It’s always easy to register a new domain name. Registrars are always very eager to accept new domain registrations. Obviously…
Most online and other services with recurrent fees are well organized to sell their service, but are very silent about how to cancel. Think about banking services, investment accounts, telecom providers, web hosting, and yes also domain names. I would think that this is one of the topics where law and government should impose certain rules and obligations.
However transferring a domain name from one registrar to another registrar is another story.
First the registrar at which your precious domain name is registered doesn’t promote, of course, but in most cases doesn’t document how to transfer your domain name away from their service.
So, rather you can check at the registrar that will receive the domain registration. Here you have more chance to find some documentation on how to transfer a domain to their services.
Often you have to provide a so called Auth/EPP key (authorization key; EPP: Extensible Provisioning Protocol); that is with .org, .info, .biz, .us, .cn, .com.cn, .net.cn, .org.cn, .cn, .tw, .jp and .in domains.
So the next step is to get such a key code. But at the registrar of your domain, you often won’t find such a code, or find a menu in the console or panel of your registrar. Leaves you to contact their customer service; which is always a burden.
You have send a mail, or create a support ticket and wait. So I mailed the support; and waited. Soon I received an autoreply that my request would be handled ‘soon’.
Then got a couple of mails, “Your open administrative service case has been assigned to a case-administrator, ….”. Anyway, I got a final answer in a mail following after one more phone call; six days after my initial request.
Then proceed asap to enter the auth/EPP key in the domain transfer panel of the new registrar. So far so good, but again the transfer only takes place after the following checks.
First I got a mail from the new registrar, in which I had to click and confirm the transfer as domain contact or owner.
Then I got a mail from the old registrar’s domain registration robot, in which I had to opportunity to stop the transfer if I wished to do so. And had the option to still cancel the transfer within the coming 5 days. I got a number reminder mails of this possibility.
I understand that this is done to assure that the domain is not ‘stolen’ or accidentally transferred.
And then after that ‘wait’ period, after 11 days may domain was transfer to the new registrar.
So if you wish to transfer a domain plan it well in advance !
Also as occurred to me once, if you forget to transfer, or forget to renew your domain, it may get into a quarantaine status (like for a .be domain) and be locked in there for another 40 days while being inactive. The only way to get it out of this status is to paid an ‘extra’ or ‘penalty’ fee… not very nice. This is also organized for good reasons but can be annoying anyway.
Tags: hosting