Almost a year ago I bought a domain from a Romanian hosting provider : http://livehosting.ro , and it will expire in a couple of months. I now want to transfer it to namecheap. I made a request to livehosting.ro and they said that I have to renew the domain and then I will be allowed to transfer it. Is this legal ? Please guide me anyone. The reason why I want to transfer it is because the domains now cost more than anywhere in the world and that I heard bad things about them.
I'm not surprised, many companies have policies where you have to renew an account before a transfer or something of the sort. Don't take my word for it though.
Some registrars refuse to transfer domains if they are nearer renewal. Obviously they lose fees. Read their terms and conditions and see if there is any way to transfer domain without letting it drop.
This is one of the tactics used by many company to make some extra money from people leaving them. Maybe some registrar also take part in such unethical practices. I am sure, you have registered the domain from a reseller, why dont you contact the registrar directly and file a complaint with them? Ani