I bought DomainNames.com from NetworkSolutions, but they took it back.

[owntype]

Hi, guys

I'm the buyer of DomainNames.com, I did the search via NetworkSolutions.com on 12.Feb, and found it's in their premium domain name lists with a very bargin price $2,577 (yes, it's a big bargain but a deal is a deal). Then I ordered it and paid via credit card.

This domain name is under control of New Ventures Services Corp and everyone knows it is NetworkSolutions/Web.com's warehousing company. All their domain names will be listed as premium domain names for sale on NetworkSolutions.com.

Once I made my order, Netsol sent me a order confirmation email. After 3 days, Networksolutions pushed the domain name into my Netsol account with a confirmation email to notify that my order has been completed, and I have the full control on it. I changed the DNS to my own hosting account.

But NetSol has removed it from my account today without any notifications nor explaination.

I will update further later.

 

[DotKing]

Every decent domainer will honor the deal even before transfer happens. But they, like "reputable registrar company" can break the deal after it's already over. And they have this stuff in TOS?! I mean, is that even legal in USA It looks like damaging contract to me...

 

[tonyk2000]

Netsol has good lawyers that are ready to serve them 24/7 - no doubts. Due to this reason alone, I do not think it is possible to win the domain in Florida court.

Another part of the story is who New Venture Services are, how are they connected with NetSol and why and how did they become an owner / seller of the domain in question. We the domainers know that they ARE NetSol. It is also likely that it is not in NetSol's best interest to have this fact be disclosed or even discussed in a court. Which is why they may well decide to honour the sale should a legal process be started, just to have it terminated.

 

[hjordis]

Can't believe they are doing this! I truly hope you can get the domain back

 

[Keith]

Even tho I think the situation sucks, I like seeing people get good deals, after what somebody posted:

"In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right to reject or cancel your Premium Domain Name registration for any reason including, but not limited to, any pricing errors. In the event your Premium Domain Name registration is rejected or cancelled, for any reason, we will refund in full the amount of the purchase price for the Premium Domain Name as your sole remedy hereunder."

Seems like they covered themselves with that one.

What is a “pricing error”? Here’s what I would ask in court... has there ever been a premium purchased domain where NS found that they overcharged the buyer, and subsequently issued a refund for the difference?

I guarantee the answer to that question is NEVER! Yet somehow it’s acceptable for the registrar to hide behind a one sided TOS agreement upon experiencing sellers remorse?

The facts are obvious here. Someone priced the domain, accepted and approved payment, and pushed the domain into the customers control. That doesn’t all happen by accident.

 

[JB Lions]

What is a “pricing error”? Here’s what I would ask in court... has there ever been a premium purchased domain where NS found that they overcharged the buyer, and subsequently issued a refund for the difference?

I guarantee the answer to that question is NEVER! Yet somehow it’s acceptable for the registrar to hide behind a one sided TOS agreement upon experiencing sellers remorse?

The facts are obvious here. Someone priced the domain, accepted and approved payment, and pushed the domain into the customers control. That doesn’t all happen by accident.

Yep. Pricing error can be anything they want it to be, it's a way to cover themselves. A TOS is still a TOS, and of course it will be sided to themselves, they (their lawyers) wrote it. And they could make a case for error, simply off the posts in this thread or from other domainers or even the buyer. We all know it's worth more than $2,577, just by looking at comparables.

I would like to see the sale honored, if it was a mistake, it was their mistake, they should eat it. But again, that TOS. Seems like court is the only avenue at this point.

 

[Smiles76]

Believe me that if every customer with similar cases would file criminal charges that sooner or later this kind of business would come to an end.

In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right to reject or cancel your Premium Domain Name registration for any reason including, but not limited to, any pricing errors. In the event your Premium Domain Name registration is rejected or cancelled, for any reason, we will refund in full the amount of the purchase price for the Premium Domain Name as your sole remedy hereunder.

The best the OP can hope for is getting his money returned.

 

[Smiles76]

That is very shameful.

Is there nothing the domainers can do for this guy?

Not use them. But, their terms clearly state:

In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right to reject or cancel your Premium Domain Name registration for any reason including, but not limited to, any pricing errors. In the event your Premium Domain Name registration is rejected or cancelled, for any reason, we will refund in full the amount of the purchase price for the Premium Domain Name as your sole remedy hereunder.

 

[1Darko]

In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right to reject or cancel your Premium Domain Name registration for any reason including, but not limited to, any pricing errors. In the event your Premium Domain Name registration is rejected or cancelled, for any reason, we will refund in full the amount of the purchase price for the Premium Domain Name as your sole remedy hereunder.

The best the OP can hope for is getting his money returned.

Nope -that's absolutely not true. The liability goes far over this $2,600 USD.
OP can refuse the reimbursement and the court decides the actually settlement value!

 

[Kate]

Can we hit them with class action lawsuit for violating every icann rule possible??? I think most of us are very tired of their unethical-criminal behavior.

