I received notification from the Better Business Bureau today, that my complaint about Pool.com has been processed and delivered to Pool for an official response.
The company is now given 21 days to respond.
Unfortunately, that puts my domains managed by Pool.com registrars that are about to close down, in immediate harm’s way. I won’t be able to manage them, edit the DNS, or in the event of an offer, I won’t be able to sell or transfer them.
Pool.com support is adamant about pulling the plug on January 10th to those registrars under management they deemed unprofitable. They have not offered any solution, other than for me to “grin and bear it.”
On top of that, they blame ICANN for alleged inflexibility towards the Pool.com customers that are affected.
Meanwhile, Pool.com appears to be operating its drop-catching services still.
Regardless of the outcome, I am not going to be using, nor recommending Pool.com services to anyone. Consumer rights are of primary importance in the US.
I picked up a name recently from pool MoneyBoard.com if I lose it I will go spare! However I think it renewed at NameScout so I think it’s okay. I think I’m going to lose around seven names.
Sir,
You are doing right thing. Domainers need to complain Pool.com
To be honest, Pool.com is the worst company in 2012.
They are selling people domains and not paying on time.
They are paying after 3-4 months if you are lucky!
You can find many bad things regarding Pool.com, just Google it.
We are not buying domains from them any more.
Hi Acro,
I have not seen your BBB complaint yet and I have been trying to post a comment on Michaels site but have not received my account yet. A couple of points that you may not be aware of.
1. There is absoilutely no danger that anyone will lose their domain as a result of our shutting down registrars… full stop! It is in ICANNs mandate to make sure that does no happen.
2. There is an equally high likelihood that no one will even lose a second of being able to manage their domains, regardless of status, as a result of our shutting down registrars.
Here’s why.
When the official shut down date arrives, the registrars will simply no longer be able to “register” or “transfer in” names. That has no effect on exisisting inventory other than those that are in renewal-grace. Namescout will continue to provide management services for names including, for example, providing valid current authorization codes in the event the user wants to transfer away. Or pehaps the user wants to updated DNS, still possible.
This should be the case up until the time ICANN decides who will get the inventory. Once that decision is made, the actual transfer is conducted by the registry(ies) almost instantaneously. You might go to bed one night managing your name at Namescout only to wake up in the morning and have it at a new registrar, its that simple. The DNS should not change and so your website (if any) will continue to operate without interruption.
The new registrar will be given all of your whois data and will contact you with new credentials to access the new management interface. Again, your names are never in jeopardy. ICANN has also stated publicly that their preference is to transfer all the names to a single new registrar and so, if anything, management may become even easier. And, if you have ANY issues with the new registrar, whoever it is, please do not hesitate to contact me directly and we’ll do whatever we can to help.
I appreciate your frustration Acro, but the situation is nowhere near as grim as you suggest and as stated above we are here to make the transition as smooth and event -free as possible.
hello Richard – A copy of my complaint can be found at http://acro.net/blog/domains/my-bbb-complaint-against-pool-com/
While I appreciate the time you took to respond here, I believe that the way Pool managed the issue is unprofessional; if anything else, it defies common logic when a change of policies and procedures is introduced.
I never stated that I’m in jeopardy of losing my domains, but rather, losing the ability to control them at the current, Pool.com-controlled, registrar, for an unspecified period of time. There is no provision, nor warranty by Pool, regarding how soon and to what extent ICANN will step in to provide an adoptive registrar.
There is no excuse that Pool.com pulls the plug on those registrars, with domains under management that cannot be moved out. You did not account for those domains that were caught up to 60 days ago; those customers, myself included, are facing an amount of varied inconvenience and frustration. Certainly not the type of treatment a customer would expect to receive.
Again, as I explained here and to your customer support: Pool.com must freeze any and all action regarding the shutting down of registrars with domains under management that cannot be transferred out this very minute. Trust me, if I were able to move those domains out the very minute of your email notification, I would have done so.
It seems that Pool.com chose to play a game of politics with ICANN, instead of doing the right thing. In doing so, Pool.com is losing me as a customer of 8+ years. Was it worth this kind of thoughtless action?
Hi Acro,
I have posted elsewhere in your blog, the only key point I want to continue to emphasize is that you will not lose the ability to control your names. If, for example, your names were not locked at the registry, then your process for transferring away would be… contact Namescout, get your auth codes, submit your transfer through your registrar. On the other hand, once the names have been transferred to a new registrar your process for transferrinfg away would be… contact the new registrar, get your auth codes, submit your transfer through your registrar.
I appreciate that until ICANN makeas a decision there is some uncertainly as to who the new registrar will be, but I do not foresee any issue managing the inventory. In the interim, Namescout will still provide that interface.
If ICANN delays the selection of the new registrar, Namescout will continue to provide the management interface for the inventory. ICANN has no intention of creating a situation where names are in some “limbo status” and are not manageable. “Shutting down” in this context simply means the rgeistrars will not be able to add new registrations or renewals or allow names to be transferred in. Namescout will still, for example, provide access to auth codes and still allow updating of DNS.
Richard – Thank you for posting all this. Looking forward to ironing out this mess. If I had those answers in the initial email in the form of an FAQ, or from the Pool.com support, I would not have voiced my frustration so loudly. Again, your responses here are very much appreciated.
I’m in the same boat as you and believe me, I am NOT a pool.com fanboy.
But I do take exception wit the last sentence of your post.
Canadian businesses do respect customer’s rights, so it’s not just an “American” thing. Please do not lump all Canadians together because of the actions of one business
Andre – I have edited that statement out, thank you for the suggestion.
Case closed to my satisfaction and report updated: http://acro.net/blog/business/pool-com-resolves-domain-transition-to-my-satisfaction/