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

 

[bmugford]

not a bad deal at 900. were there many bidders? generally Nameliquidate is as much of joke crap names place as np bargain bin or 99percent other np sales where members unload crap they wouldn't renew anyway..so when u see pianomoving on nameliq I'd personally be red flagged already there lol.. like u know... what's a prince doing on a pigfarm

It was not an auction.

It is a listing where the seller has to opt-in, where the price drops as time goes on until it is sold, reaches the minimum, or reaches the reserve set by the owner.

It was up there for at least a period of time before I pulled the trigger, since it dropped around $100 from the start.

Again, this domain sold for around the same price in the recent past. It is not some unreasonable price that it sold for -

pianomoving.com

990 USD

2020-07-20

Brad

 

[bmugford]

A $12,000 domain name is a premium domain name period. It seems to me like someone owes you $11000+ for selling your domain and pocketing the profits.

Yes, the proceeds or the return of the domain that was removed from my account without permission, after a month.

The bottom line is whatever happened regarding the sale of this domain, it was only possible because Epik removed it from my account without authorization. That part is not even up for debate.

Brad

 

[alcy]

It was not an auction.

It is a listing where the seller has to opt-in, where the price drops as time goes on until it is sold, reaches the minimum, or reaches the reserve set by the owner.

It was up there for at least a period of time before someone pulled the trigger, since it dropped around $100 from the start.

Again, this domain sold for around the same price in the recent past. It is not some unreasonable price that it sold for -

990 USD

2020-07-20

Brad

oh yea I fforgot it's a dropping bin... same crap names tho for most part..I dont bother to look... I guess they take what a week to.drop by 100... good name...

 

[alcy]

Yes, the proceeds or the return of the domain that was removed from my account without permission, after a month.

Brad

so obviously no buyer..or the buyer didnt approach u when u owned it... imagine if they did.. itd be gone.for good.

 

[tonyk2000]

A good quote. For Epik. For Jaime, the Customer Success Manager at Epik. For the domain seller. Something to think about...

 

[bmugford]

so obviously no buyer..or the buyer didnt approach u when u owned it... imagine if they did.. itd be gone.for good.

Well, while I owned the domain for around a month no one approached me with an offer.

It was magically just removed from my account, obviously by someone at Epik.
No one else had access to do it.

I was not notified. I can't find any record in my account of the transfer even happening.

It feels like not only did they remove the domain without authorization, they also tried to scrub the evidence of it happening. It was only later I found the domain missing because of dumb luck.

Were they ever going to notify me otherwise?

The whole it was an "error" or "mistake" excuse happened well after the fact, after I noticed the domain missing. This half-assed explanation is not satisfactory, and when you factor in the timeline and entire chain of events I think it reflects rather poorly on Epik as a company.

Brad

 

[Altetra]

Other thing as a possibility, the current owner who purchased this domain from Braden for 12K USD, for sure he was waiting the domain to drop so he can hand reg or drop catch it, after he see that it did not drop he decided to buy it from Braden listing.

 

[bmugford]

Other thing as a possibility, the current owner who purchased this domain from Braden for 12K USD, for sure he was waiting the domain to drop so he can hand reg or drop catch it, after he see that it did not drop he decided to buy it from Braden listing.

Yes, I have no idea what really happened with the "sale".

All I know is whatever did happen, was only possible because Epik removed the domain from my account without authorization, and moved it to a new owner. I also know that I did not receive any of the sales proceeds.

Brad

 

[zomainhacks]

Yes, the proceeds or the return of the domain that was removed from my account without permission, after a month.

The bottom line is whatever happened regarding the sale of this domain, it was only possible because Epik removed it from my account without authorization. That part is not even up for debate.

Brad

I don't think the proceeds are enough, so far we only know that the domain has a current market value equal or greater than 12K.

Moreover, if the info provided in that show are correct, the name is under payment plan so it is not already in full possession of the "buyer".

That domain should come back in your possession ASAP.

 

[bmugford]

I don't think the proceeds are enough, so far we only know that the domain has a current market value equal or greater that 12K.

Moreover, if the info provided in that show are correct, the name is under payment plan so it is not already in full possession of the "buyer".

That domain should come back in your possession ASAP.

Yes, in my view that would be the bare minimum. I am not sure I would have sold the domain for $12,000.

Ideally, my priority would be to have the domain returned to my ownership.

Any "sale" that happened was unauthorized by me, the actual domain owner.

Brad

 

[kor]

With the evidence you have, have you considered escalating the situation to ICANN?

 

[Start]

It was not an auction.

It is a listing where the seller has to opt-in

From the timeline, I think it was probably a "reverse auction" (gradual price decline) for an expired domain.

When looking at whois info for possible purchases in the past, I noticed earlier this year that expired domains at Epik automatically go to NameLiquidate.


And based on the timeline described and the expiry date for PianoMoving.com, I think this was a case of an expired domain that went to NameLiquidate... rather than a case of a domain owner opting-in to have it listed there.

That probably raises the question about whether Epik didn't properly process a renewal or if the domain owner forgot to renew it.

