Domain Name Scams
fighting to put domain name scamming companies out of business

Company Name(s):	Streamline Ltd Also known as: Mainstream Tech Ltd London Office of Verifications and Registrations (Loovar)
Telephone:	0870 850 2388
Website:	www.streamlineltd.co.uk
Status:	Active
Last Updated:	25th September 2008
Known Staff: (could be aliases)	Jodie Davies Joanne Evans Daniel Evans Emma Thomas Leighton Price Catherine Lloyd Christopher Hindley, Director/Secretary Aron Andre Davies, Director

Rob Kay - 3rd March 2008

Hi folks,
Please do keep after these crooks...they will keep popping up unless they are in jail, and we can all keep them down by exchanging information..

John Meggison - 3rd February 2008

My 74 year old mother was also conned by Loovar for £600 last August. She runs a riding school. Has anyone got any up-date about these people or ever successfully got any money back?

Carolyn Game - 12th September 2007

I have been conned by Streamline Ltd.
I was contacted by Rob Davies from the Verifications Department of Streamline on 19 July 2007 who said that they had been contacted by someone wanting to buy the domain name of 'Cane and Able Healthcare.co.uk'. He offered me the opportunity to buy it. Stupidly (because I had been thinking of buying it, as it is the exact name of our company) I went ahead and purchased it for £150 + VAT for 5 years + 2 years. I paid by our company credit card.
A friend of mine has just told me the name is still available.
I do hope that this information will help you in your plight of getting rid of these scammers.
I look forward to hearing any updated news of this dreadful company on your website. Good luck
Carolyn Game

David Hurst - 28th August 2007

That's good news Samantha! Did the cheque clear though? Others have not been so fortunate with refunds (see Mainstream Tech Ltd in the Scammers Database).

I'm interested to know if any others have received refunds, as it is only fair to report this on the page also.

Samantha Lacey - 27th August 2007

Just to let you know, I have been refunded the full amount I paid!! As I said they have to abide by the Distance Shipping Act, and I have also reported it to trading standards.

Samantha Lacey - 23rd August 2007

Interestingly, as I unfortunately did pay these scummers - just for your information, the payment has come up on my card as 'Streamline Mobiles'.

Mercia Nitzsche - 23rd August 2007

I did in fact receive a cheque from Mainstream Tech Ltd and which I paid into my account approx 13th July 2007 and which apparently bounced. I wrote to them again and told them how I noticed they targeted the animal industry and their scams was taking food from the mouths of innocent animals. I also mentioned the OAP and the £2,000 amongst other things. As a Buddhist I take the view that you make the Cause, you face the consequences. The worst cause is to deprive those of innocence and who are vulnerable.

I received a very nice letter from their accounts department with numerous apologies, I am happy to copy and paste if you wish me to. Promising to send me a 'Postal Order'! I congratulated the guy and said that was a wise decision. On reflection, I realised he had not asked whom to make the Postal Order payable to and also as I was allowed to 'represent' the same cheque, had chosen to cover further expenses that would be incurred by paying a Postal Order???? Not likely.

If the promise were genuine, I would have received the funds no later than end July. We are now nearing the end of August and nothing has been forthcoming from Mainstream, other than a second letter of apology from the same sympethatic person, begging me to understand he was doing his utmost to return my money.

Perhaps he was genuinely sincere, in which case I feel sorry for him, and as I said in my reply, you have no business working for a company that engages in activities whereby they steal from others. I was informed that David Hurst is running a similar type of business and in fact is doing the same thing. I guess when the chips are down, a person will stoop so low, they are incapable of comprehending the 'evil' seeds they plant in their own lives.

I have since lost my own dog and am still going through the grieving process, she was such a special 'child'. Anyone in the animal world wishing to 'hook up' with me, please contact me. I am a great supporter of transforming poison into medicine and maybe this is an opportunity for those working in the same field, to work together. I am based in Sutton/Surrey and flexible to negotiate.

