Menu
Login
Yahoo domains: read this before you register a domain name with Yahoo
Yahoo! has a service called Yahoo! Small Business that sells domain names at a very attractive price. If you think of registering a domain through them, read on. And maybe also have a look at what others say.
First Yahoo! is not an accredited domain registrar, but simply a reseller for the Australian domain registrar Melbourne IT. If you ever have a problem with you domain registration however, you'll have to deal with Yahoo!, and their support is appalling to an extent I have never met before. They consistently and repeatedly reply to emails with irrelevant pre-made messages: this did not happen to me once or twice, but about fifteen times.
Given my first experience with their support staff, I rushed to transfer my domain to another registrar as soon as the 60-day no-transfer period after registration was over. The transfer was systematically denied. Whenever I got a human to reply, their answer showed a striking ignorance of .com transfer procedures, replying with transfer requirement only applicable to other types of domains (.info, …).
After three days, I ended up calling them and I was told that they could not do anything and referred me to Melbourne IT. Emailing and calling Autralia several times, I was told that I had to deal with the reseller (Yahoo!) directly.
I don't know at this point if my transfer will finally go through, but I have already spent much more in international calls than even the most expensive domain registrar around (e.g. Network Solutions sell domains at USD35).
If you want a cheap domain registrar with capable support staff, I recommend, for having tested them for years:
If you only want the basic registration with no options (e.g. private registration), GoDaddy will do the job. But beware, these people are master marketers and they will try every trick to sell you additional products.
Gandi is a bit more expensive mostly owing to the low rate of USD, but their service includes at no extra cost features sold under "private registration" by some other registrars, allowing e.g. to hide your email address in the WHOIS database to avoid spam. They also include virtually unlimited email and web redirections.
I had registered a domain name with yahoo in 2005. i did a stupid thing by registering the domain name under my secondary-rarely-used-yahoo-id. I don't remember the password for this id or secret question's answer, date of birth etc, as most of the info typed while I created the secondary id was not real and I don't remember what I typed in.
I have the credit card information I used when i registered the domain.
I really want to get access back to the domain or transfer it to some other register. I am doing the rounds calling yahoo who say if I don't remember the secret question's answer or Date of birth, they can't help me.
Can anybody suggest the best approach to do this.
Is there a legal organization that overlooks scams like the YAHOO and MELBOURNE syndicate? After all if this happened in a grocery or other shop (You have to keep it and you have to keep paying me), the law would get involved.
Thank you again for your post. Same song and dance from Yahoo. I had 3 domains with Network Solutions was able to transfer them w/o hitch, I had one with Dotster, also transferred w/no problem. I'm thinking, wow, this is easy...Then my two YAHOO domains: 1) Their customer service people are downright condescending 2) They told me "just wait a few days and try again..." 3) Why is it so hard for them to get an auth. code when everyone else plays fair?
ps. My domains other domains are safely parked w/godaddy who i like a lot better already.
I had the exact same experience. I will never do any type of web business through Yahoo. All of their services are AWFUL. I have made several complaints to officials re: Melbourne IT as well. They should not be a certified registrar.
Posted by: Tania | February 14, 2007 09:24 AM
YAHOO DOMAIN IS ATROCIOUS! I registered a domain name and decided to cancel it within 24 hours. After I got confirmation for cancellation, I only found my credit card to be charged with the domain name fee. In addition, the domain name is still registered under my name and not available for the public. Better yet, I have no access to the domain until it expires! GREAT! When I emailed domain-tech at yahoo, my email never got through. I received an email from mail delivery subsystem says that [protected]@yahoo-inc.com has permanent fatal errors! Why is Yahoo domain still in business?
I am also having problems with a domain transfer from Yahoo/Melbourne. The thing is I want to keep my Yahoo hosting account (Yes I'm crazy). When Yahoo thought up this scheme they didn't realize that some people would actually want to keep their hosting services under but a different registar. I guess we can see what they thought about their own ability to provide a decent service.
I freaking hate Yahoo! Business with a passion! I am a web designer, and my client registered his domain with Yahoo! before he brought me on board. We've been trying to transfer it over for several weeks, and 1) you can't get a hold of these people easily, 2) they don't know what they're doing, and 3) they are really starting to irritate me! Ahhh! I'm glad I'm not the only one who's having trouble with them. :)
I had a nightmare with Yahoo. Transferring a .org domain is even more difficult because registrars require that you provide an "auth info" code.
