Over two weeks ago, I won an auction for what I considered to be one of their few decent .com domains, but the seller apparently doesn't want to let it go for the selling price, and it appears to only be a matter of time before the auction is canceled. I wonder who else has had the same experience.
To get a handle on all these sellers backing out, it is going to have to come down to some legal filings to make this stick as a means of resolutions.
A few things I would do.
First, contact the registrar where the name is currently. Submit to their legal team a copy of the Bido TOS which should be a binding document for both buyer and seller. Submit to the legal proof of the auction proceedings and the auction results. Submit any communications post sale as well.
Next, if the seller is a resident of the US, contact the sheriff's office in that locale and file a complaint, most likely a breach of contract.
Then, contact you local law enforcement agency and file a police report. Again, most likely termed a breach of contract.
It is important and imperative that you be brief and factual and eliminate opinions in these filings. Your goal is to make things as easy as possible for these agencies. Yes, there is a great chance there will be no action. But there is perhaps a 100% chance of it being filed somewhere and in some manner, most likely the fraud division.
Lastly, and this can be real fun, you can file a complaint with your small claims court. Typically fees are not that much and if you win the case the other party will have to pay court costs and reimburse filing fees. It will not matter if the defendant is present or not. I would really limit this to instances where payment has been made but no product was delivered per the agreement and terms.
All of this may seem to be extreme. But, I can assure you that when properly handled this can have a real impact on the final resolution.
I have had to use one or more of these practices in the past and I have been 100% successful in every instance. One such instance involved a seller in England. Many people do not realize that these matters enter into the arena of wire fraud. And because such fraud is in the news with great frequency, agencies are pressured to act.
In the matter involving a seller in England, once I contacted the proper authorities in the UK, the matter was resolved in less than 36 hours.
Everything you need to file any or all the above steps is right there in the WHOIS. You can even make matters as difficult as you can for these people, including reporting them to the registrar for have bogus data (if it actually is bogus) in the WHOIS, which is a violation of ICANN policies.
The point is, if it is worth it to you to take these steps, then by all means proceed. There is not really much time involved if you have all the proper documentation. You want to present the facts in a concise, chronological order. That is why you want to restrict opinions. Law enforcement agencies are busy so making the task minimal effort for them is essential.
