“Domain broker” Andy Kelly gets another complaint

I got a complaint, from someone I believe is trustworthy, about “domain broker” Andy Kelly and a domain name transaction that started just before Christmas.

Trustworthy is exactly the opposite of what I think when I hear the name Andy Kelly in the domain name industry. I have written about Andy before and it wasn’t good.

So here is the story in short:

• The buyer agreed to buy a “brokered” (Andy is notoriously known for brokering domains without any permission for the owner) domain name from Andy Kelly for the $500 BIN price.
• Buyer paid by Paypal immediately.
• Andy Kelly then said that the domain was to be pushed by the seller after the holidays.
• Then a day later, Andy’s “niece” Rachel Kelly email buyer saying that Andy had a heart attack and needed an urgent procedure done.
• Several days later and after no response or push from the seller, and several emails between the buyer and Rachel, the buyer asks Rachel for a refund.
• Rachel refuses to refund the money several times and gets aggressive.
• Buyer makes a charge-back and gets money back.

On the 29th of December Andy/Rachel made a profile post on NamePros.com: “I am Rachel and I’m representing my uncle Andy in selling his domains – whilst he recovers from major surgery. So it’s Business as usual.” He/she is continuing selling domains on Namepros.

MORE DETAILS

1. Buyer to me:
I’m contacting you today because I did a search for “Andy Kelly” in google and came up across one of your blog posts warning about his tactics. Well, it seems I may have been scammed by Andy and his group. I say group because now someone communicating with me as “Rachel Kellly” says she’s his niece and is running his business while he is in the hospital. I will paste the message I relayed to ***** (Namepros.com) about this issue to give you the background info. Anyway, I just wanted to mention this to you and ask you if you know if he’s been involved any any similar scams? He could very well be ill and if so, I would feel bad about that, however, this is business and the way his niece had treated me was horrible. She cursed me off for kindly requesting a refund due to the SELLER not being responsive.

2. This is the complaint that the buyer made on NamePros.com:

I’m hoping you can help me here. It seems I may be getting scammed by a forum member on an outside deal.  The member is Andy Kelly and I purchased a name he brokered 5 days ago. I paid but then received an email stating the seller will push after the holidays. That was the first red flag. 

Then a day later, his “niece” Rachel emails me and mentions that Andy had a heart attack and needed an urgent procedure done. That was shocking. I did not doubt it but then the next day after I asked how he was doing and for an update on the transfer of the name, Rachel says his condition got worse.

Then I simply asked when my domain will be pushed and she said she will follow up with the seller. 

then the next day I asked again if the seller will push and I was getting worried as I had already paid and the seller seemed unresponsive. 

I then decided to just revert and protect myself here. So I kindly requested for a refund. 

After which then, “Rachel” went ballistic on me. 

using curse words, etc. and saying how I was insensitive in lieu of her family’s situaiton. 

well I understood the situation and I told her how sorry I was. However, this is business and it was not directed at her nor her uncle Andy Kelly 

I just wanted a refund. 

she denied it of course 

that’s when things got really concerning. 

anyway, to confirm if Andy really is offline and may be ill, I message him here on NP 

and inquired about a domain name he posted about 

supposedly a day after he had a heart attack 

and I got a reply 

not sure from who…as it could be his niece. Although I suspect it is not. 

I offered $250 on ******m only to see if I would get a reply. They replied back with a counter. 

which of course makes my offer null and void 

anyway, the whole point of me offering on this name was to see if I would get a reply. And I did. 

I’m just really suspicious of all this right now. 

Andy has my $500 and refuses to refund. 

3. Buyer to me:

I was hesitant to buy any domains from him and it actually sounded too good to be true. But I got suckered.

CONCLUSION

Something to remember in the domain name business and when purchasing a domain name. Never ever send money by wire transfer, Paypal or Bitcoin or any other way that is not secure and does not guarantee that in case you don’t get the domain name you have paid for, you will get your money back. Even if the amount is relative low, if the seller is not someone you trust then you should use an escrow service. I have made deals both buying and selling through Paypal several times but it was with people I know for many years and trust.

Of course you should always use an escrow service for bigger amounts no matter how well you know the seller. Life sometimes happens.

You should also read the previous post I wrote about Andy Kelly in April 2016 called “Beware Of Domain “Broker” Andy Kelly – UpMarketDNs.com“. The post has 35 comments.

Is Andy in the hospital? Is Rachel real? Even if she is real then this is a very bad start in her professional career. Anyway, that is for you readers to judge this whole story but history is not on Andy’s side. I read all the emails the buyer forwarded me and Rachel’s style is suspiciously similar to Andy’s: rude and aggressive. If he is in hospital then I wish him a speedy recovery.