Domain Transfer Round 2: GoDaddy’s uppercut
Those of you who follow my every scintillating online exploit may recall that I recently had a bout with so-called "World's No. 1 ICANN-accredited domain name registrar" GoDaddy.com.
Seems like Go Daddy is particularly keen about holding onto its slim "dominance" of low-cost domain registration space. On his "personal" blog, company founder and CEO Bob Parsons goes all out, front and center, to rail against what he perceives is the inequity of ICANN granting Verisign/Internic a license to print money (while poor 'ol Bob can only mint a couple hundred mil.) So it's little surprise that with another company offering Dot-Com registration at prices that make even GD's seem inflated, some "roadblocks" seem to get put up when trying to move domains.
Latest case in point: my requests to transfer my remaining domains away from Go Daddy are getting denied with claims that they have "express written objection" to such transfers. Huh? From whom? 'Cause I seem to recall giving express written (well, electronic) consent to 1and1.com to get my domains... twice already!
I initiated the transfers a week ago; the next day, Go Daddy hit me with the first round of denials. I promptly called their 800-number, and spoke to some gosh-darned-helpful tyke who couldn't see any reason for my domains to be blocked. He suggested I re-submit the request. Great idea-- unfortunately once the "process" is started, the receiving registrar has to wait up to five days to get a "NACK" ("not acknowledged") reply from the folks who have a lock-grip on my domains-- even though GD already sent me their denials on April 12. That NACK came through today, and I promptly emailed 1and1.com to re-send the authorization. Eight hours later, Go Daddy sent back an automated reply: DENIED.
In my frustration, I've got nearly a dozen support-type folks, on at least three different continents-- working on this "issue". And I've sent a vaguely threatening sounding note to Go Daddy's support email. (Oh, and hi! if you're reading this-- told you I'd be posting about it.)
A pre-emptive tip of the hat to the following 1and1.com tech staff, who responded promptly and clearly to my concerns. (And gave what appear to be their real names.)
And a wag of the finger to Go Daddy, whose "support" sent the following a day after I replied to their email from my address of record:
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for contacting customer support. In order to properly support this issue we will need to reveal account specific information. Before we can give out any information on the account, we will need to verify the last 4 digits of a credit card, PayPal Billing Agreement/Account Number, or Support PIN on the account. Payment information on the account can be found under 'Credit Card & Payment Info' from the 'Customer Info & More' dropdown. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.
Regards,
Ben P.
Um, great, but at the point I'm having to play email-tag to get a simple answer (hint: why was my transfer denied?), "support" starts to sound like "oppose."
4/18 UPDATE: Just received an email from Ms. Schmitt of Go Daddy's Office of the President, which says,
We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Please accept our apology for any miscommunication or confusion there has been regarding this matter. We have reviewed your account and have found that the registrant information for your domains has been modified on March 3, 2006. This places a 60 day hold on the domains per our Domain Transfer Agreement. We have removed the hold as a courtesy to you but please be advised as we have done this previously, we will not be able to remove the hold in the future for domains that have registrant modification. The domains stated in the email do not currently have the 60 day hold and are available for transfer.
That's certainly better, but it brings to light some rather odd things. The GoDaddy "Domain Transfer Agreement" that she is referencing says,
2. Failed or Rejected Transfer Requests
Go Daddy may elect to accept or reject your domain name transfer application for any reason at its sole discretion. Rejections may include, but are not limited to:...The Domain Name Registrant was changed less than sixty (60) days prior to the transfer request.
Now, I did update my contact info on the domains in March, to bring them current and consistent with my actual account information-- as required by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. This is not a "registrant modification" as the registrant is the exact same person as before: me.
But most crucially-- as stated clearly at the top of the document-- the GoDaddy policy is applicable only to receiving transfers, not to outgoing transfers: "This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions of transferring a registered domain name from any other Registrar TO Go Daddy (as "Registrar"). "
Thus, it appears that there is no actual Go Daddy policy basis for claiming such a "domain hold."
The document itself notes, "You acknowledge that Go Daddy or its licensor is a registrar bound by an agreement between Go Daddy or its licensor and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN")." Rejecting a transfer by claiming a such a "60 day hold" for updating account info is specifically contrary to ICANN's over-riding Transfer policy, which states (sorta explicitly):
3. Obligations of the Registrar of Record
Instances when the requested change of Registrar may not be denied include, but are not limited to:
...
* Domain name registration period time constraints, other than during the first 60 days of initial registration or during the first 60 days after a registrar transfer.
My snide closing to Go Daddy: "I would suggest you might have your legal department review ICANN's policies to see if you are in compliance with them."
