DOMAIN DELETION AND AUTO-RENEW POLICY
At Moniker.com, domain names are registered for fixed periods and are subject to renewal any time during a valid registration prior to the domain registration expiration date. If a customer has selected our highly recommended "Auto-Renew" feature for a domain name registration, we will attempt to automatically renew the domain name registration approximately 14 days prior to the domain name registration expiration date (subject to the terms related to the "Auto-Renew" feature found in our Service Agreement and on our web site). Auto-Renew will be initiated as long as there are funds in a customer account or a valid credit card on file in a customer account. If a customer has not selected our "Auto-Renew" feature for a domain name registration, we send several communications to customers and/or the agents acting on their behalf to alert them that their domain name registration services will expire on a certain date. These communications come in the form of a weekly email and begin approximately 75 days prior to the expiration date and continue for approximately 21 days after the expiration date. It is important that all of our email addresses are white listed and protected from spam or junk mail blocking and that there is a valid and working email address on file with Moniker so that customers can receive these types of communications. If a customer does not renew a domain name registration by the expiration date, the registration may be subject to deletion, or resale at any time after that. In an effort to help our customers avoid unintentional deletion of their domain name registration(s), we may, but are not obligated to, provide our customers with a "grace period" after their domain name registration services expiration date(s) (a "grace period" begins on the day after the date of expiration). We currently endeavor to provide a grace period that extends 35 days past the expiration date, to allow the renewal of an expired domain registration. 21 days after the expiration date of a domain, the expired domain will be removed from the customer's main account management view and all name servers will be changed to Moniker.com name servers. Expired domains will then resolve to a special landing page with a renewal link, and the Moniker whois database will also display a renewal link in an effort to provide as many opportunities as possible to alert our customers that their domains are expired. There will also be a Pending Delete status link located inside the "My Account" area of an effected customer's account, and notice of the expiry will also be included in the weekly renewal and expiration reports that are emailed to each customer. During this period a customer can renew a domain name registration; however, a grace period is not guaranteed and can change or be eliminated at any time without notice. Consequently, every customer who desires to renew his or her domain name registration services should do so in advance of the expiration date to avoid any unintended deletion of their domain registration.. Please note that Moniker.com is obligated to pay the Registry for all domain renewals on the day the domain name expires if it has not been renewed by a customer prior to the expiration date. We therefore take ownership of expired domains until such time they are renewed, auctioned, sold, or deleted.
If an expired domain name registration is not renewed during any grace period provided by us, pursuant to our Service Agreement, rather than delete the domain name registration, we may, in our sole discretion, attempt to find a third party who is interested in registering, purchasing, or back ordering the domain name, and then renew and transfer the domain name registration to that third party on the customer's behalf. This renewal and transfer process is called a domain sale or "Direct Transfer or Transfer Fulfillment." We will not attempt to complete a Direct Transfer of a domain name registration after expiration if the customer to whom the domain name is registered has notified us by issuing a ticket to Support stating that he or she does not want us to proceed with such a transfer. In this case, the domain name registration will be deleted. A customer's failure to pay for their renewal within 35 days of expiration or to notify us that they do not want us to complete a Direct Transfer constitutes that customer's consent to the Direct Transfer. As described in our Service Agreement, we are not obligated to compensate customers in any way should their previously registered domain be the subject of a Direct Transfer.
If an expired domain name registration is not renewed as outlined above, absent extenuating circumstances, we will delete the domain name registration. Registry Operators may provide registrars with the ability to "redeem" a deleted domain name registration for a customer, and we in turn may (but are not obligated to) provide customers with an ability to redeem a particular domain name registration. Such a Redemption Grace Period (RGP) is not guaranteed and customers should renew their domain name registration services in advance of the domain name registration expiration date(s) to avoid deletion of domain name registration services. Currently, the Registry Operators provide an RGP for 30 days from the date of deletion. If we decide to provide the redemption service to a customer, we charge a fee of $125.00 US to redeem plus a renewal fee to renew a domain name registration during the RGP. If the domain name registration is not redeemed by the expiration of the RGP, it is then placed on "Pending Delete" status for five additional days, after which it is deleted and the domain name character string is then once again available for registration. In the event that a domain name registration is the subject of a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceeding and expires or is deleted during the course of the dispute, the party that filed the UDRP proceeding has the option to renew or restore the domain name registration under the same commercial terms as the original customer. If the case ultimately is terminated or the arbitrator finds against the filing party, the name may be deleted within 45 days or renewed by Moniker or by the customer within the grace period described above.
