Misleading backorder rules and unreasonable refund process at Gname.com
My experience with Gname’s backordering system has been extremely negative and I cannot recommend their service. I placed a backorder based on Gname’s prominent statement that an internal auction would only occur if another Gname.com User placed a competing backorder. In my case I was the only user who backordered the domain. However, when the domain was caught it was placed into a public auction instead. Only later did I discover that Gname relies on small-print language stating that if the domain is caught by another registrar they may run a public auction. In practice those registrars appear to be part of Gname’s own catching network. As a result, the promise that auctions only occur when another “User” places a backorder is misleading. Another serious issue is their handling of backorder deposits. Gname requires users to transfer funds in advance but no proper order documentation is provided at the time the funds are taken. Many other registrars avoid taking advance payments for backorders precisely to avoid these problems. Trying to withdraw the unused deposit has been even more frustrating. The refund process is extremely bureaucratic and illogical. Despite the fact that Gname obviously has full records of incoming payments from their Customers to their own account, they are demanding that I provide confidential banking details to prove that I made the transfer. In my case they already know exactly which account the funds came from because the payment was received and credited to my user balance. Requiring customers to disclose additional private banking information to retrieve their own money feels unnecessary and inappropriate. Overall my experience with Gname has involved: • Misleading communication about when auctions occur • Backorder deposits taken without clear order documentation • An unnecessarily complicated and intrusive refund process Because of these issues I will not be using Gname again for domain backorders and would advise other investors to review the terms very carefully before depositing funds.