Domains managed by a bankrupt company and owned by someone unreachable...

[drakewla]

Hello,

I still have access to some domains controlled by a company that hired me before they went bankrupt, these domains are belong to one of their clients.

I'd like to get or purchase the domains from the client, but, he did not check his e-mails since 2000 and the phone number in the WHOIS database isn't valid anymore.

So, I think most likely the domains will expire and be auctioned on SnapNames.

Technically, I can get them back but I believe this is a "trust abuse" for the current owner.

What would you do to get these domains? Renew on the last day before expiration, then transfer?

 

[Dave_Z]

I've never had this thing happen to me. But as I think about it and assume I
exhausted any and all means of trying to contact the client after 2 weeks up
to a month (depending on how urgent), then I'll put up a kind of custom under
construction page or something.

I'll apologize on that page and explain why I did that in the hopes of getting
that client to contact me ASAP. I'll give my name, email and phone for him/her
to reach me and we'll take it from there.

Of course, I'll cross my fingers and hope the client's understanding. If not, I'll
deal with it as best as I can.

C'mon guys, share your approaches too! This will be a new thing for me too.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

Before doing something that could be taken as underhanded, you should exhaust all possibilites of contacting them. Do some research on the mailing address, send a letter, or google the name for more info. You could always protect yourself by sending them a certified letter with receipt. State that since you have access control of the domains but can't contact them, you will renew the domains and give them X months to claim them at your cost or that if they are unwanted you offer to purchase them. If the letter gets returned, you will have proof of the unopened letter and your intent. If they are still in business, but have lost contact, you may be doing them a big favor in recovering the domains before expiration. Even if you end up giving them back, it could earn you extra business.

I'm assuming you're their webmaster, or somehow worked on their site, which may have given you some responsibility on their behalf to access the domains.

 

[primacomputer]

It's hard to say without knowing all the details. Whos been paying the registration fees for the last six years? Surely someone has read the renewal emails and acted on them. Who's the registered owner and what's their status? Alive, dead, trading, dormant, liquidated, etc.?

I had to sit by and watch a very nice name drop when a company went under in the dotcom bust. I just didn't have any claim to it even though I was the technical contact. Others have been considered part of a development package on which payment was never completed and I had no qualms about simply reselling them. I've acquired a lot of names from liquidators when companies go bust. This is a great place to pick up names. I've seen a number of times where names continued to be renewed even after a company went bust. One of the former owners simply hangs on to them for his own benefit. This is a crime (literally), and people are often very open to properly handling the liquidation of a name once they've been caught red handed.

Don't know if any of these scenarios apply to your situation.