Yahoo's customer service people were willing to take us half way (cancel our yahoo account so that the domain / email no longer functioned) but then bailed, backtracked, and left us in the ditch.
As you can imagine, Yahoo claimed Melbourne IT should give us the auth code, Melbourne claimed they only release it to Yahoo and that Yahoo was aware of this. 10 emails, 20+ calls, and 30+ days later, I called Yahoo with one of many case numbers and flat our refused to hang up until they provided me with the authorization code:
Finally, the Yahoo rep was able to provide me with a "registry key" that matches my .org domain at Melbourne. With that, I could login and retreive the authorization info code to allow the transfer of the domain name to my new registrar.
Unfortunately, I found that after 30 days of complete Yahoo incompetence and mis-informaiton, the only way to handle it was to take off the gloves: call a lie a lie, refuse to be pushed into the Yahoo/Melbourne revolving door, submit a compliant with ICANN, and post these messages.
Yahoo's marketing scheme is to (1) offer easy, inexpensive process to sign up for a domain, (2) charge high yearly fees with low service / functionality, (3) use unfair business practices to prevent customers from moving to a better service.
If anyone starts the class action against Yahoo!, sign me up!
hurrrrrrrrrrray! I was just registering my domain at yahoo, i went to the order page, was just going to input my credit card info and thought of checking out issues regarding yahoo. Thanks a lot for this post and helpful comments out here.
I am in the process of transferring right now, my yahoo domain (.com) to GoDaddy. GoDaddy's customer service is good .. not excellent but good ... however i am at the stage of Yahoo replying to GoDaddy to finish the domain trasnfer.
However, worst than yahoo is 1and1 web hosting. Their customer service reps are terrible. Their customer service reps are terrible and treat the customers badly. I would never recommend 1and1.com service to anyone.
I just got off the phone with them trying to get a refund for my automatic domain renewal. They totally charged me on the first of this month even though I registered on the 13th of last year. Of course they didn't give it to me because they have their evil terms and conditions, i can't believe that they don't even bother to send an email reminder, that is just pure evil business. I would never recommend them to anyone for any service, I make websites for living and I used to recommend their hosting service to my clients but never again.
If anyone here knows what I can do further to damage their reputation please let me know I am all for it!
I'm also dealing with a Yahoo problem of a slightly different nature.
While the .org domain was registered through over a month ago, any lookup (via Internic whois or other sources) on the domain says it is not registered. If you query MelbourneIT, they say it is.
After a month, I would expect data sets to be synced. But the whole world cannot see the domain/website because nobody but MelbourneIT knows it's been registered for over a month.
(An interesting side effect is that other registrars continue to show the domain being available for purchase, which would surely confuse who ever bought it second and was later rejected retroactively. Figure out that mess!)
I totally agree. I have been in the domain business for ages. When you look at threads like this on yahoo domains:
http://www.domainsocial.com/showthread.php?t=92
you totally realise that they have MANY problems, and that MANY people have been experiencing them. It seems ridiculous to offer relatively high renewal prices and low introductory prices.. any customer looking for cheap domains is just going to be upset over time.
I too have discovered Yahoo’s abysmal procedures and support. My Small Business .org website has been down for 6 days already with 404 error! And finding the correct information for transferring your .org domain away from Yahoo is a nightmare.
Here’s what I’ve done so far:
First you should change your Yahoo name servers to point to your new ISP’s name servers. This is not required, just recommended.
Second, you must cancel your Yahoo account. You can do this on your Yahoo control panel. You must do this before you can get your registry key and/or authorization code.
Then you have to call Yahoo about 4 hours later and tell them to release the domain name to MelbourneIT. At that point, Yahoo will send you an email with your domain registry key.
Then you can login into MelbourneIT using your domain name and registry key. But there’s no menu choice to obtain an authorization key automatically or to initiate an transfer, so you still have to send an email to [protected]@ melbourneit.com.au or open a support case. ###!
I am this step right now, don’t know what the results will be yet.
All I can say is, Yahoo Small Business and MelbourneIT are the worst I’ve encountered.
