GoDaddy / NameFind Bad Faith - Took Domain Away

[Seasoned]

I won a GoDaddy/ NameFind auction. I paid for it right away. Was very excited and already drawing up plans for the website.
They removed it from my won auctions 2 days later and straight up LIED to me that they hadn't caught the domain in time.
Complete and totally lie. As namefind has owned it and still owns it, this is disgusting behavior.
(GoDaddy owns the namefind portfolio)
Plus no email from GoDaddy explaining any of this. I have been a GD customer for 5 years and spent xx,xxx in that time. Beyond furious.
Has anyone had similar experience ?
I emailed [email protected] since phone support was nice but clueless to help.
No reply and not even email explaining their actions.
Does anyone from GD ever chime in here ?

 

[xyo]

@John Napoletano have you checked whois? The domain is in redemption therefore the statement from the rep that someone else will get it seems incorrect.

It seems more like the domain was pushed to the Godaddy/Afternic Transfer Account at Fast Domain but for some reason the transfer to Godaddy failed. And as the domain was scheduled to expired in entered redemption yesterday

 

[xyo]

Strange thing. It always surprises me how the support of the companies involved often is clueless.
I think @Joe Styler might be able to shed some light to it.

On the other hand, you could also wait for the domain to drop (should be on 01/9) and then handreg it

 

[wwwweb]

Wow, it seems that the same thing happened to me recently. At first i thought that the original owner renewed the name, but now... The domain name is NakedHeart.com. I won the GD auction, paid for the domain, but got refund couple of days later.

Here is the 2017-10-15 whois:

Spoiler

Domain Name: NAKEDHEART.COM
Registry Domain ID: 91187595_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.alpinedomains.com
Registrar URL: http://alpinedomains.com
Updated Date: 2017-10-14T10:44:03Z
Creation Date: 2002-10-14T09:48:43Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2017-10-14T09:48:43Z
Registrar: Alpine Domains Inc.
Registrar IANA ID: 1432
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID: Not Available From Registry
Registrant Name: Margarita
Registrant Organization: Ustimenko
Registrant Street: 41 Whitehall
Registrant City: London
Registrant State/Province: London
Registrant Postal Code: SW1A 2BY
Registrant Country: GB
Registrant Phone: +44.7551591831
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: [email protected]
Registry Admin ID: Not Available From Registry
Admin Name: Margarita
Admin Organization: Ustimenko
Admin Street: 41 Whitehall
Admin City: London
Admin State/Province: London
Admin Postal Code: SW1A 2BY
Admin Country: GB
Admin Phone: +44.7551591831
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: [email protected]
Registry Tech ID: Not Available From Registry
Tech Name: Margarita
Tech Organization: Ustimenko
Tech Street: 41 Whitehall
Tech City: London
Tech State/Province: London
Tech Postal Code: SW1A 2BY
Tech Country: GB
Tech Phone: +44.7551591831
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: [email protected]
Name Server: exp1.alpine-dns.com
Name Server: exp2.alpine-dns.com
DNSSEC:Unsigned
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: [email protected]
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.6042887779
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/

Here is the current whois:

Spoiler

Domain Name: NAKEDHEART.COM
Registry Domain ID: 91187595_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.alpinedomains.com
Registrar URL: http://www.alpinedomains.com
Updated Date: 2017-11-19T10:00:21Z
Creation Date: 2002-10-14T09:48:43Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2018-10-14T09:48:43Z
Registrar: Alpine Domains Inc.
Registrar IANA ID: 1432
Registrar Abuse Contact Email:
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone:
Domain Status: ok https://icann.org/epp#ok
Name Server: EXP1.ALPINE-DNS.COM
Name Server: EXP2.ALPINE-DNS.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/

