Register.com Run Around

Recently I tried to help one our clients transfer her domain name away from Register.com to Moondog Web Hosting. Our prices are much better ($8.95/yr vs $35.00/yr), and she already has a hosting account and e-mail marketing program with us, so it just made good sense to consolidate all of her web products under one roof. One of the first steps in transferring a domain name is obtaining an Authorization Code from the losing registrar. With most registrars, you can log in to your account and either find or request your Authorization Code. Not so with Register.com. The Register.com website proudly proclaims But if you want to transfer away a domain name from them, you must go through their "Business Center" to get the authorization code. The Business Center hours are 8am - 6pm EST Monday to Friday. But wait, it gets better. They still won't give you the authorization code until you provide a them with a "security code" which they must e-mail to the administrative contact for the account. They explained to me twice how this run around was purely for security reasons. So I asked, "How is e-mailing me a 'security code', then having me repeat it back to you over the phone to get the authorization code any more secure than just e-mailing me the authorization code in the first place?" They didn't have an answer.