Pixel Induced

"No Borders Nor Boundaries" - Where Photographers get together

SCAM ALERT!:...Go Daddy.com and my web Domain name that they stole from me...

I am just Stunned that a Company this big with major Commercial Campaigns on National television with Celebrity Endorsers has pulled a dirty trick like this...Here's what they did..A little over a year ago i Purchased a domain name that i came up with from go daddy...levimages.com..I have for over the past year now been passing out cards and posting it here and on facebook and flickr and god knows EVERYTHING just to get it out there...With me so far?...alright..

So i gave them a charge card that they could use in the future to renew the domain name after the TWO year period that i had paid for was up...I gave them a payment in late Nov something 2009 for the use of the name for 2 years...so it's been a year and?....what? 4 months?...Yes..so i still have the use of it for about 8 months right?..Wrong...I just accessed my site last night to upload new photos for sale and sell without a problem...today i try to go there cause a customer that wanted to buy an 11x14 photo has emailed me to say she cannot access my site and google chrome says it cannot connect to the site...the link has been broken and is dead...with me still?...

Now i email Smugmug who get back to very quickly Btw cause they RULE! ( it was like less than 10 minutes and they answered me thank god..I LOVE SmugMug!!..Alright.. they say in the email that the domain name is no longer linked to my sales site and that i need to contact Go Daddy...O.K...lets take a deep breath first...whew...so..

I call the phone # on go daddy's site and i wait about 15 minutes to get a person...Not a big deal in this day and age but they are in the Communication and passing of Info business so i figured it would not take so long but it did..I eventually get an Assistant and i explain my dilemma...he does not sound very sincere but says he's here to help...First thing.. He tells me my name has expired and it has been picked up and being USED by someone else..I ask who and he tells me it's Privileged info..cool i understand..He then puts me on hold for almost ten minutes to do something..what i do not know...at least i had the option of turning the god awful elevator music they were playing on or off...kinda cool... It's cool i'm saying to myself.. i understand..well he finally comes back and i ask him what i can do at this point and he says i will need to pay for another one and it will be $10 dollars for a years use of it...More than the original cost...that was $7.95 for the .com for 2 years use..Follow me?...

So i had to pick another domain name..www.lev-images.com... Not so bad...well right after i paid for the new one with my charge card and he guided me thru an almost ENDLESS trip thru submenu after submenu to apply my new domain name to smugmug cause there "partners" i tried to access levimages.com one last time...know what i got?...Well you try it right now..

www.levimages.com

It redirected me to Go Daddy.com and a page full of other Photography Supply Dealers and Other Photographers and Photography schools and other Advertisers that obviously paid go daddy to post them there!...Oh and here's the BEST part...in the middle of the page it has an official go daddy ad that says...."Would you like to purchase levimages.com?..Go here.."..when you hit the purchase button it goes to another page and they are selling MY old domain name that I Built up for $69.99 plus "Commission" which is $10 dollars...so $79.99 total...What?...Now why did he tell me that the name was being used by someone else and not available to me to get back when in reality Go Daddy was using it to ADVERTISE until it was Bought by someone?...He did not even offer it back to me for ANY Price!...What the Heck?

They Kept info from me to make me get a Different Domain name so that i can make that one worth something also and then they can take it away from me so they can sell it for 80 bucks!!

Does anyone feel my pain?....I am Losing Faith in Humans again...God almighty we are not gonna make it at this pace..And just a few old "friends" say i'm Paranoid...LOL

Be Good to each other people.....Love ya Kids....Chris.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 17, 2011 at 9:21pm

So now my old domain is directing traffic Back to my website...AARRRGGGHHH!!!

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Permalink Reply by Christy Gullard on March 17, 2011 at 9:41pm

Wow Chris...that's awful!! I can't believe how underhanded people/corporations can be. Wouldn't what they have done be a breach of contract? I imagine there must be some sort of contract when you open your domain. I have never had my own website, my photography is definitely not ready for that. But if I did start a website, I would like to think you could depend upon your contract being honored. Very frustrating! Well stay strong...good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 17, 2011 at 11:21pm

This is all very very confusing to me...now that the old link works again(For Now)...I guess i cannot complain but why all the runaround?...I still will have to Pay 80 dollars for my old domain name back...Crazy...Thank you for your words of support Christy!

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Permalink Reply by James Elliott on March 17, 2011 at 11:28pm

That really sucks. I use godaddy - hopefully this wont happen to me. I pay $17 a year for my domain though...

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 17, 2011 at 11:33pm

http://who.godaddy.com/whois.aspx?domain=levimages.com&prog_id=...

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 17, 2011 at 11:35pm

Some Russian guy has it now till 2012....OR i can buy it still for 80 bucks..my own original domain name...Come on guys..

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 17, 2011 at 11:36pm

http://www.godaddy.com/domains/domain-broker.aspx?domaintocheck=lev...

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 17, 2011 at 11:40pm

17?..you have more than one?..like a.org or .net as well?...thats a lot to pay...there still advertising $7.98 per right now...

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 17, 2011 at 11:57pm

Now why would someone i do not even know over in RUSSIA rent my old domain name for a year just to direct it to my site?...I am starting to think he may be on my side...I am Mostly Russian and a distant relative of Isaak Levitan Russia's most celebrated Landscape painter...Hmmmm...Mulder call Scully will ya?...;-)

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Permalink Reply by Gailie on March 18, 2011 at 4:25am

This is awful and all very very confusing for a blonde....lol...I do not think your being paranoid. I think you were ripped and you have every right to be upset. The link does direct me to your old site though. So, that is a good thing. Sorry about not calling last night, I didn't feel to spiffy, still don't. You handled the situation properly though. Or at least you told it very calmly. Don't let anyone or anything hold you back Chris...you gotta break through the walls, your goin' places buddy!

Brenda

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 18, 2011 at 8:30pm

So NOW they Both work BUT.....The original link will only access a Mirror image of my Website from 5 months ago...no new Uploads...Wtf?....The New Domain Name accesses the site with the new uploads BUT certain galleries when you click the links go to a white page that says Forbidden Page you have no access...now if i go to the info bar at the top of the browser and put the hyphen into the link?..lev-images?...It goes to my new "Detroit thru my eyes" gallery with all the new uploaded photos....AARRRRGGGHHHH!!!

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Permalink Reply by Chris Levitan on March 21, 2011 at 6:23am

So over the Weekend Go daddy has officially said it's not their problem with these broken links...they say i must ask smugmug about it...The saga continues...