advice Domain transfer disputes

[srslyhappy]

I recently purchased a domain in the low $XXXX range.

After I acquired the domain I had it transferred to my own preferred registrar which is namecheap.

However, a few weeks later I receive a notification in my namecheap account that the domain is locked and I need to e-mail [email protected] for more info.

It seems like the transfer that I completed for the domain is being disputed by the previous owner. By the looks of it the seller is trying to scam me.

Is there anything I can do at this point or are the chances of me keeping the domain I had paid for very low?

Any advice? This is the first time I have ever experienced something like this after years of domain trading.

Thank you

 

[Cdomains]

I recently purchased a domain in the low $XXXX range.

After I acquired the domain I had it transferred to my own preferred registrar which is namecheap.

However, a few weeks later I receive a notification in my namecheap account that the domain is locked and I need to e-mail [email protected] for more info.

It seems like the transfer that I completed for the domain is being disputed by the previous owner. By the looks of it the seller is trying to scam me.

Is there anything I can do at this point or are the chances of me keeping the domain I had paid for very low?

Any advice? This is the first time I have ever experienced something like this after years of domain trading.

Thank you

I have never had this happen to me - yet

I also would like someone to comment on this as well.

If they are really trying to get the domain back after you paid them, that is really f'ed up!!

 

[alcy]

I recently purchased a domain in the low $XXXX range.

After I acquired the domain I had it transferred to my own preferred registrar which is namecheap.

However, a few weeks later I receive a notification in my namecheap account that the domain is locked and I need to e-mail [email protected] for more info.

It seems like the transfer that I completed for the domain is being disputed by the previous owner. By the looks of it the seller is trying to scam me.

Is there anything I can do at this point or are the chances of me keeping the domain I had paid for very low?

Any advice? This is the first time I have ever experienced something like this after years of domain trading.

Thank you

you'd have never transfred it to you if it was locked.

once you did, there is no such thing I know of as "disputing a transfer"

I think your puzzle is missing few pieces mate.

 

[Cdomains]

I think it comes down to the registrar also.

Some are more reputable than others and each could handle this differently.

NameCheap is a pretty reputable registrar.

It also won't hurt if you have a lot of domains regged there.

I don't think they are interested in losing your business or getting a bad rep here or anywhere else.

I think the other party would have to prove to NC without a doubt that the domain is theirs.

I hope you kept all the relevant info from the transaction or have access to it through where ever you did the transaction.

With the proper proof I think you have an excellent chance of keeping your domain.

 

[Dominic Belley]

Which escrow service did you use?

For the funds to be released to the seller he must have manually confirmed that he transferred the domain to you and you must have confirmed the reception of the domain. You probably have all the email from registrars confirming that transfer.

From that point, the seller can't really win a dispute for the domain ownership.

 

[Cdomains]

From that point, the seller can't really win a dispute for the domain ownership.

The problem is with NameCheap not Escrow/com, but it is a good point to bring up with NC when trying to prove it is yours.

After all, like @Dominic Belley said, Escrow/com would not have released the funds if the domain was not transferred successfully.

I would take screen shots of the transaction in your Escrow/com dashboard.

It shows the complete transaction chain of events.

 

[alcy]

i doubt NC will just lock a domain upon any request someone out there makes to dispute a transfer.

if that is true then you should probably find yourself a new fave registrar imo

 

[Shimmy]

If you are being scammed why not name and shame so others don't get scammed by the same person?

 

[Cdomains]

If you are being scammed why not name and shame so others don't get scammed by the same person?

Don't do that until you are sure this is not just a mistake.

You don't want to ruin someone's rep if you are not 100% sure they are scamming you.

Did you try contacting the seller yet?

 

[Lysted]

Assuming you were given EPP code by the seller directly? You can show that a proof to NameCheap. Obviously, there are authorizations that occur from Seller's side as well during the domain transfer. As mentioned earlier, the escrow transaction history should do complete trail of transaction - one step being that Seller transferred the domain to the buyer (you).

I think it may be just standard Namecheap policy to refer to disputes email if someone disputes the ownership.

 

[Cdomains]

If you have emails from Escrow/com and the seller, and screen shots of everything about the transaction you should have no problem.

I suggest you gather all this together in an easy readable format, maybe a pdf with everything in it.

If you have to prove your side you will be ready right away to defend yourself and send the gathered info to NC.

 

[JONAH LEUNG]

The credentials you need to provide trading, in order to prove ownership of this domain name

 

[srslyhappy]

Hi everyone, thank you for the replies. I am not going to name and shame the seller who sold me the domain yet. I contacted him first and he said it's not something that he did, but of course this is something I cannot verify.

I do have all the e-mails for the transfer. However I think I didn't clarify my situation in my opening post.

I purchased the domain from the seller and the domain was originally at Enom.com. So instead of direct transfer I had him push the domain to my Enom account. After it was pushed to my account I then transferred it over to NC. Does this change anything for my situation?

Additionally, NC told me to contact Enom (which is also their upstream provider) instead as they apparently can't do anything about it on their end.

I have all the e-mails and messages between me and the seller for this transaction.

Thank you all again for taking the time to reply.

 

[Domains - Wanted]

Hi everyone, thank you for the replies. I am not going to name and shame the seller who sold me the domain yet. I contacted him first and he said it's not something that he did, but of course this is something I cannot verify.

Bull! A "domain transfer dispute" is tantamount to allegation of theft of the domain. A registrar is unlikely to follow up on such an allegation without some documentation substantiating such a claim from an authorized party (read: previous registrant).

I do have all the e-mails for the transfer. However I think I didn't clarify my situation in my opening post.

I purchased the domain from the seller and the domain was originally at Enom.com. So instead of direct transfer I had him push the domain to my Enom account. After it was pushed to my account I then transferred it over to NC.

Interesting. How do you transfer a domain from Enom to Enom? (NameCheap is Enom's reseller)

 

[usernamex]

@srslyhappy - You are doing the right thing asking questions first. From your second post it sounds like this isn't the seller. It could be someone is trying to impersonate the previous owner in an attempt to hijack

Anyone can file a dispute even without any proof pretty easily
https://www.namecheap.com/support/k...6/5/how-and-where-can-i-file-abuse-complaints

My guess is the complaint triggers the lock immediately in case it really is fraud, then they investigate so you should be able to clear this up quickly, especially with your documentation. NameCheap is a reseller of eNom, but they are wholly different entities so a transfer from eNom to NameCheap is treated as transfer not a push.

The part that does not make sense is NameCheap telling you to contact eNom.

 

[Kuffy]

I had a name taken out of my account and transferred to another registrar. This was several months before the name expired. It took me over two months to get the name back, and I had to pay for a one year extension. An external view would have made it appear that I was scamming the "buyer", but in fact it was a registrar "error". I never did receive an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the transfer, and I had notified them when the name was removed from my account, and before it had been transferred away.

 

[ikhub]

It appears the seller provided you the authorisation code but forgot (or perhaps did not know) to unlock the domain. Try contacting the seller to unlock the domain and try transferring again.

 

[srslyhappy]

Thanks again guys for the input. I am not waiting for Enom's reply, it's been a few days but nothing yet. I am able and willing to provide all evidence and all transcripts between me and the seller during this transaction. Hope they'll be able to resolve the issue and side with me on this case. I would hate to lose this domain name, the money I paid for it is really secondary.