NameCheap.com

[NameVisual]

I own over 100 domain names at Namecheap,com and last year I issued a few charge backs that I tried to resolve with customer support. They are trying to charge me $200 per charge back and they attempted to hijack all my domain names.

I got them to unlock all my domain names that they tried to steal and they told me I couldn't use any of their services until I paid their ransom demand.

I thought it was resolved after I told them I was not paying their ransom and that charging for a charge back is very unethical.

In the last week, I starting receiving more threatening emails informing me to not use their service and after my domains expire, I would have to transfer them out. They didn't like my response to their threat so they are now saying I have to transfer all domain names out by tomorrow or they will once again hijack them from me.

What is everyone's thoughts on this?

Do I need to hire a domain name attorney?

Thank you.

 

[Name Trader]

So I went to log in my account and my username doesn't exist on the site. I thought they would have just locked the domains like they did last year so now I can't get in my account to finish transferring them.

It's war!

You can't say you weren't forewarned. Although they didn't do a good job at explaining locking your domains meant losing your account. But you should have initiated the transfer of domains you wanted to complete by the deadline. Because you did know you would not have access to the domains after the deadline. Those that are in process already should complete though.

So where are you now? How many domains have you transferred already, how many are in transit, and how many remain locked at NameCheap. And how many of those still locked at NameCheap did you want to transfer out? You cannot say they haven't given ample time to transfer 100 domains. You can initiate that many in 1 day easily. How many of the 100 were .com and how many were nGTLDs/esoteric ccTLDs (at higher costs).

Just for the record. I never encouraged them to delete your username. I thought, like you, that you would still have access to your account, with the domains being locked. But, reading between the lines, I guess they don't want have any further business with you.

So what are you going to do from here on?

 

[NameVisual]

You can't say you weren't forewarned. Although they didn't do a good job at explaining locking your domains meant losing your account. But you should have initiated the transfer of domains you wanted to complete by the deadline. Because you did know you would not have access to the domains after the deadline. Those that are in process already should complete though.

So where are you now? How many domains have you transferred already, how many are in transit, and how many remain locked at NameCheap. And how many of those still locked at NameCheap did you want to transfer out? You cannot say they haven't given ample time to transfer 100 domains. You can initiate that many in 1 day easily. How many of the 100 were .com and how many were nGTLDs/esoteric ccTLDs (at higher costs).

Just for the record. I never encouraged them to delete your username. I thought, like you, that you would still have access to your account, with the domains being locked. But, reading between the lines, I guess they don't want have any further business with you.

So what are you going to do from here on?

Thank you! First, I should start over.

I admit I did not read the fine print, however on the order page there is no fine print or any disclaimers on the page.

MY MISTAKE

I am not a sophisticated buyer and they are taking advantage of that.

I will update this soon as I am communicating with financial institutions who are supporting me in this situation.

 

[NameVisual]

@NameVisual

OMG, nothing could be further from how I feel. I would NEVER be glad that you lost any domains. In fact I am disappointed in how this turned out. I got a charge back on one of my businesses today and my TOS clearly states there is a $250 fee plus legal costs. I worked with the client and ended up charging him 50 bucks. We are both happy in how it turned out.

In your case.... happy is never a word I would use

Thank you, I appreciate your support. I am also glad to hear that you came to a resolution with your customer.

For the past few days I have been trying to resolve this issue with Namecheap, as I tried to do last fall. No success. The only way they wanted to resolve this was for me to pay them or they would confiscate all of my domain names.

I was not expecting them to delete my username so I can't log in. Now I don't even have access to my support tickets. They did not warn me that they would delete my account.

As a business owner, I understand that you see this differently than I do. However, the whois renewal charges are not clear at all on the order page. It does say "1 year subscription FREE", it does not have any fine print saying something like please see TOS and there are no disclaimers anywhere on the page. If I order a domain for 2 years, it still says the same thing and they do not charge you for the second year at the time of the 2 year registration. They charge you a year later when the customer thinks the purchase is paid for. So if you someone has a lot of domain names like I do, that can add up to a lot of money on the credit card that the customer is not expecting.

There were a lot more WhoIs renewal fee's that I did not dispute that added up to quite a lot of money on my credit card.

I tried working with them then but they only wanted to charge me more money to resolve it, even after I warned them I was going to submit a chargeback. I was freaking out at the time about all the charges on my credit card and how I was going to pay them.

So in the past few days they told me in an email that they tried resolving this with me but how? They only wanted to charge me more money and threaten me. They have responded the same way now and once again, I warned them that I would take action but they still would not negotiate with me.

From a customers view, it is so wrong, at least to me. I have some domains that I could not transfer because they are less than 60 days old, some didn't have the unlock option for certain extensions like .com.se, .pro etc.

