Transferring Domain Names Away

[jason]

Hi, I have 2 .ie and 2 .com domain names on my shared hosting account. My client from hell (who own's the domains) has expressed an interest in hosting elsewhere. I have provided them with the unlock (AUTH) codes for the .com domains. Now I believe that .ie doesn't work the same way, so is there anything I need to do from my end to facilitate a transfer for .ie domains or can they do this themselves, being the named contacts associated with the domains. What power exactly does someone else have with an unlock code. The domains are my client's so they are free to do whatever they want, but I just want to know what administrative headaches (if any) are in front of me over the coming weeks.

Also these domains are due for renewal in a matter of weeks and this client hasn't decided definitively what they are doing yet. Although I am not being paid for any work by the client, I do want to make it clear to them if they don't renew the domain names they will suffer downtime and potential loss of ownership to someone else (not that I have to do this, but I will). Right now the only option I am aware of is to tell them this, and then request payment to renew their domains (I'll never get paid). However that puts me in the position of being contracted for another year (if they do pay). That way they are not actually gone elsewhere, and I assure you at this stage, detaching from this client completely is my best option. They drained so much of my time already without payment, I just want to let them go.

What should I do?

 

[mneylon]

.ie domain transfers don't use EPP codes. The registrant should go to the new registrar and request the transfer via them. You don't need to do anything

As for your client ..

If they're not going to pay you etc etc then stop providing service to them .. If they aren't worth dealing with tell them that you don't want to deal with them any more - firing clients is necessary sometimes!

 

[louie]

As Blacknight said, ditch them.
Some clients are not worth the hassle.
If you decide to keep them, send an invoice and mention that if payment not received straight away, you will not renew the domains (make sure you have at least 2-4 weeks before the renewal date).

 

[jason]

Oh I assure you I know I'm not being paid to do any further work for them. In fact it was they that recently decided to go elsewhere because I wouldn't offer them a "will work for free, and you can pay me when you like" sort of package. When times were good, they were good, but when money gets tight for some people, their sole benchmark in terms of a quality services lies with the provider's ability continue working with no clear sign of payment. As a professional, I will happily go the extra mile for paying customers, but I will refuse to have my time wasted by clients that feel I should work for free, regardless of how long the business relationship has lasted.

So right now, they believe that they have the upper hand by denying me their business (what business??). The truth is I'm only delighted, and want to get them away from me ASAP. I would love if they just got someone else of a technical background to get in touch with me so they can migrate all their stuff elsewhere. I have provided them with annual hosting, and I have no problem offering them just that until the contract expires, but nothing more. When the contract does expire, I would prefer if they just made arrangements to go elsewhere.

Is it a matter of me just saying, "listen I refuse to renew your hosting, you are going to have to go elsewhere" or what?. Any suggested courses of action? Have any of you been in similar situations?

 

[mneylon]

The way to do it would be to write to them along the lines of:
"Dear X

It has come to my attention that your contract with us is due for renewal on X.
As per the terms of our contract we do not wish to renew services and are, therefore, serving you with notice as per our terms and conditions.You will need to organise hosting and other services for your website by X.
We will cease providing all services on Y.
Sincerely
XYZ"
Or something like that

 

[jason]

Cheers guys for the advice. I have put it in to action and it seems to have been digested without any problems on the other end. However I got a call recently from their new tech partner asking me had I authorised the transfers of the domain names away. For the .COMs I gave them the AUTH codes and for the .IEs as you said before they can do that themselves. They seem to think I have to do something else in order for the transfer to occur, but from my understanding once I have given them the .COMs AUTH codes they have everything they need to fly solo. All domain names .COMs & .IEs are registered in the owners name, not mine. They are not entirely sure themselves if they have everything they need to proceed and seem somewhat clueless.

I just want to make sure that I have done all I need to do in order for them to do what they need. Can anyone clarify this for me?

 

[mneylon]

It sounds like whoever they are moving to is clueless..

For the .ie domains - not your problem.

For the .com domains - if the domains are unlocked, EPP codes issued and the contact details on the domains are the client's (ie. not yours) then you don't need to do anything else.

 

[jason]

Thank you, that's what I thought. Typically when a domain name is locked and not open to transfer elsewhere the status reads as follows:
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited

However the .COMs in question here, that have a window of opportunity open to transfer elsewhere, with the AUTH codes given to my client's new tech partner read:
Status: ok

I can see myself through my own control panel and from whois queries that these domain names are clearly in a different state to other domains that I am managing.

I have a funny feeling that my ex. client's new tech partner is up to their eyeballs with confused right now and only finding out what it is they don't know. I fully expect an overly friendly call over the coming days looking for help/advice as to what it is they should do or need to do.

I am generally a helpful person and will not automatically say NO on principle. I am killing hosting to one of my client's applications (because it's up for renewal shortly), and I have advised both my client and his new tech partner that they need to migrate everything over to a new host. The business person in me says "They have no paid, so cut the power", but the rest of me says "Maybe I should tell them what to do in order to get it up and running elsewhere". Right now the business person in me is the most powerful voice, because I when I think about how I bent over backwards for this client in the past and offered him services that drew upon a broad range of skills that took me years to acquire, it annoys me how he thought he could take advantage of me just like that.

He's like a bold child that has run away from home and is only now realizing what he had. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other people out there that can do what I can do, but he doesn't even know what he needs/is missing, so therefore doesn't know what to look for in a new tech partner. I will find it very hard to turn off hosting on a app I know he hasn't migrated elsewhere, or probably even taken a recent snapshot of, because he doesn't know how.

What would you do in my shoes?

 

[mneylon]

What would you do in my shoes?

If they're not paying you any more and you have given them reasonable notice etc., cut them off
You cannot and should not do more than you are needed to do