Spark to charge for all Xtramail accounts.

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark to charge for all Xtramail accounts.

Bung

6733 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2926

Subscriber

#312005 6-Mar-2024 22:57

"We’re no longer offering Xtra Mail for free

Xtra Mail has kept New Zealanders like you connected for almost 30 years. However, costs to run the service have increased significantly and it’s no longer sustainable to offer it for free.

So, from 16 May 2024, Xtra Mail will cost $5.95 a month for Spark broadband, pay monthly mobile and landline customers and $9.95 a month for everyone else."

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 7

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#3203943 6-Mar-2024 23:17

I got the email and surprised that you have to opt out if you don't want to be charged. Surely people should have to opt in if they agree to be charged for it. Still see a lot of xtra email addresses used by tradies on business cards

cokemaster

Exited
4937 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1089

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3203944 6-Mar-2024 23:22

costs to run the service have increased significantly

I think there is a sign for that...

Shelley Bridgeman: Tui billboards are hilarious! Yeah right. - NZ Herald

webhosting

Loose lips may sink ships - Be smart - Don't post internal/commercially sensitive or confidential information!

michaelmurfy

meow
13579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10910

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3203947 7-Mar-2024 00:05

Hopefully companies will then notice that having an email address tied to a domain name is actually around the same cost!

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

nzkc

1634 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1041

#3203952 7-Mar-2024 00:48

Google Business Starter is NZ $9/month/user. Where on earth did Spark get their pricing?

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#3203954 7-Mar-2024 01:29

nzkc:

Google Business Starter is NZ $9/month/user. Where on earth did Spark get their pricing?

To be fair, it is run by a NZ company, and it has been very reliable since it moved from Yahoo. It also includes up to 5 separate email accounts at $6 / m if you have broadband. Although if you are a current user and currently have more than 5, you can apparently keep them all. There is also a lot of support time with email and troubleshooting, so it does have a high cost to provide that support, so I can see why no one really wants to provide it. But it is a good time to buy a domain and connect it to some form of email hosting or use a free email service. Not that these free email providers won't also eventually start charging.

Bung

6733 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2926

Subscriber

#3203955 7-Mar-2024 01:32

Apparently $5.95 is what non broadband customers used to pay so let's start there and they have to go up but make it under $10 so $9.95 it is. Next.

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

nztim

4012 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2710

ID Verified

Trusted

TEAMnetwork

Subscriber

#3203957 7-Mar-2024 05:59

mattwnz: I got the email and surprised that you have to opt out if you don't want to be charged. Surely people should have to opt in if they agree to be charged for it. Still see a lot of xtra email addresses used by tradies on business cards

There are still business and sole traders running off it

If you made people have to opt in then if they did nothing and closed or missed the memo then Spark may be legally liable

Auto opt in is the best approach most will just cancel,

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Silvrav

477 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 173

ID Verified

#3204011 7-Mar-2024 09:49

mattwnz: I got the email and surprised that you have to opt out if you don't want to be charged. Surely people should have to opt in if they agree to be charged for it. Still see a lot of xtra email addresses used by tradies on business cards

better to wake up one morning and find you cant access your account without opting in causing further delays then have access and opt out later

tim0001

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 146

#3204036 7-Mar-2024 10:50

I'm no marketing expert, but it does appear to be an odd decision to charge for email. One of the things that stops people moving ISPs is being tied to their free email address.

I've already heard people complaining today about the charge who would not normally take much of an interest in telco matters.

morrisk

367 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 161

Lifetime subscriber

#3204058 7-Mar-2024 11:35

I have been with xtra from the beginning and so my xtra email is everywhere - any advice on how you go about stopping using them in a way that allows people to know you have changed your email address and what your new email will be?

richms

29097 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10206

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3204070 7-Mar-2024 12:18

This will be a boost for the signwriting businesses with all the tradie vans that have xtra on them which will have to get updated.

Richard rich.ms

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

quickymart

14940 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13953

ID Verified

#3204073 7-Mar-2024 12:22

I had one a few years ago but didn't login for about 6 months (I think) so it got terminated, I really hope they don't start charging me for an address I haven't used (and can't access).

SirHumphreyAppleby

2938 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1860

#3204074 7-Mar-2024 12:23

mattwnz: I got the email and surprised that you have to opt out if you don't want to be charged.

Xtra e-mails were free?

I don't recall if I ever used Xtra or not, but I do recall being informed at one point that there would be a charge and I needed to opt-in to keep the address. I didn't, and they went ahead and billed for it anyway.

I run my own mail server these days, but still pull e-mail from an Orcon account I used after the Xtra account, so this must have been a long time ago... does anyone else remember?

Bung

6733 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2926

Subscriber

#3204075 7-Mar-2024 12:25

The trades will just stick $5 on every invoice they send out. They've had plenty of practice at that.

huckster

886 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 460

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3204076 7-Mar-2024 12:26

SirHumphreyAppleby:

mattwnz: I got the email and surprised that you have to opt out if you don't want to be charged.

Xtra e-mails were free?

I don't recall if I ever used Xtra or not, but I do recall being informed at one point that there would be a charge and I needed to opt-in to keep the address. I didn't, and they went ahead and billed for it anyway.

I run my own mail server these days, but still pull e-mail from an Orcon account I used after the Xtra account, so this must have been a long time ago... does anyone else remember?

You only got charged if you didn't have broadband with Spark. Now everyone will be charged.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 7