From Mike Zupke - January 24, 2007
I am very familiar with the many websites and web-forums that have sprung up over time regarding shoddy and inadequate service provided by RegisterFly.
I am also familiar with the types of specific complaints ICANN receives
regarding this registrar / reseller.
Please understand, however, that ICANN is not a federal or state agency. We
do not have a general police power, nor do we have the ability to enforce
laws or private contracts between registrars and registrants. ICANN's power
is derived from the Registrar Accreditation Agreements (RAAs) we hold with
all accredited registrars, and as such, we can only legally require a
registrar to take actions (or abstain from taking actions) that are
specifically addressed in those agreements. (You can find a copy of the
agreement online at
http://www.icann.org/registrars/ra-agreement-17may01.htm.)
If you have a specific complaint about Registerfly, I would encourage you
first to perform a whois search (either at
www.internic.net or elsewhere) to
determine whether Registerfly is the registrar of record or whether they
registered the name in their capacity as a reseller for eNom, Inc. If eNom
is the registrar, you should then contact them for resolution of the issue.
You can find their contact information at
www.internic.net (click
Registrars). If the name is registered through Registerfly as the registrar
of record, please contact Glenn Stansbury, VP of Operations for Registerfly
at
[email protected]his email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or by phone at +1 973 909 4169. This is his direct
dial line at the Rfly office. Although Glenn asked ICANN to provide his
contact details to assist customers in resolving complaints, if you find he
is not responsive or not helpful, I would strongly encourage you to consider
retaining legal counsel to determine what rights you may have with regard to
Registerfly's actions or inactions. In addition, you might consider filing
a complaint with the New Jersey Attorney General (where Rfly does business)
and the US FTC (and the appropriate law enforcement agency if you feel there
has been a violation of criminal law). Links:
http://www.nj.gov/oag/ca/comp.htm
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
Of course, if you believe the matter involves a breach of the Registrar
Accreditation Agreement, you should also send a copy of the complaint to
ICANN via our internic registrar complaint form (at
www.internic.net). Be
sure to include the affected domain name(s) as it is nearly impossible for
us to research a complaint without that.
While we cannot resolve individual complaints due to the volume we receive,
we do use the data collected through the registrar problem report form to
take compliance action as appropriate. Such action could include
de-accreditation, assuming the circumstances warrant such action under the
RAA. Unfortunately, letters like yours below, which do not include any
actionable specifics or domain names, are not particularly helpful to our
compliance efforts, nor would they be particularly helpful to resolution of
your specific complaint. I appreciate your frustration; we just need
greater detail.
Thank you for taking the time to write to ICANN about your concerns. I hope
you find this information helpful. Please let me know if I can be of
further assistance.
Best regards,
Mike Zupke
Registrar Liaison Manager