SEO Company trying to sell client their domain name

An SEO company registered a domain name for my client. He canceled his service with them - they were charging for local SEO - emphasizing google maps - even though he uses a PO box (can't have a maps listing).

They explained they owned the design of the website and wanted a large sum of money for the website and domain name. I showed them the site and explained he paid someone else to design the website.

They still want mid $XXX to release the domain name.

The domain name is hiscompanyname.com. I was hoping his web designer had registered the domain - which she says she did but doesn't have any paperwork/emails regarding it. Domain tools also shows only one register in their history - the SEO company he was using.

Should he sue them for cybersquatting? Can they legally charge him for the domain name? Can they register the domain name for his company name, and then "lease" it to him on a monthly basis - or would they have had to register it on his behalf? The company had their lawyer call me but he didn't know the difference between a domain name and seemed to think everything was fine if we had control over the sites content (because controlling the site content meant we controlled the domain to him)

 

This seems to be a break down in negotiations and is something that your client should have already thought about when taking out the service that they offered, failing to do that when it is something as serious as your business is shocking in my opinion.

Did you client sign a contract with the other provider? Were there any emails exchanged in relation to the domain?

Although without all the facts, it seems that the provider, unless otherwise stated in a conversation that can be proved between the two parties was held in relation to the domain, they own the domain and what they plan to do with it is completely up to them.

I guess that your client is lucky that they gave him the site content at all, i have heard stories of others that have not got anything back and have had to start over completely, although if they leave the site in action, you would have to re-create the site in terms of the written content.

Getting a domain back through the legal courts can be costly and time consuming, they would be better buying a new domain and targetting the terms that they are looking to compete for with a solid SEO campaign.

 

If you have control of the contents, I would just get a new domain name and do a permanent redirect of the current domain name. All the benefit will follow to the new domain name and then, you can just drop the old one.

The SEO company may have a right to keep the domain but it will be useless to them as they can't effectively use it for any purpose.

Of course, if they have control of the domain, then you do not really have control of anything at all since they can just point it somewhere else and then they control the name and content.

The company's attorney seems clueless about this and that is a bad thing. If you want to PM me some details I can see if I can give you more options.