Mercia

Trish - 23rd August 2007

I suspect, Samantha, that they are targetting people who they don't think are internet savvy!

I'm not surprised that people are getting conned - they almost got me with the time pressure and the very convincing arguments of Mr Price, but I was checking on line as I spoke to him and seeing the domain names were actually still available (although he tried to give me an answer for that) and something was smelling really badly. Coupled, off course, with the knowledge that a domain name by iteself doesn't guarantee people will ever find the business on the internet!

David - if you want any help getting these guys let me know!

Samantha Lacey - 23rd August 2007

Just to confirm Trish I also run a livery yard and riding school so yes they must be targetting equine enterprises!!

Barry Hirst - 23rd August 2007

Those of you who have been scammed... please contact Trading Standards at Swansea.
The contact is David Picken. Telephone 01792 636000. He is collating all the evidence against these Scammers. They will not stop until they are prosecuted!

Trish - 22nd August 2007

Seems like they are targetting animal businesses - I run the website for a Livery Yard, and was contacted by the owner in a panic yesterday after a very helpful man from London Office of Verifications and Registrations rang him saying he had 29 minutes left in which to block someone setting up a new riding school in the area from using all available Limebrook website names…… You know the rest!

It had to be a scam - if you're setting up a stables the last thing you do is spend a fortune on website names. Luckily the matter was passed to me. I told them to get lost.

I have reported it to Trading Standards - these people are scum!

Barry Hirst - 22nd August 2007

Anyone that has been scammed should contact David Picken of Trading Standards, Swansea. Tel 01792 636000.

Samantha Lacey - 22nd August 2007

Hi, just wanted to say thank you so much for this blog. Had a call yesterday same old story wanted to sell me 12 domain names apparantly all going to be bought by a competitor!! To by all 12 was over £3000 for 10 years @ £25 each, luckily credit card limit was £500 so just paid that thinking I would pay the rest today - then checked the internet as after thinking about it thought maybe I had been scammed, and oh yes I had - luckily read an article regarding the Distance Shipping Regulations and because I had paid with a private credit card not a business card I am covered and therefore have a 7 day cooling off period, so by law THE LONDON OFFICE OF VERIFICATIONS AND REGULATION have to refund my payment. Have spoken to them and they say they are going to refund it as required by the law - but we shall see!!! I said that I had seen various info on the net about them and they reckoned they are trying to sue you!! Somehow I dont think so! Just for your info I spoke to Emma Thomas and Leighton Price!! THANKS AGAIN

Barry Kelly - 21st August 2007

Hi David,

Just to let you know www.mainstreamtech.co.uk are now operating the same scam as www.loovar.co.uk having used www.streamlineltd.co.uk I believe.
I was scammed today using the old "competitor is about to register your domains using other extensions" line!
And like a mug I fell for it!!

Thanks and regards
Barry Kelly

Barry Kelly - 20th August 2007

Just been tricked/lied to by these guys today! www.loovar.co.uk I believe they are the same people as www.mainstreamtech.co.uk and streamlineltd.co.uk See their About Us pages! They're identical!

I got the usual story about a competitor also in London trying to register my domain in different extensions.
No refund and TS will be hearing of all this!

Barry Hirst - 3rd August 2007

This is not a new scam. Looks like it has been going on for some time. Go to the following website www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/courtcases/domainregserv

Barry Hirst - 3rd August 2007

I'll pass this information onto Trading Standards Swansea.

Barry Hirst - 23rd July 2007

I see from their Web Site that Mainstream Tech have stopped trading. They are being investigated by Trading Standards in Swansea. The Mainstream Docklands address was only an Accommodation address i.e. a Message and mail forwarding address. When I sent them a registered letter it was forwarded to Jodie Davies, 52 Maes Y Glas, Gendros, Swansea, SA5 8 AR. This could be their real location.