If have booked a domain at $2, 99 then beware... Their terms & condition clearly states domain is non transferable which I’m sure is an illegal condition from yahoo. Also be aware of the fact that all domain name will be automatically renewed (at a higher price of course) on or before 30th June 2006 even if it were to be booked on 29th June 2006 (at least that’s what they mean I suppose). In case you have booked more than one domain name at this rate then you are a defaulter as it stated you are only eligible to book 1 domain at this price. Very true...you only get what you pay. If you are wise cancel your domain, cancel your credit card & renew the same name when available with some honorable guys on the net.
Yahoo Terms & condition cut n pasted for your info:
(1 Domain registration discount offer is open to new customers who purchase a Yahoo! Domain and applies only to the first year. Domains discount fee offer expires on and must be redeemed prior to 6/30/2006. Domains discount fee offers expire without notice. All offers are open to new Yahoo! Small Business customers only, and are only available through Yahoo! Small Business. Customers are limited to one Offer per customer on a single account for customer's own purchase only and is non-transferable, and may not be combined with other offers and discounts, exchanged or redeemed for cash. Other terms and conditions apply; see the Yahoo! Small Business Terms of Service when you sign up. Yahoo! expressly reserves the right to change the price or features of these services in its sole discretion at any time.)
I too am experiencing the joys of my registered domain with Yahoo. I am trying to transfer the domain to DreamHost (and the have been wonderful in trying to help me). Now I find out that Yahoo isn't so great when it comes to this.
Dave, what GoDoddy needs is the email address of the registrant, not the address of the registrar or technical contact. So you need to give them your address (i.e. admin contact for your domain).
JMR: In your response to Ali, you mentioned that it simply needs to be unlocked. My domain is unlocked, and I tried to initiate a transfer to GoDaddy. Nothing happened. GoDaddy needs the email address of the current registrant to initiate the transfer; I gave them "domain.[protected]@yahoo-inc.com", from my WHOIS record. This didn't seem to work. Any ideas on what I should be trying?
Ali,
You mentioned both Yahoo domains and Yahoo web hosting. If you only want to change your hosting, you don't need to change your registrar, and conversely. That being said, the procedure to change registrar depends on the extension of the domain (.com, .org., net, .info, etc). For a .com, all you should have to do is unlock your domain in Yahoo domains console and initiate the transfer with the new domain registrar.
i'm also facing the same thing that due to their 3rd classes services, i'm trying to change registrar so can hire another hosting company.
can you pls help out?
Tim, could you contact me at dave [at] truly crazy .com ... I would like to find out what to do to get my domain away from Yahoo/Melbourne IT.
Have you tried to call Melbourne IT directly? Because an easy reply from Yahoo in California will be to blame Melbourne IT, in Australia.
Also, the ICANN accredited registrar is Melbourne IT, not Yahoo, who is just acting as a reseller.
Yahoo Domains & MelbourneIT still won't tell me the AUTH code for my .org. They don't reply at all. I have contaced a lawyer in California and am putting together a case (small) I don't want money I just want the code!
Howdy,
I'm experiencing the same problem as well. Could you please email me and let me know how this turned out? I think we need to publicize Yahoo's appalling behavior to warn people against registering domains with them.
You have to cancel your account with yahoo, and then ask them to release your domain to Melbourne. You might want to set up an account with Melbourne first. It's stupid as they already control your domain. But once you set up that account you can request your auth code. Be prepared to do this more than once and hopefully you will finally get the right one. If you need more help email me. I am extreamly pissed at both Yahoo and Melbourne and will be glad to help you get away from them.
I'm trying to transfer a .org to another registrar, but Yahoo won't tell me the authorization code. They just don't reply to emails. Even though I've unlocked the domain I can't transfer without the code.
I reinitiated the transfer after a few days and it finally went through.
Posted by: JMR | January 10, 2006 09:17 PM
How did you resolve the transfer with yahoo.com? I'm working on the same problem.
I had the exact same problem!
