VeriSign subject to further legal attacks

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 10 Jun 2002 at 17:46

VeriSign's 'Domain Name Expiration Notice' marketing campaign is filling up its wardrobe with law suits for every occasion.

The latest suit on the hanger is courtesy of Go Daddy Software, the sixth largest domain name registrar, who objected to the campaign and has filed a suit alleging VeriSign tricked its customers into transferring domains to VeriSign and paying $29 per domain, as opposed to $8.95 charged by Go Daddy.

This filing comes in addition to the suit brought by BulkRegister, a related consumer group filing by the California Consumer Action Group, as well as a class action suit brought by consumers against VeriSign for its 'deceptive' marketing practices. Go Daddy Software also told us that the company 'got calls yesterday from several others who are also filing against VeriSign.' Go Daddy's suit is not a class action.

Bob Parsons, president of Go Daddy, said: 'Marketing is one thing. Deception is something else all together. The purpose of this law suit is to protect our customers from being misled and victimised by VeriSign's deceptive campaign.'

The marketing campaign in question concerns a mail shot from VeriSign to domain name holders which appears to be a warning that their domain is about to expire and requires imminent renewal. However, the renewal deadline given on the 'Domain Name Expiration Notice' bears no correlation to the actual expiry date of a customer's domain, and by completing and returning the notice with a $29 fee, the customer would be transferring their domain to VeriSign.

VeriSign also faces a number of class action suits from its own shareholders that allege the company misrepresented its revenues and earnings.