Steps to take ASAP if you have ANY domains at Epik that you WANT to keep. Remember the 21-day countdown has ALREADY started (started June 1st) till Epik has to prove they FIXED their financial issues (egarding ICANN fees & domain renewals / transfers -- which is unlikely -- or ICANN starts the termination process. Transfers typically take 5-7 days to complete + time to gather the domain info needed to start the process, remember auth codes have to be obtained individually at Epik.
#1. REMOVE WHOIS Privacy on ALL your domains at Epik and VERIFY the Registrant / domain ownership info is accurate, so it is easy to tell who owns the domain. Use an authoritative WHOIS to check the current registrant info.
lookup.icann. org/en (remove the space BEFORE org to get link to work)
(If Epik loses ICAAN accreditation, gTLDs will likely be taken over by another registrar and you will NEED to PROVE ownership of your domain(s). Do NOT assume that Epik has kept accurate records of domain ownership for ANY domain with them. (Search the pheenix. com registrar takeover for how bad things can get in this regard).
#2. Start the transfer-out process for ALL the domains you want to save ASAP (and by that I mean get the transfer process started within a few days if at all possible). If you can't afford to transfer out ALL the domains you want to keep, transfer out the most valuable / important domains ASAP followed by domains that are closest to expiration. REMEMBER you will have to get auth codes one at a time, so this may take significant time if you have many domains.
#3. Once the domain transfer out process has been started at the receiving registrar, keep an eye out for any issues with the transfer process. 24 hours after the transfers were started, use an authoritative WHOIS to check the current domain status.
lookup.icann. org/en (remove the space BEFORE org to get link to work)
Status SHOULD show "pending transfer", if it does NOT, check the receiving registrar for any issues they mention, ie invalid auth code, etc. If none are mentioned, attempt to contact Epik customer support.
#4. Wait another 24 hours (2 days from when transfers started). Check the authoritative WHOIS again. If it STILL does not show "pending transfer" status, double check your receiving registrar for any issues they mention (also check spam folder, etc). If no issues are found and Epik support hasn't fixed the issue, file a complaint with ICANN listing ALL the gTLD domains you are having issues transferring out of Epik.
icann. org/compliance/complaint (remove the space BEFORE org to get link to work)
NOTE: ccTLD's are NOT covered by ICANN policies, but still advisable to transfer them out too.
#5. It goes without saying do NOT ATTEMPT to RENEW any domains at Epik since they have a history of taking the money without renewing the domain in a timely manner OR in some cases never renewing the domain at all!!!
#6. Regardless of the above, there is NO guarantee that the above will work and/or for how long it will work, especially steps 2-5. So far, Epik is ensuring domains with ICANN complaints transfer out, but as the ICANN deadline gets closer and closer, the odds become higher & higher that this method will NOT keep working. As a result, the SOONER you start the transfer process, the HIGHER the odds you will succeed in transferring your domains.
Wishing everyone the best in getting out of this Epik failure.