Am I just unlucky when it comes to domain name transfers?

It really begs the question when two out of three domain name transfers in the last week involved companies sending my clients usernames and passwords to their control panels that just don't work! Having forwarded them to me to double-check it's not like I'm relying on the word of my clients, trustworthy as they are - they just didn't work, period. Time to chill out by going here - Wine Anorak, or here - House of Wines, or here - Steep Hill Wines. Sometimes I just wonder why... some hosting companies "just don't get it". Good night.

Domain Registry of America

After a spate of letters from the Domain Registry of America a few years ago I'd all but forgotten this menace of a company, but it seems they haven't died a well-deserved death. And unfortunately, one of my clients has recently fallen foul of their underhand methods of extracting money from unsuspecting domain name owners. Here's how it works. A domain name owner (that could easily be you) receives what looks like a reminder and invoice all in one. This "reminder" informs the domain name owner that their domain is due for renewal; this is usually about three months before the due date. It goes on to say that they could lose their domain name if they don't pay the fees. Of course this is true, but the "renewal notice" just happens not to be from the registrar or domain name registration agent, but from a company that deliberately misleads people into thinking that the domain fees are due to them. And guess what, if you fall for their cleverly worded request for payment you'll end up paying through the nose. However, before anyone from the Domain Registry of America calls me to task, I must point out that in the VERY small print it does state that the document is not an invoice, but you'll have to look very hard to find this. My client did phone the company's Cambridge office (at my suggestion), and was told he would receive a refund - suppose I'd better follow up to see if it materialised. But just for fun now, why not type in "Domain Registry of America" into google and see what comes up, go on have a go... Google

.uk vs .com domains

I quite often get asked which type of domain name to register, .uk or .com mainly, and I bring up all the usual considerations that folk should think about before deciding on what, at the end of the day, could be a very important asset to them, bearing in mind I'm talking about UK businesses now... Factors like:

• What are your geographic markets?
• Do you particularly want to be seen as a british company?
• If your market is local a country specific domain name will indicate to your customers you are from the same country - although for example there are non-UK companies that buy .uk domains. There's always an exception isn't there?
• A .com is slightly shorter to type
• Although your main market is local you may want to trade internationally, and therefore to "future proof" you may want to go for a .com domain.
• Would some potential customers think you're bigger if you have a .com domain?

