domain name ownership

[wood1e2]

Hi,

I have a domain/website bought through a monthly 'let us set up and manage your website solution'

Where I am actually paying more than I would have done if I set it up myself!!

Anyway, that said I am moving away from them.

But...My understand is I own the domain name. But they want to charge me £149 for access to my domain control panel.

Can they do this?

When I check the registrar my name is listed as owner, but it is this companies address not mine.

Anyway thoughts/help to get access to the domain name so I can re-point it to the website would be great.

I can message the URL if needed

 

[HorseLatitudes]

Is it a .co.uk name?

If so nominet will be able to give you full control of that domain name as long as it is under your name (the address shouldn't matter)

They charge around £12 i believe

 

[mcgb]

What is the domain in question here? If you supply this and your name, I (we) can tell you if the domain is registered in your own name or not.

 

[fisicx]

That's how these companies make their money. If the site is built using their site builder you won't be able to move the site anyway. All you will be able to do is copy the content. You may also find that they own all the imagery as well (unless you created it yourself).

The cheapest and simplest option is to just buy a new domain name and start again.

 

[HorseLatitudes]

That's how these companies make their money. If the site is built using their site builder you won't be able to move the site anyway. All you will be able to do is copy the content. You may also find that they own all the imagery as well (unless you created it yourself).

The cheapest and simplest option is to just buy a new domain name and start again.

But what if the web address is, and has been, in the public doamin for a long time? What if buildings, transport, business cards all show the web address? What if its in the yellow pages for the next 12 months?

People may know the address and plan on using again in the future or may refer family and friends.

Simply dumping the name and starting again isn't always an option

 

[wood1e2]

Many thanks for the responses, I have spoken to nominet and started the 're-establishment' of ownership.

The reasons for this becoming an issue are:

1) Not happy with the effectiveness of the website
2) Continue movement upwards of cost

So we are building a new site, to remove issue number one, and moving away from 'monthly site costs' to remove issue 2.

once again many thanks for the pointers.

 

[fisicx]

Simply dumping the name and starting again isn't always an option

In which case they will have to pay the £149 for access.

But what they really just need is the nameservers changing. Maybe they can pay for that and worry about moving registrars later.

 

[HorseLatitudes]

In which case they will have to pay the £149 for access.

But what they really just need is the nameservers changing. Maybe they can pay for that and worry about moving registrars later.

Or go to nominet and have them do it for £12

 

[fisicx]

Many thanks for the responses, I have spoken to nominet and started the 're-establishment' of ownership.

This may well cost you a lot more than the £149 they company wants.

Nominet charge £200+VAT to do the initial investigation and £750 for a full dispute resolution service. However, ownership is not indispute. Your name is above the door, all you want to do is change the address. And you do that through the control panel access to which costs £149.

Or go to nominet and have them do it for £12

Nominet isn't the registrar so this isn't an option.

 

[mcgb]

Many thanks for the responses, I have spoken to nominet and started the 're-establishment' of ownership.

The reasons for this becoming an issue are:

1) Not happy with the effectiveness of the website
2) Continue movement upwards of cost

So we are building a new site, to remove issue number one, and moving away from 'monthly site costs' to remove issue 2.

once again many thanks for the pointers.

If you need assistance with moving the website to another server or would like a personal administrator to help with this, let me know.

 

[HorseLatitudes]

This may well cost you a lot more than the £149 they company wants.

Nominet charge £200+VAT to do the initial investigation and £750 for a full dispute resolution service. However, ownership is not indispute. Your name is above the door, all you want to do is change the address. And you do that throuhg the control panel access to which costs £149.

where are you getting those figures from because according to the nominet website it is;

Re-establish identityPer domain name/account£10.00£12.00

 

[HorseLatitudes]

This may well cost you a lot more than the £149 they company wants.

Nominet charge £200+VAT to do the initial investigation and £750 for a full dispute resolution service. However, ownership is not indispute. Your name is above the door, all you want to do is change the address. And you do that through the control panel access to which costs £149.

Nominet isn't the registrar so this isn't an option.

Nominet are the governing body (if you will) and will assign him full control of the name, as long as he is listed as the owner (which he has stated he is) for the fee of £12

 

[fisicx]

But this won't change the nameservers. All it will do is change the address on the registration docs.

To change the nameservers you need access to a control panel.

 

[HorseLatitudes]

But this won't change the nameservers. All it will do is change the address on the registration docs.

To change the nameservers you need access to a control panel.

as far as I'm aware they will have the option to change the name servers or have control panel access themselves

I've dealt with several people in the past who have had the same issue and have done this to avoid having their eyes taken out by shady web developers

 

[fisicx]

Access to any control panel is via a login. Nominet do not have this access.

The OP is the owner of the site. What they need is access to the means to manage the site. That access will cost them £149. If they can get nominet to do the whole shebang for £12 then well done. But I doubt it very much.

 

[wood1e2]

This may well cost you a lot more than the £149 they company wants.

Nominet charge £200+VAT to do the initial investigation and £750 for a full dispute resolution service. However, ownership is not indispute. Your name is above the door, all you want to do is change the address. And you do that throuhg the control panel access to which costs £149.

Why?...having spoken to nominet we only need to re-establish ownership. At the moment, the ownership is not in dispute, but the access to something we own is.

So we need the registrar to recognise this. Hence the re-establishment of ownership.

