Complaints have been registered with .au Domain Administration (auDA) concerning the practices of Perth-based organisation URegister.
The domain name watchdog has already been contacted by more than 10 registrants in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney raising concerns over a letter from URegister claiming to be a renewal notice and asking for $125. A complete picture of where the letter has been distributed is not yet available. auDA said the letter, headed "Commercial Domain Protection Advice”, was a solicitation for business, contained inaccuracies and breached the .au Domain Name Suppliers’ Code of Practice.
The letter also claimed URegister had applied with an accredited registrar but auDA has confirmed that the organisation is not an appointed reseller of any accredited registrar.
Recipients are under no obligation to respond.
Furthermore, auDA said URegister could not renew a domain name until 90 days before it was due to expire and advised people to be wary of paying URegister for renewal at an earlier time. Anybody unsure of when a domain name was due to expire should contact their existing registrar.
Anybody who suspected they had been misled into renewing a domain name through URegister or any other organisation was advised to contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
