Serious Domain Problem - Need Advice

[Mutt]

I bought a site a couple of years ago, the domain name was and is registered through a company called VizaWeb http://www.vizaweb.com - you can see that the website looks like it hasn't been touched since 2002. I received a renewal notice over a month ago, those must be automated, I paid for the renewal through Paypal. The domain hasn't been renewed, the registration still says UN-PAID. Nobody is replying on their ticket system, they're not answering emails, and when I called their toll-free number it was a phonesex line.

wtf do i do? what happens when a domain registrar just walks away? their admin is bare bones, there's no information, no links to anything where I could transfer the domain from them.

[Webmaster Advertising]

Is the domain locked? If not, try transferring it to another registrar...

[BlackCrayon]

judging by the registrar info for vizaweb.com, they could be a directi reseller. you should try contacting directi if the registrar for your domain says something similar to "DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM"

[L-Pink]

Thats why I use Go-Daddy. If they fuck up I can go to a NASCAR track and bitch slap Danica Patrick.

[Fat Panda]

maybe ill sign up for their affiliate program

[woj]

"when I called their toll-free number it was a phonesex line."

[kazymjir]

Do you have auth_info? Move the domain to other provider.

Originally Posted by woj

"when I called their toll-free number it was a phonesex line."

lol

[wehateporn]

Unlock your domain and move away, if you paid by Paypal make sure you reverse the payments. I wasn't sure if they were shady or just lazy, so was concerned that if I tried to leave they would attempt to steal my domain, they didn't though. They're mostly lazy, you'll be lucky if you ever get another response out of them.

They do this all the time, I've complained about them as have many at a high level, but looks like they're still going for now.

[Mutt]

Originally Posted by wehateporn

Unlock your domain and move away, if you paid by Paypal make sure you reverse the payments. I wasn't sure if they were shady or just lazy, so was concerned that if I tried to leave they would attempt to steal my domain, they didn't though. They're mostly lazy, you'll be lucky if you ever get another response out of them.

They do this all the time, I've complained about them as have many at a high level, but looks like they're still going for now.

so u had domains at VizaWeb? So how did you do the domain transfer without an auth code from them?

[nickutis]

I would file a complaint with ICANN and hope that they can help

[ShoeBox]

why the fuck would you buy a domain with a page like that

[wehateporn]

Try to unlock first, if you can't then here's procedure to follow

Copy and Paste job below...

Trying to leave VizaWeb and don’t know how? Here’s how

The time came to renew my domain name so I started the usual process. I went into my account page for my registrar (VizaWeb) and was going to go through the tedious process of renewing through PayPal. I get to the appropriate domain name, try to renew and whatdoyaknow: it’s locked.

O.k., that’s all fine and dandy. It’s locked. So, I go through the procedure of unlocking the domain, click the appropriate buttons, and bam…still locked. Thinking I’m a bit of a meat head, I try to unlock again…still locked. I scratch my head and (try to) contact support.

This is where it gets messy. I emailed support about 3 times over the course of 3 weeks and didn’t receive a response. Finally, I tried phoning their tech support line, only to find that the phone is disconnected.

Crap. That’s not good. That’s not good at all.

Well, apparently this isn’t an entirely uncommon situation for VizaWeb. Just Google them and see what comes up. It’s ugly.

So, I resolved that I was going to get to the bottom of this rather than whining about possibly losing my domains. And I figured it out. After a few hours of phone calls and web searches, I figured it out. Sooo…for those of you who have gotten this far, this is what you do:

Navigate to publicdomainregistry.com and fill out the form to submit a Support Request. Apparently, PDR is the parent of VizaWeb. I was a little apprehensive at seeing another form, but these guys got back to me within a few hours. Here is the email I submitted to them:

Hello,

I’ve tried to renew my domain name at what I thought was my current host (VizaWeb), but all my domain names are locked. My current host is not responding to any of my communications. My attempts by phone turned up a disconnected phone number, and have never gotten any reply to my attempts via email. I’ve made some calls and have found that my domain names are somehow linked to public domain registry.

Please let me know what the next steps are to unlock/renew/transfer my domain names away from Vizaweb.

Thank you for your time,
James Holmes

Within a few hours, they unlocked my domains so I could transfer out of VizaWeb. I can now say that all my domains are safely transferred out of VizaWeb and I’m much more relaxed for it.

So, if you want to get out, get a hold of these guys, they made it quick and painless.

[wehateporn]

Originally Posted by ShoeBox

why the fuck would you buy a domain with a page like that

Newbies, that's what I was back in early 2007, there were some fake recommendations around for them too which caught me out

[Mutt]

Originally Posted by ShoeBox

why the fuck would you buy a domain with a page like that

i didn't, i said i bought the site a couple of years ago. it's an old site, old domain.

[Mutt]

Originally Posted by wehateporn

Try to unlock first, if you can't then here's procedure to follow

Copy and Paste job below...

