This policy is subject to change, so please check regularly for updates.
This policy is to be read as part of or in addition to our Terms of Service.

Domain Name Registration /Renewal / Transfer Service Terms & Conditions

1. Domain Registration / Incoming Transfer Orders

1. Customer domain registrations / incoming transfer orders are submitted to us online.  New customers can do this directly via our website and existing customers can use their online admin panel account.
   
   When registering a new domain, full details of the proposed registered owner must be supplied, and, where the domain name ends in .uk, and the domain is to be registered to a UK based Ltd or Plc company then a valid company registration number from Companies House must also be supplied.  Failure to supply this information will delay the order from being processed.
2. Customers should ensure that all domain registration order information submitted is spelt correctly and is up to date as any subsequent amendments may incur a charge in order to perform.
3. Customers are responsible for ensuring that they have complied with the registration criteria and obtained all consents and authorisations necessary in respect of the registration or transfer of the domain name(s). Domain extension specific information can be found as per links below these terms.
4. Individuals who are registering a .uk domain and DO NOT wish their address details to be published on the Nominet WHOIS database (where applicable) can OPT OUT at the time of ordering the domain name.  Where a .uk domain is to be registered in a company name OR the domain is for business use then these details cannot be opted out from but the customer may offer an alternate address such as a P.O. Box which would be displayed in the domains' WHOIS output instead.
5. The customer also confirms and warrants that any Requested Domain is being registered or transferred into our control, to be used at no time whatsoever, for any unlawful purpose.  If a domain registered through or held by The Hosting Shop is subsequently identified as being unlawfully used, by a Law Enforcement Agency such as the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Metropolitan Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU) or the Police then the domain will be subject to immediate suspension without warning either by The Hosting Shop or by the respective Domain Registry upon that Agency's instruction.
6. The Hosting Shop reserve the right to refuse orders for any reason. Where we do refuse an order, we will notify the customer that the order will not be processed via telephone or email. If the order has been processed and the customer has paid our charges they will be refunded back to the credit/debit card or PayPal account used to make the payment OR placed as a credit on the customers account.
7. We will endeavour to register the domains requested by a customer, subject to their availability but we will not be liable for any delay in registering any domains that have been requested. ALL registration and transfer orders are manually vetted and before the order is accepted and processed.
8. If we accept a domain registration/transfer order, the processing of your request will start immediately.

2. Services

1. We provide domain name registration services on an "as available" basis. Our acceptance of an application to register a domain name is not an acknowledgement by us that the domain name is available. The success or failure of domain name registration depends on many factors outside our control and we cannot therefore guarantee that an application will be successful. Any application to register a domain name is therefore subject to the successful registration of the domain name at the applicable domain name registry/registrar. A successful registration is shown by the domain name being displayed on the appropriate WHOIS directory of the registry/registrar as being registered to the customer.
2. If a domain name is not successfully registered with the registry/registrar or if we do not accept an order for whatever reason, we will refund the registration fee a customer has paid to us or place a credit of the same amount on the customers' online account. However, we will not be liable for any loss or damage arising or resulting from any inability to register the domain name or from us not accepting and processing an order and we will not be responsible for any costs incurred or other steps taken by a customer in anticipation of the registration or transfer of a domain name prior to receipt of official confirmation of such registration or transfer. Neither will we be liable to refund the registration fees if, for any reason after registration, a customer chooses to relinquish the domain name or if a customer subsequently cancels their order.
3. Customers should note that any domain name registered through ourselves may subsequently be challenged and/or cancelled by parties other than ourselves if the registration is deemed by the official registry to be invalid under their terms (for example trademark infringement).
4. Customers agree that The Hosting Shop will be registered as the default Administrative and Technical Contacts for all domain names registered by us or transferred to us. This will allow us to manage the domain name on the customers' behalf.
5. Customers agree that The Hosting Shop may, at any time and without notice, change the domain name Registrar or other supplier with which/whom we manage the domain name(s) on the customers' behalf.
   
