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I registered a domain through WebhostFive in March. The company has since ceased to exist. I would like to transfer my domain to another registrar but not sure how this would work as I cannot log into the dashboard. I assume I will not have a response from them with an authorization code.

I tried to raise a complaint with icann and they suggested WebhostFive may now be using a proxy service.

JJR Companies LLC seem to be related to WebhostFive but all email addresses I try bounce back.

I would like to know if there is a way forward so I can control the domain again.

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  • Sadly, unless ICANN is prepared to step in, there's nothing that you can do. Your next step should be to seek legal advice and attempt to put pressure on ICANN to resolve the issue, or alternatively cut your loses and register a new domain, this time one with a long standing such as Namecheap, GoDaddy, 1&1, Newsgator etc. – Simon Hayter♦ Sep 20 '17 at 13:59
  • I went with them based on an article from a reputable site so I was disappointed this happened not something anyone foresaw, WebhostFive were really helpful for the first few months then they vanished. Thanks to your reply I did a little bit more research and came across - publicdomainregistry.com/compliance which led me to a contact email. Could be useful for anyone with domain issues. – CI80 Sep 21 '17 at 14:46
  • Without the domain name and specifically the TLD it is difficult to give you precise answers... – Patrick Mevzek Sep 23 '17 at 1:06
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Is your name on the Whois record or is it the Hosting companies name? That is the most important question right now

Check to see if the host is a reseller for a larger company. If they are, contact that larger company, but if you aren't listed on the Whois record, the Registrar's hands may be tied.

WebhostFive has their own domain registered with 1&1, so your domain may be with them too, though you can confirm that here by entering your domain name and when the record appears, looking for the Registrar. You should also see who the Registrant (owner) is listed as. Sorry if you already know all this info, I just want to be thorough.

http://whois.domaintools.com/

Have you tried calling the hosting company?

"Putting pressure on ICANN" isn't going to result in anything.

A lawyer will take your money whether you are right or wrong.

If you aren't listed as the Registrant, can't call the host to get something worked out, and the Registrar can't help, your next best bet is to file a UDRP complaint. It's cheaper than a lawyer and assuming you win, you'd also win the domain.

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  • My name and details are on the Whois record. I managed to get a personal email address for the Registrar from the Public Domain Registry. I haven't received a reply. My next step will be a UDRP complaint (had no idea about that) I am using - uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/… – CI80 Oct 17 '17 at 11:24
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Interesting... I registered my domains through my hosting company, Webhost Ion and it came back from JJR companies (Joshua Robbins). Webhost Ion has disappeared as well as JJR co. Turns out Webhost Ion was a reseller not actually providing the hosting. You are probably in the same situation. Webhost Ion is in arrears on their account so my cPanel (including my domains and websites) are inaccessible. I am going through public domain registry as well hopefully there will be some pressure to force them to release the domains so I can point to another host. Good luck!

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I registered a domain via WebHostFive back in May 2017. It worked for about 2 weeks and then in mid-May it totally disappeared. I did TraceRoutes and WhoIs lookups to find out that this no longer existed. I also contacted PublicRegistryDomain and was told that they changed to JJRCompanies.

I contacted JJRCompanies and received no reply. I called the 800 number PublicRegistryDomain provided me and the phone rang with no answer until the phone disconnected.

I contacted PublicRegistryDomain via the Compliance ticket process on their website and the Compliance email address. I explained that I had attempted to contact both WebHostFive and JJRCompanies as well as calling the 800 number that they told me to call with no reply. I even tried reaching out the bitsofcream-at-gmail-dot-com that was supposed to be an alternative contact for Joshua Robbins with no reply.

I asked PublicRegistryDomain to attempt contact this individual as their own process of research as I can only figure that they went out of business or had died.

I then filed UDRP complaint with ICANN. Icann closed my ticket/complaint stating that they felt it was invalid. They indicated that I could only pursue the issue if they failed to transfer my account when I requested.

I then requested my current hosting provider fastcomet.com to transfer my domain from JJRCompanies/PublicRegistryDomain to fastcomet.com. I knew that this was not possible as my WhoIs account showed that there was a lock on the account and that JJRCompanies no longer existed and could not provide me with the required EPP.

Fastcomet said they went through PublicRegistryDomain (PRD) and that they would contact them asking PRD to "push" the domain to Fastcomet.

After several days, I was told by FastComet that PRD had refused the push and that I needed to contact PRD directly.

I don't know if the following result was due to my initiating several tickets with PRD or because FastComet had asked for the push to happen and related that WebHostFive/JJRCompanies was no longer in existence.

PRD reached out to me and apologized and said that they had discovered that WebHostFive/JJRCompanies was no longer in business and would set me up as the owner of the domain and create a record in their system allowing me to manage my domain.

I did have to send them a scan of a government ID, the company registration and completed a PRD document they provided to me.

I am happy to report that less than a week later, I now have my domain functioning on my hosting company.

I apologize for the length of this answer but wanted to provide you with the detailed processes that have finally worked for me and hope that your own pursuit of claiming your domain will allow you to be successful.

Possibly PRD will understand when someone states their domain comes from WebHostFive or JJRCompanies and will move much faster.

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  • Thanks for sharing your experience here, it might be helpful to others, including all the steps you went through. BTW, I think you meant "Public Domain Registry" (PDR) instead of PRD? You might edit your answer to reflect that. – dan♦ Nov 19 '17 at 7:35

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