FAS will check RU-CENTER registrar due to tariff increase

    On March 1, 2016, the largest Russian registrar RU-CENTER announced a sharp increase in domain renewal tariffs . The renewal of .RU and .РФ domains has grown to 900 rubles.

    The registrar canceled affiliate rates, and instead launched a club program - a system of discounts that "allows regular customers with a wide range of services to save on their purchase and renewal." To enter the club program, the client is invited to pay a membership fee from 990 rubles to 44,900 rubles per year.

    Following the leader, some other registrars began to raise tariffs, although some did the opposite - reduced tariffs to attract “refugees” from RU-CENTER.

    It is clear that the price increase is most likely caused by the growth of the dollar - a kind of anti-crisis measures. But the commercial director of RU-CENTER said that the reason is different. The company allegedly "seeks to make work with partners more transparent."

    “We see that the launch of the club program provoked a small number of negative reviews, and this is understandable: when prices for services rise, even slightly, someone will be dissatisfied,” said Anton Terekhov, Commercial Director of RU-CENTER, at Roem.ru. “But our club program is based on clear pricing, focused on partners with whom we successfully cooperate, while players in the domain market leave negative feedback about it, now forced to build their operations as transparent as possible.”

    Such verbiage of representatives of RU-CENTER caused outrage among the domainers. “The comment of Anton Terekhov is just for neighing. This is how before I was not transparent the previous 10-15 years, and now on the same day with the introduction of the club tax became transparent for my customers? Or was I not transparent to you? ” - says one of them. “Usually the price increase is argued by an increase in costs, additional services, at worst the dollar exchange rate, but for the first time to explain this without transparency with a blink of an eye,” agrees web developer Sergio Mekeda.

    Strange actions of the registrar attracted the attention of lawmakers. Yesterday, Senator Anton Belyakov appealed to the Federal Antimonopoly Servicewith a request to check the activities of the company RU-CENTER.

    “RU-CENTER, taking advantage of the dominant position in the market, actually placed its customers in enslaving conditions ... However, it remains unclear what considerations the company management proceeded from when it decided to simultaneously increase the price of its services several times,” the senator said.

    Recall that in 2011 the FAS convicted RU-CENTER of conspiring with five companies to split the domain registration market in the .РФ zone. The Supreme Arbitration Court recognized the fact of unfair competition from RU-CENTER.

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