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

 

[Keith]

What a mess.
I sold this name back in May so it was no longer in my acct nor in my control.

That’s what I figured after seeing Rob’s explanation. It’s a process like escrow.com where they handle renewals during payment plans.

Epik botched this one for sure!

 

[bmugford]

What a mess.
I sold this name back in May so it was no longer in my acct nor in my control.

Hi Braden,

Thanks for the clarification. I think it is pretty clear now who is responsible for what happened.

I really don't appreciate Rob's attitude when the "error" or "mistake" is clearly on their end, from the self-promotional post to the passive-aggressive $500 "good faith" gesture. If you read the comment, that was clearly not in "good faith".

I am offended by Rob's "defamatory" comment when I am simply making factual statements, that Epik has not even bothered to refute.

I think what happened, and their response to it is a very poor reflection on their company.

Brad

 

[DomainNature]

What a mess.
I sold this name back in May so it was no longer in my acct nor in my control.

I went through your Twitter feed, no mention of this sale. Maybe I missed something.
Can you provide Live evidence of this sale to Brad privately? I ask such cause I can do easy Inspect Element and change the looks of a page then take a convincible screenshot.

 

[cooljub]

I went through your Twitter feed, no mention of this sale. Maybe I missed something.

The payment is not complete.

 

[tonyk2000]

Very interesting. If so, who received sale proceeds (high 3 figures) after @bmugford purchased the domain on nameliquidate? Was it epik escrow account? But why on Earth would epik escrow (!) account opt-in to use nameliquidate?

 

[bmugford]

Very interesting. If so, who received sale proceeds (high 3 figures) after @bmugford purchased the domain on nameliquidate? Was it epik escrow account? But why on Earth would epik escrow (!) account opt-in to use nameliquidate?

Yeah, this doesn't really seem to make much sense.

It seems like as more information has come out, even more questions remain unanswered about what actually happened.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

Hi @Braden Pollock Since you recently made the sale public, does that mean that all LTO installments have now been paid?

 

[redemo]

As a good faith gesture, I did just now go ahead and add $500 in Epik credit to your account.

To be honest, aside from the prolonged silence and then unapologetic self-promotion, $ 500 is a reasonable settlement. I don't know the terms you agreed to, but if they haven't broken any rules then it's purely a customer service issue. In which case $ 500 seems reasonable. If, on the other hand, they have broken some rules then the most logical recourse is to contact the registry or I.C.A.N.N. I've said my piece, not having any further involvement with this thread. Come on guys, it's the weekend!

 

[bmugford]

To be honest, aside from the prolonged silence and then unapologetic self-promotion, $ 500 is a reasonable settlement. I don't know the terms you agreed to, but if they haven't broken any rules then it's purely a customer service issue. In which case $ 500 seems reasonable. If, on the other hand, they have broken some rules then the most logical recourse is to contact the registry or I.C.A.N.N. I've said my piece, not having any further involvement with this thread. Come on guys, it's the weekend!

I am sorry, but no settlement offer is reasonable when it comes along with accusations of "defamatory" statements and acting in bad faith when I am simply reporting what happened.

Somehow the person who got the domain taken from their account without authorization or notification is the one acting in "bad faith", when they simply report what happened.

Brad

 

[tonyk2000]

$ 500 is a reasonable settlement.

Epik credit is just this. Account credit. Cannot be cashed out imo. And, it appears that Brad has no plans to use his epik account anyway, so, be it $5 or $5K - no much difference...

 

[Future Sensors]

There was a domain that Braden was doing as an escrow transaction with a payment plan with zero commission. It was a bit of an exotic deal.

@Rob Monster Could you tell more about this, especially why this deal was exotic and without commission?

 

[Rob Monster]

@Rob Monster Could you tell more about this, especially why this deal was exotic and without commission?

Normally, selling with payment plans is done like this:

https://www.epik.com/support/epik-lease-rental-purchase-plans-guide/

It is a very robust self-service product that accommodates all payment methods. It charges a standard 9% fee on collected funds and it works like an absolute champ for buyer and seller.

For escrow, we have had historically a practice where sellers whose domain is on Epik with a known customer, and where the buyer is settling via wire transfer, we can waive the escrow commission.

The commission-free escrow was never intended for ongoing payment plans. However, because Braden is a shareholder and a former director, the escrow team did a manual work-around.

The oversight was doing this for a domain that was expiring within the window of the extended payment plan. Smart software would not make that error, but a manual work-around introduced an unforeseen risk.

The remedy was improperly handed. Once discovered it was fully remedied and now also fairly compensated.

 

[Gabriel360]

One thing is clear from all this:

Domains are not as safe as I thought.

Apparently, registrars can simply take your domain with no repercussion whatsoever. And no notification, too.

It's really scary that someone can take your asset away from you without consequences because they're legally covered by the terms of service.

What if Brad had built a business on the domain name?

One month is enough time to get a business running. They'd shut down the business just like that!

Scary stuff.

 

[Future Sensors]

The remedy was improperly handed. Once discovered it was fully remedied and now also fairly compensated.

