Hello All I have a problem (or rather, my client has a problem) with a domain that was registered through AIT Domains.
My client, on September 27, 2000, had a third-party company register this name for them. They are, like so many of our clients, totally ignorant of domains and internet services. This third-party registered the domain in their own name, not my client's name. Upon registering the name, this company then proceeded to inform my client as to how much it was going to cost for hosting the name and for designing the site. The amount was astronomical (in my client's opinion) and so my client asked to have the name moved to another host. The company then told my client that they could not authorize the move until the hosting / design was paid for. (No design was ever completed, nor any hosting provided.) They then told my client that the only way they could get back the domain was by waiting for it to expire and re-registering it in their own name, as a change of ownership would cost too much money. So, my client waited. Much to their dismay, the other company renewed it and is still holding it, claiming that a change of ownership is going to cost them and they want my client to pay for it up front. Incidentally, the initial registration fee paid to this company was $100 (Canadian -- which works out to about $4.95 US (just kidding :))), and they are asking $50.00 for the "change of ownership". I checked with AIT and their price is $18.99US per year. This company made quite a profit for all of their work in registering this name. Even if they paid the $18.99 to renew it, which they claim they didn't, they have still made a hefty profit. Their claim is still that they cannot change ownership of this domain without it costing them money. I say that they should never have owned this domain to begin with because it was my client who had purchased it. I have advised my client not to pay them the additional $50, as there is no guarantee that they will release the name. What can be done in this situation? How much time and cost is involved in initiating a UDRP case? What other questions should I be asking, and to whom should I be asking them? Thanks Brian O'Donnell Doctor PC www.doctorpc.ca