But today I got to thinking about some of the more obscure reasons that don't often get considered by folk, or the 'experts' don't feel are worth mentioning, or haven't even considered themselves. So, before making that "difficult to go back on" decision, let's look at some not so obvious stuff... Nominet, the only registrar for .uk domains, was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit organisation. Although you can buy .uk domains direct from Nominet they will set you back £80.00 + VAT. Therefore, the way 98% of companies in the UK buy a .uk domain is through a domain name registration agent - Nominet charges those domain name registration agents £5.00 + VAT per two years. Many Web designers will use their hosting service provider as the domain registration agent - but I digress. Now we come to the nitty-gritty. There are two main factors to consider when registering a .uk domain (.co.uk, .org.uk, .ltd.uk and .plc.uk - forget about .me.uk - it's personal). One, the nominet system of transferring control of a your domain is by means of an IPS tag (aka IPSTag). Who ever's IPSTag it is manages your domain; this is important. So, other things being equal, it is quite easy, with the co-operation of the parties involved, to transfer the IPSTag for your domain elsewhere. But if your Web designer or his/her hosting service provider controls it, then make sure you haven't fallen out with them. But assuming everything is OK and the IPSTag change does go through, the name servers can then be changed and you're up and running with a new hosting service provider. Now, with .com domains it's different, but trust me - if you're going to be transferring a domain the Nominet system is much less complicated. Now with .com domains because there are literally hundreds of ICANN approved domain registrars whose procedures can vary, the situation can end up being a real nightmare and the transfer can become protracted; this usually means the owner of the dommain name can get very frustrated at the delays. I have some real horror stories about .com transfers, which will be the subject of future blog entries. But it seems that the usual problems arise because the "losing registrar" is somewhat inefficient when it comes to transferring domains away to another registrar. Again, the solution is to manage the domain name independently of the hosting service provider so that the domain does not have to be transferred to another registrar: A point most Web designers and hosting service providers almost certainly don't want their customers to know! However, if the domain name is independently managed all that needs to happen is to point the name servers to the new hosting service provider. So, when it comes to transferring domains that aren't independently managed then all other things being equal it's simpler with a .uk domain as opposed to a .com. Of course, managing a domain independently like we do means none of the above problems arise! The other major factor is what happens if the domain name isn't registered in the correct name in the first place, or circumstances change such as a company goes into liquidation or changes its name. With .uk domains you're going to have to jump through Nominet's hoops to prove that a change in the name of the legal registrant is bona fide and legitimate. For example, if a company changes its name then you'll need to fax a copy of the companies house "Change of Name" certificate and an accompanying letter (on letterhead paper), signed by a director or the company secretary confirming the change of name. Also, depending on differing circumstaces there may be fees to pay. However, if you have a .com (or other gTLD like .net or .org) you may be able to change the name without notifying the registrar - see below. Another circumstance where the name of the legal registrant needs to be changed is because the Web designer registers the domain name in their own name; this is a deplorable practice as the Web designer becomes the legal owner of the domain. Unfortunately, it still happens. You can get the legal registrant changed in these circumstances, but only if you can prove certain things - just make sure whoever registers your domain does it in the name you give them! However, if your Web designer has registered your domain name in their name if you have an invoice from them that states part or all of the charges relate to registering your domain name then Nominet will accept this as proof of your legal ownership. If you don't have such proof you may have to instigate Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service. With a .com domain, and I can only speak regarding the registrar I use, then there is no problem changing the legal registrant's name. No permission is needed and the change can be done online. I do stress given there are hundreds of .com domain registrars out there they may not all be as accommodating as the one we use. So there we have it. I'm afraid there are pros and cons regardless of whether you choose a .uk or .com domain. But just remember, unless your domain name is managed independently, you could be in for a lot of hassle should you ever decide to move hosting service providers.

Battling with Iomart

Iomart Group PLC have recently released details of their financials showing a turnover of £16.6m (2004 - £7.4m) with annualised sales running at £20m and operating profits of £1.8m. Iomart also claim to have 200,000 customers, which given their recent performance over the transfer of a domain away from them totally amazes me. At the beginning of May a new client asked me to take over the domain management and Web hosting of one of their domains - all in a day's work, HA! Easy, request Iomart to change the IPSTag to my tagholder and then I can change the name servers and have the website up and running on the new servers within 24 hours. First of all, Iomart charge £49.00 + VAT to change the IPSTag; this is what I refer to as a "Sour Grapes" charge - as in you move your domain away from us and we'll whack you with a hefty "transfer" charge. Iomart requested an authorising fax on letterhead paper signed by the legal registrant quoting the domain name and new IPSTag - perfectly reasonable. Sent 5th May. So how should the £49.00 charge be paid for? My newly acquired client has to go into their control panel and pay by credit card, then Iomart change the IPSTag and the transfer goes ahead. And if the client doesn't know their username and password Iomart emails it to them. This is what happened, but said username and password didn't work, client emails them to me and I try - dead right, it doesn't work. Back to Iomart. I phone them (10-15 mins listening to repeated statements that they are "experiencing heavy demand for this service") to be told that my client will have to send them a cheque. Cheque gets sent on 6th May with a covering letter stating the domain name concerned... and we wait a week, nothing. I phone them up and they say thay haven't received the cheque. I phone the client to ask for a cheque number. Client has gone on holiday and won't be back 'til this Wednesday (yesterday). I speak to the customer today, get the cheque number and confirmation that the cheque cleared yesterday, and call Iomart. I speak to a young girl in "billing" who insists that although Iomart received a cheque no. the same as my client's cheque number it's not my client's cheque. Bit of a coincidence methinks and ask her to doublecheck her facts, but she's adamant there's no mistake. Billing girl asks me to find out which bank account the cheque has been paid into. I phone client, client phones their bank to be told that the bank doesn't know and can't find out the recipient's details unless banked at the same bank. Back to square one - getting really uptight now but retain professional attitude when calling Iomart again. Billing girl still maintains the cheque is not my client's. She tells me it belongs to a company in Wales. I make investigations, call the company and speak to Mike. Mike confirms he paid Iomart, a company he says is "difficult to deal with"... but paid them last year! Back to billing girl. I don't think she's enjoying these conversations with me now, but still insists company in Wales is the only cheque with the same cheque number. She still claims Iomart's accounts system is accurate. I point out that the Welsh company paid their cheque over a year ago, so why would it only just have been paid in (sorry, I forgot to mention she had said the cheque was paid into their account on 16/05/05). I'm getting nowhere and say I'll be complaining to Nominet before ending the call. Think about it some more, and decide to see if I can escalate the matter to management level. I call again and ask to be put through to Customer Services. "You'll have to call another number" - 0870 050 0303 - I recognise this as "Technical Support", and dial it, ask for Customer Services only to be told I've got Technical Support. Obviously no Customer Services within the company - but think to myself that I'd already worked that out, pah! Another girl on the line says she'll find me someone to speak to and puts me on hold... back to the billing department and the "billing" girl again. Billing girl says she was going to phone me but didn't have a number - at least she's right about that. Guess what. They'd made a mistake and the IPSTag would be changed today - what a waste of an afternoon. Perhaps I'll ask for a refund for my client. Just goes to show that not all Web hosting companies are same! By the way, I don't charge for transfers to or away from us so if you're asked to pay more than £15.00 + VAT in transfer charges give us a call - there is a way round it. ;)

