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Domain Registration Problems

peterbarker
Grafter
Posts: 78
Registered: ‎08-02-2008

Domain Registration Problems

I have been made responsible for a website representing an Association and hosted on madasafish.  The person previously acting as "webmaster" has passed me the passwords and log in information, so I can now successfully access the website.
The "webmaster" was paying registration renewal costs etc. using his credit card,, then being reimbursed by the Association.  However, the "webmaster" does not hold registration of the domain.  It is registered to another individual who left the Association some time ago. 
I thought it would be better to transfer the domain to the Association or maybe a current member.  I researched how to do this and how much it would cost.  I contacted the registered holder of the domain, as he is the person who can do this.  I suggested that he transfer it over, as he is no longer a member of the Association and does not deal with the website. I explained that the Association would meet the costs involved in the transfer i.e. £10 + VAT
The registrant responded extremely negatively to my request.  So I now wonder whether the Association's continued use of the domain could be precarious.  Maybe the registrant could at some point simply remove our use of the domain?
I would appreciate some thoughts on this.
Thanks
10 REPLIES 10
dragon2611
Grafter
Posts: 283
Registered: ‎20-10-2013

Re: Domain Registration Problems

Quite probably particularly if it's a UK domain they can probably get Nominet to repoint it at another registrar and take control of it.
7up
Community Veteran
Posts: 15,824
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Domain Registration Problems

Quote from: grecian
Maybe the registrant could at some point simply remove our use of the domain?

Quite easily yes. You need to get in touch with nominet about it or get your association to contact the current 'owner' to sort this out as the domain can be moved within seconds if it's using the right DNS.
I use afraid.org for my domains dns. Most registrars will let you set the nameservers which are run by your host. Typically nameservers can take some time to update. Afraid.org lets you change the A record of a host within seconds so the effect is almost instant.
Imagine if the domain owner of your domain has this setup.. You need to get your association to look at this more seriously or just buy another domain and start telling people to use it instead.
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
picbits
Rising Star
Posts: 3,432
Thanks: 23
Registered: ‎18-01-2013

Re: Domain Registration Problems

As above, get on to Nominet (if it's a .co.uk or similar), explain the situation and they can sort it.
We've had the same recently for a customer whose registrar suddenly appeared to vanish and he couldn't renew his domain. The .co.uk domain through Nominet was a pretty simple one to sort out and took a week or so. The .com was a bit of a nightmare but we got it transferred over after a couple of months of messing about. We did have the original person who registered the domain on our side though but he didn't live at the address the domain was registered to any more which confused things a bit.
peterbarker
Grafter
Posts: 78
Registered: ‎08-02-2008

Re: Domain Registration Problems

Thanks for comments.  The current registrant tells me that he will do the transfer next week, but I am not holding my breath!
I found nominet helpful.  The transfer process seems quite straightforward, but there isn't much that you can do if the domain registrant is not on your side.
peterbarker
Grafter
Posts: 78
Registered: ‎08-02-2008

Re: Domain Registration Problems

If we choose a new domain, then register do we pay the following:
Registration Fee (for a fixed period)
Hosting fee as appropriate
Then renewal fees when renewal is due?
dragon2611
Grafter
Posts: 283
Registered: ‎20-10-2013

Re: Domain Registration Problems

For UK domains managed by NOMINET you don't usually have to pay transfer fees when changing registrars but it depends on the registrar.
Renewal fees are usually the same as the registration Fees would be for that same period it used to be a minimum of 2 years for UK domains but they changed it to 1 year, you can of course pay for multiple years at once if you so wish.
Generally if your registrar wants to charge you a massive renewal fee they're taking you for a ride, likewise ingore any letters from "the domain renewal group" or simular they're just trying to trick you into transfering to them and then renewing at their exorbitant rates.
For Domains managed by ICANN (.com .net .org etc) you do tend to have to pay a transfer fee (It's usually the equivalent of at least 1 years registration) when switching registrar but generally that also performs a renewal at the same time (E.g adds a year to the expiry date) so you don't actually lose out.
Generally the registration/renewal fees are under $10 a year for of the more common TLDs (.com , .net , .co.uk etc), unless it's a popular domain in which case you may pay significantly more to acquire it in the first instance.
Some country specific domains also cost significantly more to register but it will depend on who manages that particular TLD.
peterbarker
Grafter
Posts: 78
Registered: ‎08-02-2008

Re: Domain Registration Problems

Just about to register a .uk domain.  There seem to be a lot of registrars.  Which would you recommend?
picbits
Rising Star
Posts: 3,432
Thanks: 23
Registered: ‎18-01-2013

Re: Domain Registration Problems

We use a local company called host-it in Northampton.
I used to use a company on the IOW but they were taken over by host-it (who fortunately turned out to be about 10 miles from where I live).
If you need to make changes to your records you do have to bend over a bit and provide multiple forms of ID and it takes a bit of time but .... they are very friendly, efficient, quick to respond to your emails and tickets and bent over backwards to help one of my customers who had a similar issue to you.
http://www.host-it.co.uk/
pwatson
Rising Star
Posts: 2,470
Thanks: 8
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎26-11-2012

Re: Domain Registration Problems

Personally I like to keep hosting and DNS services seperate (just as I also do with broadband and email!) - It makes life a lot easier if you need to swap around.
I've used 123-reg for domain names for years and they provide easy to use tools for changing DNS records (if you use their nameservers) or specifying different nameservers.  No idea how their pricing compares these days but it used to be favourable.
peterbarker
Grafter
Posts: 78
Registered: ‎08-02-2008

Re: Domain Registration Problems

A further question:
Website of our association is hosted by madasafish, but the registration is held by someone is no longer a member of the association.  He says he has lost his login information, so therefore cannot transfer the domain over to the organisation.  This registration lapses on 12 September 2014. 
If this existing registrant does not renew the registration I understand that the association can apply / obtain registration of the domain. 
I think there would be a period between lapsing of the domain registration and association taking up registration.  During this intervening period could the hosting continue under the domain name, provided the necessary hosting fees were paid to Madasafish and no-one raised any objections?
Or would use of the domain have to cease immediately when the existing registration lapsed?