Epik, We have a problem. Domain removed from account without permission.

[bmugford]

I am sure as many of you are aware I have had issues with Epik in the past, but decided to give them a chance when I saw a domain I wanted on Name Liquidate.

I purchased the domain PianoMoving.com on 7/20. It was transferred into my account then.
This was the only domain in my account.

It was in my WHOIS information.
I updated the nameservers.

When I just checked it is magically no longer in my account.
The nameservers were changed.
I received zero contact about the domain being moved.

I have all the receipts -

1.) The purchase/renewal from Epik.
2.) The Paypal charge.
3.) Email of when the domain was moved into my account @ Epik.
4.) Email when the nameservers were updated in early August @ Epik.

I don't see any indication that the domain was removed from my account.
On top of zero communication, there also appears to be nothing under "Outgoing Pushes" or "Task History".

I sent a DM to @Rob Monster about this earlier this morning, but have not received a response yet.

I was just notified I received a refund. I don't want a refund.

I want the domain I won, that was in my account, which I had full control over.
It was removed from my account without permission or even notification.

I do not find this acceptable in any way.

@Epik.com, you have some explaining to do.

Brad

 

[Laguna]

As for Rob monster, I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. As for Braden Pollock, I think he's one of the good guys and I'd hope he can resolve this issue and give you some light as to what actually happened. Fingers crossed it gets sorted swiftly

 

[Future Sensors]

As for Rob monster, I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. As for Braden Pollock, I think he's one of the good guys and I'd hope he can resolve this issue and give you some light as to what actually happened. Fingers crossed it gets sorted swiftly

I definitely think Braden is now the one who could bring this to a good resolution, as EPIK's Customer Success Manager failed to do so. Like Brad, Braden is a member of ICA, and the appearance of a conflict of interest must be avoided.

 

[alcy]

so is this mr Braden like around... here? sounds like sure way to get truth of this.. ask him

 

[DomainBanana]

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[bmugford]

Same thing happened to me at Dynadot on a name I was selling for $50k.

I was the owner of the name for 3 weeks and they ripped it out of my account.

It's not pleasant, but sometimes registrar errors happen. If the name was accidentally sold to you, Epik had to make a difficult decision and restore the name to its original owner. This is what happened in my case at Dynadot.

I wasn't happy but ultimately accepted it and moved on.

It seems more like Epik had to make the difficult decision to remove it from my account a month later, without permission, after it sold by another party...while also providing no notification, no record of the transfer, and no refund or communication.

Was Epik ever planning on notifying me? It is almost like they want to just pretend it didn't happen.

Brad

 

[DomainBanana]

comment removed

 

[bmugford]

At least in my case, Dynadot notified me that they ripped the name out of my account and they refunded me plus gave me a token $100 credit.

Having a $50k name ripped out of my account without permission wasn't fun and they also gave me no explanation.

I submitted the case to ICANN for review and through them I learned that there was a verifiable registrar error, and the name never should have been sold to me. So I finally accepted it and moved on.

Definitely not pleasant, but Epik did refund you. I think that's the best you can hope for at this point.

Sometimes registrars make mistakes, and I know it's frustrating, but from a legal standpoint I don't think there's much that can be done. Registrars cover themselves very well in their TOS.

So probably better to just accept it and move on.

This involves Epik, as well as an equity holder of Epik.

I have no idea what happened, but there is at least an appearance of a conflict of interest as @Future Sensors alluded to.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Definitely not pleasant, but Epik did refund you. I think that's the best you can hope for at this point.

When you factor in the chain of events, the lack of communication, nope that is not going to suffice.

Not only was it ripped away, it seems pretty clear from the lack of communication and lack of record of the transfer in my account that they were not real straightforward about what happened.

There was no communication for about (2) weeks after it was ripped away until I found it via dumb luck.

Brad

 

[Peak.Domains]

There are (32) NamePros account representatives listed as as "Epik.com Staff".

