Beware of these invoice-looking solicitation letters from Domain Registry of Canada. I just got one for one of my domains. Read this great post explaining the scam.
Then, use this direct link to the company’s profile to file a complaint with the Canadian Better Business Bureau.
Here is the complaint I just posted with the BBB, if you’d like to use it.
Filed against :
Domain Registry of Canada
PO Box 4577
Markham ON L3R 5M7
Complaint Description:
The company presents an invoice, that aside from two lines of text, appears to be an invoice for renewing your domain registration. It warns that “you must renew your domain name to retain exclusive rights to it” and “failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in a loss of your online identity” and so on. The format of this solicitation has been purposely designed to mimic a bill for services rendered or an invoice to renew the domain. The company knows this and no doubt many people fall for this deceptive sales practice, despite the few buried lines that state this is not a bill. Furthermore, the prices the company is offering on domain renewals are about 5 times higher than what customers normally pay at GoDaddy and other industry standard registrars. The only terms for this company’s practices are deceptive and exploitative. They should not be allowed to structure their solicitations so deceivingly.
Your Desired Resolution:
Company should be made to reform their sales materials to not be purposely deceptive to addressees. Any lay person would judge this campaign as deceptive. In my opinion, the BBB is here for ensure honest business practices, which this company is hardly practicing. They are hoping to deceive the targets into inadvertently transferring their domains to the company, believing they are paying to renew them with their current registrars.