I had the exact same problem. After Yahoo jacked their rates (again), I decided to park my domain with GoDaddy, who I use for my other domains. At my wits end, and armed with the info I found here, I called Yahoo customer service for the authorization code. The extremely condescending "help" center person informed me that Yahoo isn't the domain name holder. I said, "I'll bet it's Melbourne IT" and the CS Rep, very surprised that I knew that, agreed. He then informed me that I'd have to go through my account with Melbourne IT. I explained that, since Yahoo sold me the account, they were the ones who set it up -- it wasn't as if I went to Melbourne IT to register, then said, "Hey, why don't I set this up with Yahoo?" I demanded that he continue to assist me. I'll note at this point that, had I not had this info, I believe he would have given me Melbourne IT's overseas phone number and hurried me off the line.
After going back and forth for awhile, he walked me through "retrieving my lost codes" (as if I had lost them?) on Melbourne IT's site. Well, wouldn't you know that the error message it threw basically informed me that I needed to contact my reseller? Since I was still on the phone with my reseller, I informed him that he needed to assist me and read the message to him. In his most condescending, should-be-fired voice, he then told me that Yahoo was no longer my reseller (WHAT?) and that I needed to work directly with Melbourne IT. I informed him that he should note my intent to file a complaint with ICANN, at which time he wished me a nice day.
I've since opened a ticket with Melbourne IT, who appears to have some experience with Yahoo, based on their help files / contact us section. The response I received (very quickly) seems automated, but basically said to call the reseller up --"Please contact this reseller using the details below for any assistance you require. If the person you contact refers you back to us, ask them if they would please contact us on your behalf." They closed the ticket I had opened, but gave instructions for reopening. I responded to the message and asked them to reopen the ticket, since Yahoo basically told me to stick it. If I don't hear from them within 48 hours, I'll try again, as the email also suggests.
I will never host with Yahoo again, and highly recommend that if you're thinking of hosting with them for your business, to instead investigate ANYONE else. Anyone at all. They are overpriced, have terrible customer service, and will probably soon be owned by Microsoft anyway.
yahoo won't release my domain, they referred me to melbourne it ltd. yahoo is playing the song and dance. i'll never do business with yahoo we all know they're losing business lake crazy i totally hope they fail and finally sell out to a good honest company. or they completely desappear from the face of the earth.
I have same problem with this mother ###er company Yahoo, I cudnt transfer my domain to registar. I am really fedup abt thsi. Pleas help me to destroy yahoo mother ###ers...
I wanted to ask if a domain name was associated with a yahoo merchant solutions account and yahoo deactivated the merchant solutions account. Would I be able to transfer that domain to another registrar. If so, what would be the process.
Please let me know.
Thanks.
I lost two domains because Yahoo never "responded to the verification email." Support will not deal with my issue. I truly hate this company!
Hi everyone!
Thanks for posting this Complaint!
I have faced exactly this same situation with Yahoo.
They called a 350% increase on my Domain renewal, and took away the money without my consent.
Actually my situation was even worst,
because, after I transferred my Domain Name to another registrar, I was still charged by Yahoo (1 month later), for a service they were NOT providing me!
You can check out the Article I wrote over at my Blog:
http://yahoo-fraud.epsilonx5.com/?p=1
I think we need to bring more publicity to this issue.
I won’t sit back and be quiet about it.
I’m suppressed that so little people did anything about it.
Thanks again for this post,
-Andrew
MELBOURNE IT is the WORST. DO NOT REGISTER ANY DOMAIN NAME WITH THEM. When I registered my domain name 5 years ago with them, they did not have the option to make the domain private. I don't think it was even widely available at the time so I understand that. My personal info was never released anyways so I was fine with it. Somehow 2 months ago, they release ALL MY PERSONAL INFO on the web. You would think that they would have contact their customers first offering the option to make the domain private but they didn't so now all my info is available online and even though i made it private since then, my personal address is still available for everyone to see in teh description content of a search result under my name. I don't know how to remove that. Google does not seem to pick up the upated private info.
Melbourne IT has the WORST customer service I have ever experienced in 40 years of dealing with people. When I tried to have a domain that had been with them for two years, (originally set-up through Microsoft Live), transferred to another registrar, they not only did not allow the transfer, they locked the domain and placed it in a "pendingDelete" status. I now cannot transfer my domain, I cannot log into my account, I cannot log into myDomain manager and of course they do not respond to any attempts at contact.
If I had my way, this company would be closed down, it's board of directors shot and each employee tarred and feathered. No wait, that's too kind... Giant fire-ants would be more suitable...
Today I sepnt 8 hours trying to transfer my domain away from Melbourne IT. I'm even not done.
