This is How I lost my Domain Name at Epik.com

[Fadi H]

Hello everyone,

I've been closing my eyes on many things that I didn't like on Epik.com Registrar. But today is the final day and I'm transferring all my domains from there for a Never comeback.

So what happened is that I had a .CO domain hosted at Epik, Which Expired on December 11th 2021. I did not renew it or transfer it as I've been busy and thought I still have time as I know that .CO domains have a 40 day grace period and that's by the registry. And during that grace period domains are transferable and renewable.

Yesterday I logged in to my account and didn't find the domain, So I clicked the blue button and the support agent said that they will look into the matter and reach back to me later.

Today I received the following response :

"Hello Fadi,

The domain expired on December 11, 2021 and the grace renewal period is 15 days which means that the last day that you have to renew your domain was on December 26, 2021. Since renewal did not take place, and someone had a backorder on your domain, the backorder was fulfilled.

We may be able to get in contact with the new owner to help you get your domain back but you might need to provide your best offer so we can send it to our sales team.

Looking forward hearing from you. "

So I clicked back the blue button questioning about that backorder story and I got the following response :

"Thank you for patiently waiting. I have confirmed with our tech team that domain renewals of 40 day grace period is only applicable for domains without back order. You will only get 15 day grace period if there is a backorder for your domain."

But in fact if you visit Epik.com You will not find this backorder story anywhere on the site.

They referred to this link which doesn't help :

https://www.epik.com/support/faq/expired-registration-recovery-policy/

I'm not satisfied with their answers at all and this is the first time I hear of this 15 day back-order story and it's not even mentioned anywhere on the site.

You can see it clearly "After the discretionary grace period the customer's domain is deleted from their account. And deleted domains may be recoverable for up to a total of 69 days after the expiration date.

Where is the 15 day backorder story?

Your opinions matter, Do you think what they did is right?

 

[karmaco]

Also Epik sends multiple emails (like all registrars) as grace renewal approaches and a final warning when they are about to remove it from your account. You chose to ignore those emails apparently.

 

[Fadi H]

How many days over the 15 did you wait Is the question. After the grace renewal or at some point another person had a backorder for it.

The domain was Expired on Dec 11. They fulfilled the backorder on Dec 26 and I reached out to them regarding the matter yesterday.

They don’t hold it forever obviously.

Of course, Let me remind you what should happen after the 15-day grace period as to what's stated at Epik.

"After the discretionary grace period the customer’s domain is deleted from their account. In most cases, deleted domains may be recoverable for up to a total of 69 days after the expiration date. In the case, where the domain are still eligible to be recovered a restoration fee is assessed."

We are talking about 69 days After December 11th 2021.

As to what's stated at Epik, The scenario that should've happened is that the domain would get deleted from my account but still held at Epik and recoverable.

They've given the domain to someone else who placed a back-order, This process isn't mentioned anywhere and you may refer to their site.


https://www.epik.com/support/faq/expired-registration-recovery-policy/

the rest (backorder) is their business.

I think I've already answered this, And their business is also my business as a customer and this backorder process should be clearly stated on their terms. I've only heard of this through their email response that I received today and their live chat.

 

[Fadi H]

Also Epik sends multiple emails (like all registrars) as grace renewal approaches and a final warning when they are about to remove it from your account. You chose to ignore those emails apparently.

That's not the case, The issue that I'm pointing to is clear. And I don't find any good answer until this moment.

If it turns that I'm wrong, I will accept it and everyone moves on.

But my questions are still not answered, Why the domain is not held by Epik right now and they've given it to someone else who placed a backorder and why I'm not able to recover the domain even though It's stated on their site that domains can be recoverable for up to 69 days after the expiration. The domain only Expired on December 11.

Why nothing is mentioned about this backorder process after 15 days of the expiration?

What's stated is that after 15 days the domain will be deleted from my account not fully deleted and anyone can have their hands on it. What's stated is that the domain right now should be held by epik and RECOVERABLE.

 

[Daniel Owens]

I am not really a fan of the short 15 day grace period, but that apparently that is in their TOS.

To say they "stole" your domain though, is hyperbolic IMO.

Brad

Did you see what I saw too Mr. ford that it says, "in most cases" and that that doesn't mean it can be recovered 100% of the time?

 

[Fadi H]

If someone said I'll feed you most of the time, or I'd help you most of the time I would not assume 100%

Not the same.

I think godaddy would have let your recover for a little longer just slap you with a $69 recovery fee. If epik held domains for super long they would likely slap you with a fine too.

Yeah, But where's that? They smoothly gave the domain to someone else as they claim.

 

[Fadi H]

Just go to their live chat, simply tell them you missed renewal and you want it restored to your account to renew. They will restore it and you should renew immediately.

The domain have been given to someone else who placed a backorder.

 

[redemo]

Learn your lesson mate. Listen to @Daniel Owens he is a seasoned domain name investor of the highest calibre and one of the most respectworthy members in the history on Namepros. He doesn't fish for fun he fries them too in grade a fat. Renew your domain names on time. Move on.

