I'm blogging about this as a warning to others. The scenario:
You have a client who is dissatisfied with their current web developer and wants you to take control of their domain, update their site and provide hosting for them. Lucky for them, their current developer has everything hosted at GoDaddy and you happen to have a hosting account at GoDaddy as well. As the techs will tell you on the phone or over email, "it's a very simple procedure and your customer will not experience any interruption of service". This is only partially true.
Now, the first thing you should do as a developer who isn't a shyster, always register your client's domains in their name. Make yourself any of the other contacts so that you can make changes as needed, but for the good of everyone, register the domain in their name. The client in question was new to the web and trusted his former developer to do the right thing and allowed them to register everything in the developer's name. Now that we want to transfer control, the developer decided to be difficult. No worries, the Hebrew Hammer never takes no for an answer and so began the "Domain Dispute" process with GoDaddy.
Step 1: Email 'domaindisputes@godaddy.com' - this gets the ball rolling.
Step 2: They will email you back and ask you to fill out a form on their website. In my case, the information I was entering did not match the whois info for the domain and no combination of what the whois information *should* have been worked. This required an email to domains@godaddy.com explaining to them the error I was getting when trying to complete the form. They replied back and gave me the option of sending them some form of ID that identified me as a legal representative of the "rightful owner" of the domain. This was done so in the form of my client's fictitious name registration with the state of Florida. Two days later I was in control of the domain.
Transfer of the domain, dns and email internally with GoDaddy was a breeze. No interruption of email to my client whatsoever, but the process of getting their hosting set up again has been an issue. The problem with GoDaddy is thus; if someone else (regardless of whether or not they control the domain) has the domain you want to host in THEIR hosting account manager, you *cannot* add it to YOUR hosting until they delete it. Well, we've already established that the previous developer was a scum-bag, so good luck getting them to delete the domain in a timely manner. Enter...
Step 3: Establish a 'Cease and Desist Order' through GoDaddy. If you've gone through the whole domain transfer process and the individual formerly in control of hosting (through GoDaddy) won't remove the domain, you can ask GoDaddy to initiate a "Cease and Desist Order" which basically gives the former controlling party 72 hours to comply with the order before GoDaddy forces the deletion of the domain from THEIR hosting account which will then allow YOU to add it to yours. I URGE YOU TO START THIS PROCESS AS SOON AS YOU CAN TO MINIMIZE DOWNTIME OF YOUR CLIENT'S WEBSITE.
The 72 hours has come and gone and because of a "backup in the processing queue" at GoDaddy, I still can't add my client's domain to my hosting account. From the time GoDaddy released the domain to me my client's site has resolved to the GoDaddy parked page. This is good in the sense that at least the former developer can't forward users to obscene content, but at the same time my client's site has been down for over 4 days.
This post serves as a warning to others that GoDaddy has a few kinks to work out in their hosting transfer policies. If you are researching information on what to expect in the process, be warned that the site you are transferring may experience down time while GoDaddy muscles control away from the previous owner. However, rest assured knowing that there is no interruption to email service, which to my client was the most important factor.