If you cancel your agreement with Microsoft Live, and you used them to register your domain, be prepared to enter Dante's EIGHTH level of hell trying to get your domain. You will be presented with security codes and confusing emails and procedures.
You can log in to the MelbourneIT site, change your hosting domains, change your MX records, and do everything else to screw up a domain, but god forbid you want to transfer your domain from inside there. That has to be done with endless emails and codes.
The Cones of Silence will make sense after dealing with this nightmare.
I find it ironic that a product like Microsoft Live, which is designed to increase productivity, would have you come to an IT standstill playing Cyber-Twister with Austrailia.
Stay away from Microsoft Live. I pitty anyone who has an account with them.
Melb IT,
I am totally lost for words now,
i am so fcking angry,
They definitly saw me coming,
They took my money first then
They took 4 months to create a 6 page website with numerous mistakes,
They gave me some sort of cust service initially & i think i know everyone
who works there as i have spoken to someone different everytime.
They told me i could do this and do that to my site, great
until you try to actually do the edits, its a kids program for 3yr olds
& designed by 4yr olds, what a load of effing rubbish.
They somehow changed the domain address to my server and everything went
into lullaby land, all google programs lost their link so went into pause mode.
amongst other things that also lost the plot because of.
Took me about 7 days to actually see there was a problem,
don't want to think how much $s has cost me in lost income,
They then told me there was nothing wrong, i had to point them
at the problem and zone them in,
I could go on & on & on re the total lack of respect to the client shown
by MELB IT .
Seriously how can this company be allowed to operate.
I will be persueing them further, as this does come down to principle
& yes i know about moving on from certain things, but errr not this time.
People need to unite and stand against businesses like MELB IT.
Any takers?.
P.S so much for being lost for words, lol
Melbourne IT: Is it going bankrupt?
Is there anything worse that can happen to someone running e-business than having your domain registrar totally screw up your business? Well, maybe not, but having your business totally wrecked and your life turned on its head by a bunch of incompetents is enough – you really don’t need or want it to get any worse than that.
MELBOURNE IT – the domain registrar that I use should state clearly on their advertising blurb that “their online success as a support for your business can be counted upon to cause havoc, diminish your profits, wreck your customer relationships and utterly ruin your business as a going concern". If you want to lose money, customers, business, your domain name, your e-mail accounts and all your e-mails...in fact ALL your services; get a domain name with them. If you have competitors you can recommend MELBOURNE IT to them. They won’t be your competitors for long.
It is worth speculating on why this dreadful state of affairs has arisen. Perhaps it is not too much of stretch of the imagination to suggest that the reason that Melbourne IT is not taking care of its customers is because it is about to go bankrupt? If this is so; what will happen then? What will happen to all of the domain name registrants that have parted with money and trusted in the professional standing and competence of Melbourne IT?
Are there other registrars that should be avoided? Perhaps you know of others that will also totally demolish your business, or reduce it to a pile of smouldering rubble through their professional incompetence?
If you too know of a company that other cyber-businesses should avoid, then please let me know so that they can be added to this list. A list that so far only has MELBOURNE IT on it. I am sure that there must be others.
The World’s Worst Domain registrars:
1. Melbourne IT
Same problem as everyone else. BEWARE if you are creating a Small Business Website through MICROSOFT SMALL BUSINESS ... THEY USE MELBOURNE IT TOO. As you all know, MELBOURNE IT does not respond to emails or phone calls and they do not allow you to verify the transfer of the domain to anyone. They allow five days to elapse before they think about allowing the transfer.
We were very unsatisfied with the service made by MELBOURNEIT.COM.AU now am really happy to say our host is unlimitedgb.com
Dudes,
You need to learn how to do domain transfer properly. After you remove the domain from your account with an ISP like Officelive, for example, then you go to Melbourne IT and create an account. After that go to manage domains in your new account at Melbourne IT and add a domain. This is where you provide the Domain Registry Key and add your domain to your new account with Melbourne IT. After that you can unlock it, change the name servers to your new ISP, and then from your new ISP addit to your account with the ISP. Then you go back to your account with Melbourne IT and lock it. I know it sounds confusing but this is how it works. You have to learn how to do it and then you'll be good to go. Creating complaints because you don't understand the process of domain transfer just makes you look dumb to people who know how to do it. No offense. None intended.