Swansea Trading standards are collating names of all the people who have been scammed so if you are one of them I suggest you contact them and they will e-mail you a proforma to complete.

David Hurst - 17th July 2007

Barry,

Thanks for the update.

I spent 30 minutes on the phone to Fasthosts and was promised an email response to my earlier submitted correspondence and was assured that they would investigate thoroughly. In reality they couldn't be bothered. Some way to treat someone like me who has been a customer of theirs ever since they first started out in business. Personally, I will be moving a considerable amount of business away from Fasthosts.

I also petitioned the Prime Minister, but they refused to post my petition online. The government doesn't give a crap, how foolish of me to expect otherwise.

On another note, I am working on a new website dedicated solely to domain name scammers. I will notify everyone who has posted on this page as soon as it is completed, so if you wish to be included, just post a comment with your email address.

The scammers will never go away. They always re-surface under new names, so what we really need to do is educate people on the domain name system. The website will help in a small way.

David

Barry Hirst - 17th July 2007

At their request, I have sent all the information to Trading Standards including details and print out of this web site. They are now investigating the scam. The more complaints that they receive about Mainstream will help their investigation.

I have also advised them that Fasthosts refuse to take any action. Their Legal department has not answered my registered letter which I sent on the 22nd June 2007.

Surely if the Legal department of this reputable company are aware of the fraudulent practices of one of their Resellers they should immediately terminate their relationship with them. Otherwise they too will be investigated by Trading Standards.

Mercia Nitzsche - 16th July 2007

Well, I am glad to learn, at least, I am not the only one, stupid enough to trust QUOTE The official internet regulation body, designed to protecting Company Services from other companies trying to 'steal' established business names’ UNQUOTE Matthew Philips - Floor 2 - Verification Department at Castelia House from Mainstream Tech. Mr. Swaine from the 'complaints department' assured me that Matthew with his Legal MA degree in Law, is one of the most accomplished representatives in the company.

Matthew Philips told me that a company exactly 18.5 miles North from where we are based (Sutton & Croydon area) tried to register with our company name. They had a bad reputation and lost a Burmese cat in their care as well as other animals. I was offered the first opportunity to say NO to prevent this 'preditor' from getting his hands on my company.

Usually I check with my webmaster, but he told me that I had to make the decision on the spot. 10 years - 3 domain names @ £25.00 p/annum. I agreed to pay £75.00 p/annum, but to make sure not a penny more was taken from my account. They cleared the remaining £300 and when I spoke to the Matthew on Monday, as I had no time to check why the confirmation had not arrived or my account, he explained that as we are a 'Social Enterprise' and therefore eligible for Charitable Status, the good news was that he managed to reduce the time period to 2 years????

Paying 2 years in full still is a total of £150 and not £300. Jody explained that it was a package and I would get a third year without charge. The sum included free website design and webhosting. I received the 'invoice' by fax and a few days later an original by post. It made no sense to me and oblivious that I was properly scammed, I basically cancelled the entire order after speaking with my webmaster. A cheque came through the post and which I presented to my bank the very day I received it.

Saturday, I arrived the cheque with the 'refer to drawer' and this morning I tried ringing at 10:00 am. No answer. I had yet another very busy day and only managed to try ringing again at approx 3:00 pm, receiving a constant engaged sign. I still had their site on line and had e-mailed them during the weekend with my ultimatum. I just found out from my webmaster that Mainstream Tech had ceased operating 9/7/07, my birthday.

I paid with a direct debit card and was told by my bank who still had the payment in my account that they had to honour the payments. They suggested I contact the police and get a crime number. The police told me that the bank was pushing me around and it was their responsibility. I rang the bank and found out that Mainstream Tech, after receiving my direct debit number would be able to continue taking money from my account, even if I changed my account number? The fact that I had cancelled my Debit Card made no difference as I had entered a contract. Imagine that. I couldn’t believe my ears.