If you want to get their attention, you should rename this thread to "Vote for your favourite registrar!"

 

[bmugford]

So probably better to just accept it and move on.

Well, that is not going to happen until I get a full detailed accounting of exactly what happened.

Again, I have one domain there. It seems highly unlikely this hasn't happened before.

It seems rather convenient that the domain was removed from my account right when the sale was reported...It's pretty interesting that seems to be the exact moment they caught the "mistake".

Of course, they still didn't choose to notify me, or make any record of the transfer in my account.

Brad

 

[DomainBanana]

comment removed

 

[bmugford]

One thing you can do at no cost is submit a complaint to ICANN. They will review and should at least be able to get you an explanation of what happened.

We will see what happens.

At this point the silence from the other parties involved is deafening.

Brad

 

[DomainBanana]

comment removed

 

[bmugford]

It's frustrating but that's the nature of the biz. Mistakes happen and you were refunded.

Well, at this point I completely reject that entire premise.

I am certainly not just going to take Epik's word for it without much more explanation.

The "mistake" excuse was well after the fact.

It is not just about the domain being removed from my account, without permission. It is timed exactly when a sale happened.

With an actual "mistake" you would be notified, and refunded.

I was not notified. There is no record of the transfer even happening in my account.
It just magically disappeared.

It was only after me noticing the domain missing that I contacted them.

So I am to believe the original listing was a mistake, the transfer to my account was a mistake, the full ownership for a month was a mistake, the lack of notification was a mistake, the lack of record was a mistake, the lack of refund was a mistake. It doesn't pass the smell test.

Brad

 

[DomainBanana]

comment removed

 

[bmugford]

The lack of communication is probably due to legal precautions and they may never give you any details to protect themselves. In my experience, ICANN can at least help to pry out some of the details.

But most likely it was a mistake, and I think you should give them the benefit of the doubt.

They literally took a domain from my account without permission, notification, or record. They did not offer any refund until I stumbled on it.

I am not sure how that helps them legally. It just makes it look more like bad faith.

Any of the parties involved are more than welcome to clarify what happened. If they choose not to, that is their decision. Probably a poor one, but still their decision.

Brad

 

[DomainBanana]

comment removed

 

[redemo]

Did you legally own the domain name at the time it was taken from your account without your permission? Are you 100% sure of your answer, having checked their T.O.S? @bmugford

 

[bmugford]

I highly doubt Epik would deliberately steal something from your account without grounds for doing so.

A domain disappears from your account (a month later) with no notification or record, right after it is reported as sold by another party. People can label that what they want.

I know it's frustrating but you've already gotten a refund and I think that's the best you can do.

I appreciate your opinion, but that is not the best I can do.

This is not just about me. What happened here is just not right.
The lack of transparency is a major issue.

You can't just remove a domain from an account without permission and provide no notification or record of it.
Again, this was transferred (2) weeks ago. They only provided a refund, without explanation, after I randomly stumbled on it.

If I had not stumbled on it, then what?

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Did you legally own the domain name at the time it was taken from your account without your permission? Are you 100% sure of your answer, having checked their T.O.S? @bmugford

Hold on let me check their TOS and see if it is allowed for them to take a domain without permission, notification, record, or refund (until I stumbled on it, weeks later).

Maybe they have a magical excuse policy in their TOS that they can invoke when it comes to a domain getting a better offer.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Magic. A domain being removed from your Epik account with no record of it even happening.

 

[DomainBanana]

comment removed

 

[Future Sensors]

An important advantage of this whole NameLiquidate service, as mentioned by both @DanSanchez and @Rob Monster on this forum, would be that the "buyer would get a clear title".

We now roughly know what that means.

 

[MSN-Domains]

From recollection Keith reported something similar happening to him at Epik.

Doesn't look good, at all. What a shame

 

[MSN-Domains]

From recollection Keith reported something similar happening to him at Epik.

Doesn't look good, at all. What a shame

@Keith right now