   To do so may require us to perform a "Registrar Transfer". In which case, customers authorise us to act on their behalf in this regard and transfer the domain name(s) to our chosen supplier. Customers agree that any transfer authorisation emails will be dealt with by us as the authorised Administrative Contact for the domain name(s).
   
   We will endeavour to perform such transfers in a transparent manner, with no service disruption or the loss of any domain management facilities previously available to customers.
   
   Customers acknowledge that by us performing a Registrar Transfer, the domain name(s) will be blocked from transferring to any other domain name registrar for a period of 60 days from the date the transfer is completed as per the registry's restrictions.

3. Charges and Payment

The Hosting Shop require payment in advance for the registration, renewal and transfer of all domain names where charges apply.

Our charges for registration and renewal, which include third party disbursements (for example the registry/registrars fees), can be viewed at www.thehostingshop.co.uk .

The disbursements and our charges represent the initial costs for the registration of a domain name and customers acknowledge that continued use of a domain name may expose them to additional charges payable to the local domain name registry/registrar, for example on renewal. Customers are liable for any such charges. The charges and disbursements charged will remain fixed for the registration term of the domain (such as twelve (12) months or twenty four (24) months as applicable or notified to customers.

a.    The Hosting Shop' charges for transferring an externally registered domain name to themselves or away from themselves are in accordance with section 8 of these Terms and Conditions.

b.    No refund will be given if:

1. termination takes place within the existing registration period of the domain name.
2. the domain name was renewed directly by the customer with the domain registry/registrar.

4. Cancellation

Note about distance selling regulations: Where domain name registries require advance payment for the registration of any domain name and that any registration is final and can not be reversed for the period of registration; you acknowledge and agree to forego any right(s) under these regulations once we start processing your domain registration order.

Customers are entitled to cancel an order for a domain name subject to the following terms:

Where your domain registartion request is not part of an automated process and if we have not accepted and started processing the order, it will be cancelled subject to customers paying a cancellation charge of £10 plus VAT;

If we have started processing the order then (irrespective of whether or not the cancellation request is received within two (2) hours), it will be cancelled subject to the customer paying our full charges including the Local Administration Costs (if these have been incurred) and the cancellation fee referred to in the above clause.

Refund requests following cancellation must be submitted using our helpdesk ticket system. Where the customer has paid us by credit/debit card or PayPal for the purchase of the domain, we will endeavour to issue the refund to the credit/debit card or PayPal account used. In cases where this is not possible, a credit note of the same value will be applied to the clients account.

We highly recommend that all customers check in advance of placing a domain registration order with ourselves, the registration criteria for each domain extension which can be found on the following page of our website  http://www.thehostingshop.co.uk/clients/cart.php?a=add&domain=register and also in the links at the end of these Terms & Conditions.   

If customers are not sure about their or their company/organisation's eligibility to register a specific domain extension then we request that they contact our sales dept in advance of placing an order - http://www.thehostingshop.co.uk/clients/contact.php

.ac.uk and .gov.uk domains

All applications to process these domain extensions are processed manually before being submitted to the registry (JANET) for approval.   We strongly advise that any customer requiring these types of domains, refer to the JANET eligibility criteria in links below before placing an order.  One free manual submission attempt is included in the price of the domain registration. All further attempts would be processed at our standard hourly rate.  Should the application fail due to ultimate rejection by JANET then the registration fee will be refunded in full less our processing charge of £25 + vat.

5. Domain name registry/registrar and indemnity

All customers agree and acknowledge that registration and use of the domain name is subject to the acceptable use policies, rules and/or other terms and conditions of the registry/registrar (see links at end of these terms). By submitting the order form to us, customers agree to be bound by any such policies, rules and/or additional terms and conditions and to fully and effectively indemnify us in respect of all losses, costs, expenses or liability suffered or incurred by us as a result of or arising out of any breach of these policies, rules and/or other terms and conditions. It is the customers responsibility to familiarise themselves with the policies, rules and other terms and conditions of the registry/registrar (see individual registry/registrar agreements below).

6. Domain Renewal

A domain name, once registered, will fall due for renewal at the expiration of the registration period specified. Any domains registered via ourselves will be listed in the customers online account admin panel along with the respective expiry date and we advise all customers to make a note of these dates for their own records.