Will you foot the bill ? And in fact, what is happening is largely beyond the scope of Icann't.

NetWorstSolutions® don't care, since they have the names that people (including domainers) want and that are not available from any other parties. In this industry it's more often about making money than doing the right thing.

This is an outfit that has failed to reinvent itself. They are absolutely nothing special, relatively high prices, bad UI, poor service. They have a toll-free number, but I would rather not have to call in the first place.
They have been consistently losing market share and the number of names under management is stagnating.
What is left is the legacy (corporate) clients who can't be bothered to transfer out, and selling off the 'abandoned' inventory of those same legacy clients

 

[Keith]

Yep. Pricing error can be anything they want it to be, it's a way to cover themselves. A TOS is still a TOS, and of course it will be sided to themselves, they (their lawyers) wrote it. And they could make a case for error, simply off the posts in this thread or from other domainers or even the buyer. We all know it's worth more than $2,577, just by looking at comparables.

I would like to see the sale honored, if it was a mistake, it was their mistake, they should eat it. But again, that TOS. Seems like court is the only avenue at this point.

I also wonder how long they have to cancel a purchase. Could they come back 6 months down the road and take back sold domains because the TOS says they have the right?

They gave up control of the domain, willfully in this case. End of story imo.

 

[tonyk2000]

From strictly formal point of view, ICANN accredited registrar needs to obtain owners approval to perform ownership change. The buyer became a new owner but obviously did not initiate any sort of further ownership change, nor did the buyer authorize Netsol to do so.

So, what happened? NetSol will tell that they reversed the purchase, so they must be able to show and explain reasons what exactly was wrong with the purchase. I will really enjoy following the court case and it will be interesting to see who will represent New Venture Services / Netsol and how will they explain who they really are

 

[owntype]

Not use them. But, their terms clearly state:

In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right to reject or cancel your Premium Domain Name registration for any reason including, but not limited to, any pricing errors. In the event your Premium Domain Name registration is rejected or cancelled, for any reason, we will refund in full the amount of the purchase price for the Premium Domain Name as your sole remedy hereunder.

Hi, please check my post on page 5 of this thread.

When submitting the payment, the TOS I need to acknowledge isn’t this one. There’s no premium sale terms has been mentioned in that TOS, I tried to dind it so I can figure out how Netsol operates the premium sales. I have no experience with it.
I have uploaded the TOS and screenshot in that post.

 

[owntype]

Before submitting the payment, it shows:

By clicking the purchase button you acknowledge that the terms of Network Solutions' Service Agreement will govern your purchase. Sales or use tax may apply.

When clicking The service agreement, it goes to the following
https://assets.web.com/legal/English/MSA/v1.0.0.3/ServicesAgreement.pdf

Which is a master agreement of Web.com

And you can’t find the terms about premium domains nor pricing errors.

That TOS with terms about premium was found via google search, hosted on netsol, but it’s not showing directly on netsol’s homeage, nor combined with the payment button.

 

[equity78]

I wrote this awhile back http://tldinvestors.com/2016/09/mak...are-agreeing-to-the-first-30-days-matter.html

 

[equity78]

Before submitting the payment, it shows:

By clicking the purchase button you acknowledge that the terms of Network Solutions' Service Agreement will govern your purchase. Sales or use tax may apply.

When clicking The service agreement, it goes to the following
https://assets.web.com/legal/English/MSA/v1.0.0.3/ServicesAgreement.pdf

Which is a master agreement of Web.com

And you can’t find the terms about premium domains nor pricing errors.

That TOS with terms about premium was found via google search, hosted on netsol, but it’s not showing directly on netsol’s homeage, nor combined with the payment button.

here is what they will use Yinan, the home page has a link to Legal and all the other documents. https://legal.web.com/

 

[1Darko]

Hi, please check my post on page 5 of this thread.

When submitting the payment, the TOS I need to acknowledge isn’t this one. There’s no premium sale terms has been mentioned in that TOS, I tried to dind it so I can figure out how Netsol operates the premium sales. I have no experience with it.
I have uploaded the TOS and screenshot in that post.

Don't bother with the TOS - it's irrelevant, because you payed and they delivered. The best you can do is to document all relevant infos you can get and hand over the case to a lawyer. Also try to get some testimonies from fellow domainers who went through similar or identical cases in the past and who are willing to withness in court.

 

[tonyk2000]

This thread open an interesting question. What if I fly from my country to U.S. - Florida airport. Then I go to the nearest Starbucks, right in FL airport, pay for a cup of coffee, receive it and start "consuming" it. Is it allowed (as per Florida laws) for Starbucks employee to forcefully take the remaining coffee away from my cup, as I am technically reachable (sitting in the same Starbucks). How would this situation be different (from the legal point of view)?