After much arguing with the bank who obviously were sympathetic but most unhelpful, they finally grasped the fact that I had cancelled within the 'cooling off' period and therefore Mainstream Tech cannot take another penny out off my account. All the same, they at first refused to make a note, confirming this on my file. So much for the assistance and protection of the bank.

Reading the above messages, it seems that the animal industry is being targeted. We offer an educational package as well as 5 star canine hilton i.e. animal hotel/boarding facilities. Needless to say, the chaos I had to cancel all my direct debits and heaven knows how long it will take to reinstate all my financial commitments.

The only satisfaction I have, as a Buddhist I believe that what you give is what you get. Those people conning innocent individuals are making some serious causes for their own individual lives. An unseen justice will provide honour based on TRUTH. We the victims shall be vindicated, but it is a darn nuisance that's for sure. What kind of people are we dealing with, seriously, when they need to con those who are kind and considerate? People who are honest and work hard at whatever they do. One can only feel sorry for their shallow and greedy nature, as they already are prisoners by their own deceit. We live in a scary world when evil is nurtured and scammers think they truly are getting away with cheating.

Think of those poor dogs, skinned alive for food, in front of another dog. Cramped cages, intelligent animals being tortured by another form of low life intelligence. Eastern philosophy states the more the suffering the better the meat. They do not realise these endorphins they eat are pure poison, leading to all kinds of sickness. Same with these wicked con-artists the money they steal will only buy their own misery.

E. Welford - 16th July 2007

Another day, another cattery scammed. see blog 19 on your web site it says it all! I have reported to the trading Standards who are looking into it for me. Have also written to the bank who say they can’t help (or won't) The next step is the small claims court, though I don’t feel very hopefull of that.

Barry Hirst - 9th July 2007

I sent a Registered letter to the Legal Department of Mainstream Tech on the 14th June, 2007 at their address in Docklands. It has been returned by Royal Mail unopened today. The letter had been forwarded to :-

Jodie Davies, 52 Maes Y Glas, Gendros, Swansea, SA5 8 AR.

I'll pass this information on to the authorities.

Christine Pocknell - 5th July 2007

Just had a phone call from Mainstream offering to protect my domain name for 450 quid for 5 years - I must have had my brain in gear - I realized it was a scam and I hope I escaped from Jodie Davies the girl from Mainstream who was trying to protect me

Barry Hirst - 4th July 2007

I had a call from the lady who runs the cattery in Cheltenham. I feel really sorry for her. She is new to the business and does not understand the internet. They have taken advantage of her and tried to scam her for £1000.
These people must be stopped. I wrote to Fasthosts and Nominet over a week ago but have had no response from either. I am going back to Trading Standards tomorrow to raise the profile on this scam. Surely they have the authority to stop these people from Trading and seek a prosecution. I have also contacted Watchdog again. Suggest everyone else does likewise.

Thanks David for the info on the 10 year registration info and the CCJ idea.

David Hurst - 4th July 2007

Fiona,

I'll look into getting a website together. I have just telephoned Fasthosts again and urged them in the strongest possible terms to cease service for this lot, but I'm not holding my breath.

Her bank are incorrect or haven't explained themselves clearly. The bank provide protection from card fraud, but this is not card fraud (not as far as they're concerned anyway). This should instead be covered under Visa or Mastercard purchase guarantee - i.e. Mainstream have not delivered the goods she's paid for, because they can't. It's not possible to register a .co.uk for 10 years. She needs to put a complaint in anyway, because if Visa and co. receive enough of these they will refuse to provide merchant services for these people.

It may also be worthwhile for people who have been scammed to issue a county court claim against the company or its directors. In all probability they won't turn up in court, and will thus be automatically given a CCJ. This will effectively curtail all credit and banking activities. They will find a way around it probably, but it will at least cause them a bunch of hassle.

David

Fiona Thorne - 4th July 2007

Hi David,

I am about to email Nominet with regards to this and getting the domain transferred to me.