We will attempt to notify customers of a domain's pending expiry up to 5 times in advance of the registration period applicable to their chosen domain names via email (60 days, 30 days, 15 days, 7 days and 1 day before expiry).
It is the customers responsibility to keep their contact email address up to date on their online account(s) with us to allow us to do this as well as monitor the renewal date of their domain name(s) and ensure that we receive payment by the date it is due.  Failure to do so could result in the expiration and potential loss of a domain.

The Hosting Shop require payment for the renewal of the domain names prior to the respective renewal date for the ongoing registration of those domain names. We reserve the right not to make payment to the registry/registrar unless payment has been made by the customer to us for this renewal.

For any customer online accounts which contain domain names, where that account is in a "Suspended" status due to outstanding invoices for any other services taken (not necessarily relating to domains), we reserve the right not to notify customers of the domain renewals and will not renew the domain names until that account is paid up to date and the account suspension status is removed.

Notifications of pending account suspensions are sent out to customers with plenty of advance warning so that they are able to resolve before this account status is reached and to ensure that domain notifications continue to be sent.

Unless customers have formally notified us (in writing) that they do not wish us to send them email reminders of renewal dates, our sole obligation in relation to the renewal of domain names is to issue one reminder to the customer at their last notified email address about the renewal date of the relevant domain name. This obligation will lapse if the customers registration of the domain name lapses or terminates for any reason. The Hosting Shop accepts no liability for the loss of registration of any Domain that has failed to be renewed nor any liability through the resulting loss of services (website/email) that are connected to that Domain.

We strongly advise customers to add a secondary email address (preferably with a third provider to their email primary address) to their online account to ensure that they receive these reminders.

1. Late Domain Renewal and Applicable "Redemption" Fees

   The following applies for domains where the registration is held by ourselves, which have passed their expiry date.

   All domains ending in .uk (not including .ac.uk or .gov.uk)
   In the event of the domain expiring, all associated services such as website hosting and email which is using the domain as its "Primary" domain will cease to operate within 30 days.
   .uk domains can be renewed up to 90 days after the domain expiry date at the same renewal price with no additional surcharge.
   After 90 days following the expiry date, it is no longer possible for the existing Registrant to renew the domain as it will be removed from our IPStag and returned back to the Domain Registry who will then make it available for others to register on a first come basis.

   Domains ending in .com/.net/.org/.biz/.info/.name/.tel/.asia/.mobi
   In the event of the domain expiring, all associated services such as website hosting and email which is using the domain as its "Primary" domain will cease to operate within 17 days.
   These domain types can be renewed for 17 days after the domain expiry date at the same renewal price with no additional surcharge. After 17 days have passed the domain will be suspended on the 17/18th day for a period of 8 days.  During this 8 day period, the nameserver records of the expired domain name will be automatically updated by the Domain Registry to ns1.domain-expiry-notice.com and ns2.domain-expiry-notice.com.
   Any web requests for the domain will be redirected to the following web page http://www.domain-expiry-notice.com to inform the domain Registrant that the domain has been suspended due to non-renewal. This is in addition to our own email reminders that will have been sent out previously.
   Registrants can still renew the domain during this 8 day period at the usual renewal rate but an additional redemption fee will also apply which is currently priced at £90 + vat. This is a fee which is set directly by the Domain Registry which is passed onto the Registrant. Should a domain be renewed during this period, the nameservers will revert back to their previous settings and will be operational again within 30 minutes of renewing.

   After the 8 day period has passed, if the domain has still not renewed then the domain will go into full "Redemption" status at midnight on the 8th/9th day of the initial suspension and this period will last for a further 30 days. During this period, the domain can still be renewed by the Registrant at the usual rate but an additional higher redemption fee will also apply which is currently priced at £100 + vat. Again, this is a fee which is set directly by the Domain Registry which is passed onto the Registrant.
   After the 30 day Redemption period has passed, the Registrant will no longer have the opportunity to renew and retain the domain. There will then be a period of 5 days where the domain goes into a "Pending Delete" status and is then then released by the Domain Registry and can be re-registered by anyone on a first come basis.

