Domain registrar with NZ support

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freespace

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#285773 17-May-2021 09:40

Hi,

We have nearly 100 domains that are registered via Freeparking (.co.nz/.com/.co.uk). Although I know Freeparking are not the cheapest in the past I have found the NZ based support team a great help and the portal pretty easy to use making the extra $ worth it. I was planning on moving our other 200 domains from a Australian registrar, who have offshore support, to Freeparking later this year.

Today I called Freeparking support for the first time in months (on their new Auckland number) and found that support is now based offshore??? After 40mins on the phone I did not have an answer to my issue (some domains no longer on auto-renew).

Does anyone know when the change in support location took place?

And

Any recommendations of a NZ based registrar with solid NZ based support/call centre would be appreciated.

Thanks

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#2708322 17-May-2021 09:43

https://metaname.net/

xpd

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#2708326 17-May-2021 09:54

Freeparking falls under Umbrellar, so pretty sure it isn't offshore support - it might do after hours ? . (I worked there a few years ago for a short period)

Anyway, I've got a client signed up to Metaname, no issues there :)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

LinkTree

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#2708329 17-May-2021 09:56

Netvalue

Good helpdesk support (I assume ph support is still NZ based , they sound like kiwi's)
Im not sure about after hours support though .

freitasm

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#2708330 17-May-2021 09:58

Metaname as mentioned.

Delorean

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#2708335 17-May-2021 10:13

xpd:

Freeparking falls under Umbrellar, so pretty sure it isn't offshore support - it might do after hours ? . (I worked there a few years ago for a short period)

Anyway, I've got a client signed up to Metaname, no issues there :)

I think Umbrellar was sold off, as it is now owned by Dreamscape Networks, which in turn is owned by Newfold Digital - Home | Newfold Digital

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Delorean

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#2708339 17-May-2021 10:14

Linux:

https://metaname.net/

I second Metaname - Christchurch owned

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Sounddude

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#2708340 17-May-2021 10:15

Sitehost

NZ owned and operated, excellent support and very response owners (2 brothers). They have about 30 staff now I belive.

Quic Broadband

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Dynamic

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#2708346 17-May-2021 10:40

Like you @freespace we have been comfortable paying FreeParking's premium prices for their excellent service. I sincerely hope that has not changed, but we have not needed to call them in quite some time. I'll keep an eye out for this.

I have a couple of domains with metaname after seeing repeated recommendations here, and had contemplated moving more services over in the future. I have never had to talk to a human for support, and have never heard anyone mentioning this. Has anyone got first-hand experience dealing with a human at metaname?

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networkn

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#2708347 17-May-2021 10:41

1stdomains.

michaelmurfy

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#2708361 17-May-2021 11:41

Dynamic:

I have a couple of domains with metaname after seeing repeated recommendations here, and had contemplated moving more services over in the future. I have never had to talk to a human for support, and have never heard anyone mentioning this. Has anyone got first-hand experience dealing with a human at metaname?

I've had to deal with Metaname support once due to an issue with DNSSEC on on one of my domains - they were very nice to deal with and very quick to resolve the issue (turned out to be a bug on their end and they fixed it for me). Email queries are quick too.

I recommend Metaname over almost everything else and especially with a larger portfolio cost does get cheaper:

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Glazza

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#2708368 17-May-2021 11:58

I've had a DNS issue that we tried for several hours to get hold of Metaname during business hours, via both phone and email - with no success.

I believe it's a single person - previously I had found him to be helpful. They did reply to our emails and apologised and said 'other issues today'.

Just highlights if your domains/DNS are critical, you need to make sure your registrar is geared up to support you.

networkn

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#2708369 17-May-2021 12:00

Glazza:

Just highlights if your domains/DNS are critical, you need to make sure your registrar is geared up to support you.

No matter who supports you, if the issue is big enough, or there are enough of them, you may need to wait for a resolution.

In my experience, a bigger company with more staff doesn't not equal a better support experience.

YMMV.

sparkz25

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#2708401 17-May-2021 13:36

+1 for Metaname and then I use Cloudflare for DNS

Have migrated all my domains over to metaname and no issues, have emailed support once about a payment issued with my card being locked out due to it expiring but that was about it, the issue was resolved pretty quickly.

mattwnz

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#2708440 17-May-2021 14:16

xpd:

Freeparking falls under Umbrellar, so pretty sure it isn't offshore support - it might do after hours ? . (I worked there a few years ago for a short period)

I understand it is now owned by Dreamscapes Network Pte Ltd as per the footer in the website. I think it occurred late last year.

freitasm

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#2708451 17-May-2021 14:22

My only experience with Metaname was when I wanted to implement DNSSEC. My DNS provider is Cloudflare and they use an algorithm not available with Metaname at the time. I mentioned to support and 30 minutes later they had it deployed and ready to use with Cloudflare.

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