I set up her website using Moonfruit, so have already paid for this year with them and designed the site. I didn't feel it necessary to get domains and do the whole hosting thing myself as she only wanted to be found if people searched for catteries in our area. I did as a favour to her as she's a mate! Now I feel a right idiot because Mainstream have done this and charged her £250!

It only happened about 2 hours ago, and she's supposed to receive details in the post of her registration with them - so we'll see what happens.

She has contacted her bank but they were unable to refund as she’s given the details to Mainstream and she gave them go ahead for £250. She has cancelled her card incase they tried to take any more than that, although I find that doubtful but you can't be too careful. Her bank gave her details of their fraud department but they didn't want to know and told her to contact her local trading standards office, which she has now done.

I would be well up for helping in the quest to stop them and their diabolical sales technique. Let me know what I can do.

Fiona

David Hurst - 4th July 2007

Fiona,

I'm very sorry to hear this. I have actively petitioned Fasthosts (who host Mainstream's website and provide domain name registration services), along with the OFT and 10 Downing Street. No-one seems that enthusiastic to do anything, but if we can get together a group of people we can get them shut down. I would be happy to build a website where people can post their experiences and evidence of their transactions if enough people get in touch and show their support. We can then present this information to the relevant authorities.

With regard to your query, £25 per domain per year is a little bit pricey (particularly for UK domains), but is not out of order for a good quality managed service, and it does sound as though your friend could do with someone managing her names on her behalf. Obviously though, this should be a trustworthy company, not this bunch of scum.

What I find particularly outrageous though is the registration term. Whilst it is possible to register .com, .biz and .org for 10 years, the maximum (and minimum) registration for a UK domain is 2 years. So, the £250 paid to Mainstream is not being spent on registration. They will have to renew the domain a further 4 times over the coming decade. Will they be in business that long? Of course not. Hence, your friend has actually paid £250 for a 2 year registration and it sounds like she has no confirmation of any of her registration details.

The price for registering with a company like UKReg.com (owned by Fasthosts - the same people Mainstream are buying from) is £6.90 inc. VAT. My company Higher Sites provides managed services and we would charge £20 per 2 years.

No doubt she has paid on debit or credit card, so she should immediately seek a refund from her bank or card provider. If she's paid for ten years and they’ve only registered for two, then she should at least get 80% of her money back, if not all of it.

She can get the name transferred elsewhere by appealing directly to Nominet. If you tell me what the name is I can advise further.

David

Fiona Thorne - 4th July 2007

My friend who runs a cattery had a phone call today from Matthew Phillips at Mainstream. She got very similar spiel to Barry only they said that the other cattery who wanted to use her name was much larger than hers. They wanted to safe guard her company name and she had an hour before this other company got those domains! Initailly they said they'd register .com, .co.uk, .biz & .org for £1000 for 10 years. That’s £25 per domain per year - seems a bit steep to me.
Makes me mad that they are preying on the non-technical savvy.
She said in future she’d phone me first but now she's £250 down for a .co.uk that she doesn’t know what to do with. Will they point it to her existing web site or can she get her money back?
I will be contacting Watchdog on her behalf, it's bang out of order that they are so obviously aiming at people with little or no internet knowledge.

Ian Howell - 27th June 2007

I just had a call today (27 June) from Mainstream saying that someone was about to register a series of domains with our company name. The scam is still going on.

Barry Hirst - 20th June 2007

Fashosts replied to my e-mail. They are investigating but need more evidence before they can take any action . They suggested I should make a complaint direct to Nominet, as they are the governing body, who can then instruct them to take appropriate action.

I have updated OFTEL and Trading standards today and highlighted your Web Site.

Something should be done about them. They have caused my wife and I a great deal of distress. I had to retire 4 years ago after a Stroke and I am now an OAP. My wife and I started up a small Cattery last year to make ends meet. £2000 is a great deal of money to us. I have informed our bank and they are being very sympathetic and helpful. The matter has been referred to their Fraud department.
We feel like we have been mugged.

