Nominet UK Ltd, the not-for-profit registry of the .uk top level domain, yesterday warned consumers to carefully read the small print of their agreements with internet service providers offering domain name registration. Nominet said some consumers are finding out the hard way about the charges some ISPs levy if they wish to move to another ISP, and some ISP agreements even allow their ISP to retain the rights to a domain name the customer thought was theirs.
The situation has been bubbling for some time according to a Nominet spokesperson, but is becoming increasingly problematic due to the rise in the number of ISPs offering free domain names to subscribers. The number of ISPs offering this service has increased since Nominet dropped its wholesale prices 75% a few months ago.
The highest profile of these is FreeNetName Ltd, a subsidiary of Internet Technology Group Plc, which launched in September. Users of its subscription-free service are given a free .co.uk domain name and 20Mb of web space as long as they continue to use the service. Users wishing to transfer the domain name to another ISP must pay 94 pounds ($150) NIC fees to do so. FreeNetName makes these terms fairly clear on registration.
The Nominet spokesperson, while not prepared to ‘name and shame’ said that some ISPs terms and conditions (T&Cs) are vague and some completely fail to mention that, as the registering agent, the ISP has the right to demand payment to transfer ownership of the domain name. Nominet, set up by the industry four years ago, has no power to regulate ISPs but has some advisory clout. The organization urged users to read T&Cs carefully before signing up to anything.
