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HowTo Fly Away… or how to escape from the RegisterFly nightmare: Part1 - Why?
RegisterFly.com, inc. is an ICANN Accredited registrar with over 2 million names registered by customers in all 50 states and 120 countries (from their own sayings).
They are a cheap domain registrar solution, and from my own findings at the time I have chosen to work with them (about 3 years ago), they had the best prices on the domain registration marked. Being a cheap provider I would not expect some stellar technical support, but not even like this…
Peoples that know me at least a little, know that I am normally a very calm person and I will normally not start a post that denigrates others services… I am just to busy to think that it is worth to waste my time with such discussions, and better use my available time to write about something positive that might be useful to others also. But during the last days that I had some terrible problems with RegisterFly while trying to renew one of my friends domain, that just made me so upset and nervous on these incompetent peoples and made me decide to write about this. I assume other peoples are in the same situation and might benefit from my experience because in the end I was able to save the domain and move it elsewhere.
This article is divided into two parts one explaining the reason for this post (showing the problems I have encountered) and the second part showing how I was able to solve this problem and escape from this nightmare that is registerfly renewal system.
In Part1 I will give a very short description of the problem I had and the situation I was facing when trying to renew one of my domains registered with registerfly. This shows the reason for my frustration and the reason to write this post… So here we go…
I have used RegisterFly for my own domains and some friends also, for several years. The reason why I have chosen them was because they were one of the few registrars that were accepting payments from my country (that most of the internet seemed to ban a while ago) and also because of their good prices. Later on I had no problems at all and continued to use them without even thinking to move somewhere else. There was no reason for this as I was not using any other services that I have seen peoples complaining on the internet about them (no hosting, no dns, etc… I am hosting my own DNS and I don’t care about other services then the ones for registering my domains).
Normally when you have one domain expire then you only have to pay for the extension and the change is almost instant (a few minutes and the process is done). You don’t even think that there can be problems there and the only thing that matters is to remember to renew the domain and pay the actual extension on time. This on any registrar but not on registerfly of course… So here is my story:
1. The domain under discussion was one of the domains I am maintaining for one of my best friends. If this would have been my own domain probably the situation would have been different, but I could not loose his domain and have him get upset with me because of registerfly incompetence.
2. I received the email notification on 13-Oct (1 month before the expiation) notifying me that the domain will expire soon. A few days after that when I had some time I went to registerfly interface and tried to renew the domain as I have done many times before. The system took the money from my account and sent me a notification (Registerfly.com - Renewal/Extend domain Request). This was saying that the process has started and the TRANSFER has been initiated. I was not worried at all since I have renewed some domains earlier this year and it happened the same (with the transfer). They have a faq page explaining this… so all looked ok.
3. After a while (2 days approx) I received an email notifying me that the process has failed… Hmm… No error in the mail saying why it failed. At this time I got a little worried but assumed that there are some problems on their system, so I have opened a support ticket explaining what happened. Their response came after one day and looked like a standard reply sending me to their faq page. I replied and said I have read that, but the process has failed. After a while again their reply came and it was basically saying that they have some problems with their renewal system and I should try again in a few days (24h-72h). Ok, I can understand that… we all have problems and this was not pressuring… So I let it be and marked it as something I had to return and have it done in a few days.
4. I was obviously not considering what a mess this company is… So I got back to my works and being involved in some major projects I have left it untouched for a while. On the 1-Nov I have remembered to try it again. So again I started the process to renew the domain. I forgot to mention that they refunded properly my money at the failed renewal so this was ok. So basically I have done again the renewal process and it was exactly the same (send me a notification, linking to their faq about the transfer, etc.). After a while (1 day) I received the same failure message… Hmm… This time I was getting nervous… how can they still have problems after so many days I was wondering? So I decided to call them and see what is the problem.
5. Anyone that has called RegisterFly support knows what comes next… When you call them the answering machine greets you with an incredible message (for ex: you are caller no. 14 waiting in line, and the estimated time of waiting is 64mins)… ouch… and they don’t have toll-free number… so waiting is costing money… Anyway after many tries at different hours of the day I finally was able to get someone on the phone. I asked what is the problem, and the reply was that they have some problems with their renewal system and I should try again in a few days (the way they say that is something like: “Sir, please try again in 24-72h). I explained that I have tried again 2 weeks ago and got the same answer and I am getting nervous of loosing the domain, and he responded that I don’t have to worry and I should try again. I was trying to see if he can’t force the process and he said sure… I will do that for you sir.
6. After getting off the phone I have received the same email notification I got already 2 times before and this appeared as I have done that myself. But I said to myself maybe they have done it in a different way… But after another day I got again the failure message.
7. To keep the story as short as possible in the next days I have tried this again: failed renewals attempts, calling them again, tickets, etc. The result was the same: there were only a few days left to renew the domain and nothing changed: failed renewals/transfers and the same replies (try again in 24h).
At this point I have already searched the Internet for other peoples with similar problems and I was horrified on my findings… Just look at a few links:
Registerfly Gripe Site
My domain in RegisterFly can not renew and transfer
Registerfly, such crap!, etc… (just google it)
showing that other peoples had similar experiences. Peoples were loosing their domains because of registerfly incompetence and some even lost their business because of this..
With the help from the information gathered from other online resources and lot of determination I was able in the end to renew the domain. In Part2 of this post I will describe a step by step solution that worked for me.
