Domain names cooling-off period

restlessbeadwood

Hello everyone,

On Monday I made an impulse purchase of multiple domain names from a London-based registrar that I won't name here. Later that day I realised that many of those names had been a mistake and asked for a refund+cancellation, explaining that I thought I was entitled to it under the UK statutory cooling-off period.

Subsequently received an extraordinarily smug and haughty message from a member of their staff explaining that he thought that domain names were probably exempt from the regulations, and that at any rate, the terms and conditions clearly state they are non-refundable, and then helpfully copied and pasted the relevant passage in, highlighting it in red text.

So, what I'm wondering is, does he have a point? In particular:

(1) Are domain names exempt? I've read through the regulations, can't see any thing obvious to say that; the only thing is the passage that some other registrars quote in their T&Cs that states that "obviously personalised" services are exempt. Is that right, or are they twisting the law? It certainly seems outside its spirit, if not its letter.

(2) would their T&Cs override the statutory cooling-off period?

And, do you know what I can and ought to do in this situation, if anything?

Grateful for your thoughts; there doesn't seem to be much information out there on this.

davidmcn

I suspect that if they've provided the service of registering your domain with the registrar then that probably can't be undone easily.

In any event, what's the purpose of these multiple domains i.e. are you actually a consumer?

restlessbeadwood

Thanks, David. I'm considering starting a company, and was having trouble working out what to call it. However, at the moment, there is no company registered and I am registering them as an individual.

bris

You bought them for business purposes so you are a business. However even as a consumer you would get them straight away so the service has started. Not only that but yes it's a custom order and not something off a the shelf so 3 reasons why your not covered.

davidmcn

Ok, in that case it sounds like a business-to-business transaction, so you don't get the benefit of additional consumer rights, it comes down generally to whatever the terms and conditions say.

KatrinaWaves

restlessbeadwood wrote: »

On Monday I made an impulse purchase of multiple domain names from a London-based registrar that I won't name here. Later that day I realised that many of those names had been a mistake and asked for a refund+cancellation, explaining that I thought I was entitled to it under the UK statutory cooling-off period.

Subsequently received an extraordinarily smug and haughty message from a member of their staff explaining that he thought that domain names were probably exempt from the regulations, and that at any rate, the terms and conditions clearly state they are non-refundable, and then helpfully copied and pasted the relevant passage in, highlighting it in red text.

A note for future, I imagine if you had emailed saying 'Oh I'm such a dafty I registered https://www.restlessbeedwood.com instead of https://www.restlessbeadwood.com. is there ANY chance you could fix that for me? I realise how silly I have been' they'd have done it for you, no bother.

Going straight in with 'I know my rights!!' (when you don't) is when goodwill goes out the window and people start being smug and haughty with you...

restlessbeadwood

davidmcn wrote: »

Ok, in that case it sounds like a business-to-business transaction, so you don't get the benefit of additional consumer rights, it comes down generally to whatever the terms and conditions say.

Thanks. I think that's odd given that I'm not yet a business, and indeed might not ever be one. But, OK, if that's the way it works.

restlessbeadwood

KatrinaWaves wrote: »

A note for future, I imagine if you had emailed saying 'Oh I'm such a dafty I registered .... instead of .... is there ANY chance you could fix that for me? I realise how silly I have been' they'd have done it for you, no bother.

Going straight in with 'I know my rights!!' (when you don't) is when goodwill goes out the window and people start being smug and haughty with you...

Is that the voice of bitter experience I hear? Point taken, and thanks for the advice, but actually I wasn't rude or pushy at all, and never have been with them. It just seems like they thought "oh, an excuse to be nasty. This will be fun", and let rip. Such a shame.

Bermonia

Also you haven’t purchased goods, you have paid for a service - as the service provided was correct and has already been carried out (at a cost to the provider) then there is no recourse to any refund (business or consumer).

davidmcn

restlessbeadwood wrote: »

Thanks. I think that's odd given that I'm not yet a business, and indeed might not ever be one. But, OK, if that's the way it works.

If you're buying stuff in contemplation of setting up a business then it's a business transaction. After all, it doesn't sound like you had a consumer reason for getting the domains.

And anyway, I doubt there's any cooling-off period even if it were a consumer transaction.

KatrinaWaves

restlessbeadwood wrote: »

Is that the voice of bitter experience I hear? Point taken, and thanks for the advice, but actually I wasn't rude or pushy at all, and never have been with them. It just seems like they thought "oh, an excuse to be nasty. This will be fun", and let rip. Such a shame.

No I just know that domain names are loss leaders for most, so no one would fuss about changing one.