Trying to leave VizaWeb and don?t know how? Here?s how

The time came to renew my domain name so I started the usual process. I went into my account page for my registrar (VizaWeb) and was going to go through the tedious process of renewing through PayPal. I get to the appropriate domain name, try to renew and whatdoyaknow: it?s locked.

O.k., that?s all fine and dandy. It?s locked. So, I go through the procedure of unlocking the domain, click the appropriate buttons, and bam?still locked. Thinking I?m a bit of a meat head, I try to unlock again?still locked. I scratch my head and (try to) contact support.

This is where it gets messy. I emailed support about 3 times over the course of 3 weeks and didn?t receive a response. Finally, I tried phoning their tech support line, only to find that the phone is disconnected.

Crap. That?s not good. That?s not good at all.

Well, apparently this isn?t an entirely uncommon situation for VizaWeb. Just Google them and see what comes up. It?s ugly.

So, I resolved that I was going to get to the bottom of this rather than whining about possibly losing my domains. And I figured it out. After a few hours of phone calls and web searches, I figured it out. Sooo?for those of you who have gotten this far, this is what you do:

Navigate to publicdomainregistry.com and fill out the form to submit a Support Request. Apparently, PDR is the parent of VizaWeb. I was a little apprehensive at seeing another form, but these guys got back to me within a few hours. Here is the email I submitted to them:

Hello,

I?ve tried to renew my domain name at what I thought was my current host (VizaWeb), but all my domain names are locked. My current host is not responding to any of my communications. My attempts by phone turned up a disconnected phone number, and have never gotten any reply to my attempts via email. I?ve made some calls and have found that my domain names are somehow linked to public domain registry.

Please let me know what the next steps are to unlock/renew/transfer my domain names away from Vizaweb.

Thank you for your time,
James Holmes

Within a few hours, they unlocked my domains so I could transfer out of VizaWeb. I can now say that all my domains are safely transferred out of VizaWeb and I?m much more relaxed for it.

So, if you want to get out, get a hold of these guys, they made it quick and painless.

thanks for the info

[Vapid - BANNED FOR LIFE]

Lift off

[livexxx]

and make sure all your domains are on snapnames too just in case you forget some

[cybermike]

Looks like your site is down domain expired.. good luck

[topsiteking]

"when I called their toll-free number it was a phonesex line."
I would have RAGED!
WTF

[Penny24Seven]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Thats why I use Go-Daddy. If they fuck up I can go to a NASCAR track and bitch slap Danica Patrick.

hahah a fucking great,

[acctman]

call up GoDaddy tell them your situation and that you want to transfer the domain to them. They'll handle it for you.

A lot of people hate Godaddy for what ever reason but all these small resellers will screw you over faster and hold you domain hostage long before Godaddy would. Plus being able to call up and get a real support team to talk to and not some person that will hangup on you and no longer take you calls is something i wouldn't want to give up.

I had 40 domains held by a small cheap domain company (domainnamesystems). the owner would not allow me to move all my domains and he said I abused there support by calling all the time request for epp codes. I went to godaddy and they handled it.

[TwinCities]

Originally Posted by acctman

call up GoDaddy tell them your situation and that you want to transfer the domain to them. They'll handle it for you.

A lot of people hate Godaddy for what ever reason but all these small resellers will screw you over faster and hold you domain hostage long before Godaddy would. Plus being able to call up and get a real support team to talk to and not some person that will hangup on you and no longer take you calls is something i wouldn't want to give up.

I had 40 domains held by a small cheap domain company (domainnamesystems). the owner would not allow me to move all my domains and he said I abused there support by calling all the time request for epp codes. I went to godaddy and they handled it.

People use these small time domain resellers to save $1 per domain. Actually, they use them for the same reason they use Webair, because they don't know any better.

Actually, I have used GoDaddy for years and never had a problem.

[fitzmulti]

Originally Posted by TwinCities

People use these small time domain resellers to save $1 per domain. Actually, they use them for the same reason they use Webair, because they don't know any better.

Actually, I have used GoDaddy for years and never had a problem.

I agree 100%!

[GAMEFINEST]

This happen to me at one of the shitty registrars, I kept emailing them every fucking day, til they responded, when they did respond, they emailed me the auth code and it was gone, thank god.

[Barry-xlovecam]

Originally Posted by nickutis

I would file a complaint with ICANN and hope that they can help

Yep -- shit flows downhill

Email them a copy too ...

[Matt 26z]

They are not an ICANN accredited registrar, so there is still hope.

http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/pro...html?loc=en_US

As has been mentioned, Directi appears to be who they are reselling for. You'll definitely want to contact them.

If you look at directi.com/products , I'm guessing VizaWeb is using ResellerClub.com. Start there.

[Mutt]

Directi = PublicDomainRegistry and so far they have been no help, giving me the runaround. Which is maddening because a google search reveals VizaWeb has been a horror show for years and PDR has had plenty of complaints about them.