What The F*** Is Going On With Tdnam/godaddy?

[Gerry]

Today I recieved a series of emails from TDNAM within 30 minutes of each other that raise serious suspicions of sales or serious improprieties after winning four different auctions recently. To get the full gist of the issue, please read all emails as well as my response.
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[email protected] wrote:

Your question has been received. You should expect a response within 24 hours.

This is your Incident ID: 1532282

Thanks,
GoDaddy.com
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Please do not reply to this email. Emails sent to this address will not be answered.
© 2007 GoDaddy.com. All rights reserved.

Our support staff has responded to your request, details of which are described below:

Discussion Notes
Support Staff Response
Dear (name),

Thank you for using The Domain Name Aftermarket (TDNAM). Unfortunately, FOSSIL.INFO and NEAR.INFO was listed as Expired Name Auctions in error. This transaction has been cancelled and you will be refunded for your payment. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Regards,
The Domain Name Aftermarket Team
[email protected]


If you need further assistance with this matter, please reply to this email or contact customer service at (480) 505-8877 and reference [Incident ID: 1532282].

Thanks,
GoDaddy.com
© 2007 GoDaddy.com. All rights reserved.
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My response to TDNAM/GoDaddy

How is it even REMOTELY possible for TDNAM, which is solely owned by GoDaddy, to list two expired domain names in "error"?

It is also VERY SUSPICIOUS being that I first get an email stating MY QUESTION HAS BEEN RECIEVED (incident 1532282) when an inquiry was never submitted by me which was timed at 113 pm. This was followed by a response in less than 30 minutes at 132 pm INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR SUPPORT REQUEST outlining that an error has been made. I do not believe for one minute that my account has been compromised but rather believe I that something else is going on and someone is attempting to cover up their actions at my expense.

Why is it just now coming to your attention, and then to my attention, more than a month after the domain name expired and was won by me in auction? According to WHOIS information, the new expiration date is December 1, 2007 which indicates that the previous expiration date in "error" was December 1, 2006. Who actually initiated the inquiry and where did the inquiry originate from? Was it internal?

As a whole owned entity of GoDaddy, TDNAM sole purpose of being is to auction off expired and expiring domain names of and for GoDaddy. It is impossible for me to imagine how an "error" like this could possibly occur.

Also on the same day, today, I received notification of two domains that I recently won were reclaimed by their owner. They are CMR.INFO and GGW.INFO which, remarkably, are owned by the same individual listed in the WHOIS database as the person who now owns FOSSIL.INFO and NEAR.INFO.

Yet, no such email was sent regarding FOSSIL.INFO and NEAR.INFO, which supposedly expired more than a month ago, was sent as a courtesy notification.

Surprisingly, the domain name is now registered to the same person as GGW.INFO and CMR.INFO. Even more surprisingly, the domain names are now in the possession of someone who has transferred them to the registrar service of MONIKER.

How is it even possible for GoDaddy to auction domain names that are at MONIKER when MONIKER has their own auction service, and to the best of my knowledge, a totally separate entity and with no affiliation to GoDaddy?

I think a further explanation other than "in error" is needed as this is a little more than a curious as to how this possibly could have happened.

To say that I have questions and suspicions as to how this happened or could even possibly happened is an understatement. I will be looking into this matter and bringing to the attention of sources from outside of GoDaddy/TDNAM as well as explore the possible legal avenues that I have regarding this "error".

Regards,

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This is so far fetched. My response was sent to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].

I have serious suspicions that there was some deal making going on after the close of the auctions, perhaps to a larger customer than I who gets preferential treatment. I realize that these are serious allegations. But when 1+1+1+1=3, then something is not adding up.

I have saved all the WHOIS information as it is currently registered should someone get the bright idea to make this info private.

Naturally, TDNAM/GoDaddy has refunded all the auction fees and registration fees associated with these four domain names but this is of little consequece under these circumstances.

Paranoid? No. An expired domain name is an expired domain name and it does not all of a sudden end up at another registrar with a new registrant more than a month after I won it at auction.

And the alledged letters sent and responded to by TDNAM today are purely bogus, especially when they are personally addressed to me and to the email that TDNAM has on file.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Devil Dog]

Sounds extremely fishy, I must say.

 

[Dave Zan]

Complain to Bob about it, maybe?