- I want to know why there is no record of the movement in my account.

Yeah, that does happen sometimes... which is something they really should change.


Is there a place in the control panel to see that?


I generally get an email if something happens to a domain. But I did notice that when I decided not to renew a few domains, I got an email about how they had expired out of my account, but that I can still recover them. But one of the domains was not mentioned... apparently because someone else had backordered it or something.


So overall:

- I think it was an expired domain reverse auction listing

- Their system doesn't always tell you if something happened to a domain... which they should change

- Someone really dropped the ball by not communicating with you (for over a week?) and not giving an immediate refund after the domain was removed from your account.

But I think if something underhanded/malicious had happened, it would have been smoother. Because it would be pretty dumb to purposely take a domain out this way, and not give a refund or communicate for a week, and then expect the owner to not be upset by that. Especially when it's the only domain in the account, so it's easy to see it's gone.

 

[bmugford]

A good quote. For Epik. For Jaime, the Customer Success Manager at Epik. For the domain seller. Something to think about...

Show attachment 222328

Well said by Warren Buffet.

At first we got the whole "They are at Namescon" response regarding this, but Epik is clearly well aware of this situation now.

Their lack of response, and failure to take any responsibility for what happened kind of boggles my mind.

Even if a "mistake" was made, it is their mistake not my mistake.

They removed the domain from my account after a month without authorization, notification, or record of it happening.

If Epik wants to make this right, I am open to discussions.

If their calculus is that ignoring this is beneficial to them, I think that is a poor decision.

Brad

 

[alcy]

wait so this name is sold under payment plan? epik? I thought those arent advertised as sold names anywhere til all payments done. so epik now is in control of it or what?

 

[alcy]

From the timeline, I think it was probably a "reverse auction" (gradual price decline) for an expired domain.

from what I know nameliq u just submit whatever names whenever.. it's not really about expired names going automatically there.. still most there is useless crap about to expire resellers dont plan renew... just like np sales.

 

[bmugford]

But I think if something underhanded/malicious had happened, it would have been smoother. Because it would be pretty dumb to purposely take a domain out this way, and not give a refund or communicate for a week, and then expect the owner to not be upset by that. Especially when it's the only domain in the account, so it's easy to see it's gone.

Well, I think you could argue regardless of any other facts something underhanded did indeed happen - the domain was removed from my account without authorization or notification.

Epik could have come out of this looking far better. They still can by doing the right thing.

They could give a full explanation of what happened, not just some generic excuse.

They could accept responsibility for what happened regarding the original sale, the unauthorized removal from my account, and the lack of notification.

They could make an offer to correct what happened by making me whole, for the loss I incurred.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

I just wanted to say I appreciate everyone who has posted in this thread, and not just in support.

I would request though that people please don't leave anonymous downvotes for others.
I don't think it is fair to people with other opinions or feedback.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

- I think it was an expired domain reverse auction listing

- Their system doesn't always tell you if something happened to a domain... which they should change

- Someone really dropped the ball by not communicating with you (for over a week?) and not giving an immediate refund after the domain was removed from your account.

I don't think expired domains are sent to Name Liquidate. According to the FAQ there is a seller and there is a buyer.

It sure looks like an opt-in decision by the domain owner.

https://nameliquidate.com/faq

Does my domain need to be expired to be listed?
Any domain that is not 15 days past expiration is eligible for listing on NameLiquidate.com

Can I sell my expired domain?
Yes, domains that have expired less than 15 days ago are eligible for NameLiquidate. If your domain expired April 10th 2021, the last day to eligibility would be April 25th 2021, for example.

 

[zomainhacks]

Yes, in my view that would be the bare minimum. I am not sure I would have sold the domain for $12,000.

Ideally, my priority would be to have the domain returned to my ownership.

Any "sale" that happened was unauthorized by me, the actual domain owner.

Brad

If they will settle the stuff with giving you the proceeds and you accept, they have to thank you for being a so nice gentleman.

You could very well have acquired it for personal projects or priced way higher, nobody knows since they didn't let you dispose of one of your goods.

 

[KTC]

I don't think expired domains are sent to Name Liquidate. According to the FAQ there is a seller and there is a buyer.

It sure looks like an opt-in decision by the domain owner.

Does my domain need to be expired to be listed?
Any domain that is not 15 days past expiration is eligible for listing on NameLiquidate.com

Can I sell my expired domain?
Yes, domains that have expired less than 15 days ago are eligible for NameLiquidate. If your domain expired April 10th 2021, the last day to eligibility would be April 25th 2021, for example.

Yeah, normally when it is expired and it is on EPIK, they get sent to their daily diamonds list. Nameliquidate has to be opted-in by the seller itself. Used it a couple of times myself, so since you snagged it from that platform, the defense of an error is highly questionable.

This whole thing from EPIK is super suspect. Had pulled my stuff out of there anyways since they lost the whole Afternic deal, but add in everything else that has happened over the past few years, I don't trust them in the slightest.

Brad, I hope you get an actual explanation out of this and not the generics. If they can do this to someone that has your standing, the rest of us don't stand a chance.