GoDaddy charges $80 after SPAM complain. Domain not used to send emails.

[rfurdzik]

Hello,

Somebody has complained to GoDaddy that one of the domains CancunBeachGolf.com we have with GoDaddy has been used in Unsolicited Sales email.

This is the second attempt by GoDaddy to collect money. The first attempt was defended by us it was shown that another domain in question had previous owners. We had to actually show GoDaddy link to DomainTools website as it was initially rejected that the domain had previous owners.

GoDaddy Offered the following actions for CancunBeachGolf.com:
1) Clear the situation and present server logs (subscription to newsletter) and pay the fee of $150 USD
2) Transfer the domain to another registrar for a fee of $79
If the actions above will not be met within 24 hours we would basically loose CancunBeachGolf.com

This is actually the second attempt by GoDaddy (within last few days) as the first one was defended by us by showing previous owners of domain were engaged in spam.
This does not seem like a fair business practice and we would like to know what righs domainer has in the situation like this. Can we complain to ICANN?

It can happen to you as well as anybody can go to GoDaddy website and file SPAM complain against your domain and provide some email as a "proof".

Please advise on the best possible options here. Below are Email communications we have received from GoDaddy:

1) Original Email with a complain and possible actions
Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for contacting Go Daddy's Spam and Abuse Department.

Go Daddy defines spam as a mailing sent to recipients, as an advertisement or otherwise, without first obtaining prior confirmed consent from the recipients before sending the mailing in question. Prior consent must be given to you directly from the recipients of your mailing for the specific domain name that you are advertising.

Go Daddy does not consider consent to be transferable. For example, simply purchasing, renting, or leasing an "opt-in" list from another company does not constitute proof of opt-in or prior consent. If you or another company are sending mailings advertising your domain name or website to individuals that have not requested this information from you directly, it is our opinion that you are spamming these individuals.

You can view Go Daddy's Anti-Spam policy by clicking on the "Anti-Spam Policy" link located on Go Daddy's "Legal Agreement" page. Click the following link to access Go Daddy's "Legal Agreements" page: https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/agreements.asp.

----- Provide Proof Of Prior Consent -----
Go Daddy has a strict anti-spam policy, Go Daddy customers are required to be able to provide conclusive proof of prior consent for any individual they send advertisements to. This also applies to the actions of any party that generates traffic on your behalf. This includes, but is not limited to, 3rd party marketers, business partners, employees, mailing list providers and affiliates.

We have supplied an example address from a complaint in order to allow you to investigate the situation and show proof of prior consent to receive your mailings. Proof of prior consent can be provided by supplying the information outlined below.

1. Provide server logs showing when the complainant connected to your site and subscribed, opted-in, or consented to receive marketing information from your organization. This information must include the following:

•Time/Date of opt-in/subscription/consent.
•IP address of the web server the complainant used to connect to your site.
•Referral URL.
2. Provide a detailed explanation of how the example email address was obtained, provide a copy of any confirmation messages, complete with header information, that this individual sent to you when they consented to receive marketing information from your company.

3. In addition to the information outlined above, please forward all contact information you have for this individual along with any other relevant information that you feel supports your claim of prior consent.

-----
We will then investigate the validity of the information that you provide. The complainant located at the example email address may be contacted to verify and/or confirm any contact information or subscription details. If the information you provide checks out, we can probably consider this a situation where this person has forgotten they opted-in.

The address is: [email protected] , a copy of the offending email message has been included at the end of this message to assist you in your investigation.

•PLEASE NOTE you must reply with the requested information within 48 hours, failure to do so may lead to actions such as the suspension or cancellation of your service.