Maybe the domain names being at Moniker is the reason they've corrected the
error. Who knows?

Seriously there's really nothing you can do. They'll supposedly refund you per
the terms of their legal agreements, if they haven't yet.

If you want to make noises about it, then complain to the powers-that-be or
even the media. They won't necessarily bring you the desired results, though.

You forgot to cc it to president AT godaddy DOT com, by the way.

 

[Onward]

I had the exact same thing happen to me this is what I got from them:


Discussion Notes
Support Staff Response
Dear (Name),

Thank you for using The Domain Name Aftermarket (TDNAM). Unfortunately, PHOTOSAMPLE.COM was listed as an Expired Name Auction in error. This transaction has been cancelled and you have been refunded for the payment. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Regards,
The Domain Name Aftermarket Team
[email protected]

Sucks, but I figureed there was nothing I could do about it....

 

[Gerry]

I had the exact same thing happen to me this is what I got from them:Sucks, but I figureed there was nothing I could do about it....

How recent was this? They are trying to tell me that there were issues with the info registry.

Now what are they going to do? Say there was an issue with the .com registry.

Plus, since this post, there has now been 5 DOMAIN NAMES, ALL SUPPOSEDLY RECLAIMED, ALL BY THE SAME PERSON, ALL AT MONIKERS, two won not more than two days ago...all are .info domain names.

This has apparently gotten the attention of some of the bigger fish at TDNAM. If there was an issue with the .info registry, then it should not be just an issue with domain names I won. I would be a huge issue and problem and they should have a flood of complaints to come. There were quite a few I bid on and did not win.

Here is the latest response I got:---------------------------------------

(name), allow me to introduce myself. I'm (name), the original project manager and development manager for the TDNAM site. I'm copied on all emails sent to disputes at TDNAM.com.

I typically sit back and ensure issues are being processed correctly and don't get directly involved with customer issues. I know from your earlier emails that you are a very good customer of TDNAM and freely share your feedback to the team.

I'm troubled by the issues you raised in your emails today. I believe you understand the domain industry and how expirations\re-assignments work and how TDNAM is designed to work.

I will get my key staff and DBAs on your issues in the morning to research what happened and why.

Look for an update from me tomorrow.

Thanks for your candid feedback on how we are doing.
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In light of the potential seriousness of this issue (is it isolated or widespread? is it a problem with the .info registry) I will do my best to keep you all posted of the updates.

Complain to Bob about it, maybe?

Maybe the domain names being at Moniker is the reason they've corrected the
error. Who knows?

Seriously there's really nothing you can do. They'll supposedly refund you per
the terms of their legal agreements, if they haven't yet.

If you want to make noises about it, then complain to the powers-that-be or
even the media. They won't necessarily bring you the desired results, though.

You forgot to cc it to president AT godaddy DOT com, by the way.

The refunds have already come but now the total is up to five.

The first explaination was a problem with the .info registry. I will give them the benefit of the doubt. If that were the case, then it will be a mountain of complaints to come. But now we have another forum member claiming TDNAM sent him a similar letter stating a problem with the .com registry. One must really wonder where the problem is.

We're talking about only 5 that I won, there were many I did not win. None of the recent LLL.info are showing up in recent sales and many of them sold in the $500+/- range. It is no longer showing up as having been sold.

But there may have been other issues. Please see the the post above.

 

[Onward]

Yep...

This happened to me today with PhotoSample.com

Something is going on at TDNM.com. Sounds like a load of crap that it was the .info registry fault.

 

[NavySeals91]

Figures, major corporations take advantage of the people who find good stuff. There are two solutions, petition ICANN or start our own evil registrar corporation that does this crap.

 

[Gerry]

Figures, major corporations take advantage of the people who find good stuff. There are two solutions, petition ICANN or start our own evil registrar corporation that does this crap.

Sup, seal! Good to see ya!

The actual total now is up to 5, with the latest being ADDS.INFO. After the latest fiasco and emails, they are not brushing this off. There have also been others who have contacted me and reported similar episodes, even with a .com as posted in this thread. Something is going on and telling me it was a problem with the .info server is possible, but not probable. Otherwise, all the .info I bid on and won during this period would run a good chance of being taken and not just these few.

If it is a .info registry issue, then this is much more wide spread than just me and my 5 domains. If that is the case, TDNAM and GoDaddy better prepare themselves for an onslaught of pissed off and irate customers.

