Getting our .com back

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networkn

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#106343 22-Jul-2012 22:43

Before I was involved with the client I am referring to, she had a web developer who registered a .com domain in his name, instead of hers. For the last 10 years he has been charging her crazy fees to host and maintain the domain and I have decided enough is enough.

The domain is actually her name .com and as such it should be no difficulty proving it's hers. The problem is her name or details don't appear anywhere.

I figure a letter to an authority explaining the situation should resolve the issue but I am unsure who to send the letter from the client to?

Anyone have any bright ideas?

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#660135 22-Jul-2012 22:49

networkn: Before I was involved with the client I am referring to, she had a web developer who registered a .com domain in his name, instead of hers. For the last 10 years he has been charging her crazy fees to host and maintain the domain and I have decided enough is enough.?

The domain is actually her name .com and as such it should be no difficulty proving it's hers. The problem is her name or details don't appear anywhere.?

I figure a letter to an authority explaining the situation should resolve the issue but I am unsure who to send the letter from the client to??

Anyone have any bright ideas?

What do you mean by crazy fees?
Your client should contact the person who is charging them, to switch it into their name, that will be the easiest solution, and then get them to unlock it and generate a AUTH code. IMNADNE, but domains should not be registered in the name of the developer rather than the owner using that domain.

networkn

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#660136 22-Jul-2012 22:52

She has tried. He is claiming ownership. He has offered to "sell" it to her for a substantial fee or rent it annually. I would rather not disclose the value, but well beyond reasonable, seeing as one 1 dns entry is present which points to her web host.

johnr

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#660140 22-Jul-2012 22:55

Can she register the .co.nz of the domain?

Maybe they might be able to show this person that she is now not that bothered about it and the price might drop after traffic stops hitting the .com site

networkn

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#660142 22-Jul-2012 22:57

Unfortunately we are well past all of those options.

CYaBro

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#660144 22-Jul-2012 22:58

Is this developer in NZ?
That could make a difference as to what path to take to get it changed.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

networkn

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#660145 22-Jul-2012 22:58

Was, has moved to the UK.

Zeon

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#660151 22-Jul-2012 23:09

networkn: Was, has moved to the UK.

That makes it very difficult. It's not even worth pursuing through the centrally registry authority for a .com unless you want to spend 5 figures easy.

I'm not a legal expert but its probably best to get a NZ court to order him to transfer the ownership back. Even though it will be very difficult to enforce in the UK you may be able to get it sorted out in a way which means that should he return to NZ that he could be forced to transfer back + penalties which the risk alone could be incentive enough for him to do it.

It's scary the number of people who get domains registered in their developers names and incredibly seedy of the developer.

A .nz domain would be a different story.

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mattwnz

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#660156 22-Jul-2012 23:20

networkn: She has tried. He is claiming ownership. He has offered to "sell" it to her for a substantial fee or rent it annually. I would rather not disclose the value, but well beyond reasonable, seeing as one 1 dns entry is present which points to her web host.

I don't think DNS entries are proof of ownership, even iof they are the only ones using the domain. Has she got it in writing that she owns it when she originally purchased it? Is t a generic name, or is it linked to their name or their business name. She could try the disputes tribunal, although not sure how that works if someone has moved overseas. .coms are tricky.

Has it been registered through a NZ reseller of .com domains, because if it has you could contact them about their domain dispute policies.

LennonNZ

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#660157 22-Jul-2012 23:21

You could try. : http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/gtld/

Which are like the NZ DNC (for .nz domains) for .com's.

Its the Place the NZ government got newzealand.com (different issue than your friend is having)

networkn

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#660160 22-Jul-2012 23:28

It's her actualname.com and she has the equivalent .co.nz domain, the dns points to the same web server as the .co.nz so I think we have a pretty good case.

I'll try the url above and see how I get on thanks.

mattwnz

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#660163 22-Jul-2012 23:31

networkn: It's her actualname.com and she has the equivalent .co.nz domain, the dns points to the same web server as the .co.nz so I think we have a pretty good case.

I'll try the url above and see how I get on thanks.

In that case they should complain directly to the registrar that it is registered with, and see what they have to say. This is why anyone registering a domain should always be provided with their own control panel for managing the domain, as well as checking that it has been registered under their name.

Kyanar

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#660179 23-Jul-2012 01:41

For what it's worth, the UDRP will only work if the domain is a trademarked name. Otherwise, it's considered "first come first served" and so far as I know, the .com registry doesn't contain "good faith" provisions in the registration agreement, which means that your client has roughly a 0% chance of getting it back without getting the developer to play ball.

That said, if you can find an obscure clause in the original contract between the developer and your client which you can use to get a small claims order to return the domain, then you might be able to get such an order enforced by applying to the UK courts.

All in all, the important thing to remember is to never let a third party register names on your behalf - always do it yourself. Because the rules are that the owner is the name in WHOIS, not the one that asked for it in the first place.

timmmay

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#660221 23-Jul-2012 08:50

So your developer registered it for you, but the domain name is the same as her name? So if she was Mary Smith the domains are marysmith.com and marysmith.co.nz? If it is I can't see any court making her give it up. If it was your name or your business name and they've effectively stolen from you that would be different.

This whole thread is a little confusing.

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#660223 23-Jul-2012 08:56

I see this so often these days, website designers etc putting up websites for clients but the domain and hosting are under the designers name.... some do it on purpose so they can hold the client to "ransom" almost, and charge them huge fee's. But yet some clients (when they find out) are too scared to ask to have it changed or dont understand the repercussions when they do want to move the site elsewhere that they can be stuck between a rock and a hard place.....

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

LinkTree

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#660225 23-Jul-2012 09:01

timmmay: So your developer registered it for you, but the domain name is the same as her name? So if she was Mary Smith the domains are marysmith.com and marysmith.co.nz? If it is I can't see any court making her give it up. If it was your name or your business name and they've effectively stolen from you that would be different.

This whole thread is a little confusing.

?huh who's confused?

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