David Hurst - 19th June 2007

Another thought…

Mainstream would get their merchant services (ability to take credit cards) revoked if enough people submitted complaints. You know what to do folks. Get your money back from these scum.

David Hurst - 19th June 2007

Barry,

I am shocked and disturbed to hear your experiences. Fasthosts own the UKReg domain name registration site - you can't get much cheaper.

Your bank will be able to refund the fraudulent use of your card via either Visa or Mastercard. It's a fairly simple process.

Many years ago, I was one of Fasthosts' early customers - back when they were quite a small outfit. The MD at the time was a chap called Andrew Graeme. Might be worth dropping him a line to make sure Mainstream can’t buy domains through them.

I suggest also that you write to the Office of Fair Trading with details of your experience.

Most people that have an online presence have paid a design firm to build it for them, so I would always recommend that you call your web designers before ever parting with any cash, if you're not sure. They should be able to advise you appropriately.

David

Barry Hirst - 18th June 2007

Mainstream Tech have registered my domains with Fasthosts Internet Ltd. I have contacted Fasthosts Sales department and told them that they should remove these domains as I was conned into an agreement with Mainstream Tech. Trading Standards have advised me that they have breached the 1967 Misrepresentation Act by fraudulent misrepresentation of the facts and that they have not given sufficient care and skill under the supply of Goods and Services Act. I have written to Mainstream Tech advising them of their misconduct and await a reply.

James Semple - 18th June 2007

Just had 'Jodie' on to my office - who fortunately passed the call to me.
I actually bought the .info name she was trying to sell me (in a round about way) while she was on the line - £8 from 1and1.
Their website is down (very strange, she says…) but the scam is clearly 'ongoing'.

Barry Hirst - 18th June 2007

Sir,

On the 6th June at approximately 0930 my wife received a call from a company who introduced themselves as the Internet Registration office in London. This company is called Mainstream Tech and is based at

23 Castalia Square
Docklands
London
England
United Kingdom
E14 3NR

Tel: 0870 850 282

The person I spoke too was Daniel Evans who informed my wife that a business within 9 miles of us had applied to use our name (chestnutcattery) with a different domain.

He told my wife that this person had a very bad reputation and had 12 complaints registered against him including 2 very serious ones. He told her that we had the first option to use these other domains but she had only 1 hour to make a decision. She asked for his number and told him that I would call him back but he said that once he had put the phone down it would be too late. We are a new Cattery business and have built up an excellent reputation. My wife was extremely upset and passed the caller to me.

He repeated this information and asked if we wanted to protect our business by registering all the alternative domains. He quoted prices on an annual basis. He told me that the person who wanted to use our title had a really bad reputation and was obviously trying to use our site to improve his business standing. He emphasised that he had to make a decision whether to allow them to use one of the spare domains e.g. chestnutcattery.co within the next hour.

I agreed in principle to reserving all Chestnut Cattery.xxx domains to protect our business not realising what was going to happen next. He said that he would send me an Invoice for each domain and asked for a Card payment. Very foolishly I gave him my Debit card details . After the call was finished I thought about the conversation. We run a very busy cattery and were in the middle attending to the cats but only 5 minutes I later I rang back to cancel the order. The receptionist said that Daniel Evans had gone for a coffee break and would not be back for 30 minutes. At the same time my wife meanwhile realised that this was some kind of scam and rang our bank to cancel our Card. She was horrified to find that a company called Mainstream Tech had withdrawn £2000 from our account. This was within 10 minutes of the end of the first telephone call. After numerous unsuccessful calls I eventually spoke to Daniel Evans and told him that I did not wish to proceed with the registration of the additional domains. He said that this was not possible because the money had gone to Israel and could not be retrieved. I am extremely angry as I am an Old Age Pensioner and we only a small fledgling business and cannot afford this kind of expense.