 

[redemo]

but you surely got tons of emails saying to renew

@Daniel Owens that's the biggest story from this fishing trip. Renew your domain names or get fried.

 

[Daniel Owens]

I see the domain was cashout.co interesting domain, it's nice but nothing to lose sleep over, I personally would have contacted ROB (wait you did or maybe wait for reply) before posting this he is a good guy of high moral fiber and might have done something, it's a shame they can't issue you account credit for a different domain or something. However, I think it was more the OP fault than epik but that is my personal opinion and I still feel bad you lost it.

 

[redemo]

I told you not to write fishy thread titles. Eel be more humble next time.

 

[tiletalk]

I agree with this. You can't really stand by the terms of service when it comes to (15) days, then when there is a backorder just take the domain back after it was fulfilled. How is that fair to the party that played by the rules and backordered the domain?

Brad

hehe. in saying that all my domains are at EPIK as I like their simplicity and Rob has always stepped in and sorted things when aren't being sorted.

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Gross to admit you pee your pants in public forum. Hate to do your laundry

lol its funny how all em registrar stole.my name threads literally always end up making poster seem like.some clueless newbie amateur

or those dumbazz threads about registrars stealing people searched domains and registering them

I always pee my pants reading em

Yes registrars track your searches. Twice i searched a name at net sol searching for discount codes and phone rings, hi its net soil, we saw you had a name in the cart. hehe

that is exactly what I'm saying

if u think billion dollr company have nothing better to.do than sit around watch what u type into searchbar for a stupid 10$ handreg idea then well... i think u are overestimating yerself or underestimating registars hehe

Were a little off topic here, but the topic is off topic, as epik never stole his name.

Change title to
I didn’t renew my name in time, now i am feeding hungry orphans because i couldnt wait for Rob to reply.
Fadi, pay up, re buy, its a penalty, feed hungry kids and you get your name back.

 

[maya-zir]

what was the problem to put autorenewal to all valuable domains?

 

[tiletalk]

what was the problem to put autorenewal to all valuable domains?

Your card details weren't available

 

[maya-zir]

Your card details weren't available

very funny, but all valuable domains must be have activated the autorenewal option

 

[sharfab]

I didn't want to go over this yesterday as it's a matter with another user.

But what made me angry to go for a title like that is because when I've been communicating with the support they were pushing me to make an offer on the domain as the only solution available. And not explaining that backorder story or giving me good answers. I've already requested moderation to make some edits and change the title if possible, To keep this clean.

When Rob replied via email he said that the matter can be customized a bit, But what exactly can be customized if the domain is already sold to someone else? It can be customized if the domain is under Epik control. But if it's already sold to another user then it's totally up to them as the rightful owners of the domain.

The domain was not pending deletion, It just got expired less than 20 days ago and it's not easy for someone to spot it and place a backorder. But as of Epik, A backorder was placed and fulfilled on December 26.

Now If I'm mistaken and just didn't understand their policy, Things should stop here as the process was normal. My mistake and I just was late to renew, Right?

Rob chose to step in and take the domain from its new owner a few days after it was purchased as they claimed. Making a what's so called a "remedy" involving a donation and half of the proceeds to me so people like Daniel Owens can be impressed by the act of class and kindness. I'm not going to comment about the other user who backordered and won then lost the domain as it's not my business. But Rob doesn't own the domain, The normal process as of what the support said is that if a backorder is placed I only have 15 days to renew, And if no backorder is placed it could go up to 40 days. So now the domain should be either with its new owner as a backorder was placed and fulfilled, And if the backorder gets canceled the domain should be in the grace period.

Rob renews the domain, get it auctioned and decides what to do with the proceeds if a sale takes place. For what right?

Rob, I'm like bro...!!??

Last but not least, For me the domain is gone and Epik is gone. That's how the wind blew. And I'm not involved with that sale and not taking a penny, If I do it means that I'm satisfied, But to be honest my body can't handle the remedy.

Peace.

You brought up a interesting point about the backorder status. Since the backorder was canceled then all other actions relating to the domain name should be canceled which should in return render the domain name back to the original owner in a grace period mode. However I think this option may not occur in your favor because of your ranting and the accusation of theft. But since you acknowledged your error and apologized openly in the forum then I would still reach out to Rob and see what he can do for you. If my memory serves me correct, the person that places the domain name in the liquidate auction can set a minimum price which could allow you recovery of your domain name at a very low price. In this case it would be Epik that set the minimum price that the both of you agree on to make it workout for you to regain ownership of your domain name. imo.

 

[buydomainnames]

ICANN should apply same standard to protect domain owners, so any registrar / registry can't act like a domain owners or hide in their term and condtions to do whatever they want to registrants

Lets compare what happen today in several registrar

Registrar A : max 15 days to renew with normal price

Registrar B : max 30 days to renew with normal price

Registrar C : max 45 days , renew with normal price

Etc

Lets say icann force all registrar to give same periode to renew the domain names, there isnt case like this in the future.

 

[Mena]

Ironically this domain was an internal backorder - a domain that was marked to not drop.

