123reg WARNING

[RobM]

Ok looks like all domains were deleted by nominet because the registrant didn't put his surname.
This leads to two very obvious points:
1) 123 should not allow people to register domains without surnames
2) 123 should be informed by nominet when they are deleting domains on their tag so they can then inform the client or at the very least email and remove them from the control panel.

Also as far as I am aware nominet *do* contact tagholders and registrants when they are about to delete domains. However if they don't this is laughable - it means nominet could delete your client's domains (if you're acting as a registrar) and get you into a legal world of hell.
As it stands there will be no refunds and it appears that 123 really don't believe that they've done anything wrong in this whole process even though they were showing as renewed and in his account. Be aware. Seems this matter is over - mods may want to close or delete the thread.

 

[monaghan]

1) 123 should not allow people to register domains without surnames
2) 123 should be informed by nominet when they are deleting domains on their tag so they can then inform the client or at the very least email and remove them from the control panel.

1. The name field at the registry does not require a surname, so would be difficult to enforce.
2. It is possible to set your registrar account to notify you on domain deletion, what the registrar chooses to do with this notification is up to them.

You have a contract with Nominet when you register a .uk name, if you fail to keep your side of the contract by keeping your contact details correct then you can't expect Nominet to keep the name operational. It is all about the small print, but you have a choice whether you read this or not and you can't really complain if failure to comply results in loss of your name because you can't be contacted.

Not wanting to stand up for 123 (or any other budget outfit), but can you really expect a huge support effort from them - look at the prices, they can only make pence per name, at that margin can you really expect the same rate of support as someone who has a better margin?

 

[RobM]

It is possible to set your registrar account to notify you on domain deletion, what the registrar chooses to do with this notification is up to them.

Clearly 123's policy is to ignore it and to continue charging renewal fees
Anyway I understand exactly what you're saying. Much safer to have your own tag.

 

[Systreg]

Ok looks like all domains were deleted by nominet because the registrant didn't put his surname.

1. The name field at the registry does not require a surname, so would be difficult to enforce.

A bit of an anomaly there, how can there be no requirement to include a surname, yet Nominet can cancel your domain/s if you don't include one? You would think that the name field would force people to enter a surname.

 

[Edwin]

No, the registrant can be a company. So it would make no sense to force a surname!

 

[RobM]

Most of these domains had the same information for 6 years. Strange how nominet's system works.

 

[Systreg]

No, the registrant can be a company. So it would make no sense to force a surname!

Then there should be a seperate field where you enter company name, and if you're not a company, you are forced to enter your christian and surnames.

 

[The Ferryman]

That would be a bit unfair on the many of us who are not Christians!
Regards
Bruce

 

[grantw]

Then there should be a seperate field where you enter company name, and if you're not a company, you are forced to enter your christian and surnames.

The op did state that some of the domains were registered to 'me', don't think a required surname field would have made much difference in those cases - 'my domain' or whatever!!

If you don't read the terms and you register domains with crap data you stand to lose it, simple as. This whole thing hasn't really got anything to do with 123-reg at all.

Grant

 

[rob]

Most of these domains had the same information for 6 years. Strange how nominet's system works.

To me that would indicate someone has reported a name, either thinking it's dodgy or they wanted it for themselves.

Are any reregistered ?

 

[foz]

Most of these domains had the same information for 6 years. Strange how nominet's system works.

Someone could have reported to Nominet the "non legal" registrant situation in the hope they get cancelled (through the Nominet process).

 

[rwinslow]

There's really only 2 ways this can go.

Richard can try and bluster and make more excuses and ignore the weight of evidence of 1,870 threads going back a decade.

Or the whole company can step up and squash problem after problem after problem while remaining humble and contrite about their failings, and gradually try and rehabilitate 123-Reg's reputation.

My goal is for us to step up, listen to the community, listen to our customers and make significant changes to build a reputation as a great domain provider.

 

[rwinslow]

Unless I'm missing something here, this is Nominet policy but they generally only act on it if it's reported to them:

http://www.nominet.org.uk/registrars/systems/auto/poorqualitydata/

Was any of the registrant info incorrect or not? If it was there's every chance that what they're suggesting has actually happened.

Grant

In this case Nominet tried to make contact as per the original quote from their email to myself, as put online by RobM (about page 3). Due to not making contact over several attempts they then reverted the registrations. It has to be remembered that Nominet does hold a direct relationship with the domain registrant.

 

[rwinslow]

Ok having cooled down and (tried) to look at this subjectively it does appear that it's possible these domains were deleted by nominet due to to 'invalid' registration data. Speaking further with the domain owner some of the domains were registered with only his first name, some were simply registered as 'me'. All, however, had a full valid address and email. If this is the case then it's really just a question of why didn't nominet inform 123 that they were about to delete 200ish domains on their tag and, if they did inform them, why was that information not relayed to the registrant and the domains removed from his account. As it stands I don't think it's fair for me to continue taking sides as I'm not in possession of all the facts and there seem to be a lot of conflicting ideals. I've put the registrant directly in touch with Richard and will not be continuing in the process.
I should point out that Richard has been nothing but helpful regarding this matter and I do believe he is simply relaying what he's been told.

