ACCC slugs Australian domain name reseller over dodgy invoices - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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ACCC slugs Australian domain name reseller over dodgy invoices

By Staff writers, ZDNet Australia
December 09, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/ACCC-slugs-Australian-domain-name-reseller-over-dodgy-invoices/0,139023166,120270526,00.htm

Australia's domain name administrator has welcomed a legal settlement requiring a reseller to apologise and provide refunds to customers who responded to misleading notices requesting payment for renewal of domain name services.

auDA chief executive officer, Chris Disspain, said he was "delighted" that the company, Internet Registrations Australia (IRA), had agreed to the conditions as part of an out-of-court settlement last week with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Disspain said the settlement, combined with actions against other resellers who had undertaken similar activities, had largely stymied problems associated with misleading invoicing and domain name renewals. "I don't think it's a problem any more," he said.

ACCC chairman, Professor Allan Fels, also served notice the commission would closely monitor the behaviour of companies offering domain name licence registration and renewal services in the com.au domain space.

"Confidence in domain name service providers is critical to the development of e-commerce," Fels said. "The ACCC remains vigilant of businesses which operate in new and emerging areas of commerce and will act to stop illegal conduct.

"Suppliers of domain name renewal services are warned not to mislead customers as to their need to renew their domain name licence with a particular supplier; as such conduct may breach the consumer protection sections of the Trade Practices Act," Fels added.

The ACCC said in a statement last week it had accepted court-enforceable undertakings from IRA to deliver the refunds, while the Federal Court had issued a series of orders preventing IRA from engaging in similar behaviour again. IRA had issued the notices to up to 70,000 users Australia-wide, many of whom had no prior relationship with the reseller. The ACCC launched the Federal Court action in September after receiving what it described as an "influx" of complaints about the notices.