I’ve spent the last week trying to get a clients domain name (theirsite.co.uk) over to a new host and it’s been frustrating to say the least.
I was advised by the new host that there would be a small fee for the transfer (approx £5) and this was actually to re-register it for another year. Seemed fair enough.
When the domain was first registered in June this year it was registered for 5 years, now according to the host, this is not the case and it only has one year before renewal (the £5 fee I just paid them covers the first year registration) However, when I view the WHOIS info at Nominet.org.uk they say that it doesn’t expire until 2017, which is what it should be.
This was the new host’s reply to my query about it being registered for 5 years prior to the move.
[I]"I don’t know what you paid at your old registrar but you only paid for a year with us, domains don’t carry how long they been rewed for specially when you move them to a different registrar.
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial]Your current registrar will not transfer the domain expire date over or however long you renewed it for, if this is an issue then I suggest you take it up with them. But you can’t register a domain for 5 years then decide to move away to another registrar and expect it to still have all the remaining years, it doesn’t happen I’m afraid."
[/FONT][/COLOR][/I][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial]I am more inclined to believe the information from Nominet, which leads me to think that the host company are trying to gain money through deception…the info I found on this site seems to suggest that I’m right.
Transfer of domain will not loose your domain’s remaining duration. It is Confirmed for extensions like .com .net, I have done that before.
Also there will be a small fee which is called transfer Fee for holding your domain. ( Even some host they do a free additional 1 year extension for the transfer).
So - check again with the host, they might have not reviewed your domain properly. If they are not doing this, then report to registry directly. If it is .co.uk better review registry policy. I think they are bit restrictive, I am not very sure on this transfer process of .co.uk
[FONT=Verdana]Most of my domains are .co.uk and I’ve never experienced a problem transferring them. (Nor have I ever had a registrar which allowed me to register the domain for longer than two years, but that’s beside the point.)
If the Whois details at Nominet show the domain registered until 2017, that seems clear enough. I suggest you contact Nominet direct, and ask them to confirm what the new registrar is saying, because it doesn’t sound right to me.[/FONT]
Just got off the phone to Nominet (so much easier when you can speak with someone) and they have confirmed that it will remain registered until 2017 and that won’t change regardless of how many times the domain is transferred. Why the host is telling me otherwise is another matter…
Thanks for that. I don’t remember them offering that when I was with them, and it wouldn’t make me go back to them, but it’s interesting to know.
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The new host is wrong. Once you register a domain for a certain amount of time, it does not change unless you add to it. You can’t simply lose the
5 years you had on the domain by transferring it.
