You may remember when we wrote about the shady dealings by the sneaky jerks over at Network Solutions.  For some time now, if you search with Network Solutions to see the availability of a domain name, the company registers it automatically and holds it for five days.  This means that you can’t buy it from anyone but them…for five days. 

There are a few problems with this.  First, Network Solutions is more expensive than most of their competitors.  So I should be able to search available domains at any of the registrar companies’ sites, and then choose to purchase said domain wherever I see fit.  But it’s not working that way over at Network Solutions.  They are the schoolyard bullies of the internet.  They steal your lunch and make you buy it back from them… at a premium.

Well, now they’re being sued for this shady practice.  And I think…well…it’s about time for this Network Solutions lawsuit to happen…maybe it’s even overdue. 

The lawfirm Kabateck Brown Kellner put out this press release announcing the suit.  From the release:

“Network Solutions has forced millions of people to buy Internet domain names from them instead of cheaper competitors through a scheme that’s netted the firm millions of dollars, a federal class action lawsuit filed today by Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP states.

Whenever someone searches for the availability of a domain name through Network Solutions’ website, the company immediately registers the name for itself, preventing other companies from selling it and forcing consumers to pay Network Solutions’ expensive fees.

If a consumer were to go to another, cheaper site to register the name, they would find the name is “unavailable.” Consumers are never informed that inquiring as to a name’s availability through Network Solutions results in the company holding a monopoly on selling that name.”

ICANN, the nonprofit that oversees domain name purchases, is also named in the suit because they aren’t doing anything to stop Network Solutions. 

Look, we said this before and we’re not afraid to say it again–until all our clients know to avoid the schoolyard bullies–don’t search for domain names through Network Solutions.  Oh, and also, don’t do business with them period.  Why would you want to after knowing this? 

Even if they reverse their policy, there are still plenty of reasons to avoid them.  Their domains are nearly four times as expensive, that’s been covered.  But they also have a difficult-to-navigate administrative control panel.  It’s hard to figure out how to do things with your domain, whereas the other registrars like Bulk Register make it intuitive and easy. 

And forget about transfering a domain name out of Network Solutions.  I mean, sure, it can be done.  But the second you change the domain status from ‘locked’ to ‘unlocked’, which is required before you can transfer it, Network Solutions puts the domain in a “transfer lock status”.  That’s right.  They take it out of “domain lock” only to put it in “transfer lock.”  Gee, thanks.  Then they hold the domain in stasis for 60 days just because you changed some of your administrative contact information or asked for the domain to be unlocked. 

As they did with the domain-stealing bit, Network Solutions claims that this “transfer lock status” is to protect you…and keep some hacker from logging in and stealing your domain without your knowledge.  But then why do none of the other registrars feel the need to do this?  I’ll tell you why.  Because they aren’t sneaky jerks and schoolyard bullies.  Network Solutions’ only reason for this transfer lock is so that you can have 60 more days to contemplate whether or not you really want to leave their service.  They’re hoping–I’m sure–that by the time 60 days have passed, that you’ll forget all about the fact that you even wanted to transfer the name in the first place. 

I’m not a mean guy.  I have no interest in bashing companies just for the sake of it–you can read through this blog and see that we rarely do that.  But there’s just so much going on at Network Solutions that we feel we need to warn our clients.  It seems they care WAY more about squeezing every dime out of you than they do about you.   And that’s what’s led to this Network Solutions lawsuit. 

For the record, we recommend you use Bulk Register, or GoDaddy, or just call us and we’ll take care of it for you.  But unless you enjoy forced overcharges and unnecessary hassles, don’t search for or buy a domain name through Network Solutions. 

While GoDaddy and Register.com have grown huge customer bases by offering cheap domain names, Network Solutions has steadfastly held to their more expensive pricing structure.  Now they found a way to keep you from buying from the cheaper guys, and a host of technology experts are crying “Foul.” 

Whenever you go to Network Solutions to search for domain names–to see if the name you want is available–the company now registers that name for themselves, immediately.  Then, let’s say you decide later to buy the domain you searched, only from one of the cheaper places.  You go there and search the name, only to be told that Network Solutions now owns it.  Nice.  We tested this, by the way, with several ridiculous domains we’d never want to own anyway….we typed them in the search box at Network Solutions, and were told the domains were available.  Then when we went to GoDaddy to buy them, we were told Network Solutions owned them. 

Jerks.

Sure, Network Solutions will still let you buy it…for the premium price…and only from them. 

It all hinges on a little protection clause that was built in to protect the big domain registrar companies from fraudulent purchases.  There is a five-day window before the registrar company has to pay for registered domain names.  That allows them to make sure you’re not using a stolen credit card before getting burned on the charges. 

But now Network Solutions wants to use that five-day waiting period to beat down the average user, and hold your preferred domain name hostage.  The company is, of course, claiming that they are looking out for you:

To thwart the efforts of these sneaky individuals, Network Solutions reserves unregistered domains for up to four days from the date they are searched on our Web site. This customer protection feature provides our customers the opportunity to register names at a later date without fear that the name will be registered by the “Front Runners.” If the domain you searched is available and one that you really want, we suggest that you register it immediately to ensure that you will not lose the name.

They’re saying that there are sneaky jerks out there who want to snatch up your domain before you have a chance, and that they are only registering your searched domain themselves to protect you from these sneaky jerks.  It’s the old “I’m stealing from you to keep someone else from stealing from you” argument that, to my knowledge, has never been proven logical.  By registering names as soon as they are searched, Network Solutions is engaging in the very act they say they’re protecting you against.  Sheesh.  It’s circular logic on acid! 

So to sum up, Network Solutions will steal your domain in the name of protecting you, and then will offer to sell it to you at a rate three times what you’d pay elsewhere.  Make no mistake: there are definitely some sneaky jerks out there waiting to steal your domain name, and you can call them Network Solutions.  Shady stuff.  If you want to search for available domain names, go to a reputable registrar, or just give us a call and we’ll search it for you.