I hate to break it to you but no those letters are not made up. Verisign's
unethical practice is no secret, it's even been on the news. I also received
a letter from Dotster saying exactly the same thing. Those letters aren't
lies, Verisign is sleazy. Not sharing such information allows other people
to fall into the trap.

Kari
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Sellars" <Keith(at)webgraffix.com>
To: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 6:31 AM
Subject: Re: domain name renewal


> Shelby,
>
> I have not heard of Verisign doing this.  I have used Network Solutions
for
> years (which is now Verisign), and frankly, would be very surprised to
find
> that they were engaging in this practice.
>
> I also would discourage forwarding such emails to this list.  Emails such
as
> the one you quote are normally untrue and simply "made up".  Forwarding
such
> emails to a list such as those at hwg.org and is strictly regulated by the
> Guild, in most cases prohibited.  Public service announcements are
> prohibited from being posted to the list.
>
> Anyway, I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers.  It's just that their site
> (www.123cheapdomains.com) shows NO alert of any type regarding what you
> posted, therefore lending even more credence to my suspicion that this is
in
> fact a hoax.
>
> Thanks,
> Keith D Sellars
> WebGraffix
> www.webgraffix.com
>
> "Making database sites seem easy"
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cook, Shelby" <scook(at)equibase.com>
> To: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>
> Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 8:32 AM
> Subject: domain name renewal
>
>
> >
> > I got what looked like a bill the other day from Verisign which confused
> me
> > because my hosting company originally got me my name for free and it's
> only
> > been 7 months.  I thought perhaps that they were doing something screwy
> but
> > then a friend forwarded this email to me about Verisign.  Anyone else
know
> > anything more?
> > SC
> >
> >
> > --- "123cheapdomains.com" <help(at)123cheapdomains.com> wrote:
> > > Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 23:50:59 -0400
> > <snip>
> > > From: "123cheapdomains.com" <help(at)123cheapdomains.com>
> > > Reply-to: "123cheapdomains.com" <help(at)123cheapdomains.com>
> > > Subject: Important Announcement to 123cheapdomains.com customers
> > >
> > > This important notice has been sent to all 123cheapdomains.com
> > > customers.
> > > Please read it.
> > >
> > > Read more below and see how this notice may possibly help
> > > protect you against falling for a very recent domain related scam.
> > >
> > >
> > >    Network Solutions/Verisign has recently been involved in
> > > a predatory business practice where Verisign sends
> > > out misleading $29 renewal notices to customers who registered
> > > their domains elsewhere with competing domain registration companies.
> > > These notices were designed to look like actual billing statements.
> > >
> > >
> > >    A few customers of http://123cheapdomains.com who have
> > > never registered their domain name with Verisign received
> > > paper renewal notices via US postal mail.
> > > These $29 renewal notices were designed by Verisign to
> > > look so authentic that the letter were able to mislead some customers
> > > into thinking that the renewal notice is from their
> > > current domain registration company.
> > > Verisign forged the letters to look like a real billing statement.
> > > After customers unknowingly pay for the renewal, Verisign transfers
> > > the domain away from their current registration company
> > > without their knowledge.
> > >
> > >
> > > Note: These notices are designed to look like real billing
> > > statements,
> > > except that hidden on the very back of the letter,
> > > there will be in very small print that admits that they
> > > are not currently your domain registration company.
> > >
> > >
> > > Verisign's fine print on the back page reads:
> > >
> > >
> > > "By signing the reverse side of this form, you hereby authorize us to
> > > transfer the registration of your domain name(s)
> > > away from your CURRENT REGISTRAR to Verisign."
> > >
> > >
> > > If you have been deceived into transfering away your domain
> > > to Verisign and are angry about having to pay more for your renewals
> > > than you really needed to, you may have even contacted Verisign.
> > > But Verisign will tell you that they have not misrepresented anything
> > > and will tell you that you should have read fine print.
> > > Don't let them tell you this. They know this is wrong and so
> > > do you.
> > >
> > >
> > > This is definitely not fair for consumers to have to receive a
> > > "transfer away" agreement disguised as a billing notice,
> > > and what is even more compelling is that the
> > > consumer's domain name is not even with Verisign.
> > >
> > >
> > > As a analogy, lets pretend that you have an insurance policy from
> > > company AAAAAA. You like company AAAAAA because they are reliable and
> > > helpful.
> > > But then company ZZZZZZ sends you what looks
> > > like a renewal bill for an insurance policy. You sign off the
> > > bottom with your signature assuming that the renewal policy is from
> > > AAAAAA and but actually end up sending payment to ZZZZZZZ.
> > > Now your insurance policy has been switched to using ZZZZZZZ.
> > > Company ZZZZZZ will then try to convince you that it is legal because
> > > of their hidden fine print right after you complain.
> > > You know this is not legal but am trying to figure out what you
> > > can do about this.
> > >
> > > This tatic is almost similar to telephone slamming.
> > >
> > >
> > > Since the FTC will definitely have a problem against companies
> > > misleading consumers with renewal billing statements,
> > > the FTC might do something about this and investigate if they
> > > can get enough complaints.
> > >
> > >
> > > If you, or someone you know has been fooled by this
> > > billing misrepresentation, or have received this notice,
> > > you can do your part to stop this from happening to someone else.
> > >
> > >
> > > Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can be made at:
> > >
> > > https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
> > >
> > >
> > > Note: You can tell if your domain is with Verisign or not,
> > > simply by reading the back of their billing renewal notice.
> > > If it mentions a "transfer" anywhere on the notice, then you
> > > know that your domain is not with Versign,
> > > and the domain should not be renewed with them.
> > > It doesn't do you any good to renew with Verisign as
> > > as you will be paying $29/yr for domain renewals
> > > instead of our $13.95/yr price at 123cheapdomains.com.
> > >
> > >
> > > -------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >
> > > Note: 123cheapdomains.com will never send out paper renewal
> > > notices via Postal mail, so please don't be fooled by anything you
> > > get in the mail.
> > >
> > > We send out renewal notices via your email address listed on file,
> > > and the renewals are done from the http://123cheapdomains.com web
> > > site only.
> > >
> > > If you need to renew a domain name that is registered at
> > > 123cheapdomains.com,
> > > you can easily do it directly from the from 123cheapdomains.com
> > > website at:
> > >
> > >
> > https://www.123cheapdomains.com/domain-registration/manage-domains.html
> > >
> > > Just login and renew any domains you need.
> > > The renewal rate will never go up for you. It is just $13.95/yr as
> > > always.
> > >
> > >
> > > --------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Question: Where does 123cheapdomains.com send their renewal
> > >
> > > We only send email renew notices to the "administrative email
> > > contact"
> > > listed in your domains ownership record.
> > > This means that you need to keep your email current at:
> > >
> > >
> > https://www.123cheapdomains.com/domain-registration/manage-domains.html
> > >
> > >
> > > To see which email is listed in your administrative contact email,
> > > do a whois search for your domain at:
> > >
> > >
> > > http://123cheapdomains.com/check-status/whois.html
> > >
> > >
> > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Thank you for your continued support.
> > >
> > > We are working harder than ever these few months to make
> > > improvements.
> > >
> > >
> > >  Jonathan Lee
> > >  Tech Manager
> > >  website: http://123cheapdomains.com
> > >  phone:   1-415-682-3859
> > >  email:   help(at)123cheapdomains.com
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > http://taxes.yahoo.com/
> >
>
>

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