My understanding from Nominet is that once the re-establishment of ownership has taken place, we can then ask/force the registrar to allow us access.

At the moment the registrar recognises us as the owner, but not their customer. Hence why we need the address and email address changed on the domain name. Which from what I have been told, the re-establishment of ownership will do.

Once this is completed then the company wanting £149 can keep their website and sing for the money.

And if nominet try to charge more the £12 we will then just dump the domain.

 

[wood1e2]

No we only need rightful access to domain name...the website can go disappear up its own ether

 

[GeoMal]

But this won't change the nameservers. All it will do is change the address on the registration docs.

To change the nameservers you need access to a control panel.

No, by establishing ownership through Nominet they will have access to the domain via Nominet online services. They can then force a change of registrar (a TAG change) for a further £12.

The fees you quoted were for the Dispute Resolution Service, which is only for forcing a change in Registrant, not Registrar.

 

[HorseLatitudes]

Access to any control panel is via a login. Nominet do not have this access.

The OP is the owner of the site. What they need is access to the means to manage the site. That access will cost them £149. If they can get nominet to do the whole shebang for £12 then well done. But I doubt it very much.

To be fair I'm only going off what I've picked up from working for a website developer in the past and have seen a fair few people do exctly wht the op needs via this method.

The company i worked for would try the 'charging £149 angle' and the nominet thing was pointed out to me by another fellow employee who also wasn't happy with the conning of customers.

 

[fisicx]

This only works if the registrar is compliant. If it's in their T&C that these sorts of changes are chargeable then it's back to the dispute resolution services.

But the OP may be lucky and it all goes smoothly.

 

[mcgb]

To be fair I'm only going off what I've picked up from working for a website developer in the past and have seen a fair few people do exctly wht the op needs via this method.

The company i worked for would try the 'charging £149 angle' and the nominet thing was pointed out to me by another fellow employee who also wasn't happy with the conning of customers.

The cheek of it is unbelievable. I've worked for large managed hosting providers and some of the things they do... blood boiling.

 

[wood1e2]

Well glad that is all sorted, maybe others in same position will get to read this and take the £12 option + £12 option

 

[GeoMal]

This only works if the registrar is compliant. If it's in their T&C that these sorts of changes are chargeable then it's back to the dispute resolution services.

Sorry, but that is so incredibly incorrect. Have you actually ever used either?

DRS is purely for forced change of Registrant due to a claim of rights in a domain. The OP owns the domain. Re-establish this via Nominet for £12, then force a change of registrar for another £12, job done. The outgoing registrar cannot over-ride Nominet!

 

[HorseLatitudes]

The cheek of it is unbelievable. I've worked for large managed hosting providers and some of the things they do... blood boiling.

It's basically preying on people who need the service but dont have the industry knowledge.

Best decision I ever made was leaving that company

 

[FirstClassVirtualOffice]

There is one more way and it costs nothing. I know different people who have done this a few times.

If it is in your name, you email the domain registrar company and say you have lost touch with the web company who set it up in their own email address and you need access to the domain control panel so can they issue with new login details. Say it's in your name.

They may require some proof of your name, or company name such as a letterhead, etc. Then they email you the new login details. Might be worth a try. Then change password in the domain control panel so nobody ekse can get to it, then get the Nominet login to change address.

 

[tictac]

I'd just go to Nominet "the registry" and pay the tenner to get them to change the IPS tag to a reputable "registrar" who don't have such fees for transferring domains. It actually costs any registrar nothing to change a tag. Once you have got control of the domain you can do whatever you desire moving forward.

 

[tictac]

http://www.nominet.org.uk/uk-domain-names/manage-your-domain/change-registrar contains all the details although if you phone them up they are normally pretty helpful.

 

[Super Simon]

Just to provide some clarity here...

Nominet are the "governing body" for .uk domain names. If you are wishing to transfer your domain name from a current registrar then you can do so by using them directly.

£149 to access a domain control panel is ridiculous. If you go to https://secure.nominet.org.uk/auth/access-your-account.html and put in your email address that you would have used when you registered the domain, you will then be sent some login details to that email address.

Follow the instructions and log in to your account. This control panel will be at a higher level then any hosting companies control panel, although it is more limiting.

You can't change the nameservers, only the registrar can do that (the person who registers your domain on your behalf). Once you've established access, you need to do a TAG change which costs £12. Change the TAG to a provider whom will be more receptive to your business and ask them to point the nameservers (some will let you do this through their control panel) to wherever you want.

Voila, full domain access with a new company. The whole process can be completed within minutes.

Any questions, give me a shout.

EDIT: You should note however, some underhand tactics employed by the type of companies that charge £149 for domain access also register your desired domain name in their names. This therefore makes the domain rightfully theirs which means everything I said above would not be possible.

 

[astutiumRob]

Or go to nominet and have them do it for £12

Nominet make it very clear that having them change tag does not release the registrant from the contractual or financial obligations they signed up to - so the OP will be paying 149+10 - whynot save the 10 and go through the proper channels/method ?

 

[Super Simon]

Nominet make it very clear that having them change tag does not release the registrant from the contractual or financial obligations they signed up to - so the OP will be paying 149+10 - whynot save the 10 and go through the proper channels/method ?

I think the issue here is that the OP is no longer under financial obligation with them, only wanting access to their domain.