Website wins battle to have agency stripped of domain name

The owner of a lettings website, Student Property Shop, has won a battle to have a similar-sounding website, The Student Property Shop, stripped of its domain name.

Student Property Shop managing director Chris Johnston claimed his business had been caused “untold damage” by The Student Property Shop.

The latter is a letting agency apparently owned by a man, Tariq Zaman, who has been exposed by the BBC for allegedly not returning tenants’ deposits.

In Leeds, 250 students said they had not had their deposits returned and some are seen on a BBC newsclip staging a protest against Providence Properties.

In a Watchdog programme, it was claimed that researchers had traced Providence Properties’ registered address to a garage.

Mr Johnston, who registered his website Student Property Shop in 2005, claims that by 2009, Providence Properties had morphed into The Student Property Shop.

He said: “I was getting calls at the rate of one a day from students who had not had their deposits back and thought that my business was the same as The Student Property Shop. I was having to explain the situation to them.

“Unfortunately, agents heard about The Property Shop. For example, when I was trying to sign up one agent in a student town, the agent said he wouldn’t advertise with me because he had ‘heard all about my reputation’.

“I have not been able to close The Student Property Shop down, and I believe it is still trading, but I decided the most pragmatic step was for me to clip its wings and have its internet site removed.

“It cost me just £200 plus VAT to put forward my dispute to Nominet, the industry regulation body that controls the registration of UK domains. As a result, The Student Property Shop has been stripped of its domain name, thestudentpropertyshop.co.uk, and the ownership of this domain has been transferred to me.

“Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service commissioned a report from an independent legal expert, who concluded that “an abusive registration” had taken place by the previous owner of the domain name.
 
“Other website owners with a similar problem could find a satisfactory resolution if they are made aware of the powers possessed by Nominet to protect a brand.”

Mr Johnson said he continues to get calls from students who are trying to get their deposits back from The Property Shop, and had only just taken one when he spoke to Letting Agent Today.

As a precaution, before winning his dispute via Nominet, he had already registered another website, Student Accommodation Shop

Mr Johnston’s website is aiming to be a ‘Rightmove’ for student landlords, student lettings agents and students themselves, although it has strong, well-established competition in the shape of www.accommodationforstudents.com

He said: “We are a national business, with listings in every university town and city in the UK. We don’t charge for standard listings, although agents can choose to have their properties highlighted in some way – for example, brought to the top of the list, or featured with their logos. Our main revenue comes from advertisers.”

He added: “I am obviously extremely keen for everyone to know that Student Property Shop has absolutely nothing to do with The Student Property Shop, and I am doing all I can to spread the word.

“Students are a savvy bunch and there are warnings on the internet about The Student Property Shop. But it is nothing to do with my business.”

Letting Agent Today was unable to contact The Student Property Shop, largely because its lack of website presence means there are no contact details. A warning about The Student Property Shop now appears on its website, which is now in the ownership of Student Property Shop.
 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7882541.stm
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2008/11/the_landlord_breaking_his_word.html