Can GoDaddy truly not help or are they shrinking responsibilities?

[Archangel]

I'm kind of pissed so I won't explain all of this in detail. But here's the basics.

A domain was stole from me recently. I sent an email to Godaddy bout it. Their response was typical: they told me that if a domain was stolen from my account, they would investigate it. Okay, cool. They investigated my account yesterday and then sent me this reply today:

Dear Randy Pendleton,



Thank you for your message. Please note that per ICANN's UDRP, registrars cannot make any changes to a domain names without direction from a court or arbitration forum.


Any dispute over the ownership of the domain names will need to be sent either to the registrant, through an ICANN-approved arbitration provider (ICANN | Approved Providers for Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) or the court system.



It is never necessary to name GoDaddy.com, Inc. in a dispute. We will abide by any decision from an ICANN-approved arbitration forum or a court of competent jurisdiction.



Please be assured that if we receive notice of a pending legal dispute we will lock the names so it cannot be transferred or otherwise modified. Likewise, when we receive a decision we will update the names accordingly. If you file a dispute concerning the domain names, please forward a filed copy to [email protected].



Kindest regards,



Undo Department

389472

Wait a minute: If there was nothing they could do, why did they egg me on about investigating? And why could they not return my domain? What they said about not being allowed to intervene is bullsh*t . Moniker takes action again domain theft yet GoDaddy says there is nothing they can do. What do you think: Is GoDaddy being sincere or are they shrinking their duties?

 

[whitebark]

Don't keep any domain of any value at godaddy - that should be our personal responsibility.

 

[Spade]

This response doenst seem right for the situation. This is a typical response if ownership of a domain is in question, not if there was the accuasation of theft.

Can you give us more information? Domain Name? Date Stolen? How it was Stolen?

Justin

 

[bmugford]

Stolen as in hacked account, or stolen as in payment was reversed? There is a big difference between the two.

Brad

 

[DomainTalker]

What does an 'Undo Department' do...???


When you notified GoDaddy that your domain appeared to have been stolen, did you mention that you might take legal action to retrieve it?

Maybe that explains why they replied as they did - ie explaining how they proceed if there's a legal dispute about a name.



Recently, I had cause to believe that two of my domains were in the process of being stolen from my account at Enom....I notified Enom, and their response was to lock down my account entirely....including locking me out, so I couldn't access ANY of my domains there at all...!!....In fairness, they thought my Enom account had been compromised, so they shut it down - thus preventing anyone (including me) doing anything, with any domain in that account....After providing 6000 pieces of personal ID, they let me back in, and I was able to transfer the domains out to another Registrar, and, all was well.


So, different Registrars react differently to 'stolen' situations, it seems.

.

 

[Archangel]

The domain in question was taken via reversal of payment. I've had GoDaddy tell me on one occasion that they couldn't interfere with sales because they have no legal grounds to butt-in with another's sale. They told me to seek litigation if I wanted the domain returned.

Ok. That's fair.

On another occasion, I notified them that a domain was removed from my account. I inquired about this missing domain and got pretty much the same reply. (The exact reply can be seen above in my first post)

So whether the domain was hijacked or if a payment was reversed, GoDaddy says that it'll step back, with a large tub of popcorn, and watch as the seller frantically tries to get his domain back, refusing to intervene unless the buyer sics a judge on their worthless ass.

The moral of this story: Heed the second post in this thread. Don't keep valuable domains at GoDaddy.

 

[bmugford]

I know of several occasions where a domain was actually stolen from a compromised account and GoDaddy did take action to lock the account and take appropriate steps to fix it.

I understand their policy to not get involved in third party transactions though. If you sell a domain, then voluntarily push it that is different than it being directly hijacked.

The dispute is between you and the buyer. The buyer has stolen merchandise from you, but it is not really GoDaddy's place to referee it.

GoDaddy.com can tell through IP logs and other various measures, I am sure, if a domain was actually hijacked or there is a dispute over payment.

I am sorry for what happened to you, but that is why I never accept Paypal for an amount over what I am willing to potentially lose.

Brad

The domain in question was taken via reversal of payment. I've had GoDaddy tell me on one occasion that they couldn't interfere with sales because they have no legal grounds to butt-in with another's sale. They told me to seek litigation if I wanted the domain returned.

Ok. That's fair.

On another occasion, I notified them that a domain was removed from my account. I inquired about this missing domain and got pretty much the same reply. (The exact reply can be seen above in my first post)

So whether the domain was hijacked or if a payment was reversed, GoDaddy says that it'll step back, with a large tub of popcorn, and watch as the seller frantically tries to get his domain back, refusing to intervene unless the buyer sics a judge on their worthless ass.

The moral of this story: Heed the second post in this thread. Don't keep valuable domains at GoDaddy.

 

[Archangel]

On my loss: I accept it. I did the deal while being tired. I should have thought it through before accepting Paypal from this guy. So I accept my loss and learned a valuable lesson.

As for the rest, GoDaddy refused to look into an earlier claim I made about a domain that wasn't in my account. I've lost respect for them ever since.

I know of several occasions where a domain was actually stolen from a compromised account and GoDaddy did take action to lock the account and take appropriate steps to fix it.

I understand their policy to not get involved in third party transactions though. If you sell a domain, then voluntarily push it that is different than it being directly hijacked.

The dispute is between you and the buyer. The buyer has stolen merchandise from you, but it is not really GoDaddy's place to referee it.

GoDaddy.com can tell through IP logs and other various measures, I am sure, if a domain was actually hijacked or there is a dispute over payment.

I am sorry for what happened to you, but that is why I never accept Paypal for an amount over what I am willing to potentially lose.

Brad

 

[Name Trader]

They won't get involved if you voluntarily push the domain to another account. If it was stolen from your account, they might, depending on circumstances. You can get security where they will not transfer or push a domain without prior telephone consent with a private password.