 

[NameVisual]

You have to own up to your mistakes, simple as that.
What's unethical is you starting this thread in an attempt to discredit Namecheap for the mistakes you've made. Namecheap is one of the most reputable registrars around and their customer support is second to none.
Sorry to break it to you but you won't find many people here who'll side with you on this.

I think the problem is that you don't realize just how damaging chargebacks are to businesses, for you it's as simple as asking for a refund. For a company, however, instances of chargebacks never really go away, instead they accumulate, every single one leaves a permanent blemish on their credibility with the banks they deal with.

I agree with some of what you said here but disagree on Namecheap being reputable. I am not saying they are not completely reputable but I feel I was tricked in to the WhoIs guard renewal fee's as they are not explained on the order.

https://www.screencast.com/t/Uka0Iae4Db

https://www.screencast.com/users/pu...lt/media/e84ea007-c0c1-4d2f-adde-d4c5640b1933

There is no fine print or disclaimers on the page and it does not say to read the TOS, any * character, nothing. It says 1 year subscription FREE, which is for the one year registration. An unsophisticated buyer can see that as it will be free for the registration renewal and they automatically turn on auto renewal for WhoIs without saying it is not free for the second year.

 

[NameVisual]

Here is their response for one of the domains I could not transfer:

Thank you for getting back to us.

According to ICANN's 'Policy on Transfer of Registrations Between Registrars' domains cannot be transferred within 60-days period after registration or previous transfer indeed. There is nothing to worry about as it is the common rule applied to the majority of domains.

However, it should not prevent the Auth code from being delivered to you.

You may get back to us after March 13, 2018 in order to obtain an up-to-date Auth code for your domain.

Should you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get back to us.

------------------
Best regards,
Julia Litvinova
Namecheap Concierge Representative


So now they have deleted my account and I don't have anyway to transfer it after the 60 days.

 

[Bean]

I agree with some of what you said here but disagree on Namecheap being reputable. I am not saying they are not completely reputable but I feel I was tricked in to the WhoIs guard renewal fee's as they are not explained on the order.

https://www.screencast.com/t/Uka0Iae4Db

https://www.screencast.com/users/pu...lt/media/e84ea007-c0c1-4d2f-adde-d4c5640b1933

There is no fine print or disclaimers on the page and it does not say to read the TOS, any * character, nothing. It says 1 year subscription FREE, which is for the one year registration. An unsophisticated buyer can see that as it will be free for the registration renewal and they automatically turn on auto renewal for WhoIs without saying it is not free for the second year.

First off why would you assume anything when it comes to money potentially being taken automatically from your account?
That's just plain sloppiness on your part, it would've taken you only a few minutes to confirm via Namecheap live chat whether the WhoisGuard is permanently free.

Second, the screenshot you posted above clearly makes it even harder to assume that the subscription is free permanently.

First, it says '1 year subscription'.
Second, it has an 'auto-renew' button rather than an 'on/off' button.
Third, the price shows $2.88 crossed out.

Namecheap live chat is available 24/7 and personally I've never had to wait more than a few minutes to talk to a representative.

 

[Name Trader]

Thank you! First, I should start over.

I admit I did not read the fine print, however on the order page there is no fine print or any disclaimers on the page.

MY MISTAKE

I am not a sophisticated buyer and they are taking advantage of that.

I will update this soon as I am communicating with financial institutions who are supporting me in this situation.

Are you saying NameCheap never sent you any emails regarding these automatic renewals which included these charges for renewing whoisguard? I find that hard to believe. They stated in the conversations you posted on the first page, that they sent you those reminders. So you were fully aware before the charges were made to your credit card that they were going to bill for these whoisguard renewals. You haven't ever responded about that charge. It seems really strange that you never logged in and removed whoisguard renewals from your domains, so your credit card would not be charged.

 

[NameVisual]

Are you saying NameCheap never sent you any emails regarding these automatic renewals which included these charges for renewing whoisguard? I find that hard to believe. They stated in the conversations you posted on the first page, that they sent you those reminders. So you were fully aware before the charges were made to your credit card that they were going to bill for these whoisguard renewals. You haven't ever responded about that charge. It seems really strange that you never logged in and removed whoisguard renewals from your domains, so your credit card would not be charged.

I don't remember if I did or not, maybe I did. My mistake. I know when they put all the charges on my credit card that I contacted them, asked for a refund amd tried to resolve the charges.

 

[NameVisual]

I emailed Namecheap regarding the domains that are less than 60 days old that I couldn't transfer.

Their response:

We have to inform you that we will not be able to assist you in chats/tickets. Please note that any further communication must go through Namecheap Legal Department at [email protected].

This ticket and all the duplicate ones are being closed.