Here is a copy of the offending email message:

From: "Domain One" <[email protected]>
Subject: CancunBeachGolf.com is available
To: "htomc42" <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 23:27:53 +0700

To whom this may concern:
We wanted to bring to your attention that CancunBeachGolf.com is avai=
lable for sale. Please contact me with any questions you have regardin=
g this sale.
Best Regards,
Rafal Furdzik
DomainsHeat.com
Brooklyn, New York
Phone Number: +1-877-945-2291 (toll free)
Email: [email protected]

I have acquired your email address from the contact information listed=
for your site. You are not on our mailing list nor will your email be=
given to any 3rd party. Thank you for your time and consideration. If=
you do not wish to receive anymore emails from us, please reply to th=
is message with "REMOVE" in the subject.

2) Email we have received after we stated that CancunBeachGolf.com domain was not used to send SPAM email by us. In fact the email did not orgininate from the domain in question, but the domain was mentioned as being "for sale" in the email GoDaddy cited
Dear Rafal,

If you are not able to give us the opt in information we have requested, this places you in violation of your registration agreement and Go Daddy's anti-spam policy.

More information on Go Daddy's Anti-Spam policy can be found at https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/no_spam.asp

Go Daddy has a strict anti-spam policy, as the registrant of CancunBeachGolf.com you are ultimately responsible for the use of your domain name, any email mail advertisement that is driving traffic to, or creating revenue for, your website or domain name is your responsibility. This also applies to the actions of any party generating this traffic or revenue on your behalf. This includes, but is not limited to, 3rd party marketers, business partners, mailing list providers and affiliates.

Please keep in mind that it is not our intention to cause anyone's business to suffer and we do appreciate you cooperating with us on this matter. Because of your cooperation and willingness to resolve this issue thus far, your services have not been interrupted, but this situation remains unresolved.

We present to you the following solution to resolve this issue:

First, reply to [email protected] with a statement that you (or your employees, affiliates, 3rd party marketers, etc.) will no longer send messages to individuals that did not ask to receive information specifically from your domain name.

Second, include in this statement authorization for GoDaddy.com to charge a $199 non-refundable administration fee to the credit card on file for your account (you may want to log into your Go Daddy account and confirm that the card on file is valid and has not expired).

Go Daddy believes this solution to be a fair one that will ensure that you will correct the problem on your end, and prevent any future violations of Go Daddy's Anti-Spam policy. Additionally your services are not interrupted and your customers and affiliates are not inconvenienced. If you reply with this statement and agree to pay this fee, Go Daddy will accept this, in good faith, as proof of your commitment to correct this problem. If not, your domain name may be immediately redirected and your service suspended.

Please be aware that Go Daddy will continue to monitor this situation. If in the future it is determined that this problem persists, your domain name may be immediately redirected. We do realize additional complaints resulting from this mailing may come in and we will of course consider this, and contact you before taking any action.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,

Spam and Abuse Department
GoDaddy.com

24/7 Abuse Department Hotline: 480-624-2505
ARID 1024

3) Email we have received from GoDaddy after we have stated that the domain CancunBeachGolf.com was not engaged in sending SPAM:

Dear Rafal,

If the options outlined in our previous message are not agreeable to you, or you are unable to comply to these terms, you will need to transfer your domain name to another registrar.

If you choose to transfer the domain name to another registrar, we first require that you pay a $75 administration fee before your domain name can be transferred. This fee is used to cover the costs of responding to or "cleaning up" the outstanding spam complaints Go Daddy has received regarding your domain name.

You will need to provide the following in your reply:

1. A statement that you will initiate the transfer of your domain name to a new registrar within the next 24 hours.

2. Authorization for GoDaddy.com to charge a $75 administration fee to the credit card on file for your account (you may want to log into your Go Daddy account and confirm that the card on file is valid and has not expired).

-----
Sincerely,
Spam and Abuse Department
GoDaddy.com

24/7 Abuse Department Hotline: 480-624-2505
ARID 1024

4) My response:
Dear GoDaddy,

You have citied:

"We have received complaints that you are involved in sending unsolicited email messages for/from the following domain(s):
CancunBeachGolf.com"

As you can see in the email you have provided to us, domain CancunBeachGolf.com was not involved in sending unsolicited email messages for/from. The domain was mentioned in the email in question as being "for sale". The email DID NOT originate from CancunBeachGolf.com.