Rob, thanks for your reply. I conclude that the reputational damage Epik suffers from this fiasco is estimated by you not to exceed $500. Let us know which charity you will donate the $500 to.

 

[NickB]

This is the problem when you have self righteous religious zealots running a company - they are never wrong, god's on their side so they must be right and it's always someone/something else's fault.....Also they seem to have some kind of delusional special dispensation to act according to their beliefs rather than reality.......Not the way to run a business......

Twisted kind of moral reality......Right is right and wrong is wrong - no need for religious hyperbole to be factored into the equation

Unfortunately Brad it looks like you have been screwed over -ask for the money to be given to a Atheist Charity and let it stick in his throat

 

[kor]

Epik Fail!

 

[branding]

"we never lost a domain" lol.

 

[branding]

In all seriousness, @bmugford , did they get back to you with an 'official' explanation and offer some kind of compensation that would be satisfactory?

We all witnessed a majority shareholder bashing you publicly, I'm interested in what the one(s) in power are actually doing to resolve your issue.

 

[bmugford]

One thing is clear from all this:

Domains are not as safe as I thought.

Apparently, registrars can simply take your domain with no repercussion whatsoever. And no notification, too.

It's really scary that someone can take your asset away from you without consequences because they're legally covered by the terms of service.

What if Brad had built a business on the domain name?

One month is enough time to get a business running. They'd shut down the business just like that!

Scary stuff.

In all seriousness, @bmugford , did they get back to you with an 'official' explanation and offer some kind of compensation that would be satisfactory?

We all witnessed a majority shareholder bashing you publicly, I'm interested in what the one(s) in power are actually doing to resolve your issue.

Nope, other than the email from Epik support I posted, their only real communications were in this thread, which basically boiled down to (1) largely self-promotional post and (1) passive-aggressive "settlement" offer.

If your TOS truly allows you to just take a domain without permission after a month, without notification, and based on your own incompetence...That says a lot.

People can judge if that is right or wrong. I think it is clear by the content of this thread how most people have judged what happened and Epik's response to it.

Brad

 

[branding]

Also, if I were the owner of localtrucks.com I wouldn't be amused.

This thread/issue, and being being linked to some x-rated niche as pointed out by @Future Sensors in another thread.

 

[bmugford]

Also, if I were the owner of localtrucks.com I wouldn't be amused.

This thread/issue, and being being linked to some x-rated niche as pointed out by @Future Sensors in another thread.

Yeah, that is tough luck for them. It seems like it is tough luck for Braden also.

I guess that is just what happens when you deal with a company that allows their own incompetence to lead to this outcome.

Brad

 

[branding]

Nope, other than the email from Epik support I posted, their only real communications were in this thread, which basically boiled down to (1) largely self-promotional post and (1) passive-aggressive "settlement" offer.

If your TOS truly allows you to just take a domain without permission after a month, without notification, and based on your own incompetence...That says a lot.

People can judge if that is right or wrong. I think it is clear by the content of this thread how most people have judged what happened and Epik's response to it.

Brad

Thank you. I think it's rather uncivil and unchristian for their former CEO to come on here and try to discredit you for simply sharing this case and your personal experience.

I have no intention of making this into a religious thread but it's not the Christian thing to do. Missed opportunity. Please let us know if they ever decide to give you an official statement!

 

[Future Sensors]

Also, if I were the owner of localtrucks.com I wouldn't be amused.

This thread/issue, and being being linked to some x-rated niche as pointed out by @Future Sensors in another thread.

Indeed. PianoMoving.com and LocalTrucks.com are now associated with the following questionable domains, among others. With each new certificate, these domain names change randomly. Epik's marketing is a well-oiled machine, but on a technical level you can see through it in no time.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/discuss-your-epik-experience.1146613/page-102#post-8694410

 

[bmugford]

Thank you. I think it's rather uncivil and unchristian for their former CEO to come on here and try to discredit you for simply sharing this case and your personal experience.

I find it rather amusing that Rob seems to be so upset that I posted this publicly.

Why shouldn't I? It is regarding my experience with Epik.
I posted it in the sake of transparency.

Rob likes to act like I just pick on Epik. It is just a copout for their own actions on this.

Go back and look at the Brent Oxley thread on NamePros, where GoDaddy locked his domains unfairly.
Even while I am a GoDaddy supporter, I pretty much lead the charge pushing back on the unfairness of that.

Brent largely doesn't share my politics or ideologies. I did not care.
What is right is right. What is fair is fair.

I brought the issue to the ICA, and a resolution was reached.

You know, if you don't want this type of issue to be brought to light then maybe you should have done better.

In fact, if this domain was removed from my account with notification and full explanation, I likely would have tried to handle it privately.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. It was taken from my account without explanation or notice. No refund was given until after I randomly found it was missing.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Indeed. PianoMoving.com and LocalTrucks.com are now associated with the following questionable domains, among others. With each new certificate, these domain names change randomly. Epik's marketing is a well-oiled machine, but on a technical level you can see through it in no time.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/discuss-your-epik-experience.1146613/page-102#post-8694410

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What a mess.

Brad