Avoid - Just sharing our experience…
Just wanted to share our experience with Intername.uk after buying a .it TLD domain through them. Unfortunately, it was less than satisfactory.
Since we are not Italian residents, we needed to use their agent service.
A few weeks after we started using the domain, Intername.uk informed us that they had “...received a formal complaint claiming that the website associated with this domain reproduces substantial elements of a third party’s business, including structure, content organization, and booking logic. The complaint also indicates potential unauthorized use of third-party software..."
They asked us to explain the situation, but gave us no information about who the complainant was. None of the allegations were accurate. Our site was pure HTML/CSS/JS, and we suspect the complaint may have come from a competitor.
We replied in detail, but Intername.uk then said they did not need details, since they could not adjudicate a dispute — only a statement.
So we sent a statement denying any IP infringement and, of course, offering to remove any infringing element if someone could actually identify one.
Intername.uk then said this was not enough and that they were going to terminate the agent agreement. We were told we either had to find a new agent or move the domain out.
After some more back and forth, including through an open PayPal dispute, we agreed to terminate the agent agreement and relinquish the domain after 15 days. We needed that time to complete existing transactions with clients while keeping our customer service email address working.
Instead, Intername.uk unilaterally refunded the transaction and took back the domain.
We did receive a full refund.
What we want to share is this:
* If you register through Intername.uk, especially using their agent service, you may be placing your business at the mercy of any real or fake competitor filing a questionable IP complaint. In our experience, Intername.uk created the appearance of a review process, but there was no meaningful due process before they pushed us out and cancelled the domain.
* If one of your competitors is registered with them, well... keep that in mind.
And just to be clear: we are not recommending any other registrar. This is simply our experience.
Antwoord van Intername
We feel it is necessary to clarify the facts, as this review omits key details regarding our cooperation. At Intername, we prioritize legal integrity and the safety of our infrastructure.
1. Compliance over convenience
As a provider of the Local Agent service, we assume legal responsibility for domains registered on our data. When a credible, evidence-backed complaint (including allegations of unlicensed software use) is received, we must act. We cannot provide legal cover for businesses that do not resolve such serious claims.
2. The 'Full Refund' paradox
The customer demanded a 100% refund for the domain registration—a service that is non-refundable by the Registry and had already been performed. Despite this, we agreed to a full refund to settle the matter amicably and avoid further dispute.
3. Unreasonable demands
The situation was simple: the customer demanded a 100% refund while simultaneously insisting on using the domain and our legal representation for free for several more weeks.
To put this in perspective: it is like a moviegoer watching half a film, demanding a full refund for their ticket, and then refusing to leave the cinema while continuing to disturb the screening. We could not accept a situation where we bear 100% of the legal risk for a service that the customer has not paid for.
4. Lack of cooperation
We provided a 7-day notice period to update data or transfer the domain. Unfortunately, we encountered a lack of cooperation and ever-increasing demands. The decision to terminate the service was made only after it became clear that the customer attempted to use financial threats to obtain free services.
At Intername, we support thousands of international businesses, but we do not tolerate the use of our services to bypass legal requirements or the use of threats to obtain free services. We stand by our decision to prioritize legal integrity over maintaining a high-risk relationship.
Our priority is to maintain a clean and legally compliant environment for all our clients. While we regret that this led to the termination of our cooperation, we cannot maintain a 'Local Agent' representation where a credible legal risk remains unresolved. We wish you the best in your future endeavors with a setup that better fits your business model.
