Reply to: domain owner vs primary contact

[scotspine]

i think you have it tlg. when i set up the domain hosting, i set up this other person as the primary contact. said bust-up ensued and i now want them removed.

[The Lone Gunman]

Cant you just move to another host? Have I misunderstood?
I assume that someone else registered your domain with your host and use their own details as primary contact. You have now had a bust up and want them removed.
I also assume it is a little more complex than I think it is.

[expat]

ja but i am already the domain contact/owner. it is the hosting company's records that list the 'other' person [spit]. so would there be anything to gain by changing the registrar?

Are the hosting company also the registrar? If not, get the registrar to change contact details. If they refuse, get Nominet to change contact details (and possibly registrar because they are being uppity).
If yes, get Nominet to change registrar, then get new registrar to change contact details.

This is pretty much what NickFitz said.

You own the domain. You have a right to do this, and Nominet have a procedure to enforce it.

However, if I actually read what you wrote the registration is OK, it is just that the hosting company feel obliged to grant access to the hosted site to someone who is not actually in any way an owner or contact of the domain. This is strange: I suppose it is ultimately not connected with the domain registration at all, but with the hosting company's perceived commercial obligations? Well, changing hosting company would fix that. And maybe it is a relationship that needs to be fixed.

[scotspine]

ja but i am already the domain contact/owner. it is the hosting company's records that list the 'other' person [spit]. so would there be anything to gain by changing the registrar?

[expat]

http://www.nominet.org.uk/registrants/maintain/faq/

How much does it cost to change my registrar?
We charge £10 + VAT for a registrar change that we are asked to action, regardless of the number of domain names.



How can I change my registrar (tag/ISP/registration agent)?

If you wish to move your domain name from your current registrar to another, firstly you should contact your current registrar and ask them to move the name across to the new provider. If your registrar refuses to do this, or you are unable to contact them because they have ceased trading, you should contact Nominet and ask us to move the domain name for you.

Find out more about changing your registrar.


How do I update my contact details?

If you need to update the address details associated with your domain name registration, then you should do this through your registrar. It is the registrar's responsibility to then update your address details via Nominet's automated system.

However, in certain circumstances your registrar may be unable or unwilling to make the changes you request. In these circumstances you can use our Online Service.

[scotspine]

the 'other' person is the named contact with the hosting company. i am the registered owner of the domain. the hosting company is also the registrar. would there be any point to changing the registrar?

[NickFitz]

On what grounds? they say they have to deal with the named contact and that the domain owner has no right of access.

pipex? nope...

Ludicrous - have they never previously encountered the situation where somebody leaves a company without deigning to let them know? I suppose you could tell them that the named contact has been killed in a concrete mixer accident

When you say "named contact", do you mean the contact named in their own records, or the contact named on the nic.uk registry? If the latter, and the hosting provider isn't the registrar, then the registrar can update the registry entry to show a new contact. If the hosting company is also the registrar, and you can't convince them to change the record, then you'll need to go through nic.uk to get them to change the record, and hopefully also administer a slap on the wrist to the registrar.

Have you tried emailing the MD (or equivalent) of the hosting company? It sounds to me like some jobsworth minion is sticking to a system that can't cope with an (only slightly) unusual situation.

If necessary, you could threaten to have the DNS records pointed to a different hosting provider and stop paying them, I suppose. But assuming this is a live site, that could be problematic.

[expat]

On what grounds? they say they have to deal with the named contact and that the domain owner has no right of access.

pipex? nope...

Ah. This is some new meaning of "owner" that I have not previously encountered.

[scotspine]

On what grounds? they say they have to deal with the named contact and that the domain owner has no right of access.

pipex? nope...

[RichardCranium]

"contact the hosting provider with proof of ownership, and get them to change the passwords associated with the domain."

tried that but they say that they can't do it.

Oh dear. You're with one of the ex-Pipex companies, yes?

[NickFitz]

tried that but they say that they can't do it.

On what grounds?

thanks for your help btw...

NP

[scotspine]

"contact the hosting provider with proof of ownership, and get them to change the passwords associated with the domain."

tried that but they say that they can't do it.

thanks for your help btw...

[NickFitz]

it's a .co.uk

The first thing to do is to approach the registrar (the company that originally registered the domain on behalf of the owner), as they can probably change the contact details if you have proof of ownership.

If you have the registration certificate (with the magic number on it) you can change the details yourself online at http://www.nic.uk/registrants/maintain/onlineservices/

As a last resort you may have to contact nic.uk directly, although they make an administrative charge for this, so going through the registrar is your best bet.

As for denying the previous contact access to the actual hosting service: get them taken off the domain registration, contact the hosting provider with proof of ownership, and get them to change the passwords associated with the domain.

[scotspine]

it's a .co.uk

[NickFitz]

To start with, it depends on the domain: .com, .uk, .tv and all the rest are controlled by different organisations, with different procedures. For a .com it probably also depends on which registrar it's with.