.Pro Relaunch Problems with Encirca

[akcampbell]

Is anybody having problems with Encirca following the relaunch of .pro? My renewal fees are still showing as $75 and not the $59.99 announced and I can't switch my .pros into my own name.

 

[namewaiter]

Is anybody having problems with Encirca following the relaunch of .pro? My renewal fees are still showing as $75 and not the $59.99 announced and I can't switch my .pros into my own name.

i think if they are pre landrush (relandrush) they still have the old pricing in place and remain pro forwarding domains. from my understanding only new regs will now have the lower pricing and be subject to the new rules.

 

[akcampbell]

That's not my understanding, ProForwarding ended today and I expect the domains to be transferred into my name.

 

[Coopey]

From last weeks' news letter:

"The transition of ProForwarding second-level .pro registrations to the
new TOS begins September 8 and will occur only upon renewal of the
domain name."

Perhaps it is only when they're due for renewal?
My account still show renewals at the old ProForwarding price.

September 3, 2008

Important announcement from EnCirca about .pro domain names

The effective date of the new .pro rules are scheduled to go into
effect on September 8. Please read this memo to understand the
planned changes and how it will impact existing second-level .pro
domain registrations, such as yourtrademark.pro.

Existing second-level .pro domain names registered with EnCirca
will not become subject to the new .pro Terms of Service (TOS) and
Registry audits unless and until the domain names are renewed
after September 8, 2008.

EnCirca customers still have time to register and renew their .pro
domain names under the pre-existing terms before September 8. All
names registered or renewed under the pre-existing terms do not become
subject to the new TOS and Registry audits until they are renewed
after September 8, 2008. EnCirca has reduced its renewal pricing to
$75.00 for these existing domains with additional discounts for 5-year
and 9-year renewals.

After September 8, eligibility for second-level .pro domains is
changing from four licensed professions in four countries to all
licensed professions in all countries. You can also expect to see a
dramatic drop in retail prices for second-level .prodomain names to
less than $25.

As part of the change, upon each new registration and renewal, the
registry will be collecting license information from second-level
registrants. However, the Registry will not be verifying the data.
Instead, it will require all applicants to agree to a new Terms of
Service (TOS) whereby applicants self-certify they possess a
professional license and are securing the name for their own use.
The .pro Registry will then conduct random audits of all new
registrations and renewals to ensure compliance with the new TOS.

The transition of ProForwarding second-level .pro registrations to the
new TOS begins September 8 and will occur only upon renewal of the
domain name. This transition could take several years depending on
the last renewal date of the pre-existing domains. Domain names
registered via the ProForwarding service cannot be transferred to
another registrar until the customer becomes the Registrant of
record for the domain name and agrees to the Registry's new TOS.
Currently, this can be accomplished by renewing the domain name after
September 8, although EnCirca is exploring how customers can agree to
the new TOS without initiating a renewal.

These plans are designed to help customers transition to the new .pro
Registry policies in an orderly manner. If you have any questions or
concerns, please do not hesitate to contact EnCirca at
[email protected]

 

[akcampbell]

That's what Encirca are saying so I've accepted the new registry terms in writing, given them my professional details and told them that if they don't transfer my domains into my name within 24 hours I'm complaining to ICANN and RegistryPro. Registrars are obliged to keep WHOIS details up to date and this is a brazen attempt to screw more money out of customers, and I won't accept it.

My advice to anybody considering registering a .pro is to register with Network Solutions, it's a safer bet. If you register with the coupon 2600 you get 25% off until 22 September which brings .pro reg fees down to $22.50 with cheaper additional years on top.

Initially, Encirca told me they were "still researching ways to transfer those (Proforwarded domains) over". As if they haven't had enough time to clarify with RegistryPro how to do that over the last 2-3 months. This behaviour is underhand and disgraceful, I will take legal action against Encirca if I have to.

 

[cdboard]

how did you give them your professional details? I didn't see a form for that.

 

[akcampbell]

I gave them my details in writing stating the professional government approved body I'm a member of and my membership number.

 

[InvisionTech]

I had the same issue with encirca... wonder what they are cooking!

 

[akcampbell]

They are just trying to extract more money from .pro registrants in return for updating WHOIS records so registrants qualify for the lower $59.99 reregistration fee. I have checked with ICANN today and Encirca are obliged to update WHOIS records on request. I have told Tom Barrett that what he is doing amounts to blackmail and extortion and if he doesn't update my WHOIS details or allow me to update them within 24 hours, I will take legal action.

 

[Ben42]

I remember another email From Encirca (Tom Barrett) promising a smooth transition to the new rules. Was he just saying that so we'd register names so he could hold them hostage for an extra year at whatever price he seemed fit?

 

[InvisionTech]

Hopefully, in couple of months we should have some type of way to transfer those domains between registrars?

 

[akcampbell]

One problem I have with Tom Barrett is that he quietly snaffles .pro domains that are dropping. He did it with Video.pro and Movie.pro and said it was to give the owner more time to claim them, then he did it with Psychology.pro, Resume.pro and a couple of others a few months back and he appears to have done it with Accounts.pro today.

In my view it is a conflict of interests for a registrar to stop their customers catching dropping domains. With Psychology.pro and Resume.pro I had been manually hammering Encirca's site with WHOIS lookups when I thought it was going to drop for a couple of days, after that I only ever checked availability on Registry.pro.

 

[hookah]

I registered some .pros with Encirca but all of them are displayed as inactive by Registry.pro whois database and not resolving. Waiting for a response of their representative as I managed to get them online via live chat Dont know what's going on there.

 

[ulasbbtr]

funnily Video.pro shows this expiration date: 2011-02-23. This means encirca gives a 3-year opportunity to the previous owner to renew the name

What a thoughtful registrar, I shouldn't worry about renewing my .pros, 10 or 20 years later they will give that opportunity to me.

 

[akcampbell]

I'm still having problems with Encirca. I re-registered one of my ProForwarded .pro domains for $75 and Encirca still don't let you update the registrant details, it just renews the proForwarding service.

When you reregister a ProForwarded name you should get the same self certification tick box you get when you reg a new name but that doesn't seem to be happening at the minute. Is anybody else having this problem?

 

[rikew]

Hello akcampbell

I have exactly the same problem:
Renew yesterday 75$ and registrant is always Encirca.

I contacted support but no precise answer at this time.

 

[Ben42]

They need to make a form for entering in your Pro info for the renewal. I guess there was too much programming to do...they only had 6 months to get it together.

 

[rikew]

yes i receive a mail from encirca with a link to compete a form with my data (https://av.registrypro.pro/?avid=xxx) : Type of Profession, Jurisdiction Country, Licensing Authority, License Number, Licensing Authority Website ...
but no change on the whois ...

 

[akcampbell]

I filled in that form too, no change in the WHOIS either. My understanding of how self certification would work, is you self certify, provide your professional details at the time of purchase, and then your registrar checks 1% of new registrations and renewals. I didn't think you had to send your information to RegistryPro via a delayed email link every time you registered or renewed, then wait for them to get round to reviewing it, that's extremely cumbersome and drawn out.

I'm presuming that once you have been checked out by RegistryPro Encirca will have no excuse for not allowing customers to transfer their domains into their own name. Encirca and RegistryPro promised a smooth transition to the new rules but this is anything but.

 

[soggyindo]

I had so many nice .pro's i wanted, but this has all sooo put me off