Recovering Domains from Negligent Registrars? 430
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."
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The Three Point Plan (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The Three Point Plan (Score:2, Insightful)
Also known as suing your socks off in a defamation suit. Even if you're right, it'll cost ya.
Do it in the UK then... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:The Three Point Plan (Score:5, Funny)
5) Hemos posts a dupe of your original complaint.
Re:The Three Point Plan (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Jumpdomain is one man: Scott Ison (Score:5, Informative)
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.
SCOTT ISON'S ADDRESS (Score:3, Informative)
400 JOY CT [google.com]
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 [google.com] 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.
Re:The Three Point Plan (Score:4, Informative)
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 [slashdot.org] for more details of my case.
LIBEL (Score:2)
You know, if you're gonna correct someone, be sure to get it right. (Like me; right now I'm going to Google "libel" to be 100% positive I spelled it right.)
Re:The Three Point Plan (Score:5, Funny)
Registrar vs Registrar (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Registrar vs Registrar (Score:2, Redundant)
"Attempts to transfer my domains to other registrars failed for nebulous reasons "
read the post more carefully (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:Registrar vs Registrar (Score:5, Informative)
Once you've hopefully got all your domains moved over to Verisign you can then transfer them out to another, more cost effective and ethical registrar, at your convenience. While Verisign isn't the best at this, they have cleaned up their act considerably since their recent fiascos like sex.com, so you should be OK. You might have to pay a little over the odds for Verisign's services, but that's got to be preferrable to losing your domains altogether, hasn't it?
Oh, and on the subject of sex.com, you should at least talk to a lawyer about this. You've lost several domains through the negligence of Jump Domain, and the sex.com owner made a killing (on paper) from a similar situation. While you are probably not in the same territory as that, that case might be enough incentive to convince a lawyer to take the case for you in order to wet his beak in a potentially lucrative damages claim.
Re:Registrar vs Registrar (Score:3, Interesting)
1) The original of sex.com is quite wealthy in his own right (porn king) and was able to pursue years of litigation and
2) The sex.com domain was immensely lucrative, worth over a million dollars a year in advertising revenue. Payment for this lost money was the majority of the damages the original owner received.
Re:Registrar vs Registrar; how about restricing (Score:4, Insightful)
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
Re:Registrar vs Registrar (Score:3, Informative)
I don't get it.
VeriSign owns NetSol.
NetSol = Registar
VeriSign = Registrar
Sorry, but the parent post is correct. Verisign is a Registry, not a Registrar. Network Solutions is a Registrar, which Verisign used to own, but no longer does.
Network Solutions was both a Registry and Registrar before Verisign bought them. They tried dropping the Network Solutions name, but then changed their minds, split the Registry and Registrar into two
Call the DA (Score:5, Informative)
But that's just me.. Your DA may or may not believe otherwise...
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Call the DA (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Call the DA (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Call the DA (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Call the DA (Score:3, Funny)
File a complaint, maybe? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:File a complaint, maybe? (Score:5, Funny)
You decide... (Score:5, Funny)
+5, Optimistic
or
-5, Naive
Re:File a complaint, maybe? (Score:5, Funny)
This is the correct answer (Score:3, Funny)
Re:This is the correct answer (Score:5, Informative)
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?
No, it's not. From the linked page, "ICANN does not resolve individual customer complaints".
I am also a burnt customer of jumpdomain (Score:5, Informative)
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.
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.
Backordering? (Score:5, Informative)
related question (Score:5, Insightful)
Domain Registrars (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:related question (Score:2)
Domains in Canada (Score:2)
My vote (Score:2)
Great service, good prices. They go the extra mile, and have real, live people answering questions.
Funniest story was after I'd transfered a domain to them; I got an email from one of their techs asking about my DNS servers (which are named Lister, Kryten, and Rimmer) - he was apparently a big Red Dwarf Fan.
Re:related question (Score:4, Informative)
Always check beforehand (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:Always check beforehand (Score:3, Insightful)
The good side of this is that you'll win your case and get your domain name back. The downside is that they are most likely judgement proof and you won't actually recover any damages.
Re:Always check beforehand (Score:3, Informative)
Small Claims Court? (Score:3, Insightful)
Try eNom again (Score:2, Informative)
They're the real registrar (Score:3, Informative)
Jumpdomain has fallen off the face of the earth (Score:5, Informative)
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 [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!
Re:Jumpdomain has fallen off the face of the earth (Score:4, Interesting)
Find a Lawyer (Score:2)
A similar problem (Score:2)
We can't get any help from our hosting provider, so I figured I'd go somewhere else. (The former webmaster was using frontpage to post stuff and doesn't have a valid control panel login. We're looking at adding some PHP and a bulletin/discussion board. I don't think we've been billed for hosting for a couple of months)
The problem is a couple of uears ago, someone registered the domain for 5 years. The person w
Honestly -- (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
Re:Honestly -- (Score:5, Informative)
First, a draft of a letter from an attorney will cost $100 minimum. Want to spend $100 chasing $10?
Then if they are like most people they will ignore the letter as it really means "nothing" in the business world. (I should know because as a former attorney I used to draft these all the time).
Just taking the letter to a judge will not do anything. You will have to file a lawsuit in at least small claims court (here that is about another $100; now down $200 for $10).
And if they show up most likely it will an attorney representing them, not a person who could do anything for you. The attorney will just be there to fight you.