Oh and if you don't have your DRK for some reason, ask your ISP for it. After they confirm that you are the legal owner of the domain, they will provide it. It's that simple.
I mean ask Melbourne IT for the DRK if you don't have it. Your ISP cannot provide that to you after you remove your domain from your account with them in preparation to move it to a new ISP.
Melbourne IT are a complete shower of [censored]
They have taken our site offline. Our website is our sole source of income, if the situation persist for another 2 weeks we will become bankrupt and out of business.
They don't listen, they ignore emails, avoid them at all costs.
Hi, I am a bit confused and I need help.
Our problem is that we are a small business and our web provider ditched us. We are having difficulty pinning him down. We realized that the domain is under his name! He registered it under Yahoo! When we asked Yahoo how to get this transferred it seemed rather complicated and involved our webdesigner to get involved in a major way which he can't seem to commit to. I checked and Melbourne IT are their official registrar so I called them. They suggested I get the Registry Key from Yahoo and then Go Direct with melbourne IT. Then they could help us transfer the domain name within their system and that it was a simple process. Is this true? Any advice?
Hi,
I had only one domain with Melbourne IT and it really made me cry! I was shocked to see that a domain was $35.50! What on earth does this domain have in addition? Soon I wanted to transfer this domain away to another registrar...My GOD my spent almost 5 hours to find how to manage the domain! I had to email them to get the password of the domain and then find how to manage and finally transfer the domain! Why do they make it so complicated? Really frustrated and its pathetic!
ADVISE : NEVER, NEVER register with them...you will waste your valuable time and money!
The text, Das Testament alls Anon Nerve in which Max Ernest Keenan evidence compiled for the period [protected] fifteen authors briefly noted because the Bible is of extraordinary importance to the subject of the text Maier. This chapter examines the scholars Maier, systematic, and two historians of the Church with the states. Speaking of the exegetes of recherche a canon within the canon, Maier Astrakhan present the position of 'we must reject the evidence of primitive scripture supposed to be able to prove the legitimacy of a Christian dogmatic statement quoting Bible verses one. He also refuses to let any academic force in the barrel of the gun on him. amongst the real canyon produced from many elements at work in the religious life plus the absolute and exclusive methodological canyon in the canon.
MelbourneIT are very clearly a criminal organization. Try anything to avoid them getting ever control of any of your intellectual property! I am so angry with what they did with domains I own that I do not have calm to even describe the whole issue. Good on the good people who warned the society of scammy gangs like that.
I cant beleive what web central [owners melbourne it] and melbourne it are able to get away with.Normally quite articulate I will need a theasuarus to adequetely describe how dishonest, incompetent and frustrating they are.A truly shocking experience.The good thing is that I now truly appreciate the service godaddy provides.It is sad but I have arrived at the un fortunate reality that Ausatralia has no chance at scoring any points at all in the it world.Donald Horne was right and is still right.We are the 'lucky country' blessed by endless mining riches and distance geographically from the rest of the world.It is enterprises like melbourne it and webcentral that clearly show how lazy, inept, incompetent, dumb, dishonest, greedy and slimy much of corporate Australia is.Please melbourne it read this posting and be true to your ignorance and pathetic small mindedness [commercially] and take legal proceedings against me for libel...but then again you would proberly be blessed by coming before one of our eminent neponistic, gender preferance, political appointee judges.Australia is the best place to live but forget trying to compete if you are going to patronise companies like melbourne it.Bad product, bvad prices, no 24 hour service, bad training, bad ethics, bad everything!
Impossible to email or contact MelbourneIT about illegal domain transfer blocking.
Here are some useful emails to send lots of complaints to.
The Managing Director has just resigned. But these next two are useful to receive your compliants
Chief Financial Officer email: Peter.Findlay@melbourneit.com.au
Chief Information Officer email: Guye.Engel@melbourneit.com.au
Good luck and keep sending them your complaints. They are senior management after all.
Melbourne IT has the worst customer service I have ever come across in my entire life. Avoid them at all costs. They are now holding my domain name hostage and trying to increase the fee for retrieval. First is was $155 and it would take 3 days. Now 5 days later it is $310 after several emails and telephone calls. Worst company ever.