you are or are not maintaining the website for her, the domain name ought to be hers, and if you're being stubborn about the $6-$35 "ownership" you might have in it, you're being a jerk about the wrong things and ought to put the energy into something else. And if she feels like pointing the domain name somewhere else and writing a blog or a rant about her ex-boyfriend, well, it goes with the territory :-)
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
If Jumpdomain's just a reseller for eNom, then eNom is definitely the right place to go, because they're the real registrar.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Considering I'd all but exhausted all the other options, yes, getting it out on Slashdot was actually an intentional plan. It also worked, though not with JD itself.
.com domains were unlocked, including the expired one. Under eNom's system, an expired domain that is not in hold or lock, can be transferred. Thus, provided these transfers go through, I get everything back.
On calling again, I was able to talk with eNom's Transfers and Registration Manager, whom actually connected my story as related over the phone, to this article. Imagine that! I was provided EPP codes, and my
Jump Domain doesn't get their credibility back, but I still win. Hah.
The BBB local to the company is usually a good place to start. Letters from the BBB tend to make it to the upper echelon at the company in question.
You won't necessarily get results, lots of companies fail to act on the BBB's letters. But they all read them. Its a good place to start, and its free.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
I live in Blue Springs. The 740 W 40 Hwy address is a UPS Store (was a Mailboxes Etc.) I can't remember what is at 1700 W 40 Hwy. This search shows several businesses in the plaza. No Jump Domain is listed.o usenumber=1700&street=W+40+Hwy&city_zip=64015&stat e_id=MO
http://www.411.com/10668/search/Reverse_Address?h
I can drive by tomorrow.
last time i had to change the DNS record for my domain and eNameco's system returned error (second time it happened) i decided to look for another registrar. after a week trying to unlock the domain without an answer to my tickets, i finally sent them an e-mail threatening legal action, with copies to ICANN and Texas state's general attorney.
a day later the domain was unlocked and i moved it.
What ? Me, worry ?
Jumpdomain is my former registrar. I too lost a domain to Scott Ison's bullshit. he runs Jumpdomain himself, as an easy way to make cash. it's an easy way to watch cash roll in because he does not perform any support for the domains he sells.
anyway, if you have a problem with his policies, you should call his home phone number: (816) 228 - 1901. his home address is unlisted but he lives in Blue Springs, MO.
sorry to post this anonymously, but Scott Ison is also a lawyer.
I am *JUST* *NOW* managing to get my last five domains away from jumpdomain after a 6 month process. I'll post the messages I've sent at the end, but I'll give you a quick run down now.
- I tried contacting jumpdomain many times via many different methods, including email, filing problem reports and phoning. Every such attempt failed to reach a human. The problem reports were never responded to and eventually they were deleted.
- I have filed a complaint with internic earlier this year. It didn't do any good.
- The contact point for eNom on the internic website is an email address that now bounces and used to go into a black hole.
- I have *JUST* *TODAY* gotten good response to transfers@enom.com. Jason Cluphf was most helpful.
- I had problems contacting tucows also, but fortunately the domains that I registered via jumpdomain that ended up at tucows were all
.com and .net, and there is a new rule that by default, the transfers have to go through. The domains that I had with jumpdomain/enom were .org domains.
Ok, the following is an email that I've sent in various forms to about a dozen different emails over the last 4 months.To: matt@enom.com, transfers@enom.com, abuse@enom.com
Subject: I am having problems with your reseller, jumpdomain.com
From: wayne
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 16:05:17 -0500
Message-ID:
Help!
I got your email address from http://www.internic.net/registrars/registrar-48.ht ml
Your eNom reseller, jumpdomain.com, appears to have dropped off the face of the earth. I have been using jumpdomain.com since the mid 90's, but now I'm having big problems with them.
I need auth codes to transfer the following domains: elgin-watches.org elginwatch.org libspf2.org trusted-forwarder.org
This is the second time this year I've tried to transfer these domains away from you and your reseller. The last time, I not only didn't get any response from your reseller, but I didn't get any response from you and the transfer timed out.