If Fadi had been patient and replied in a civil way, he would have gotten the domain back for the cost of the renewal. However, in light of Fadi's approach that was not an option as it rewards thuggery. As I saw it, the charity auction was the next best alternative.

For those unaware, with the expiry stream on Epik, there are 3 paths:

1. The registrant can set the domain to go to NameLiquidate. The owner gets to keep 91% of the auction proceeds. It can be set to go there automatically as a portfolio setting here:

https://registrar.epik.com/account/portfolio-settings/

Show attachment 207094
That is possible up to do day 7 of expiry and then the auction runs 7 days.

2. The registrant can do nothing, and then after the grace period, Epik can elect to warehouse the expired domain. If the domain is not sold, often the former registrant can recover the domain for a $199 fee for up to 1 year. This is entirely at Epik's discretion but has saved many registrants over the years.

3. The registrant can do nothing and the domain will go to Daily Diamonds on the day last day of the expiry delete cycle. There is often good inventory there and the auction runs 24 hours but the registrant does not participate in the auction proceeds as Epik funds the renewal fee during this phase of grace period.

https://www.epik.com/buy/daily-diamonds

Hope that clarifies why the charity auction path was viable, and also why Fadi could have prevailed with just a bit of patience. The object lesson for everyone is to always try the nice guy approach. More generally, smile at the world, and the world smiles back.

I just emailed support about extending my grace period and they are saying it can't be done. I have domains expiring on the 12th of this month, funds for renewals will be available by month end. I need the grace period to be extended to the standard 35 days. Thank you.

 

[BrandEntrance.com]

It wasn't sexwithaguest was it? One of my all time favorite offerings here.

 

[Fadi H]

It said, "In most cases, deleted domains may be recoverable for up to a total of 69 days after the expiration date." So that really covers their behind, notice they say 'in most cases' it can be recoverable', well most does not mean 100% of the time. So that's the loophole for them is that they said "most", if they said always or 100% of the time then you'd have a leg to walk on but the term 'most' means most of the time. So you should have read carefully.

For me it still doesn't help. They should've stated clearly the different scenarios that could happen after their grace period is over. But they decided to show only one shiny scenario that the domain will be held by Epik for up to 69 days and can be recoverable.

It was a good name but I can afford to lose it. That was just my feedback and the end of journey at Epik. I'm happy tho that I shortlisted my list of registrars to a very few this year.

S/o for the "Legendary support" and goodluck for you guys.

 

[Daniel Owens]

Orite I stand back for that statement. But my questions are not yet answered.

If someone said I'll feed you most of the time, or I'd help you most of the time I would not assume 100% so really the verbiage was odd that you could get it back most of the time. I think godaddy would have let you recover for a little longer just slap you with a $69 recovery fee. If epik held domains for super long they would likely slap you with a fine too.

 

[karmaco]

How many days over the 15 did you wait Is the question. After the grace renewal or at some point another person had a backorder for it. They don’t hold it forever obviously.

Kinda like Keith above who is still pissed he didn’t get a domain from a late renewing registrant like you.

 

[Daniel Owens]

The domain have been given to someone else who placed a backorder.

I do have symphony for you but since you didn't know the rules of the game really nothing you can do. It should be a lesson learned it may seem unfair but it is what it is. Now if you stay at epik you know to renew on time. A better argument for not using epik would be the data breech a month ago where it's possible banking info was stolen. But yeah it does suck you lost domain. Sorry man.

 

[domainscot]

Must admit dont log into domain account every day maybe 3 days latest. sometimes some domains might be due for renewal. soon see that happening always renew the domains. To leave a domain for 10 or 14 days then blame the register its not there fault its your fault for the mistake. Can honestly say never had a problem with Epik always fond them to be proffessional If you need to speak to Rob he will answer your calls and questions.

We made choice after being with godaddy for many years to move domains away from them due to crazy prices they charging still moving last domains over to Epik as the domains come up for renewal.

NO one stole your name you messed up and forgot renew then blame osting firm learn the lesson sure you will not do that again.

 

[Rob Monster]

Quick comment here:

- Our policies are published and reasonable. We do have the ability to provide extended grace periods for most TLDs -- as much as 35 days. Usually the people who need that much grace period have larger issues which is why this is handled on a consultative basis.

- Earlier today, Fadi did also reach out to me for an intervention. I replied to him, while on vacation, within an hour and was working towards giving him a remedy that also positions him to succeed at Epik. Unfortunately, he chose not to wait for my reply and then posted a misguided post with a click-bait title. Pity.

- Unfortunately, in light of the inflammatory tone of this NamePros thread, restoring the domain is not going to be an option as we don't bow down to thuggery. That said, we do routinely provide a hand up, and even a hand out, to people in distress and who engage with humility rather than entitlement.

As for remedy, here is what we'll do. The domain backorder has been canceled. The domain is now in liquidation and anyone can bid for it:

http://nameliquidate.com/cashout.co

Half of the proceeds will go to Fadi. The other half will go to support orphans in Pakistan:

https://www.lifefunder.com/orphans

This is part of a larger empowerment project we have been incubating called Orphans.com. We are helping the orphanage to buy a new building.