Badly worded e-mail?
No - the wording seems very clear. It describes their original intentions, as opposed to their intentions now that they've seen the reaction.
The only error was in thinking they'd be able to get away with it without any fuss.
Domain Name registrar Network Solutions has blamed a backlash over extra fees for secured domains on a “badly worded e-mail”. Customers of Network Solutions recently received an e-mail saying that to combat domain hijacks, “Starting 9:00 AM EST on 2/4/2014, all of your domains will be protected via our WebLock Program”. This …
It's not the simplicity of the procedure that counts. It's the work behind it, and the volume.
We don't know how many change actions they get per day across their user base. If the Big named brands are making upwards of 700 changes per day between them, for example, , then that's a LOT of work to process with callbacks.
Further, they now how to put in and maintain the PIN infrastructure, charging mechanisms, SLA/KPI reporting, record maintaining, security procedures in the event of a problem, training for their admins, etc.
As always, the user sees a simple service and wonders why the cost is needed. There's a lot of work that goes into making something seem simple.
@Denigor
There may be work behind it, and there may be justifiable ongoing running costs. However, in situations like this the product manager typically goes "what will this be worth to the end customer" and bases the price on that. Hence the spin in the e-mail about protecting your brands reputation - or in other words, is your brands reputation worth $1,350.00 a year?
I would tend to suspect that the price given to end customers "to recapture the costs of maintaining this extra level of security" are significantly higher than the actual cost of delivering the service.
about the "sharp practices" used by Network Solutions
As it happens, i am in the middle of trying to transfer out a domain name that i have just sold.
So any "work behind it" is created by themselves to make it as difficult as possible.
http://tscadfx.com/network-solutions-domain-transfer-bloody-horror-show/
`Customers of Network Solutions recently received an e-mail saying that to combat domain hijacks, “Starting 9:00 AM EST on 2/4/2014, all of your domains will be protected via our WebLock Program”'
I would have thought this was included in the service, as in, it's Network Solutions responsibility to protect you from `domain hijacks'.