Thanks RobM. We are continuing discussions directly with Nominet, myself and the account holder. The quote on the forum here was taken direct from a Nominet support rep with permission.

 

[lwoody]

A cover up

Hi there, I work with 123-reg, this does not sound normal, and we have no issues currently, can you let me know the account username and a list of those domains and I can investigate?

For security, you can email me directly [email protected]

Thanks, Richard.

Richard, I have an email from you and Debra Davies on 5th January 2012 in reply to my email sent 8th December 2011 explaining this exact situation to you, so you are fully aware of it and 123-Reg do have issues!

The exact same situation which has happened on another of my domains today.

Domain name: energyconsultant.org.uk
Your provider: Webfusion Ltd t/a 123-reg
Provider's web site: http://www.123-reg.co.uk
Expiry date: 26-Apr-2012

Nominet Platform Says:
http://webwhois.nic.uk/cgi-bin/webw...&wquery=energyconsultant.org.uk&submit=Lookup
UPDATE: Somebody has now renewed the domain as it should be. I'm unsure if it was Nominet directly or 123-Reg

123-reg says:

Lee

 

[newguy]

Wow, I can barely believe what I'm reading. I do check my nominet account quite frequently so hopefully nothing like this will occur. It goes to show how you can't always rely on your registrar.

 

[lwoody]

Wow, I can barely believe what I'm reading.

I know...and we are the savvy ones who know what to look out for. I dread to think how many domains have been lost through this. I have emailed several senior people at Nominet today...I wonder if I get a response

Lee

 

[grantw]

I've got the exact same issue with cambabes.co.uk - same date. Opened a support ticket this morning and had zero response.

123-reg, why are you not making use of nominets responses/notifications at all???????

Domain released notification = remove domain from customers account
Domain deleted notification = remove domain from customers account
Domain already exists response = domain has already been registered - dont charge the customer or add it to their account
No response from Nominet at all on a renewal = renewal request hasn't gone through, somethings wrong, don't charge the customer/email confirmation/update renewal date in control panel

etc etc etc

Basics!!!!


Grant

 

[jasman]

On another note, I think it's unethical that 123-reg keep your credit card details in the system against your will. They never used to do that - you had a choice whether you wanted the details stored so domains would be auto-renewed or not.

I paid for a domain to be transferred in to them and during that transaction it forced you to opt in to having credit card details stored. As there was no way out of this I went along with it thinking I'd remove them after the transaction only to discover they have deliberately removed the functionality that enables you to remove your card details so you can't - it says you need to phone them. I phoned them up and they said you HAVE TO have your card details stored! I said I didn't want to - mainly on the principle that someone had deliberately recoded their system to give the customer less choice, presumably so they could make more money by auto-renewing domains people no longer wanted, but which people had not remembered to explicitly cancel in the control panel.

So I threatened to move my domains away and close my account. The guy on the phone opened a support ticket and said he would forward on my request to someone more senior. Received a ticket update saying he'd tried to contact me but was unable to. Shortly afterwards the ticket automatically got closed! Will certainly be moving names elsewhere.

 

[solaris]

On another note, I think it's unethical that 123-reg keep your credit card details in the system against your will. They never used to do that - you had a choice whether you wanted the details stored so domains would be auto-renewed or not.

I paid for a domain to be transferred in to them and during that transaction it forced you to opt in to having credit card details stored. As there was no way out of this I went along with it thinking I'd remove them after the transaction only to discover they have deliberately removed the functionality that enables you to remove your card details so you can't - it says you need to phone them. I phoned them up and they said you HAVE TO have your card details stored! I said I didn't want to - mainly on the principle that someone had deliberately recoded their system to give the customer less choice, presumably so they could make more money by auto-renewing domains people no longer wanted, but which people had not remembered to explicitly cancel in the control panel.

So I threatened to move my domains away and close my account. The guy on the phone opened a support ticket and said he would forward on my request to someone more senior. Received a ticket update saying he'd tried to contact me but was unable to. Shortly afterwards the ticket automatically got closed! Will certainly be moving names elsewhere.

Yes I have two payment methods stored in my account and I just tried to remove the second one, the credit card. There is an option listed there to remove a given method, but clicking it just got me this message in a popup:

To prevent disruption to any of your 123-reg services, we store your payment details securely and use them to automatically renew your services.

Card details can be removed by contacting support on 0845 859 0018. Calls are charged at 10p per minute plus network extras.

Please note: If you have alternative payment methods stored within your Payment Priority list these may be reprioritised once we have received your request.

Some places I have found you can replace CC with Paypal as payment method, then just go into Paypal.com and disable the payment authorisation for a given merchant, solving the problem of automatic payments you did not want.

So can we ask a credit card provider to not accept charges from a company that retains CC details against our wishes?


BTW has anyone noticed 302 redirects at Acorn never work, and for a time the whois optout option was failing? If you choose that , always manually check the whois afterwards to avoid surprises.