Thank you for understanding.

----------------
Kind regards,
Oksana Mo.
CFC Shift Leader
Risk Management Department
Namecheap, Inc.

Ticket Details
Ticket ID: ZJR-607-77000
Department: Risk Management
Type: Issue
Status: Closed
Priority: High

 

[NameVisual]

So now Namecheap has locked the domains that I unlocked and were in the process of transferring. The time frame they gave me to transfer out is now useless and it was a lie.

 

[Name Trader]

I don't remember if I did or not, maybe I did. My mistake. I know when they put all the charges on my credit card that I contacted them, asked for a refund amd tried to resolve the charges.

Another mistake by you? They seem to be adding up. It's way too late after you see those charges on your credit card. Again Domaining 101. You should have been proactive to remove those whoisguard renewals after you saw them on their payment reminders. This is basically the crux of the problem for you. As I see it. Everything after that flows from here.

 

[NameVisual]

Another mistake by you? They seem to be adding up. It's way too late after you see those charges on your credit card. Again Domaining 101. You should have been proactive to remove those whoisguard renewals after you saw them on their payment reminders. This is basically the crux of the problem for you. As I see it. Everything after that flows from here.

Mistakes, yes of course I make mistakes. A registrar confiscating all my domain names after trying to resolve it because I wouldn't pay them their ransom demand, that's brutal.

So hey, a while back I bought some new windows for my place and I had a few separate orders. Well, one of the windows doesn't keep the cold air out and the window company won't give me a refund so I submitted a chargeback so I can purchase a new window. Wouldn't you know it, I came home one day and every single window in my home was gone, completely confiscated. They left a note on my door stating that they took back all my windows because of a chargeback for a single window. I guess I'm screwed because the terms somewhere in all the paperwork states in small fine print says that I agreed to this if I submit a chargeback.
Oh well, I will just have no windows and do nothing about it since it is in their TOS. My fault and mistake. So yeah, I will just let them keep all my windows so they can resell them and I won't do anything about it since their TOS is as good as a real law.

 

[Name Trader]

So now Namecheap has locked the domains that I unlocked and were in the process of transferring. The time frame they gave me to transfer out is now useless and it was a lie.

You have initiated transfers for all your the domains you want to transfer? Have you had confirmations from the receiving registrar(s) that those transfers are cancelled? I would have thought NameCheap would have allowed the transfers in process, to complete. IMHO. But I'm not NameCheap. And that may be why they extended the date another 3 days or however many extra they gave you on their final, final notice.

Considering most transfers take 5-7 days. You might have an argument that they never gave you enough time to complete these transfers you have initiated. But not for any you haven't initiated yet.

 

[NameVisual]

You have initiated transfers for all your the domains you want to transfer? Have you had confirmations from the receiving registrar(s) that those transfers are cancelled? I would have thought NameCheap would have allowed the transfers in process, to complete. IMHO. But I'm not NameCheap. And that may be why they extended the date another 3 days or however many extra they gave you on their final, final notice.

Considering most transfers take 5-7 days. You might have an argument that they never gave you enough time to complete these transfers you have initiated. But not for any you haven't initiated yet.

A couple of them that said the transfer is in progress for the status now says the domains are locked and to contact the registrar. Also there are a few that are less than 60 days old and when I told them about it they said to come back after the 60 days and they will transfer them. Another lie.

 

[NameVisual]

You have initiated transfers for all your the domains you want to transfer? Have you had confirmations from the receiving registrar(s) that those transfers are cancelled? I would have thought NameCheap would have allowed the transfers in process, to complete. IMHO. But I'm not NameCheap. And that may be why they extended the date another 3 days or however many extra they gave you on their final, final notice.

Considering most transfers take 5-7 days. You might have an argument that they never gave you enough time to complete these transfers you have initiated. But not for any you haven't initiated yet.

Oh I forgot, there are a few domains that they never emailed the code for some reason. I requested them numerous times but for some reason I didn't receive them. One is for a domains thats worth $5,000.

 

[alcy]

Oh I forgot, there are a few domains that they never emailed the code for some reason. I requested them numerous times but for some reason I didn't receive them. One is for a domains thats worth $5,000.

I hope you don't say its worth 5k cause estibot told you so

 

[NameVisual]

I hope you don't say its worth 5k cause estibot told you so

Haha no not Estibot. I don't even use that tool anymore.

 

[Name Trader]

A couple of them that said the transfer is in progress for the status now says the domains are locked and to contact the registrar. Also there are a few that are less than 60 days old and when I told them about it they said to come back after the 60 days and they will transfer them. Another lie.

