I recently got a letter in the mail from Domain Registry of Canada indicating I had to renew 2 domains. Their letter, and envelop is as close as you can get to resembling official Government of Canada letterhead, but isn’t. Actually what then send out in an invoice for services, for which you have not yet even signed up for! But if you return the letter with payment you are in fact agreeing to switch your business over to them!
So what or who is Domain Registry of Canada exactly? They are merely a domain registrar, a company that offer the service of registering your website address (your .com, .ca, .net, …).
Here is some of their info (all freely available on the internet)
From their own website, we get their contact information:
Domain Registry of Canada PO Box 4577 Markham, Ontario L3R 5M7 Tel: (866) 434-0212 Fax: (866) 434-0211
From the Better Business Bureau (where they had an F rating when I last consulted their profile) we find out the ‘kind’ people who run this nice business are:
Simon Benlolo - President Mr. Peter Kuryliw - Vice President Oper Mr. Alvin Chen, Supervisor
Their Whois info (2013-10-21) is as follows:
Domain name: droc.ca Domain status: registered Creation date: 2001/08/08 Expiry date: 2017/08/08 Updated date: 2011/02/02 Registrar: Name: eNom Canada Corp. Number: 505567 Registrant: Name: 1446513 Ontario Limited o/a Domain Registry of Canada Administrative contact: Name: Mr Larry Coker Postal address: P.O. Box 4577 Markham ON L3R 5M7 Canada Phone: 905-479-2533 Fax: 905-479-1878 Email: registrar@droc.ca Technical contact: Name: Mr Larry Coker Postal address: 7100 Warden Avenue Suite 8 Markham ON L3R8B5 Canada Phone: (905) 415-2681 x401 Fax: (905) 415-2682 Email: lcoker@namejuice.com Name servers: dns1.nameresolvers.com dns2.nameresolvers.com dns3.nameresolvers.com dns4.nameresolvers.com
So how did they get my contact information? Well, when you register your domain you have to give contact information and for the most part, this information is freely accessible by anyone, unless you pay extra to make it private which almost no one does!
Are they running a scam? I guess not, as they are offering a service, but the method in which they are doing it is most questionable to say the least. They use deceit and confusion to get new clients!
What should I do? Simply put, nothing! Ignore the letter. If you did your own domain registry, then simply renew it yourself. If on the other hand you had a web developer, friend, … do this for you, contact them and ask them to ensure it is re-registered for another year, or 2, or 5…! Ignore these people. I would not ever want to deal with people, or a company that basically prey on people and send out this type of ‘marketing’ materials. If this is their business ethics… Beyond which, their fees are x4 more than anything I have ever made my clients pay. It is highway robbery, but I no many people will fall for their letter, be all worried and get locked into doing business with them,but hopefully this post will save a few people from making this mistake!!! Other online article simply suggest posting their return envelop (without putting any postage on it) so they end up having to pay for postage and then they have to process an empty envelop wasting their time. It is up to you.
If you are a Canadian, I would urge you to file a complaint by using the Online form found at http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/frm-eng/GH%C3%89T-7TDNA5 and referencing http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/00528.html in your complaint. The more people complain, the more likely this type of practice will be stopped! It is up to you and only takes a few minutes of your time and may save other people from being had!!!!!
If you wish to send a complaint to the company, please feel free! You can contact them at support@droc.ca
Throw their paperwork in the garbage, complain about them to your local MNA, your local Better Business Bureau, but please do not fall for their antics!
Other Links of Interest:
- Seem familiar?! Straight from the Government of Canada! Competition Bureau Issues Warning to Canadians about Misleading Mailings for Internet Domain Name Registrations
- http://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/internet-marketing-services/domain-registry-of-canada-in-markham-on-1090726
- http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/domain-registry-of-canada-scam-with-direct-mail-and-online/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20100903142118/mrare.ca/blog/2010/08/domain-registry-of-canada-their-spammy-brown-envelope/
Simply Google to find many more stating the same thing.