As such, since the email was not sent from CancunBeachGolf.com, it was not involed in sending unsolicited email and there is no violation of customer agreements, the case should be dropped.

Example:

"Some party wants to sell CNN.com by sending sells emails. Should CNN.com domain owner be responsible for emails being sent not from CNN.com domain?"

Please let me know. Thanks,

Rafal

 

[VirtualT]

Hello,
Second, include in this statement authorization for GoDaddy.com to charge a $199 non-refundable administration fee to the credit card on file for your account (you may want to log into your Go Daddy account and confirm that the card on file is valid and has not expired).

Go Daddy believes this solution to be a fair one

ROFL, serves you right for using CrapDaddy

 

[Fearless]

ROFL, serves you right for using CrapDaddy

Agree

 

[rfurdzik]

Whatvis ROFL??

---------- Post added at 08:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:08 AM ----------

Also if you are a potential investor and can help to move my 2000 domains to another registrar and you are interested in revenue share, let's talk.

 

[Fearless]

Whatvis ROFL??

rolling on the floor laughing

 

[katherine]

Did you send that spam unsolicited mail offering the domain name for sale or not ?

It's not that particular domain name that is being targeted, it's you as a godaddy customer, because the ultimate person responsible is the sender, and not the domain.

 

[silentg]

the email that the spam was sent from is associated with your domain(s). I just checked a domain (Tibetshirt(.)com) that is listed for sale on your domainsheat website. And contact email is same as the email used to send spam. Pay the fine and move on.

 

[Tia Wood]

http://www.dnforum.com/f206/need-transfer-2000-domains-asap-thread-441012.html#post1959093

 

[Gerry]

Did you send out unsolicited emails to sell a domain name?

 

[dmyre]

How does GoDaddy have any right to fine someone for an email that was sent from a hotmail account?
That is ridiculous....

 

[Gerry]

It clearly shows that GoDaddy is trying to receive some compensation for defending your butt for spamming.

Why would any of this surprise you???

You may have privacy on your DomainsHeat.com sales site.

But look were it is registered and held?

ICANN Registrar:GODADDY.COM, INC.Created:2010-06-02Expires:2011-06-02Updated:2010-06-03

Irregardless of which domain (email) you used to send the spam, the domain your are trying to sell is at GoDaddy, the sales site listed is on GoDaddy, and you are clearly using GoDaddy as an accomplice in the spamming.

So what if the email used to send the email was not CancunBeachGulf.com. Clearly, the abuse comes from people contacting GoDaddy about the email, not the email source.

You need to carefully read GD reason and violations (especially using 3rd parties).

Not sure why you are hung up on the "from" part of the "for/from". Clearly this was spam "for" the domain which is held at GoDaddy.

Thanks for presenting this. I know now how to go about reporting spam sources not only to the service provider but also to the registrar.

 

[piero0074u]

I received a similar letter from GDaddy, telling me to pay $199.

And yes I have sent emails contacting end users to buy my domains. But I don't think that I am the only one doing this. I think there are thousands of domainers that send emails to end users promoting their domains.

So can anyone explain to me how are domainers contacting end users and their email is not considered as spam?

Thanks

 

[Gerry]

spam is spam, in any form.

I don't understand what is so difficult to understand this.

Do people honestly think that because you are a "domainer" you have the right to contact what you perceive as "end users"?

And you want every one to believe you only sent out one email?

If you have a car for sale, do you send an email to every potential car buyer?

Seriously...do you think because you are a domainer you are exempt from every TOS or law enacted and passed to protect consumers from spammers?

 

[draggar]

How does GoDaddy have any right to fine someone for an email that was sent from a hotmail account?
That is ridiculous....

What if that's the email address they have registered (or one of them) with GoDaddy?