Two domains were just won and paid for on the 15th of January. How did they get to Moniker so quick? and if they were already with Moniker, how did they end up on GoDaddy's auction site? There may be a logical explanation.:flypig:

As you can see, they are all very good one word dictionary domains or three letter .info.

Going to let TDNAM do their own internal thing for the moment. I feel confident that this matter has caught the attention of the right eyes. In the meantime, I will be looking into it on some other angles.

Isn't domains supposed to be fun?

Aren't forums a blast?:approve:

 

[jasdon11]

Circa, I have had the same thing with soldiers.info, toes.info and popups.info - the difference being that they told me that the owner renewed. It is the same owner as for the names you bought.

Another twist is that they sucked the cash out of my Paypal account for these names along with some others - none of them were upto the 48 hour payment window - half weren't even 24 hours from purchase! You used to get a reminder 48 hours after the end of the auction, now they can 'rob' my bank!

When I complained I didn't get an apology. I told them to cancel the payment, pay for a couple of the names from one account and the rest from another, and they've even ballsed that up.

PM me if you have anything that you want to share / action you want to take etc.

 

[Gerry]

Circa, I have had the same thing with soldiers.info, toes.info and popups.info - the difference being that they told me that the owner renewed. It is the same owner as for the names you bought.

Another twist is that they sucked the cash out of my Paypal account for these names along with some others - none of them were upto the 48 hour payment window - half weren't even 24 hours from purchase! You used to get a reminder 48 hours after the end of the auction, now they can 'rob' my bank!

When I complained I didn't get an apology. I told them to cancel the payment, pay for a couple of the names from one account and the rest from another, and they've even ballsed that up.

PM me if you have anything that you want to share / action you want to take etc.

So, more comes to light.

I distinctly remember soldiers.info being on this past weekend as I thought long about going after that one. But I had so many bids on several LLL.info, a couple of which I got and a few which I did not get.

Three .infos were taken away from me...adds.info, near.info, fossil.info...with no message of any sort except the ever mysterious message today "in error".

The other two...CMR.INFO, GGW.INFO...I did get notice of the owner renewing.

But this gets back to the original bewildering and baffling question...if they were with Moniker, what were they doing on GoDaddy's auction? And if they were with GoDaddy, then how did they suddenly and rapidly get to Moniker?

Looks like you and I will have some collaborating to do. But I get the feeling we are not the only two dealing with this issue and more may come to light.

I am expecting an answer from the project and development manager tomorrow (see post number 5 in this thread).

Thank you for your input and you will definitely be included on any and all updates. I will also bring this matter to his attention. He may want to hear directly from you also so please have all your receipts, billings, winning notices (if still available), along with the renewal notices (taking the domain names away) and statements ready.

What started out today going back and forth with emails to account execs quickly got channelled up the heirarchy when someone realized that this was no fluke and well beyond the routine.

 

[gingeman]

Just another example of 'dodgy dealings' going on behind the scenes of the major registrars IMHO. It will keep happening until somebody can form a case to prsent to Icann. They say they are investigating at the moment, but I suspect they are using the time to concoct a semi-believable excuse to make you drop it. It must be frustrating, I wish you the best in getting to the bottom of the issue.

 

[Gerry]

I will go ahead and contact and alert ICANN.

Lets say there was an issue with the .info registry. My purchases were over a period of Jan 1-Jan 15.

If this guy is and was the rightful owner and his domains have been at Moniker all along, how did they end up on an expired list and how in the heck did they end up on GoDaddy's auction?

If I was that owner, I think I would be quite pissed and want some answers also.

Plus, if there was an issue with the .info registry, did that not put all of us and all of our .info domains at risk? Sounds like there may have been a breech in the security system that is supposed to protect our domains.

But, if none of the above happened, then GoDaddy/TDNAM have some serious explaining to do.

How can they auction off domain names that were not expired? How can they auction off domain names registered at another registrar? Why did it take so long to discover that they had commited an error? How many domains are involved? How many rightful owners? How many buyers? and how many other registrars were compromised?

So perhaps GoDaddy/TDNAM not only needs to provide clarification and an explanation to its members, but it appears that need to be providing ICANN and Moniker with some answers.

 

[JuniperPark]

PEOPLE!

