Question
In which cases will Openprovider contact the domain owner bypassing the reseller?
Answer
Normally, Openprovider will only be in touch with the reseller. But there are cases when Openprovider is forced to contact the end user (domain owner), for example the domain holder (registrant) of a domain name. This article lists the cases in which Openprovider has to do so. This article does not list the cases in which the registry gets in touch with the domain holder.
- Incoming transfer of a gTLD (e.g. .com, .net, .guru, .amsterdam, including the ccTLDs .tv, .cc and .us): as for ICANN regulation, Openprovider must collect the approval for the transfer and sends an e-mail to the domain holder and to the administrative contact. This e-mail can be partly personalized, as described here. Note: if, as a result of the GDPR, the whois contains no or an invalid e-mail address, this e-mail is not sent.
- Outgoing transfer of a gTLD (e.g. .com, .net, .guru, .amsterdam, including the ccTLDs .tv, .cc and .us): as for ICANN regulation, Openprovider must inform the domain holder and to the administrative contact. This e-mail can be partly personalized, as described here.
- E-mail verification, applicable to gTLDs (e.g. .com, .net, .guru, .amsterdam, including the ccTLDs .tv, .cc and .us): as for ICANN regulation, if a not-yet-verified e-mail address is used as owner contact for a gTLD registration or update, Openprovider must verify that this e-mail address is actually in use. For this purpose, Openprovider sends an e-mail to the domain holder. This e-mail can be completely personalized, as described here. E-mail verification is triggered at the following moments:
- If a gTLD is registered and the owner contact's e-mail address is not already verified and no verification is in progress already
- If a gTLD registration is assigned a new owner and the owner contact's e-mail address is not already verified and no verification is in progress already.
- If the e-mail address of a contact handle that is used as owner contact of a gTLD registration is changed and this e-mail address is not already verified and no verification is in progress already
- If evidence reaches us that a previously verified e-mail address is no longer in use, for example if we receive a bounce on this e-mail address
- Note: an e-mail address only needs to be verified once by Openprovider. If the e-mail address is in use at two different handles in the resellers account, verification will be required only once. This is not limited to one reseller: if the e-mail address is already verified at another reseller, no new verification is required.
- Note: e-mail verification is required on registrar level. In case the reseller has a domain with another registrar, two different verifications can be required. Even within Openprovider that can happen, in the rare case that we register a gTLD at another registrar.
- WDRP notifications (Whois Data Reminder Policy), applicable to gTLDs (e.g. .com, .net, .guru, .amsterdam, but also to ccTLDs like .se, .nu, .tv, .cc and .us): as for ICANN regulation, once a year (shortly after the domain's renewal date) Openprovider sends a summary of the registration data of each domain to the domain's owner contact. This e-mail further contains the note that any updates must be announced to reseller domain provider and incorrect registration data may result in loss of the domain name. This e-mail can be personalized, as described here.
- ERRP notifications (Expired Registration Recovery Policy), applicable to gTLDs (e.g. .com, .net, .guru, .amsterdam, including the ccTLDs .tv, .cc and .us): as for ICANN regulation, Openprovider sends a notification of upcoming expiration date of each domain to the domain's owner contact. Unless the domain is renewed before, this e-mail is sent 30 days before the domain's expiration date, 7 days before the domain's expiration date and after expiration of the domain. This e-mail can be personalized, as described here.
- (optional) Abuse and complaint notifications: When Openprovider receive a complaint or abuse message for one of the domains in the portfolio of the reseller, Openprovider will inform the reseller about this. Upon request (contact our support team), we can also inform the domain holder directly. This allows for faster responses. The e-mail that we send can be personalized.
As explained in the Terms & Conditions, Openprovider may also contact the domain's owner contact in case of complaints, abuse or questions from the domain holder in case the reseller fails to respond or act timely.