Domain Name: NAKEDHEART.COM
Registry Domain ID: 91187595_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.alpinedomains.com
Registrar URL: http://alpinedomains.com
Updated Date: 2017-11-19T10:00:21Z
Creation Date: 2002-10-14T09:48:43Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2018-10-14T09:48:43Z
Registrar: Alpine Domains Inc.
Registrar IANA ID: 1432
Domain Status: OK https://icann.org/epp#OK
Registry Registrant ID: Not Available From Registry
Registrant Name: Afternic Transfer Service - Transfer Pending
Registrant Organization: NameFind LLC
Registrant Street: Main St. Suite 1120
Registrant City: Cambridge
Registrant State/Province: Massachusetts
Registrant Postal Code: 02142
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.7813736856
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: [email protected]
Registry Admin ID: Not Available From Registry
Admin Name: Afternic Transfer Service - Transfer Pending
Admin Organization: NameFind LLC
Admin Street: Main St. Suite 1120
Admin City: Cambridge
Admin State/Province: Massachusetts
Admin Postal Code: 02142
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.7813736856
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: [email protected]
Registry Tech ID: Not Available From Registry
Tech Name: Afternic Transfer Service - Transfer Pending
Tech Organization: NameFind LLC
Tech Street: Main St. Suite 1120
Tech City: Cambridge
Tech State/Province: Massachusetts
Tech Postal Code: 02142
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.7813736856
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: [email protected]
Name Server: exp1.alpine-dns.com
Name Server: exp2.alpine-dns.com
DNSSEC:Unsigned
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: [email protected]
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.6042887779
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/

For more information on Whois status codes, please visit https://icann.org/epp
Registration Service Provided By: NAMEFIND LLC

So, the original owner did not renew the domain, but it looks like that GD kept the name for themselfs.

@Joe Styler , could you please clear the issue

I can vouch for the fact godaddy does not take back names, if transfer is pending, most likely they are trying to get it to you, this is just how the cross platform system works, there is no magical transfer, it has to follow a process. I have no idea what happend with it, but I hope you get it, either way you will get a refund. Nothing is absolute in any auction format.

 

[anf]

Wow, it seems that the same thing happened to me recently. At first i thought that the original owner renewed the name, but now... The domain name is NakedHeart.com. I won the GD auction, paid for the domain, but got refund couple of days later.

I can vouch for the fact godaddy does not take back names, if transfer is pending, most likely they are trying to get it to you, this is just how the cross platform system works, there is no magical transfer, it has to follow a process. I have no idea what happend with it, but I hope you get it, either way you will get a refund. Nothing is absolute in any auction format.

May be this is some techical problem, i am not sure. But i paid for the domain on november 19 and got refund couple of days later, so they are definitely not trying to transfer the domain.

 

[Joe Styler]

OK here is an update with what we have figured out so far. On nakedheart.com we were told by the company it was registered at to delist it via an API call. This is the call we get when the name is renewed or transferred away etc. We don't know a few things yet which we are still working on digging into with the partner.
Why did we get the call if the name wasn't transferred or renewed?
Why is the domain in our name on the WHOIS when we got the cancel call? Without getting too technical the name shouldn't change to us until we are ready and able to move it to the buyer.
Something broke here on this name we will still investigate and find out what.
We would not have at any time taken control over the name and listed it for sale. The name was not with us it was just in our name on the WHOIS. We are currently moving it here so we can award it to @anf if you still want it. The auctions support team is reaching out to you today.

On Axium.co the name was put in our name we were told there was a winner and called for the domain. We requested the transfer many times and it failed every time. Since it would not transfer we cancelled the auction and refunded you. This is automated. There was a problem with the transfer we are investigating. Automated transfers can fail sometimes. The system acted as if the domain was no longer available and cancelled the auction because as far as it knew it wasn't. Again we sell millions of domains these systems are all automated. No one was watching this name to keep it on our side. On our records the name failed and wasn't available.

These system calls go into logs and those basically show the agent you speak with that the auction was cancelled because the name cannot move to the buyer which in almost all the cases is because the name is renewed or transferred by the original owner. These are edge cases where something broke. So I do apologize for the wrong information you were given by support. I do want to point out that they were trying to help and did look at the logs so they did their best to give you the right answer, they did not purposely deceive or shoot out an email without investigating the auctions. They gave you the answer they saw and had no reason to think otherwise since that is normally the case. Wrong is wrong though and we do apologize. I only bring this up to say there was no intent to deceive.

What would have happened is we would have audited the holding account /auctions logs etc, and the name which was renewed but not moved would have been eventually awarded to the auction winner. The other name would likely have dropped. Neither of them would have been kept by us. I don't remember which was expired and which was not because we redeemed the other one, at our own cost, so we could move both names to the buyers at this point. Support will be reaching out to do that today.

We are currently running an audit of the domains that failed to make sure no other names were impacted. We are also changing the logic in the API to give more time on domains to transfer before they are deemed failed and cancelled. This should address any open issues as I already stated we are working to find out what happened with the cancel call we received from the other party.