It appears to be professional mugging. They record the relevant parts of the telephone conversation and frighten people into believing that their business is in jeopardy and that have only a short time to make a decision if they want to save it. They also give the impression that they are the official inter registration body in London and never use their Company name.

I have registered complaints with the Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards and with Watchdog. I suggest that other people who have been mistreated by this company should do the same.

Barry Hirst

Rob Kay - 17th June 2007

Agreed. I think they have now gone offline... victory, at least for a bit until they revive as a sock-puppet with a mirror site... lets keep tracking down the scumbags, folks!

Paul - 16th June 2007

we have been scammed by these scammers yep the same story about competors wanting to buy our domain name etc , all lies. they tag now onto freehosts.co.uk who have been informed as well as VAT , inland revenue, trading standards and the police ABOUT THEIR FRAUD , all their really doing is skimming peoples cards---THEY ARE TELLYSALES SCUMBAGS.
NO BETTER THAN PETROL STATION SKIMMERS.

Chris - 15th June 2007

One of our clients has also just been contacted by judy davis of main stream tech (08708 502 820) saying that an undisclosed client within a 50 mile radius has asked to purchase 7 domains relating to this company.

The clients' domain name / company name relate to their location and industry: the former being small and the latter being a niche market. They have few national competitors and no local ones.

I found it very kind of Mainsteam Tech to take the time out from making money to warn our client. (or not!)

Rob Kay - 14th June 2007

Good post! One of my own clients has just been threatened by this bunch of crooks: I'm still trying to track them down and destroy them: trouble is that I don't know who is providing them with hosting. This is where I have got to:

Registration details for domain mainstreamtech.co.uk

--------------------

Domain name:
mainstreamtech.co.uk

Registrant:
Mainstream Tech Ltd

Registrant type:
Unknown

Registrant's address:
22 Brynhyfryd
Llangennech
Llanelli
Carmarthenshire
SA14 8GA
GB

Registrar:
Netserve Consultants Ltd t/a Netserve Consultants Ltd [Tag = NETSERVECONSULT]
URL: http://www.netserve.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 02-Jun-2006
Renewal date: 02-Jun-2008
Last updated: 24-Apr-2007

Registration status:
Registered until renewal date.

Name servers:
ns1.nsnoc.com
ns2.nsnoc.com

WHOIS lookup made at 22:23:58 14-Jun-2007

So I tried emailing netserve.co.uk - this was my response:

From: Customer Support [mailto:xxxxx]
Sent: 14 June 2007 21:50
To: Paperclip Community
Subject: Re: Formal complaint: re; Mainstream tech

This company were asked to cease using our services several months ago after we received complaints about their practices.

Good for nsnoc.com,/ netserve.co.uk they are obviously on the ball but where are the buggers behind mainstreamtech.co.uk coming from then?

David Hurst - 6th June 2007

I've just received a phone call from a concerned client who had been telephoned by a sales girl from Mainstream to say:

* "An Indian guy in Harrow wants to buy xxxxx domains" (i.e. my client's name in various extensions)
* They have his credit card details ready to take the order
* They have "earmarked" the domains
* They have to do a company check first to establish whether this guy has the right to buy the domains, so they're phoning to give my client the opportunity to purchase them first, at £30 per domain, per year

My client has a 123-Reg account and needless to say has registered the domains now for significantly less.

This has all the hallmarks of the usual domain name scam we've all seen umpteen times before. This bunch of blaggers are just trying to make a quick and nasty buck. How do I know this?

Firstly, if they really did have some guy's credit card, they would have processed it and registered the names for him. They are simply an agent, therefore they are not responsible for any infringement of trading names - that is their client's responsibility. So why would they bother to do a company check? Utter nonsense. No domain registration company does that.

Secondly, you can't "earmark" domains. There is no facility in domain registrations with any NIC to "earmark" a domain. You either buy it or you don't.