Invoice from NICat

[The Engineer]

I have 10 .at names which I purchased about a year ago. I have just received an invoice for 360 euros for the next years renewal. As it happens I was just going to let the names expire and had no plans to renew. But reading the invoice I see that it says if the payment is not received then the domains may be allocated to a third party but THE DEMAND FOR PAYMENT WILL STILL BE VALID AND NIC .AT MAY ENFORCE LEGAL MEASURES TO RETRIEVE DUE AMOUNT.

Anyone had a similar invoice? or any advice as I really don't want to have to pay, I am quite happy to let the names drop but dont want the hassle of being chased for payment.

 

[Algis]

I am also receiving this.

They want me to sign 27 !!! invoices and send them by fax to CANCEL domains names. I said I don't want them, and will not pay for them. I even regged them with eurodns and have no legal contract for domains with nic.at

They keep telling me they will charge my credit card for invoice amount, I said go on - then you will meet my lawyer.

No more emails since then.

 

[The Engineer]

I also regged mine at euro dns I see that you can cancel the domains but not within 28 days of expiring date. It seems if you don't pay, you lose the names and still get billed.

 

[Kate]

I even regged them with eurodns and have no legal contract for domains with nic.at

By retaining the services of a .at registrar for your registrations you effectively commit to abide by registry regulations. Granted, if you don't pay there is little they can do.
Bottom line: when dealing with ccTLDs you need to be aware of the peculiarities.
Same goes for .eu and other ccTLDs: most often the registrar will automatically renew the names on your behalf year after year, unless you tell them not to...

 

[Dave_Z]

Bottom line: when dealing with ccTLDs you need to be aware of the peculiarities.

And people say nobody reads the fine prints. See where it gets you.

 

[Acroplex]

I'm not surprised; after all Ahhhhhhnold is Austrian.

 

[Source]

Tell them to pound sand. .TV tried this several years ago with their two year commitment and failed.

 

[tetrapak]

Is there any news about this? I'm not really willing to pay 82 Euros to renew those domains that i let expire, on purpose. Those of you who havent paid, what happened next?

 

[The Engineer]

Here is my update. I eventually received an email from eurodns, where all the names were registered. They requested that I fill in a form stating that I absolved eurodns and the at registry from any liability, and once this was done, the matter would be resolved.

I duly signed and sent back the form with all the domains listed. However approx 2 weeks later I received another demand for payment from .at with an additional 50 euro added for late payment fees. Also they threatened to pass the debt to a collection agency with fees double that of the amount owed. I emailed eurodns and they said to ignore the invoice.

My feeling is that this is not over yet.

 

[The Engineer]

Well today I received the final demand. Looks like I will have to pay this 360 euros plus 50 for late payment I don,t want the hassle of dealing with collectors.

 

[Marck]

Well today I received the final demand. Looks like I will have to pay this 360 euros plus 50 for late payment I don,t want the hassle of dealing with collectors.

Don't let these thugs take advantage of you. Collectors can't do anything.

 

[Mike]

Just wondering. Is an Austrian address a prerequisite to own a .at domain? Not sure if it is. I had to fill out an agreement that also contained my address. Much like the Nexus for .US domains...

IB

 

[copper]

Best way to get good publicity for .at!!!

 

[PowerUp]

Well today I received the final demand. Looks like I will have to pay this 360 euros plus 50 for late payment I don,t want the hassle of dealing with collectors.

Where are you from? Where are the collectors from? Does anyone know if this case can hurt your credit score or fico score?

They requested that I fill in a form stating that I absolved eurodns and the at registry from any liability, and once this was done, the matter would be resolved.

What did signing the form do? Seems like you gave up your rights to countersue (or harass) them, if they sue (or harass) you first.

If I were you, I'd talk to euro dns again. Ask them for an explaination. After all they said the matter would be resolved after you sign the form. (btw, do you have this in black and white?)

 

[Mike]

Where are you from? Where are the collectors from? Does anyone know if this case can hurt your credit score or fico score?

There's no so called FICO score in Austria. The only thing that comes close is what's called the KSV1877 - Kredit Schutzverband of 1877. It's a similar concept to the FICO, just for Austrians and it's by far not as highly regarded and dependent upon as the FICO.
I cannot imagine that NICat has any leverage to damage your FICO score in the USA.
However, i remember when i had a .AT domain, i had to identify myself by my Austrian address. Similar to the NEXUS agreement for .US domains, i had to fill out the same stuff for .AT
Now, i'm guessing that, opposing to the majority here, i actually have an Austrian address. When my domain expired, i never heard a word regarding rebilling. The sent me the appropriate emails that my domain will be expiring if i don't take action, but that was the extent of it. I just logged into my EuroDNS account to verify: Indeed, the domain is gone from my account, my balance is €0 and my open invoices are €0 as well.
I'm not screaming "Conspiracy" here, BUT i would be surprised if they think that they could make a fast $$$ or €€€ from anyone that's from outside the country. That would be insanity on their part.

IB