   Other domain types (for example .de/.es/.eu/.in/.me/.ws)
   In the event of the domain expiring, all associated services such as website hosting and email which is using the domain as its "Primary" domain will cease to operate immediately.
   It "may" be possible for some of these domain types to still be renewed after expiration at the usual renewal rate, but an additional redemption fee of £100 + vat will also apply and a minimum 3 year renewal term may also be applicable. The longer renewal term and timescale available to be able to renew the domain after its expiry date has passed will vary depending on each individual domain type and domain Registrants who are in this situation should contact http://www.thehostingshop.co.uk/clients/contact.php ASAP via email or support ticket, who can then check with the relevant Domain Registry and confirm back on the what the status is.
   It is currently not possible to restore/renew .de and .ws domains after the expiry date has passed.

7. Domain WHOIS Information and updates

It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that all WHOIS address and contact information which is held for their domain(s) is kept up to date at all times.   Please note that this contact information is not linked to the address/contact information stored on the customer's online admin control panel..

Should changes need to be made to the address or contact information then a change request can be submitted by signed fax or post on the organisations' letterhead paper. This will be validated by ourselves before the changes are made and confirmed by return fax. The changes will then show in the domains' WHOIS output within 24 hours of confirmation being given. The Hosting Shop will not charge to make these changes based on up to one change being made per domain per year.  Any more than this would be charged at our standard hourly rate.

Domain Registrant Name Change

The domain registrant is classed as the legal owner of the domain until that domain expires and comes up for re-registration. If the registrant name is to change i.e. the domain has been sold or the company/organisation has been taken over then the details on the domain name should be updated accordingly.

.uk domains

Changing the Legal Registrant of a .uk domain name, can only be performed directly through Nominet (the .uk domain registry). Customers can do this online at the following link:- www.nominet.org.uk/go/login. Please note that Nominet may charge a small fee to process such requests.
Further information can be found on Nominet's website www.nic.uk/registrants/maintain/transfer/

.eu domains

Changing the Legal Registrant of a .eu domain can only be performed directly through EURID. This is known as a "trade". More information can be found on this process at www.eurid.eu
EURID will charge ourselves for the trade and this will be passed directly onto the registrant. Please contact us to confirm on the fee involved in advance of requesting this type of change.

Other Domains

For most other domain extensions, this change can be performed directly by ourselves and can be made without charge providing no charge is made to us by the respective Registrar/Registry concerned.

For registrant changes to be completed, we must receive a signed request by the existing registrant (if the domain is registered to a person) or a director or officer of the existing company/organisation if the domain is registered to a company/organisation on the company/organisations letterhead paper. This may be posted to us (address can be found on the contact page of our website).

Upon receipt we shall perform further verification checks before making the requested changes and then faxing back to confirm.

8. Domain Transfers (To and From)

8.1 - Transferring away - There are no fees at present to transfer a domain away from us provided the correct information is supplied and all the terms within the Payment Policies section (see General Terms) are also satisfied and also that we are able to validate the source of the request (see section 8.1b below).

We will complete the request exactly as instructed so if you are unsure please ask the new company for full instructions as the exact process can vary slightly between registrars and domain extensions. When transferring to us we give you full and accurate details of exactly what is needed and when you need to do it so when transferring away this is information you need to get from the receiving company. We will attempt to transfer the domain three times after which a fee of £35 + vat is chargeable to cover up to three additional attempts. 

To ensure all requests are authorised they should be signed by the domain owner or a director (if a limited company) and faxed or posted to the address/facsimile number displayed on our Contact page. If you supply a return fax number or stamped addressed envelope we will send confirmation when your instructions have been completed.

