According to Nominet, the company has been sending out unsolicited e-mails resembling invoices to registrants of .co.uk domain names, claiming that the .com version of the .co.uk name is unregistered, and offering to sell it to the registrant.
In its statement, Nominet, which does not proactively sell .uk domain names, clarified that it is not associated with UK Internet Registry Ltd, and that it has no involvement with the registration of .com domain names.
Nominet said:
"We advise companies never to be bounced into registering a domain name by the pressure selling tactics of an unknown third party. If you are unsure about the registration of a domain name, contact your usual provider who can advise you on the best course of action."
Nominet added it is currently investigating whether the company in question has a listing of .uk domain names, and, if so, where this list has been obtained from. It also called for people or businesses which have received a letter from UK Internet Registry Ltd to get in touch, or to contact the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
It has been picked up by The Register that registering outfit Internetters has posted on its web site the letter by UK Internet Registry Ltd, in which it offers to sell .com versions of .co.uk domains for £175 each.
According to Internetters' web site, both the ukinternetregistry.com and ukinternetregistry.co.uk addresses were registered earlier this month, although a search on Companies House does not reveal any UK company with the name UK Internet Registry Ltd.
Nominet's statement is available here
