RSSMass mail out by DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd
auDA has become aware that DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd is sending letters and/or faxes to somedomain name registrants offering to arrange registration of the .com equivalent of the registrants com.audomain name for $225.
The letter is headed ‘DOMAIN NAME AVAILABLE’ and some versions of it offer a free MP3 player with each registration.
auDA has received numerous complaints which indicate that;
1. the .com name is being registered in the name of DomainName.com.au and NOT in the name of the registrant and
2. registrants are NOT receiving the ‘free’ MP3 player.
Based on the complaints received auDA is concerned that the letters may mislead people into believing that they are renewing their existing com.au domain name when in fact they are paying for a new .com name which will not be registered in their name.
Further, consumers should be aware that $225 for a .com domain name is significantly higher than prices charged by most .com registrars.
DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd is a company controlled by Blair Rafferty, the brother of Chesley Rafferty. It is NOT an auDA accredited registrar nor is it a reseller of an auDA accredited registrar.
auDA has previously successfully taken legal action against Chesley Rafferty and companies controlled by him under the Trade Practices Act.
If you have paid DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd and the domain name has not been registered in your name or you have not received the ‘free’ MP3 player and you wish to lodge a formal complaint, auDA advises that you immediately contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) either by lodging an electronic complaint at http://www.accc.gov.au/ or by faxing it to their Canberra office on (02) 6243 1199. Alternatively you may wish to contact your State based fair trading or consumer affairs office.
A similar mass mail out has also occurred in New Zealand. NZ Domain Registration Ltd, owned by Blair Rafferty, was recently exposed on a New Zealand television program Fair Go. To view this video please click the following link Fair Go: Name Game http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/816241