12 July 2001

Many owners of Australian domain names have been receiving official looking letters that appear to be renewal notices for their domain names. They are actually letters telling you that your domain name will expire in the next six months and the company sending the letter is offering to renew it for you. Of course this friendly service costs you up to double the standard charge to renew your domain.

It is important to keep your domain name paid up. Otherwise it will be de-registered and someone else will be able to register it. But don't fall for a rip-off, the only people who you should communicate with regarding your domain name are your ISP, hosting company or web designer. If you registered it directly then you will hear from Internet Names Worldwide , the register of .com.au domains.

Normally the people who registered it will contact you before the domain expires, but it is your responsibility to make sure that your domain is paid for. You can check the status of your web page, when it expires and who is listed as the contact person at the aunic site. They also have instructions on changing your registration details if necessary.

Don't fall for an overpriced service. If you own a domain and you receive one of these letters treat it as a useful reminder and note the expiry date. If your details are correct, you will get a reminder from the proper people closer to the date. It could save you a few hundred dollars too.

The ACCC warning about misleading domain renewal letters
The Australian Domain Administration warning about domain renewals