Uniforum SA’s non benign rule of the co.za SLD

Posted on December 12th, 2008 by Richard Catto 10,702 views

Yesterday, I sent a FaceBook message to Arthur Goldstuck, a highly respected South African Internet research analyst and journalist about my troubles with Uniforum SA.

This is what I sent him:

Hi Arthur

I added you as a FaceBook friend because I’d like to draw to your attention a serious problem I’m having with Uniforum SA’s heavy handed manner in which they are dealing with me.

On November 28 a domain of mine, postmaster.co.za was deleted because I failed to pay the renewal fee of R50 in time.

I subsequently re-registered it with my email address of rrcatto@gmail.com (which is the address I use to manage my domains) with the intention of paying it that same day. However before I could do that, Uniforum SA’s system deleted it and then blocked my rrcatto @ gmail address from further registrations.

I managed to re-register postmaster.co.za with another address (ctneditor@gmail.com) and immediately paid the R50 fee, which was accepted and the domain reflects as paid.

I then requested that they unblock my rrcatto@gmail.com address. Louis Bezuidenhout responded and referred me to Form 5 – http://www.coza.net.za/legal/form_05.pdf – and demanded that I fill in this form to get my email address unblocked.

The standoff is that I am refusing to do this because I feel it is unnecessary red tape.

The email I received from Bezuidenhout on Nov 28 2008 is as follows:

“You have been banned from further CO.ZA domain registrations for attempting to circumvent CO.ZA domain re-registration policies.
You are required to complete a form5 available at
http://www.coza.net.za/legal/form_05.pdf and fax it to +2711 314-0088 along with a copy of your ID to ensure further CO.ZA registrations can take place.”

I feel that I have proved my good faith by making payment for the domain (postmaster.co.za) and further demonstrations are unnecessary and a waste of my time.

Calvin Browne, also of Uniforum SA, wrote the following to me 15 minutes ago:

“If you want that block removed, you must fill in the form 5 as per the instructions on the form. This will be my final correspondence in this regard, and I will not be addressing this issue any further with yourself – I will be happy to take it up with your lawyers.”

How’s that for customer service? These people have blocked my email address for something I am not guilty of and are refusing to unblock it unless I jump through their hoops. That is how Uniforum SA deals with its captive audience.

His prompt reply blew me away because he shared with me that Uniforum SA had done the exact same thing to him previously. Uniforum SA blocked one of the most respected Internet consultants in South Africa and forced him to sign affidavits, as if his word alone could not be trusted.

It was clear from his reply that he was deeply upset and offended at the way they had handled him and I asked his permission to quote him whereupon he sent me the following message with his permission to publish it:

“This is hardly a unique experience, and I’ve been there too. This is probably one of the very few countries in the world where you can’t register your own lapsed domain, but anyone else is allowed to do so. The policy is simply stupid, but because it is Policy, with a capital P, nobody is willing to think it through. There is a deeper implication: Uniforum’s systems (not upgraded in a decade) and policies are symptomatic of a monopoly supplier of a service. They’re not doing themselves any favours, even if they have convinced themselves they have the moral high ground.” – Arthur Goldstuck, December 11 2008

Clearly, if this is the way Uniforum SA handles a man of Mr Goldstuck’s calibre, there is zero chance of me being handled with more respect. So I will have to resign myself to doing whatever Uniforum SA demands of me. If they tell me to stand on my head and twirl around before they will unblock my email address, then that is what I will have to do.

All hail Uniforum SA, dictator of the South African Internet!

Tags: Arthur Goldstuck, Uniforum SA
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