Domain-name trader gets OFT slap

A SWANSEA-based businessman has received a red card from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for unfairly selling domain names to companies with similar website addresses.

Swansea-based businessman, Adam Ripley was behind a number of domain name registration firms including Select Registrations and Solus Online Ltd. The firms had been calling businesses and informing them that a third party was interested in a very similar domain name to their own.

The businesses were then presented with the opportunity to purchase the name but were given an unrealistic time limit ? often a matter of minutes ? in which to do so. In addition, the businesses were offered a 10-year registration for names ending in co.uk when in reality, only two-year registration periods are available.

On receiving a number of complaints, the OFT approached Mr Ripley and asked him stop using the sales tactics. But when he failed to sign the undertakings, further action was taken and Mr Ripley has now given undertakings to the High Court that he will cease the practice.

Mr Ripley was in breach of The Control of Misleading Advertisement Regulations as 'advertising' also encompasses aural representation and the OFT believes that no such third parties existed.

Rachel Clark, spokesperson for the OFT said: 'We felt that this practice was misleading companies and affecting their economic decisions.'

Edward Phillips, assistant solicitor at domain name registry company, Nominet UK, said: 'This kind of pressure-selling started back in 2001 and for some reason there has been a bout of companies operating out of South Wales. Adam Ripley has been on the radar for a long time and we are pleased that the OFT has made this progress.'

Mr Phillips added: 'We advise companies not to be pressured into buying a domain name over the telephone and not to be concerned about 'threats' of third parties. Of the 120 people I have spoken to that have received calls of this nature and rejected the offer, I have not seen one 'third party' go ahead to register the domain name.'

Mr Phillips added that if a business is interested in buying the domain name, it should approach its existing domain name provider who is likely to issue it at a fraction of the cost.