I *WAS* able to transfer my .com domains away from you last January
because when you didn't respond, the transfer went through by
default. Unfortunately, there is no such policy for .org domains
(yet).
*** PLEASE DO SOMETHING ***
On Oct 2, 2004, I renewed several domains, including elginwatches.org. All the other domains went through fine, but elginwatches.org remained in a "Pending" status. I didn't notice this until late Oct, but that wasn't a problem elginwatches.org didn't come up for renewal until Jan 11, 2005.
On Nov 10, the domain still hadn't finished the renewal process, so I filed a trouble ticket with jumpdomain's support system. Nothing happened, but hey, there was still a couple of months. On Dec 02, I updated the trouble ticket pointing out that this needed to be fixed, but still nothing. No response from jumpdomain, and elginwatches.org was still "pending".
On Dec 8, I still had no response from jumpdomain, so I filed another trouble ticket with a higher priority. On Dec 11, I got a 30-day warning about my From jumpdomain that and I replied to that message, filing another trouble ticket. Still no response.
Unfortunately, I was busy during the holidays and didn't file another bug report until early Jan. A couple of days later, I notice that the bug report hadn't shown up, so I filed another one on Jan 8, this time marked as "urgent." I tried calling the Jumpdomain support line, even though they said that for domain registration, I was only supposed to use the web forms. Even during their limited support hours, I never was able to reach anyone.
On Jan 10, I tried transfering my domains away from jumpdomain, but I am unable to complete the transaction because I can't get the "auth codes". Jumpdomain has no place on the their website to request them, and they haven't responded to my request for them via their web support system.
I have continued to try and contact jumpdomain.com, but have still had zero luck getting *any* response from them.
SPF support for most open source mail servers can be found at libspf2.
Truth is a 100% defense against charges of slander and libel. I can't speak for the submitter, but I am very willing to testify in court that almost the exact thing has happened with me and jumpdomain.
See this slashdot post for more details of my case.
SPF support for most open source mail servers can be found at libspf2.
I manage 29 domains through JumpDomain, and have encountered the SAME issues. I know someone else who manages about 10 through JumpDomain, encountering the same as well.
I think almost everyone is assuming that the Registrar is actively ignoring support requests.
I have a second opinion: I bet the company has long since dried up and blown away, and that all that's left is a bunch of servers running in some ISP's rack, unattended and unnoticed.
When something happens to destroy a physical company (death, illness, corruption, whatever) you usually figure it out quickly - the shop isn't open, the paper isn't being picked up, whatever.
If an internet business suddenly folds - how long before someone actually realizes what happened?
Clear, Dark Skies
I laugh when I read horror stories like these, not because I wish this sort of thing to happen to people. But that people never learn. They always want something for nothing or "very cheap". I have been in the web hosting and domain business for 6 years now. I have clients who contact me on a regular basis asking me if we will match so and so's GREAT deal. I always warn them that if it sounds too good to be true chances are it is. I have had quite of few customers leave us only to return back in a month or two because of serious reliability problems or a total lack of service from these companies who appear to have these GREAT deals.
Bottom line is, do a little research, don't always go for a deal that is the cheapest. Word of mouth is your best bet or actual reviews from current or past customers. We sell domains for $13.00 per year, which seems outrageous compared to some. But you will always get a person responding within 24 hours or less and usually by phone.
All I can say really is be smart. Watch out for the shysters, there are plenty of them. Remember everyone has got to eat therefore if the deal seems almost too good chances are there is a problem with it.
Just my two cents.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
www.haidacarver.com
... where you have to be on *really* solid ground before you start shouting about defamation or libel.
SCOTT A ISON (Born Sep 1973)
400 JOY CT
BLUE SPRINGS, MO 64014-3980
I was also able to turn up another phone number for him: (816) 228-1998. No idea if it works, though. A reverse directory lookup shows that that number is for Jump Domain, LLC.
Dear Scott: This info was retrieved from the public records. Your privacy was not violated in any way shape or form. Have a nice day.
"Avoid employing unlucky people - throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them." -- David Brent