Presumably their idea of say a 6 year renewal is that they will pay
Melbourne IT (or some future com.au registrar) every two years for
renewal until the 6 years is up, with no need for action by the customer.
So this would really be a renewal of 2 years and pre-payment of two
further 2 year renewals after that.

So if this business (ING/INP) goes broke in 3 years time, then your
`renewal' with them might only in fact last for 4 years in the real
world.

Further, if there is a name policy of checking eligibility or
similar at renewal time, then it is possible that the renewal at
the 2 or 4 year mark might be rejected based on the policy in
force at that time.

And of course there is every likelihood that com.au domain names
(and others) will be significantly cheaper in 2 or 4 years time
than they are today.

I wonder if these risks are explained to the recipients of offers.

Their FAQ also has a strange idea of the legal registrant, which is
not applicable at least to com.au.  In com.au the registrant is the
company or business organisation which applies for the name, not the
individual who makes the application (on the registrants behalf) or
the admin contact (who is a representative of the company/business).

] Josh, thanks for your message.
] 
] David, thanks for your suggestion.
] 
] The ACCC are already aware of this practice and are investigating. In any
] event I am intending to issue another Consumer Alert this time dealing
] specifically with the 'renewal' of domain names for any period longer than 2
] years. I'll post a copy to the list.
] 
] Cheers
] 
] Chris Disspain
] CEO - auDA
] ceo§auda.org.au
] +61-3-9226-9495
] www.auda.org.au
] 
] 
] -----Original Message-----
] From: Lieberman David 6103 DXL [mailto:david.lieberman§bdw.com.au]
] Sent: Friday, 30 March 2001 07:57
] To: 'dns§auda.org.au'; 'ceo§auda.org.au'
] Subject: RE: [DNS] Internet Name Group scam
] 
] I suggest that Auda gets the ACCC involved.  This type of conduct is one of
] the issues we are seeking to address in designing the competitive model.
] Regards,
] David Lieberman
] 
] 
] -----Original Message-----
] From: Rowe, Joshua [mailto:Joshua.Rowe§auspost.com.au]
] Sent: Friday, 30 March 2001 1:36 am
] To: 'ceo§auda.org.au'
] Cc: 'dns§auda.org.au'
] Subject: [DNS] Internet Name Group scam
] 
] Chris Disspain, CEO auDA,
] Today I received a letter from Internet Name Group
] (http://www.internetnamegroup.com.au/) asking me to "confirm" my rewnewal of
] a com.au domain name of mine which is due to expire in June.
] The prices they quoted are:
]  2 years $220
]  4 years $425  (ie $212.50 / 2yr)
]  6 years $675  (ie $225.00 / 2yr - nice math!)
]  8 years $850  (ie $212.50 / 2yr)
] 10 years $1000 (ie $200.00 / 2yr)
] I was under the impression that com.au policy
] (http://www.inww.com/policies/comaupolicy.php3#4) only allowed for a 2 year
] renewal period?
] I am aware of auDA's Jan 23 press release regarding these scams
] (http://www.auda.org.au/alert_renewal.html) however I'm concerned that a
] large proportion of domain name holders will just pay the invoice without
] realising that they have been misled or deceived into renewing their domain
] name licence renewal to their disadvantage.
] Regards
] 
] Josh
] --
] Joshua Rowe         ePay Project, Australia Post HQ
] Joshua.Rowe§auspost.com.au   www.postbillpay.com.au
] Phone: +61 3 9204 7335         Fax: +61 3 9204 7556
] 
] CAUTION
] This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are privileged and
] confidential information intended for the use of the addressee. The
] confidentiality and/or privilege in this e-mail is not waived, lost or
] destroyed if it has been transmitted to you in error. If you have received
] this e-mail in error you must (a) not disseminate, copy or take any action
] in reliance on it; (b) please notify Australia Post immediately by return
] e-mail to the sender; and (c) please delete the original e-mail.
] --
] This article is not to be reproduced or quoted beyond this forum without
] express permission of the author. 373 subscribers.
] Archived at http://listmaster.iinet.net.au/list/dns (user: dns, pass: dns)
] Email "unsubscribe" to dns-request§auda.org.au to be removed.
] 
] 
] 
] 
] Chris Disspain
] CEO - auDA
] ceo§auda.org.au
] +61-3-9226-9495
] www.auda.org.au
] 
] 
] --
] This article is not to be reproduced or quoted beyond this forum without
] express permission of the author. 372 subscribers. 
] Archived at http://listmaster.iinet.net.au/list/dns (user: dns, pass: dns)
] Email "unsubscribe" to dns-request§auda.org.au to be removed.
] 

__________________________________________________________________________
 David Keegel <djk&#167;cyber.com.au>  URL: http://www.cyber.com.au/users/djk/
Cybersource P/L: Unix Systems Administration and TCP/IP network management