The domain registry of America are scammers. With that bold statement out of the way, here’s why. They send out advertising that is deceptive and complicated. They prey on new users who have stepped into the world of domain names and webhosting in the hope that people fall into their little trap and pay them money. Here’s what one of their “letters” look like (click for bigger).

I’m not the only one who has a complaint with their deceptive letters. There’s plenty of examples by searching in Google.
Why I’d want to move away from my current registrar is beyond me. I pay about £8 a year for the domain they’re trying to get me to move, when they’d charge £18. Then there’s the five year deal they offer, which is double the price of the ten year offer I can get from my current registrar!

The other worrying aspect is that they don’t appear to be a registered limited company in the UK. Searching companies house brings back no results and there’s no UK contact information apart from an address that could turn out to be a PO box in London (I might check it out next time I’m near south Kensington). They appear to be a company in the USA as their telephone numbers all go back to New York. This means any details you give them are subject to US data protection, not the UK’s, which are far more stringent.

My suggestion to anyone who gets one of these letters is to bin it. You can try contacting them, but I wouldn’t waste your time as they’ve never replied to any of my complaints. Unfortunately, another of those scams operating outside of this countries remit.