In general expired domains are working on a very strict timeline and while most are awarded without issue any bids on them are not guaranteed. The vast majority are fine, some are redeemed and sometimes technical issues come up. We work hard to limit this.

 

[xyo]

@John Napoletano

the "Expired domain ready on ..." status message on the Won tab probably was/is always only set after you won the domain. Though, I support your proposal that they should updated this field during the process. That would prevent uncertainty and you would only need to contact support if the status says there were complications.

You already could use the GD API to track if expired domains are assigned correctly. As soon as your order for an expired domain is done, the API lists your domain with status:

{"domainId":xxx,"domain":"xxx.com","status":"PENDING_HOLD_ESCROW",...}

(which will change to "ACTIVE" once the domain is actually in your account)

 

[campout]

I noticed that this name CrazyChick.com was in GD Expiring and disappeared early. Now it is showing NameFind as the owner. Is NameFind somehow jumping ahead of GD Auctions customers?

 

[Joe Styler]

I noticed that this name CrazyChick.com was in GD Expiring and disappeared early. Now it is showing NameFind as the owner. Is NameFind somehow jumping ahead of GD Auctions customers?

We do not do that I have said this many times. We only buy portfolios of domains we do not hold back any expired domains or bid against customers.
We recently bought a portfolio of domains and normally when we buy portfolios of names some are expired because of the time it takes to get everything done, paid, access to accounts etc, and we then normally start moving names to our GD account under the Namefind portfolio.
This was one of those names, we bought it, it was included in the portfolio deal we made and we simply renewed it via transfer once we got control over it. It was not in our control to list or not list via the auction until we moved it, it was in the hands of another party. We have NDA agreements in place and cannot discuss more details about the transaction, parties etc. However, if you follow the main domain blogs they usually watch the WHOIS changes etc and report on changes in portfolio ownership and you can see this lines up with what is being publicly reported elsewhere.

 

[Cdomains]

I transfer every single name out of GD when it comes time to renew. Every. Single. One. When it asks why at the end I say "Cheaper elsewhere." Other reasons include what you mentioned.

Ditto!

 

[Seasoned]

Yes they sometimes take away your domains won at auction and sometimes you will not get any notification at all.

If you have a lot of domains you might never discover if you are missing one - if they don't tell you.

I have been transferring all my domains away for the last year or so.

If you do win an auction and you get the domain in your account you should transfer out as soon as possible.

I can understand if it was a private seller and outside of GoDaddy's control, but this domain is listed in Whois as directly in GoDaddy's own portfolio of names for NameFind.
This behavior is not acceptable. If I were a casual end user, I would've been none the wiser when support claimed it was a domain that dropped and went to another registrant. Total BS.

Was this an expiring auction at Go Daddy ? @Joe Styler and @pnicks can weigh in with more info.

Yes, indeed it was. Thanks.

 

[Joe Styler]

I am not aware of us redeeming any names that expire from the namefind protfolio. From time to time we do get customers upset with us for that but in the ones I have investigated this is what happened.
Original owner lets domain expire -> renews domain during time we are buying portfolio -> whois gets updated to our name. Those are the only situations I have seen at this point.

 

[Seasoned]

I am not aware of us redeeming any names that expire from the namefind protfolio. From time to time we do get customers upset with us for that but in the ones I have investigated this is what happened.
Original owner lets domain expire -> renews domain during time we are buying portfolio -> whois gets updated to our name. Those are the only situations I have seen at this point.

My domaintools. subscription shows that Namefind has been and is the registrant for a long while.
And if you were not the registrant, are you claiming that even though I won the auction and paid for the auction, that GoDaddy is essentially only awarding the Namefind portfolio names if the bid is HIGH enough ?
So what it looks like to me is if a namefind expired auction doesn't fetch high enough price, namefind will renew the domain after its already been won and paid for on godaddy!
Adam at support is on the phone stating that godaddy doesn't own any Namefind properties and merely have a few names to offer. But this name is clearly part of the namefind portfolio and this all seems in bad faith.
I am happy to share the domain if you PM me.

 

[Seasoned]

@Seasoned What was the name? Have you checked the whois history to see if they caught the name or just let the registration lapse ?

Namefind was and is the registrant. The domain was expired. 2 days after I already paid, it appears they updated the record to show it as renewed.
So disgusted. As I always say, I'm not unique. If I am being treated this way, this has to be happening to many other GoDaddy bidders who find good deals.

