I just got screwed by both Domain Monger and NameZero.

With Domain Monger, I had basically the same experience as in the previous post (by CozmoTrouble). I started the process on the 1st, my credit card was charge on the 1st (before DM had done anything), then the company proceeded to spend the next two weeks telling me that the lack of progress was my fault because I hadn’t replied to the email from Network Solutions (an email I never received).

Wait, it gets better.

Tired and frustrated, I asked for a refund on the 13th. Two weeks later, I finally get an email on the 28th saying that they were crediting my account the $17. A few days later, when I checked my account for the refund, I found that Domain Monger had instead charged me AGAIN! Now I’m stuck waiting for a $34 refund!

As for NameZero, apparently the reason I never received the Network Solutions email (in the DM transaction) was because NameZero had my account locked - meaning I couldn’t renew my domain with anyone else but them. Greedy buggers. After dealing with Domain Monger’s garbage for a month, I gave in and decided renewed with NameZero, only to receive an email a few days later saying that the address I entered wasn’t valid and now in order to renew my domain they want me to send them my phone number, credit card info, picture ID and, get this, a photocopy of my credit card.

So bottomline, for those of you out there interested in registering a domain, avoid these two companies at all costs!

I can forgive screwing up my billing. Prolly an honest mistake. However Network Solutions tactics are unforgivable. I wouldn’t put it past them to “forget” to send out confirmation email, in effect forcing you to sign up with them for another year. The courts just passed an injunction forcing Network Solutions to stop sending bogus “invoices” to Bulk Registers customers.

I would suggest staying far away from domainmonger.com. They don't answer their customer "service" e-mail, nor do they have phone number where they can be reached. Furthermore they don't let you transfer domains away from them without paying an extra $15 fee and getting a notarized letter. Here's the e-mail I got from them when I attempted to transfer a domain from them:

Dear Customer:

If your intent is transfer your DNS to your hosting company, you can do so for
free by logging onto [link]

If you wish to transfer your domain name to a different registrar, please read
below.

We have received a request to transfer one or more of your domain names to
another registrar or a registrar reseller. Due to the latest widespread
occurrences of malicious domain hijacking and domain transfer errors, we are
no longer accepting admin online domain transfer verification. This is to
protect those customers who wish to continue using our services.

This will create more technical support time for us, but it will definitely
stop fraudulent transfers from taking place.

All domain names are blocked for transfer. Any attempt to transfer a domain
name from Domainsnext.com will be denied at the registry until the registrant
requests otherwise. The registrant for the domain name may unblock the domain
transfer at any time at the current registrar in order for the transfer
initiation to succeed. The following are the steps that must be taken by each
registrant to unlock the domain name or to receive the authorization key.

a. The domain name is eligible for transfer if it was registered more than
60 days, and the expiration date is more than 60 days at the time the
transfer has been initiated.
b. If it was registered less than 60 days from the date of the transfer
request, the registrant must wait until that period of time has passed before
initiating the transfer. If the domain name expiration date is less than 60
days, the registrant must first renew the domain name with DomainsNext.com
for no less than one year. This is to allow DomainsNext.com enough time to
validate the transfer request.
c. If the domain name is eligible for transfer, the registrant of the domain
name must provide us with the following:

1. The domain name to be transferred, correctly spelled.
2. Your DomainsNext.com user name.
3. The last 4 numbers of the credit card you used to register the domain
name, or a valid picture ID.
4. A letter of intent to transfer the domain name naming the ICANN
registrar you wish to transfer your domain name to (SIGNED AND NOTARIZED) .
5. Processing fees of $15.00 per domain in the form of a money order or
cashiers check, made payable to DomainsNext.com.

All of the above information and documents must be sent to:

DomainsNext.com
224 Cozumel CT
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
USA

Thank you
Transfer@Domainsnext.com

I lost my domain because it got caught up in their bullshit after it "expired" with namezero. They were offering free registration of domains for a while and I tried to renew when it was almost up but no one would respond and everyone said it was someone else's problem to deal with.

Suffice it to say they wouldn't get my domain back from the squatter who sat there waiting for it when it finally DID get freed up by the system (which was a couple months later.)

They still refuse to return email, calls, etc.

Just received the same email. Domainsnext.com's transfer policy is improper business conduct, to say the very least. They never mentioned anything like I would have to pay a fee for getting away from them when I transferred my domains from netsol.com to them.

Clearly, they aim at preventing people from moving their names away from them. Ridiculous, for instance, the requirement of the last 4 digits of the credit card used. What if you have more than one and don't remember which one you used? As they require a NOTARIZED letter of intent, why on earth would you need further proof of identity.

That you have to pay by cashiers cheque or money order is an outrage for people from the EU. My bank doesn't issue any cheques, we user EC or credit cards here. For a cheque payable in US$, the processing fee is 15 Euro (!!), the cheque will be sent from somewhere in the US, meaning there is no way to put it as an enclosure to that darn letter of intent.

Fees for the notary public were another 11,60 Euro. ICANN needs to do some homework, set up a decent policy for accredited registrars and get rid of certain frauds.

What do you guys think about this hosting/domain site? www.worldwebhosters.com It looks a bit iffy but the prices are very tempting....

worldwebhosters have screwed over a LOT of people, myself included. do a search on google and find out for yourself. stay away from these guys man. unless you like throwing money down the toilet.

Wait a second...is your complaint with DomainsNext or with DomainMonger? The subject says one, but the text of the message says the other.

I'm not saying your experience didn't suck, I'm just wondering who it sucked with.

Dear Sir or Madam,
There is a common status text displayed on some LOCKED domain in the whois like this :
To avoid transfer errors and domain hijacking the sponsored registrar.....
Are you able to give me the complete and correct form of this text ?
I can not remember it.
Regards.
Omid Soroori of OMID SOFT.