Domain sellers face critics

Some firms selling domain names may have to alter their tactics following a recent ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which criticised pressure sales methods and misleading advertising.

The ASA upheld a complaint from Internet hosting company SAQ Internet and a member of the public, who objected to the sales methods of domain seller Domain Registry of Europe (DRoE). The complainants said the company sent a direct mailing headed "Important notice", which stated, "We understand that your domain name expires on (date). We recommend you renew your domain name at least 30 days prior to its expiration to avoid any 'Registrar Lock'."

The mail said that if the domain was locked by the current registrar, the owner would not be able to renew it at a lower price through DRoE.

It added that failure to renew the domain name "may make it difficult for your customers and friends to locate you on the Web".

The ASA upheld complaints that the letter exaggerated the importance of its content, which was found to be distressing and intimidating to recipients. SAQ Internet also objected to the DRoE's implication that it could renew and take control of domain names, pointing out that transfers could only be made with permission from the third party that had administrative control of them. The ASA ordered the mailing to be withdrawn.

But although the mailings from the DRoE have stopped, firms are now being targeted with similar letters from the Domain Registry of America (DRoA), decorated with the US flag. "Despite the imagery on the mailings, the DRoE and DRoA are not official (Icann accredited) registries," said Ken Sorrie, director at registrar Internetters. "UK companies should be very wary of any unsolicited emails or telephone contacts that they may have concerning their domain names."

The ASA ruling should encourage other firms to come forward with details about other pressure sales techniques. One common technique involves informing firms that domains related to their business are about to be sold to an anonymous buyer, and they only have a short time in which to buy the domains themselves.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is investigating such sales tactics. It wants firms that have experienced such sales techniques to allow it to quote their names and experiences to build a case against unscrupulous traders.

Separately, the US Federal Trade Commission recently told a domain name seller to refund buyers of 6,000.usa,.brit and .scot domains, which would only work with special browsing software.

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