The request must include the domain name(s) and the relevant information to effect the transfer (it is slightly different for some domain extensions - speak to your new company for details). The reason we ask for written confirmation is not only to protect us but also to help prevent a fraudulent application attempting to take control of your domain. We would however be sorry to see you go. :~(

8.1b Validation - We will also need to perform a quick additional check to ensure any request is genuine (i.e. it is being made by the domain owner/account holder) This is normally done by phone by contacting the existing/known contact details. We will try up to three times (we will try this on three different days and also at different times). If we are unable to validate the source this way then if requested we can also write to the whois details with a pass code which can then be sent to us with the request. If this fails an additional request will be needed which includes supporting evidence to help establish that the party making the request is the domain owner or account holder or that the new contact details can be verified to the domain owner.

8.1c Lead-Time - Transfers are completed within a maximum of seven working days of the successful validation of a request. If you require transfer on a specific day we can also offer an expedited service for the following fees: weekday working hours (9am-5pm) £25 + vat, and any other times/days £35 + vat. Each request can include up to three domain names.

8.2 - Transferring to us - Just let us know the domain(s) and we will advise you of the procedures that apply to your domain(s). Where necessary we will supply you with a simple form to complete with all the correct information that you can send to your existing hosting company. If we send the necessary information three times without success we will give you the option to either stop the process without any cost to you or pay a fee of £35 to cover three additional attempts (You should then try and reclaim this from your existing company) We would be happy to have your business.

If you are transferring an international name space domain (ie .com/.net/.org) to us there is a fee of £15 + vat however this also includes an additional years renewal of the domain name.

9. Indemnity

All customers will indemnify us against all costs, claims, damages and losses incurred by us as a result of:

a)  any claims that any of the domain names infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party;

b) any errors in any information provided by customers in relation to any domain name transfers or registrations; and

c) any act or omission by us in reliance on any information provided by customers.

10. Disputes

If we become aware of any dispute with any other person or business or organisation regarding any domain names registered through ourselves, we may, at our sole discretion, and without notice or liability to you, cease any further use or service of such domain names including, without limitation, deleting or suspending them from our computer systems, and/or making appropriate representations or providing information to any relevant authority or interested party.

11. Interpretation

If there is any conflict between our terms and conditions and the terms and conditions of the registry/registrar the terms and conditions of the registry/registrar will take precedence.

Domain name specific Terms & Conditions and related Dispute Resolution Policy

Certain domain names may be subject to additional terms and conditions as laid down by the respective domain registrars/registries; where possible relevant links have been provided below. Some of the links may require a PDF reader installed on the end user's computer in order to read the page.

Domain Extension(s)	Documentation	Relevant Link
.uk	Registrant Terms	www.nominet.org.uk/nominet-terms
	Dispute Policy	www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/drs/policy
.eu	Registrant Terms	www.eurid.eu/files/reg_pol_EN.pdf
	Dispute Policy	www.eurid.eu/en/eu-domain-names/disputes
.com .net .org .info .biz .org  .name	Dispute Policy	www.icann.org/en/udrp/
.uk.com .gb.com .eu.com .uk.net .gb.net	Terms & Conditions	www.centralnic.com/terms
	Dispute Policy	www.centralnic.com/support/dispute
.gov.uk	Eligibility Guidelines	www.ja.net/services/domain-name-registration/register.gov.uk/gov-form/elig.php
.ac.uk	Eligibility Guidelines	www.ja.net/services/domain-name-registration/register.ac.uk/eligibility-ac.html
.tv	Terms & Conditions	www.verisign.com/domain-name-services/domain-name-registries/tv-domain-names/tv-cc-registry-policy/index.html
.us	Registrant Terms	www.nic.us/policies/docs/ustld_nexus_requirements.pdf
.it	Dispute Policy	www.nic.it/legal-issues/regulation-disputes-and-legal-guidelines
.bz	Terms & Conditions	www.nic.bz/reg-guideline.php
.cc	Terms & Conditions	www.verisign.com/domain-name-services/domain-name-registries/tv-domain-names/tv-cc-registry-policy/index.html
.be	Terms & Conditions	www.dns.be/en/home.php?n=43.001
.de	Terms & Conditions	www.denic.de/en/bedingungen.html
.ws	Terms & Conditions	www.website.ws/legal/index.dhtml?url=website.ws

Important note: The links above will take you to external websites over which we have no control and may change.