EU registrations, be very careful of your credit/debit cards

[mole]

I recently attempted to register some names for the EU landrush with an accredited EU registrar. It was quite a lot of names (about ten over), and the transaction didn't go through. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my card, and thought nothing of it except to email them and ask whether there was something wrong with their system.

My bank called me up 5 mins later on my mobile, asking me if I had authorized over USD$2,000 recently. I said no, they said a merchant was trying to charge my card that amount. They offered to suspend my card to prevent the merchant from taking my money until I could get to the root of this.

I checked my bank account online and was surprised to see the same registrar had already charged my card USD$250 for 2 preregs I made with them early last week. Missed that one..

I'm not sure if that was a pre-charge hold-the-money thing, or actually taking money upfront for the pre-regs, but the site made NO MENTION of upfront charges (fine if they did). I have gladly paid upfront for those who did.

This is just a heads up for those new to the landrush game. Be very careful...these things can bust your credit limits (especially if you go wild on the pre-regs) for nothing more than a slim chance in April 2006.

 

[AHA7]

Thanks for the heads-up, Chordata!
Can you please tell me who that registrar is. PM me if you don't want to make it public.
Thanks again!

 

[mole]

It was actually over 3,000 Euros

 

[xtremest]

Is it possible to know the name of this registrar?

 

[wasistdas]

Thanx for the warning. Would you please PM the name of the registrar?

 

[hookah]

Is it possible to know the name of this registrar?

I'd like to know too. Only one honest solution is to charge a customer some % of total registration cost just before the registration period (this is why I prefer DomainDiscount24 for their reliability and clear procedures). For .eu first sunrise starts December 7 and landrush in April.

 

[mole]

You need to be very careful with who you prereg with, since their sites may not make it clear they are going to stosh your card for all its remaining credit/debit. In this case, I got a checkout that clearly labelled that I was committing to 10 euros per name x _ names, then I get a call from my bank saying I busted my limit because someone was stoshing me a couple of thousand euros, geesh.

Well, at least this was not something that happened to many people below;

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/huntingdon/2005/11/07/e182f988-7041-4208-83bb-3d6af0a39d23.lpf

A COMPUTER wizard accused of fraud and threatening to kill police and trading standards officers has told a court he may have "overstepped the mark".

Peter Francis-Macrae also said he was surprised at the scale of the response to the business he set up to register internet .eu domain names.
Police threats: Peter Francis-Macrae
Giving evidence at Peterborough Crown Court, the 23-year-old said he may have exaggerated what his firm could do in registering the names before they were officially released

 

[IAmAllanShore]

моль,
Got a list of .eu pre-reg co's that you trust that don't charge up front?
I understand your desire not to name the co, just curious about who you do like, :tu:
-Allan :gl:

 

[infinitomagazine]

wat about the name of the register company?
pm please to know this important detail

 

[monRa]

That's very bad! Anyway next time you could open a thread ans ask us of the reability of the registar! SO you could be sure!

 

[domainprince]

Please pm me who that registrar is as well Thanks!