Beware Cheap Hosting deals

[BOAC]

I had 2 domains with a company called 3ix (American, I think) who offer cheap hosting deals. One I purchased through them on behalf of a club and the other I transferred in. The second has run well with no down time.

The first, hosted on a different server at 3ix, has been up and down like a yo-yo, requiring frequent 'reboots' of the (different) server, from which they would not move me.

At the end of the 1 year hosting contract on this domain I instructed them to move the IP Tag to a new host (No 1 son's company). This they did. Nameservers, registrant's address and IP Tag are now correct. HOWEVER, my fault for not looking earlier, but 'whois' shows 3ix as the domain 'registrants' which I had not checked before (I have learnt!). No 1 son tells me this is not an unknown 'practice' by some hosts and that if a particularly 'juicy' domain is involved they technically have 'ownership' of a domain purchased by them on behalf of a third party, They appear unable to 'explain' how this happened, and I am in discussion with Nominet (the over-seers for .uk domains) about it. They also appear aware of the 'practice'. There now appears to be an option for 3ix to acquire another £11.50 for changing the ownership details - I am resisting! The second domain remains correctly 'owned'.

Altogether it is a mess and the message I wish to give is that IF you purchase a domain via a hosting company, DO check that they have not technically 'grabbed it' from you. Other domains I have been involved with from different companies have not encountered this problem, and ownership has been straightforward.

[BOAC]

Here's an update - they have still not managed to transfer the domain (requested 12/9). Apparently ALL domains they set up for customers are registered to themselves...........I'm the 'first one to complain'!! On the plus side they did change the nameservers without too much delay so I am 'up and running'.

here is the latest in their 'support chatline'
LiveHelp: every .co.uk domains which are registered with 3ix have 3ix as registrant
LiveHelp: and after transfer is completed, they can change with the new company

PS That will cost the 'customer' another £10+VAT

Nominet have been extremely helpful but have no 'regulatory' powers. It appears no-one has for .uk domains!

[JSB]

Old thread, but valid nonetheless. If anyone is interested, I went with a company called piccante (Piccante Web Design - Hot Design, Low Cost). They took care of the hosting too, and when it came to the domain name they were happy to help but advised me to register my own domain for exactly the reasons that BOAC described. They were good too.
JSB

[Mike-Bracknell]

I guess it depends upon your point of view, as there are pros and cons of both methods.

FWIW, all of the domains we register are usually registered to the customer with the admin contact as ourselves. If we've registered any with ourselves it's usually because the customer didn't have an email address at all, or couldn't be trusted not to fall foul of the Chinese domain renewal scam (etc). We never delay in changing the IPS tag upon request though, or re-registering the domain for the customer, despite having very few customers who want to change IPS tag away from ourselves.

Bottom line is, the ultimate domain registrar of your domain shouldn't be the sole indicator of a good or bad hosting company. Hosting companies that charge the earth for doing menial 5 minute tasks however are more of an indicator.

[BOAC]

Originally Posted by MB

the ultimate domain registrar of your domain shouldn't be the sole indicator of a good or bad hosting company

- nor is it in this case. The decision to 'move' was taken because of poor server reliability and a 'support' system staffed by baboons with little or no ability to communicate in English. No-one there 'knows how it happened', there is no 'supervisor' available to speak to, the phone help line is always 'too busy' and never rings back as promised, emails go unanswered and there is no postal address published. Those are the primary reasons. As I said in #1, I did not, unfortunately, discover the domain 'ownership' issue until recently.

Latest as of yesterday is that they have FINALLY sent a request to Nominet for 'registrant' change but in doing so still have the new 'registrant's' details incorrect.

We never delay in changing the IPS tag upon request though, or re-registering the domain for the customer

Tag change requested on 10/9, completed 11/9. Registrant correction requested 11/9, still not done. So, on (1) they were fine (as per OP), on (2) they still hadn't even started it after 8 days.

I repeat the advice (which is why I posted) to those 'amateurs' like me who are looking at 'purchasing' a domain - do check the ownership of such when you have it. If you want the domain registration company to own it, fine, but if, for example, you use 3ix or some others, you might not be aware of the situation. Nominet are of the opinion (which I support) that domain ownership should normally lie with the initiator of the acquisition. I am sure, MB, that you, like JSB's company, act correctly and I would hope that you ensure that the choice of 'ownership' is made clear to your customers? I'd be interested to know what assessment criteria you apply to a customer who

couldn't be trusted not to fall foul of the Chinese domain renewal scam (etc).

[Aerouk]

I created my own web hosting company while at University to help fund my studies and have came across a number of companies that do this to their clients.

Their prices are ridiculious as well... 40GB for $1? A 40GB hard drive costs well over $12 a year and support tickets are usually very expensive so they would end up running at a loss.

My general rule is, register .co.uk domains yourself with companies like 123-reg | Domain names | Domain name registration and always look at the reviews for hosting companies on sites such as Web Hosting Talk - The largest, most influential web hosting community on the Internet

If you need any help feel free to contact me BOAC.

[BOAC]

Thanks for the link, Aero, and the offer. I think I am 'nearly there' however.

EDIT: I am most impressed with the support I am receiving from Nominet with this. They have been superb.

[BOAC]

No transfer yet showing as of now! Tonight the monkey-house at 3ix told me:

'We do not found xxxx.co.uk in our system: Is there anything else I can help you with?'
Then:
'Your domain xxxx.co.uk is active now'
'the domain is register with us'
'We do not provide domain transfer .co.uk'
'Also your domain xxx.co.uk is registered with us not transfer'
Would you like to transfer your domain to other company?'

[BOAC]

With big thanks to Nominet it is now all sorted. I own the domain I purchased!

HOWEVER, I am now involved in mis-directed emails for a customer of mine who is receiving emails about 'ownership' of a different (customer not involved) domain This applicant is puzzled about not owning her domain. Guess who she bought it from..................I suspect this is a large iceberg and if ANYONE has purchased a domain via 3ix I would suggest a visit to 'Whois' to check who's it actually is??

[Mike-Bracknell]

I am sure, MB, that you, like JSB's company, act correctly and I would hope that you ensure that the choice of 'ownership' is made clear to your customers? I'd be interested to know what assessment criteria you apply to a customer who Quote:
couldn't be trusted not to fall foul of the Chinese domain renewal scam (etc).

Sorry, only just noticed you'd replied to this thread.

As for our criteria, it's usually based around what level of IT expertise they show, and/or indifference or otherwise to the machinations that go on in domain ownership etc. We usually ask, and do it ourselves if they express absolutely no interest other than in having a "one stop shop" for their domain hosting, website, hosted email, etc, etc.

i.e. nothing underhand, more for both parties' convenience