Hi everyone,

I have a problem with transferring my domain, and I could use some advice.

I have been with a hosting company called IQthink for the past two years, and their service has been horrible. So I recently transferred my domain to bluehost, hoping to get better service.

Problem is, around the time i did that, IQthink stopped responding to emails and phone calls and now I cant even log in to my account (when i ask for a password reminder, it sends an email with gibberish).

So now I cant ask them for an EPP number or authorization code, and the whois for the domain is under the name of the company, not my name. Bluehost says they can't help me, IQthink are the only ones whao can release my domain. And the domain was renewed in march for a full year, so i'd have to wait 9 months before it expires.

Since i have no way of reaching IQthink, am i screwed? is there any way at all to transfer the domain without going through them? I really dont want to chose another URL for my site, all my clients already have this one.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

You're mssing some pieces to the puzzle. Did you cancel your hosting with IQthink? Did you owe them a balance? The Whois is under the name of what company? Was this a free domain name?

The domain (filmcan -DOT- net) was a paid domain name under Iqthink. I tried to contact their registrar, enom.com, and they said that since IQthink has put both the registered and administrative section of the domain under their name, unless I contact them (which i can't) they can't help me.

As far as canceling, since i cant reach IQthink, i didnt cancel, but I did stop paying a month ago.

MOD NOTE: Domain edited.

It doesn't look good for you, I'm afraid.

You really have four options.

1) Learn your lesson and never again register your domain name with your hosting provider.

2) Initiate a legal proceeding against the company and hope for the best.

3) Threaten to initiate a legal proceeding with a certified letter sent by a lawyer and hope for the best.

4) Offer to pay for the domain name and hope for the best.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Best of luck.

A lot of hoping in there, but webfreak08 is right - your odds are NOT good. Try sending them a letter canceling your services, while offering to pay your balance. How much is the domain name worth to you?

I emailed the company in hopes they can help you resolve the issue. I linked to this thread as well.
I believe your only chance is if the company assists you.

Let's hope proper people will do the right thing.

Thanks for all the help. I also sent them a certified snail mail with the points outlined above. hopefully they will reply.

I completely agree with this. Keep domain and hosting seperate to avoid problems. Plus most hosts arent even registrars, they are resellers so you are more likely to have more problems while most domain registrars are bigger companies (since there are high fixed costs with being a domain registrar) which usually means poorer services which is bad for hosting.

So I found a domain that i could buy instead of my old one (which seems to be lost forever). It looks like it's not being used either. But when i inquired about that domain I got a response from a brokerage firm (Proforma) which is asking m to place a bid of minimum $10,000 in order to purchase that domain. Are they crazy? There must be a cheaper way of buying a domain right?

If I understand you correctly, it looks like the domain you are inquiring about is registered and "parked" (pointed to a site with a bunch of ads).

In this case, the registrant is free to ask whatever s/he wants for the domain.

You might want to consider looking up domain names on a site like iwhois.com and see which are available. If they are available, you can register them from a reputable registrar like GoDaddy.

Thanks. I looked and could not find any domain I wanted. So going through a broker is always going to cost me $10,000, or are there ways to get a specific domain for cheaper?

Purchasing an existing registered domain is always more expensive - you know this from your search so far. How much is relative to the perceived value by the current owner.

Understood. But my question is, is 10,000 a realistic number, or are they throwing it out hoping I'll be naive enough to pay, but in reality the owner of the domain would be happy with, say, $500?

I agree with one point - I do think most throw out a number and hope someone is naive enough to just pay it. Don't know the avenue you're using - have you proposed $500.00? I know there's a domain I want, but the owner won't give me a selling price, rather wants me to bid on it. I've made multiple offers, only to be refused (not high enough) each time.