12th November 2006, 17:06
You can find some statistics on RegisterFly at http://www.dotandco.net/ressources/icann_registrars/details/552/index.en
5th January 2007, 20:53
Just had 24hrs nightmare with RegiterFly. On hold on phone multiple times for over 5 hrs. Finally, chat with Live Chat support in the evening. He can’t help it either.
Finally called enom support:
http://www.enom.com/aboutus.asp
They took care the domain-push back to enom. From there, we can renew our domain.
It has been a 24 hr nightmare with RegisterFly.
10th February 2007, 01:19
Thanks for the info!
Last August (2006) I noticed the transfer messages when renewing my domain. Needed RF’s support to get it going again. Didn’t think much about it other than I couldn’t see or edit my e-mail forwards. Now that I’ve switched ISP’s I found they weren’t too eager to get that stuff visable for me. Searching the web I quickly found that I’m not alone. Fortunately I found my auth code on the domain info page so I started the transfer process.
About 24 hours after the start I got a confirmation request from the new registrar, about 12 hours later RF confirmation mail came. After approving that the transfer happened within 7 hours (I was sound asleep at the time).
They’re obviously not geared up to be a full registrar.
3rd March 2007, 11:43
Hi Web People,
Thanks for the info and links on this situation.
I have a domain that I renewed on February 23, 2007 at Registerfly - one day before it was due to expire. My payment processed normally, and I expected that my domain would NOT go offline. Without fail, my past domain renewals at RegisterFly have always taken effect within minutes.
Later that day, I still had not received confirmation that my renewal went through, so I sent in a support ticket and Registerly responded saying that I should have paid 2 weeks in advnce and that I had to wait 1 - 5 days for the renewal to be processed.
I didn’t panic too much, but when I later checked my site: vip-biz-net.com, I found that Registerfly had my domain name directed to the PPC advertising site they use when a domain expires. At that point, I replied to the support ticket and asked them what was going on.
They repeated their earlier reply about a 1 - 5 day wait time due to heavy volume of renewal requests.
Later, I opened my RegisterFly account and clicked on my domain name and they had an offer for me to renew my “expired” domain for $12.99. This is after I had already paid to renew my domain one day prior to the expiration date. I returned to my RegisterFly later and my domain was gone - vanished - disappeared from my account while they had and still do have my domain name pointing to their PPC ad page. Now, some 11 days after I paid to renew my domain, RegisterFly still has domain name going to their ad site and my domain is still missing from my account.
This is what got me searching online for answers and led me to this blog.
One of the stops I made was at ICANN.org where I found a mention of trouble with RegisterFly. They have posted a letter that their attorneys addressed to RegisterFly, dated March 2, 2007:
http://icann.org/correspondence/levee-to-mirzaian-02mar07.pdf
In the letter, it is made clear that ICANN sent investigators to Registerfly’s offices and that RegisterFly refused them access to the records RegisterFly is required to show them under their accredidation agreement.
Based on everything I have been able to gather, web site domain owners have a lot to be concerned about if the government, law enforcement and the regulators allow RegisterFly’s abusive practice to continue unchecked.
I am praying that I will be able to get my domain back after paying for it and building my site since 1999.
3rd March 2007, 21:53
If you still are having issues with register fly, Call GoDaddy.com. They are moving my 7 domains from RegisterFly to them. They have been in contact with ICANN about the issue and are able to move the domains for you. Not sure if other registrars are doing this bit give GoDaddy a buzz, they can help! Took me awhile to find someone to help and they did.
8th March 2007, 15:49
Been There / Done That
I moved some 30+ domains to RegisterFly a few years ago. I did so because I was tired of paying Register.Com’s $30 plus domain renewal price, for the same services other domain registers provide for a lesser price.
So I moved things too RegisterFly, it was cheap and after the DotCom Bust I needed to reduce my domain-sustain expenses (renewal cost). My experience back then was that, RegisterFly’s User interface [the Domain Control Panel] was somewhat confusing, but being a gentleman, I figured it was just a learning curve that needed to be passed. For that matter I don’t like the Plesk control panel interface either, Register.com is friendly – but costly.
Anyway things were going ok while parked at RegisterFly, until I started to get the dreaded Nigerian Scam Spam-Mail. I couldn’t figure it out, how the hell did my admin address get on these spam list. Voila! RegisterFly’s Domain Zone Files were compromised (or possibly sold by a disgruntled insider).
After one year of being with them and being whois-violated, I decided it was time to move. This is when I experienced the ‘nightmare’ you-all so affectionatly explained.
My last domain to transfer-out was about year ago.
-And- I still get “Renewal-Notices†from RegisterFly well after the fact that my domains are now far-far-away from them.
I survived, and today I am quite pleased with my current Register and their Control-Panel interface.
? Will there be a Class-Action-Suite be filed against RegisterFly? and will People who have/had suffered under their Register-Regime be eligible for damages?
I feel that it should be allowed, so that Icann’s Registers know that there is a ‘responsibility’ to the Domain-Owner (Customers). Icann allowed this to happen, and it is much more wide-spread than Icann will admit. Other Registers are just as ‘messy’ as RegisterFly. Icann should take a closer look at those in the After-Markets, like those in the expire-snap market, who capture expiring names. Icann should also mandate ‘Control-Panel-Standards’, this would clean-up many registers acts.
22nd December 2007, 00:01
[...] in the meantime, and you will no longer need to get through all this… But if it fails as shown in Part1 for my domain, read [...]