RealNames hits refund snag

RealNames is changing its business from a direct sales operation to a registry system modeled on domain name registrar Network Solutions. The way it worked before, individual consumers could buy Internet keywords for $100 per year on a subscription basis, and companies could buy keywords related to their products. In the new model, the Redwood Shores, Calif.-based company will designate registries to oversee each country's keyword system.

In the process of opening its internal billing systems to its partner registries and registrars, the company has temporarily lost the ability to grant refunds, it said Monday.

"In prioritizing all the feature functionality, refunds weren't on the first phase of the roll out," said Kurt Wedel, senior director of registrar operations. "We are collecting a list of customers whose refunds need to be processed."

Wedel did not know the number of customers affected but estimated it to be "a handful." --Paul Festa, Special to ZDNet News