OK. For those transfers in progress which they have cancelled, you should take that up with their legal department. Something like, Hey, I was in the process of complying with your request to transfer my domains, but you locked the domains, again, before the transfer was complete? For x, y, z domains. You are aware that it's normal to take 5-7 days to complete these transfers? (or whatever number of days the TLD or receiving registrar says). Choose the figure most favorable to you. And quote the nGTLD/exotic ccTLD or Registrar to NameCheap.

You should also quote to their legal department what they said to you about those domains those domains which are not yet 60 days old. And try to get their confirmation, that they will honor what you have been told for domains a, b, c.

But except for those above, where we will see. Any domains for which you have not initiated transfers already. Are going to be kept by NameCheap.

 

[NameVisual]

I hope you don't say its worth 5k cause estibot told you so

Out of curiosity I just appraised it at Estibot and they say $1,100.

 

[Name Trader]

Haha no not Estibot. I don't even use that tool anymore.

You seem to be a noob domainer by your own admittance, but an expert at valuing domains. Incredible!

 

[NameVisual]

Feb 20


Namecheap Concierge Team
Feb 20 (1 day ago)

Thank you for getting back to us.

According to ICANN's 'Policy on Transfer of Registrations Between Registrars' domains cannot be transferred within 60-days period after registration or previous transfer indeed. There is nothing to worry about as it is the common rule applied to the majority of domains.

However, it should not prevent the Auth code from being delivered to you.

You may get back to us after March 13, 2018 in order to obtain an up-to-date Auth code for your domain.

Should you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get back to us.

------------------
Best regards,
Julia Litvinova
Namecheap Concierge Representative

Ticket Details
Ticket ID: ZJR-607-77000
Department: Domains -- Transfers
Type: Issue
Status: Awaiting Client Response
Priority: High

Helpdesk: https://support.namecheap.com/index.php?

Feb 21

Risk Management Team <[email protected]>
4:26 AM (13 hours ago)

We have to inform you that we will not be able to assist you in chats/tickets. Please note that any further communication must go through Namecheap Legal Department at [email protected].

This ticket and all the duplicate ones are being closed.

Thank you for understanding.

----------------
Kind regards,
Oksana Mo.
CFC Shift Leader
Risk Management Department
Namecheap, Inc.

Ticket Details
Ticket ID: ZJR-607-77000
Department: Risk Management
Type: Issue
Status: Closed
Priority: High

 

[NameVisual]

You seem to be a noob domainer by your own admittance, but an expert at valuing domains. Incredible!

I don't know why you're assuming that I appraised it, someone else did. Thanks.

 

[Name Trader]

I don't know why you're assuming that I appraised it, someone else did. Thanks.

Almost every appraisal is virtually useless, until you actually sell a domain. The 2 you quoted earlier in this thread are very poor examples. Proving my point. Those 2 domains will never be sold in your lifetime for those valuations. EVER. If the rest of your domains values are based upon the same sources. I think you have a grossly overvalued portfolio on your hands.

 

[alcy]

I don't know why you're assuming that I appraised it, someone else did. Thanks.

unless its liquid domains with some floor values etc... a domain is only worth 5k if you have an offer on the table from buyer.. that says 5k on it.. and is waiting for you to click the accept button..

they don't say domain is worth whatveer a buyer will pay for it for nothing

 

[Name Trader]

Hence my recommendation you open a fresh dialogue with their legal department. But I am assuming they will be more difficult to deal with, rather their Concierge Team. So be prepared. And be provably accurate.

Feb 20


Namecheap Concierge Team
Feb 20 (1 day ago)

Thank you for getting back to us.

According to ICANN's 'Policy on Transfer of Registrations Between Registrars' domains cannot be transferred within 60-days period after registration or previous transfer indeed. There is nothing to worry about as it is the common rule applied to the majority of domains.

However, it should not prevent the Auth code from being delivered to you.

You may get back to us after March 13, 2018 in order to obtain an up-to-date Auth code for your domain.

Should you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get back to us.

------------------
Best regards,
Julia Litvinova
Namecheap Concierge Representative

Ticket Details
Ticket ID: ZJR-607-77000
Department: Domains -- Transfers
Type: Issue
Status: Awaiting Client Response
Priority: High

Helpdesk: https://support.namecheap.com/index.php?

Feb 21

Risk Management Team <[email protected]>
4:26 AM (13 hours ago)

We have to inform you that we will not be able to assist you in chats/tickets. Please note that any further communication must go through Namecheap Legal Department at [email protected].

This ticket and all the duplicate ones are being closed.

Thank you for understanding.

----------------
Kind regards,
Oksana Mo.
CFC Shift Leader
Risk Management Department
Namecheap, Inc.

Ticket Details
Ticket ID: ZJR-607-77000
Department: Risk Management
Type: Issue
Status: Closed
Priority: High