Transfers and Email Cockups

One of the most important parts of my job is to ensure when a domain name is transfered between hosting service providers (HSP) the client's email is disrupted as little as possible, with the ideal situation being no email losses at all. But unfortunately there are so many companies out there who "just don't get it"! This is a topic that was bound to come up sooner or later in this blog, because so many Web design companies who handle their clients domains and hosting just don't know how to do it properly. So, anyway, I get a call this morning from a print and publicity media company that has taken over an old account of mine, requested the domain name transfer, which went through, but obviously didn't make any provision for the seemless transfer of the company's email facilities... So now this guy on the end of the phone wants to know if I have an email forwarding address for his newly acquired Web client! Well, at least he knows enough to forward email to an existing mailbox of his newly acquired Web client, because a quick fix is better than nothing. Taking a deep mental breath, and in my usual polite and professional way, I explain I don't know of any such email addresses of my ex-client. I go onto explain that his client used to use a catchall mailbox that their internal server collected from and then distributed via the internal network. I went onto explain that one of the staff didn't work from the main office, collected mail from home and needed a separate mailbox to collect from. It was obvious the guy didn't have much idea of what I was talking about, and quite honestly I don't blame him for that - he's probably been saddled with looking after the websites for his company's clients, because they don't have an inhouse IT guy. He's probably a designer or marketing bod, with little or no training in Internet matters - so it's the company that's to blame - it's all down to the management... that's what I say. Still, that's not going to be any consolation to my ex-client. Ah well, life's full of little surprises.

Guess I ought to introduce myself...

My name is Richard Williams, and I've been working in the Internet industry for nearly 10 years. In that time I've encountered many many horrendous practices of domain name registration agents, Web designers and hosting service providers that combine, all too often, to make the small business owner/manager tear his or her out at the sheer frustration of dealing with these people. And it doesn't just affect SMEs, I've dealt with Japanese conglomerates that have fallen foul of some very questionable practices within this industry. All this has given me a very hardened attitude towards the perpetrators of the practices that give the non-Internet industry business community such a hard time. So expect some straight-talking, coz I'm very passionate about this. You may even come to think of me as a latter day "Robin Hood" fighting an industry of "Prince Johns", who knows! :)