And if they don't show up you will get a judgment. Big whip; it doesn't mean they have to pay. If they don't have assets in the state you are in they you need to file the judgment in their state (more cash to do this).
Then so what? They have a judgment against them; do you know how many people and companies have judgments against them and don't pay and you still can't get the cash? Lots. And this assumes you did everything correctly and did not miss a step AND that the court in the other state accepts the judgment without review (they are supposed to but if the defendant makes an argument that there wasn't due process they could reject the judgment and force you to litigate there). (Another $100 for filing fees, plus plane ticket, plus expenses).
As for the forced liquidation that doesn't happen. And even if you could do this you are not going to do it without an attorney who is going to charge $150 per hour which will take about $10,000 in fees, usually around $1000 upfront non-refundable.
Of course all of this assumes they even have any cash to begin with. If they are a corporation and the corporation has no cash left in it (or any assets) then you have your judgment and you are out how much?
$100 lawyer letter
$100 filing fee
$100 filing fee, second state
$200 plane ticket to litigate in second state
$1000 non-refundable retainer new lawyer
At a minimum $1500 cash out for a domain...
Look, while hiring an attorney seems to be a good idea for small amounts it isn't. When I was a practicing attorney if someone had a case which dealt with an amount less than $10,000 it usually wasn't worth it for them to hire an attorney at all. They needed to go to small claims court and if the amount was really small suck it up and move on. You can spend a lot of money chasing principle but you have to weigh that against what your time is worth. If it is worth more then drop it.
Oh, did I mention that at any time you have a judgment in small claims court you can invalidate it and retry the case again in the state I am in? That means after $1500 the defendant can make you start all over again.
Unfortunately its time to get a lawyer involved (Score:2)
Its the american way.
Tried their whois contact number? (Score:2, Interesting)
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?
Re:Tried their whois contact number? (Score:2)
Parent Co.? (Score:2, Informative)
Domain Name: JUMPDOMAIN.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
Whois Server: whois.opensrs.net
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.tucows.com
Name Server: NS.JUMPSERVER.NET
Name Server: NS2.JUMPSERVER.NET
Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK
Updated Date: 28-dec-2004
Creation Date: 23-jan-2000
Expiration Date: 23-jan-2006
TUCOWS has a help page here: http://domainhelp.tucows.com/
Or c
That's weird (Score:2)
Have you tried reporting them to the Better Business Bureau?
Re:That's weird (Score:2)
Better Business Bureau (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:Better Business Bureau (Score:3, Insightful)
Jump Domain, LLC
1700 W 40 HWY
Blue Springs, MO 64015
Amusingly enough, from their site:
"The ownership of Jump Domain still vests in it's founder. He is active in the day-to-day operations handling most communications with customers. He holds a Bachelors Degree and a Jurist Doctor (Law) Degree." (Bolding mine.)
You'd think he'd realize this kind of stuff can get him sued.
Re:Better Business Bureau (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Better Business Bureau (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Blue Springs Info (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.411.com/10668/search/Reverse_Address?ho usenumber=1700&street=W+40+Hwy&city_zip=64015&stat e_id=MO [411.com]
I can drive by tomorrow.
WazooWeb (Score:2)
Had much worse happening. (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Extortion? (Score:5, Funny)
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 [2600.org] 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.
Re:Extortion? (Score:4, Insightful)
Ah, the games we play... (Score:3, Insightful)
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
Domain is part of that kind of gift (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Extortion? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Extortion? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Extortion? (Score:5, Insightful)
You're missing the point (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Extortion? (Score:3, Funny)
I've got this Dell Inkjet 720 piece-of-shit whose refill cartridges are even MORE proprietary and spendy than Lexmark's (the printer's maker, uncoincidentally). Don't blame me, it came free with a cheap PC my mom bought. After weeks of plotting a way to kill it (catapult? Charcoal and
Re:Extortion? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Extortion? (Score:4, Funny)
Repost of my response to poster at DNForum.com (Score:5, Informative)
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
About ..TK... (Score:2)
One solution (Score:4, Funny)
An alternative idea (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Only on Slashdot is this a problem (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Only on Slashdot is this a problem (Score:3, Insightful)
Jump Domain (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Better Business Bureau (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Me too (Score:3, Informative)
Reading all these replies... (Score:3, Interesting)
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?
You Get what you Pay for... (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:yea it happens. (Score:2)
If your domains are lapsing just go renew them at namecheap.
I think you mean... (Score:2)
Namezero si teh suck (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:yea it happens. (Score:3, Interesting)
other than outrageous cost, the th
Re:Used to? (Score:3, Insightful)
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...
Re:What I'd do (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd say someone just forgot about it.
Re:What I'd do (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What I'd do (Score:2, Informative)
RTFP (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:RTFP (Score:2)
Re:Go...daddy (Score:3, Interesting)
Cheers.
Re:heh... (Score:5, Informative)
Jump Domain postal address, even in their corporate filings, is a MailBoxes, Etc. maildrop - 790 W. 40 HWY #197, BLUE SPRINGS MO 64015.
Re:heh... (Score:5, Interesting)
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 [thinkkc.com], 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.
Re:heh... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:heh... (Score:2)
790 W 40 HWY #197
Blue Springs, MO 64015
US
831-305-6918 Fax: 831-305-6918
Map from Google... [google.com]
The satellite shot looks like a strip mall...