They're just not detecting the outbound transfers, as fully explained 2 days ago here:

http://www.dnforum.com/showthread.php?t=203277&highlight=tdnam


(I posted this message to this thread yesterday but it was deleted somehow)

 

[Gerry]

Here is the official response and resolution from TDNAM regarding this issue:
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We have identified the issue with names being listed on TDNAM that are now registered through other registrars and have removed the names from TDNAM. We have refunded the purchase price on any domain that was purchased.

I apologize for this glitch and want to again thank you for bringing this to our attention.
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Wow! I feel much better now and I can rest assured that my several thousand domain names are safe and in good hands.

I have contacted Moniker to let them know what has transpired. I have also contacted ICANN (InterNIC) regarding this issue.

My days of buying and selling on TDNAM have come to a close.

My days of being a GoDaddy customer are also about to come to a close.

 

[JuniperPark]

You mentioned in PM that they charged you a penalty when you mistakenly listed a domain name and it was sold -- What was the amount, and do you have a direct quote? They DO owe us that money. I think the final tally is 19 domains I won have now been refunded.

 

[Gerry]

You mentioned in PM that they charged you a penalty when you mistakenly listed a domain name and it was sold -- What was the amount, and do you have a direct quote? They DO owe us that money. I think the final tally is 19 domains I won have now been refunded.

They would charge me 10 dollars for each mishap...a typo, a cancellation, etc. In other words, any damn mistake I made they would charge. When you have 300-500 domains listed, that can happen. Here is an example of that:

Label Name Attributes Unit
Price Today's
Price
Qty Extra
Disc.
Total
Price
8009-1 Administrative Fees TDNAM - 10 $10.00 $10.00 1 $.00 $10.00

Subtotal: $10.00
Shipping & Handling: $.00
Tax: $.00

Total (US Dollars): $10.00

Also this episode is posted on another thread in this forum and the owner of all the domain names in question has responded (at least the info domains I have listed)

http://www.dnforum.com/showthread.php?t=203510

Very nice of him to shed light on this whole fiasco.

And a very piss poor effort on the part of GoDaddy and TDNAM to clear this matter up.

But a massive stroking job on their part...

"I know from your earlier emails that you are a very good customer of TDNAM and freely share your feedback to the team."

don't stop...

"I believe you understand the domain industry and how expirations\re-assignments work and how TDNAM is designed to work."

that's it, that's the spot....

"I was trying to point out that I believe you know the industry and how it works. I believe you understand how expired auctions work at TDNAM. If you were not a credible domainer, I may not have reached out to you today."

harder, faster, deeper...

"...rather than letting this go though the normal escalation process and maybe taking a day or two, I wanted to jump in now because 6 emails in 1 day from a major customer concerns me."

Whew! I need a cold bath after that!:bathbaby:

I think the final tally is 19 domains I won have now been refunded.

19 is no laughing matter.

 

[italiandragon]

so....in simple words.....WHAT DID HAPPEN to those names listed on TDNAM ?

Cheers

 

[Gerry]

so....in simple words.....WHAT DID HAPPEN to those names listed on TDNAM ? Cheers

None were expired, none were at GoDaddy, nearly all were at Monikers (some at eNom and a couple of other registrars), none should have ever been listed as expired to begin with, this went on for several weeks, I and several others lost names we had won (no exact count) being that were never ours to win, the original and rightful owners have the names, TDNAM sent out bogus emails saying that the domains were "reclaimed" by the owners when the domains were never dropped, deleted or expired by the owners, I have recieved my money back, and I have recieved pathetic service, lip service (in print), a nice stroking, and a piss poor attempt to cover up their own internal screw up by saying it was a problem with the ".info registry".

This is not just my opinion as the same BS has been confirmed by several others on this forum and an additional forum as well as the actual owner of the domain names contacting me and even posting a response.

That is about as simple and clean as I can possibly put this TDNAM/GoDaddy fiasco that actually was allowed to go on for weeks.
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UPDATE: Not to beat a dead horse, but for those of you interested, you need to check out this post:

http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?p=1709080#post1709080

48 hours after assurances that the problem had been corrected, it is STILL GOING ON!

TDNAM STILL HAS DOMAINS LISTED AS EXPIRED THAT HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED NOT TO BE EXPIRED AND ARE SELLING AT AUCTION DOMAIN NAMES FROM OTHER REGISTRARS!