But if the spam is coming from a non-GD host, who are they to enforce it? That needs to be taken up with the email service.

 

[piero0074u]

spam is spam, in any form.

I don't understand what is so difficult to understand this.

Do people honestly think that because you are a "domainer" you have the right to contact what you perceive as "end users"?

And you want every one to believe you only sent out one email?

If you have a car for sale, do you send an email to every potential car buyer?

Seriously...do you think because you are a domainer you are exempt from every TOS or law enacted and passed to protect consumers from spammers?

But what is wrong if you have a car for sale and contact potential buyers of your car by email on an email address that they are showing on a website as a contact address. If you phone them or send them a mail in my opinion you are doing the same thing.

Lets say for example I have UsedCars dot com and I want to contact by email the owner of BuyUsedCars dot com, what am I doing wrong in advertising my domain to him by email, which for sure this domain will be an advantage for his online business. I am not contacting unrelated businesses to promote my domains, I am only contacting potential end users that will benefit from acquiring this domain and most important is the fact that they are exposing their email addresses to contact them.

Thanks

 

[Gerry]

Look up the definition of spam, look up GoDaddy's TOS regarding spam, and answers these questions yourself.

Obviously, you are trying to justify your use of sending unsolicited emails.

You are not going to accept my explanation or anyone else's.

Do you think you are exempt from sending unsolicited email (spam) because you are a domainer trying to sell a domain?

Time to educate yourself rather than being spoon fed every little piece of information.

 

[David G]

Diito. Agree, I get those emails all the time, lately even from a registrar who retained an expired .com (probably because they assumed I would want it) and emailed me over and over again offering it for sale since I owned the .org. Very annoying and definately spam.

spam is spam, in any form.

I don't understand what is so difficult to understand this.

Do people honestly think that because you are a "domainer" you have the right to contact what you perceive as "end users"?

And you want every one to believe you only sent out one email?

If you have a car for sale, do you send an email to every potential car buyer?

Seriously...do you think because you are a domainer you are exempt from every TOS or law enacted and passed to protect consumers from spammers?

 

[katherine]

Irregardless of which domain (email) you used to send the spam, the domain your are trying to sell is at GoDaddy, the sales site listed is on GoDaddy, and you are clearly using GoDaddy as an accomplice in the spamming.

The buck stops here :approve:

 

[thinkingsmall]

If you look beyond the immediate issue that OP is presenting, isn't also true that ANYONE can take down ANY OF YOUR DOMAINS, by the very simple task of signing up for a free yahoo account and sending out a dozen emails offering your domain for sale? And what if you have invested $100000 in that domain?

You are defending something fundamentally wrong and unjust.. you are like some bloody talibanist defending whatever the mullah told him to defend.

Imagine sometimes that you are not the robot that you are, and imagine you are human, and try to think and reason like a human.. it may prove to be an enlightening experience for you.. you may even get off on that...

bloody robotbrain..

Look up the definition of spam, look up GoDaddy's TOS regarding spam, and answers these questions yourself.

Obviously, you are trying to justify your use of sending unsolicited emails.

You are not going to accept my explanation or anyone else's.

Do you think you are exempt from sending unsolicited email (spam) because you are a domainer trying to sell a domain?

Time to educate yourself rather than being spoon fed every little piece of information.

 

[katherine]

When I receive spam I have the following options:

• report the spam to the ISP: they have the right to take action since their network was used to deliver the spam
• the registrar of the domain for the infringing E-mail address: they provide the tool (domain name) that is used for spamming
• the webhost of the domain for the infringing E-mail address: they provide the mailbox storage for the domain name and host the website, if any

All have the power and duty to address the issue.

Last but not least, where is the object of the 'crime' located.
Let's consider another example: you spam to promote a website with affiliate links. If I report your actions to the affiliate manager your account will most likely jeopardized.

It's no different here.

The thing that I don't like with godaddy is that they are trying to make money on the 'incidents', yet they are well-known for this.