 

[Rich]

I hope you have a case there, how would you know about the terms without them being in the open...watch they'll have it linked by the end of the day.
I will donate to that case as i cant stand nj or netsol. We can transfer away our premiums and encourage others yo do the same, Nj relies on netsol names..

 

[equity78]

Don't bother with the TOS - it's irrelevant, because you payed and they delivered. The best you can do is to document all relevant infos you can get and hand over the case to a lawyer. Also try to get some testimonies from fellow domainers who went through similar or identical cases in the past and who are willing to withness in court.

No unfortunately the TOS is not irrelevant. Domainer testimony would be more damaging if anything else on cross examination, as people when they first heard about the name being bought thought it was a high five to six figure sale.

 

[equity78]

.@jberryhill can weigh in but to my knowledge the TOS has never lost. I would like to see it lose here, but I don't think so. In the case of Pets.tv they took the domain from Fleaking and he did not even purchase the name, Verisign took a name from a guy who traded one of his for another domain. If they want it they taking it where the TOS backs them up.

 

[owntype]

18. Purchase and Registration of Premium Domain Names. Our Premium Domain Name Service offers for sale domain names that may be registered to third parties (also known as aftermarket or secondary market domain names) in a variety of TLDs (such as .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info TLDs). All Premium Domain Name registrations are offered on a "first come, first served" basis. After you complete the Premium Domain Name registration application, including payment of the purchase price, we will initiate the transfer of the Premium Domain Name to your account. At the time of transfer of the Premium Domain Name into your Network Solutions account, we will add one (1) year to the existing registration period. Any subsequent renewals of the Premium Domain Name will be charged at the then-current renewal fee. You acknowledge and agree that once you have completed your Premium Domain Name registration application, you have entered into a valid, binding and enforceable contract to pay the designated purchase price for the Premium Domain Name. All Premium Domain Name sales and registrations are final and non-refundable. When selling Premium Domain Names registered to third parties we make no representations regarding the accuracy or legality of domain names advertised, the accuracy or legality of any domain name listing, or the right and the ability of the third party seller to transfer the Premium Domain Name or complete the transaction. In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right to reject or cancel your Premium Domain Name registration for any reason including, but not limited to, any pricing errors. In the event your Premium Domain Name registration is rejected or cancelled, for any reason, we will refund in full the amount of the purchase price for the Premium Domain Name as your sole remedy hereunder. Once the Premium Domain Name is transferred into your Network Solutions account, you agree that Premium Domain Name may not be transferred away from Network Solutions to another registrar during the first sixty (60) days following the transfer, during which time the Premium Domain Name may be placed on transfer lock.

 

[DomainVP]

@owntype I'm sorry this happened to you, it's really unfair.

Network Solutions is notorious for shady backhanded dealings. Just google "ZTOMY network solutions". They will change your name servers on you for absolutely no reason, pointing your NS to ZTOMY servers which send you to a zero click nightmare of popups for FBI Warnings and "Install Media Player" spam.

The sad truth is that you likely won't see this domain, however you can raise awareness about their bs practices and business dealings.

Since experiencing a ZTOMY switch-a-roo with them I haven't used them for a single service.

Report them to the BBB, make some noise; make them change their policies.

TOS has never lost

Indeed, it's why TOS exists.

So many companies get away with dastardly practices because of what their 35 page TOS says. Nobody ever reads TOS until it's relevant to a loss they have suffered. Unfortunately you can't avoid TOS of anything if you use the service.

This is a tough one to watch unfold but there a lot of people that will have eyes on this situation.

Another reason to continue my personal boycott of NetSol.

 

[DomainVP]

You acknowledge and agree that once you have completed your Premium Domain Name registration application, you have entered into a valid, binding and enforceable contract to pay the designated purchase price for the Premium Domain Name. All Premium Domain Name sales and registrations are final and non-refundable. When selling Premium Domain Names registered to third parties we make no representations regarding the accuracy or legality of domain names advertised, the accuracy or legality of any domain name listing, or the right and the ability of the third party seller to transfer the Premium Domain Name or complete the transaction.

Ugh...

So basically if you make a purchase you better pay, or else we can legally take you to court.

But when you do pay we can't really guarantee that the domain will be delivered to you because that's on them not us.

 

[equity78]

New Ventures Services employee: Hey boss, let's price a lot of domain names with these prices, then if we see people congratulating the buyers or if they turn out to be a large corporation that could have afforded 6 figures, we just use the TOS to take them back.

Boss: It's almost too perfect, I see a promotion in your future.

 

[owntype]

Ugh...

So basically if you make a purchase you better pay, or else we can legally take you to court.

But when you do pay we can't really guarantee that the domain will be delivered to you because that's on them not us.

I’m not sure if Netsol treat NewVCorp as third party sellers or not in this case.

When selling Premium Domain Names registered to third parties we make no representations regarding the accuracy or legality of domain names advertised, the accuracy or legality of any domain name listing, or the right and the ability of the third party seller to transfer the Premium Domain Name or complete the transaction.