I bought a domain name from a web hosting company,i am also supposed to get hosting included in the package,they sent me all the activation details and proof that i own the domain and even i have access to the FTP details. They have consistently billed me for about 4 months,i have however not had the time to upload the content. Sometime last week,i decided to go to my website url,obviously i should get an error that this page cannot be displayed or their default message,i was surprised to see a message that "this domain is for sale for $150,000 if interested send an email to......... I did a whois look up and found out that someone else just bought the domain 10days ago,keep in mind i can still log into the web hosting account and i show that billing has been done for about 4 months even till now. Now my question is this,first the company i bought the domain from is a very large and reputable company,can i sue them ? And up to what amount can i sue them ? Can i get the domain back ? basically i like to know what legal recourse i can get and if i am entiled to not just my domain but also financial compensation. Your responses will be highly appreciated. Thanks
First determine that there is no mistake. They could have put the notice on the wrong page. If they say they own the domain you need to understand from them how they own it and not you. If nothing sensible emerges you need to consult a lawyer. You can also check out the litigation involved in the sex.com url theft. Lots of valuable info there. Do a google search for the judgment.
First they legally purchased it because they claim that it was available for sale at another registrar,i guess their registration script failed,but their billing did not,my question is can i ask the web hosting company to get me my original domain since i have been paying for the domain name and hosting. Can i legally ask them to get me my domain name regardless of the price the new purchaser placed on it ?
I think you can ask, but your more likely to get shoved a refund of your 4 months of billing than them spend serious money for you. Lawyers give free consultations many times, so look for one who does and see what they say. Any contact you have with the web host, or anyone involving this you should keep records of from here on out though
You are likely only entitled to damages; rare would be the court order compelling the purchase of a domain. So start considering your damages: first, what are you out of pocket on this? Then what would it cost to create a new url paralleling the old? There may also be punitive damages, depending on the situation.
Any attorneys here ? Technically i own the domain ... Is it possible to ask the web host to purchase the domain or purchase it and send them an invoice ....
What makes you think i dont own the domain ? I bought it from them and have been paying them.... If u think i dont own the domain,then no one really owns any domain
Ownership is a complex issue in the law. It is not as simple as you might think. For example, who owns the title to all the foreclosed mortgages in the sub-prime mess is a huge issue. My guess is that in law you are only the owner of a domain when a certified registrar indicates that you are. It gives you "title" in effect. If a host says they have registered you and they have not then you would not own the url. It would still be up for grabs for someone else. Check out a certified registrar. Who do they say owns the domain?
See your previous posts: As for whether or not you have a case - you don't. You were not even using the name so your damages claims are virtually nill. Sounds like somebody screwed up, most likely you, but in any event, it hardly matters. Don't waste time on this. That is your best course of action. Domains are selling for like $1.67 at Godaddy so really, how much is the domain that you didn't use for 4 months and that some other dude still has parked worth? I can ask for !,000,000 on a parked page, but that doesn't make the domain worth anything.
brown maybe you dont have an idea of what i am talking about,you purchase a domain name from netfirms(example) and hosting account their job is to provide hosting services to that domain they claim they registered for you.Keep in mind that we all buy domains and wait a little time before uploading content,so u are stating that if someone takes a domain name that rightfully belongs to you because of an error on the registras part then though luck ?
It may just be a mistake. Try to sort it out with the domain company. And yes, you can sue them..but keep in mind that suing them will cost you.
Documentation is important. Can you copy here the info given to you by a registrar indicating that the domain was in your name?
OP, You were paying for the domain + Hosting for 4 months..You are responsible to check if your register has your domain...It looks like your domain has slipped out on you in the middle of the night since you were careless not to check up on what was going on in the 4 months you were making payments. First off the other person can spout damags and lawsuits all he wants...most of this mouthing off about suing people does not generally go anywhere anyway...lawyers are only interested in financial gain from real solid case damages...ie: semi run redlight, etc... honestly, no atty is going to care that you were careless, or not paying attention to your assets.... the moment I buy a domain, i check it asap to make sure it is where it supposed to be, and make sure everything is uptodate if i intend to keep the domain year after year... if they have now sold the domain, and it has been transfered, there is nothing they can do, and if they still have the domain, you can at least contact them and explain what has happened, they are going to piss off someone, either you for not giving the domain back, or the other buyer that they take it away from... So which wrong should they do first? Either they risk getting sued by you, or the other guy... however it plays out, I personally do not see any attorney getting involved with this, would be a waste of his college degree talents if he wasnt working on some semi accident that could be worth millions....
I am saying that even if you are correct and they failed to register a domain name that you paid them for, your damages are so minimal as to not be worth pursuing. Without any real damages, you have nothing worth suing anybody for.
They very well may be at fault, but there are many injustices that you just have to live with, unless you are willing to risk money to attempt to make some point.