 

[mr-x]

Namefind was and is the registrant. The domain was expired. 2 days after I already paid, it appears they updated the record to show it as renewed.
So disgusted. As I always say, I'm not unique. If I am being treated this way, this has to be happening to many other GoDaddy bidders who find good deals.

I don't know how long a domain is expired before it's listed on auctions.godaddy.com. I've found my own domains on NameJet that are just a few days past expiration.

I'd hate to see Godaddy auctions go the way of TuCows / YummyName

http://www.thedomains.com/2008/10/2...pired-domains-they-kept-from-their-customers/

 

[Joe Styler]

I don't know how long a domain is expired before it's listed on auctions.godaddy.com. I've found my own domains on NameJet that are just a few days past expiration.

I'd hate to see Godaddy auctions go the way of TuCows / YummyName

http://www.thedomains.com/2008/10/2...pired-domains-they-kept-from-their-customers/

All our domains that expire go through the usual flow. We are not holding any domains back. The only acquisition we have done thus far is to buy protfolios from domain investors. We are not keeping names back or purposefully letting names expire and go to auction only to renew them at a later time.

 

[ivey]

I cant speak to your specific concern but Ive been using GD since the early days. Ive finally given up on GD and am moving all my domains away. I miss Bob Parsons. GD is not the same. Nothing surprises me with them anymore. Im sad to leave them in a nostalgic way but they are no longer a good and reliable business partner in my view

I didn't know Bob parsons left?

 

[mr-x]

I just figured out that the domain was never renewed by previous registrant.
I won the domain 36 days after it expired. I paid for it.
Now it has been awarded to Namefind by Fastdomain 2 days after I paid for it.
This is bad faith and I want answers from Namefind / GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY).
I am filing complaints against FastDomain [owned by the poorly rated EIG] presently.

FastDomain isn't a GoDaddy company.

I wonder if the previous owner listed it at Godaddy before it expired?

NameFind may have picked it up using an automated process when it dropped.

 

[Seasoned]

FastDomain isn't a GoDaddy company.

I wonder if the previous owner listed it at Godaddy before it expired?

NameFind may have picked it up using an automated process when it dropped.

It did not drop according to whois. GoDaddy support keeps claiming the previous registrant renewed. This is not true.
The previous owner didn't somehow list it in expired auctions.
And I have already contacted them to get involved.

 

[mr-x]

It did not drop according to whois. GoDaddy support keeps claiming the previous registrant renewed. This is not true.
The previous owner didn't somehow list it in expired auctions.
And I have already contacted them to get involved.

Registrar: FastDomain Inc,
Creation: 2012-10-30T08:24:48Z
Expires on 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-12-06T06:01:18Z

Looks like a drop. Weird.

Good luck, let us know what happened.

 

[LucidDomains]

Can anyone find out if the domain was transferred by the previous registrant out to NameFind?

Either it was transferred or NameFind grabbed it on the drop somehow.

OP let us know if you get any more information.

Cheers

 

[Keith]

Namefind was and is the registrant. The domain was expired. 2 days after I already paid, it appears they updated the record to show it as renewed.
So disgusted. As I always say, I'm not unique. If I am being treated this way, this has to be happening to many other GoDaddy bidders who find good deals.

You aren't familiar with the system at godaddy. Just because you win an auction and pay doesn't make the domain yours. The owner has 42 days from expiration to renew.

 

[LucidDomains]

So the original registrant listed it for sale at GoDaddy.

OP buys it and has it in his account.

GoDaddy buys a portfolio which this name is part of.

OP loses domain as GoDaddy always has priority.

GoDaddy pulls name out of OP account and issues refund.

 

[LucidDomains]

All our domains that expire go through the usual flow. We are not holding any domains back. The only acquisition we have done thus far is to buy portfolios from domain investors. We are not keeping names back or purposefully letting names expire and go to auction only to renew them at a later time.

Are you sure you don't have a department or GD portfolio manager acting on his own and renewing GoDaddy owned domain after they have been through the expired domain process?

 

[Keith]

Are you sure you don't have a department or GD portfolio manager acting on his own and renewing GoDaddy owned domain after they have been through the expired domain process?

It doesn't matter. Registrants, including godaddy, are allowed to renew after expired auctions take place. It is what it is.

 

[Keith]

Well it does matter, as @Joe Styler said this exactly what GD doesn't do. Seems contradictory to me.

Yup he said what I'm saying..."they go through the usual flow". This means an auctioned domain can be renewed.