Domain Name Issue

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t0ny

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#284630 5-May-2021 17:28

Hi, had a call from a friend who wanted to make some changes to their domain and couldnt log into their DNS provider who is kiwigeeks.nz. It appears that they have shut shop and since they were hosting his email, it has stopped working as well. How do we get his domain back?

xpd

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#2702499 5-May-2021 17:52

The contact for their domain is a guy with an unusual name... Google'd it... found this :(

https://deaths.dompost.co.nz/obituaries/dominion-post-nz/obituary.aspx?n=brangwyn-reardon&pid=198359528&fhid=12778

Im not sure how its handled in getting any domains released in that situation, maybe contact DNC.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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CYaBro

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#2702503 5-May-2021 18:19

Kiwigeek probably aren’t a registrar so can you see who that is on your friends domain and contact them directly?

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

BlakJak

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#2702678 5-May-2021 23:07

They advertise domain name services on their website.
But checking a few random domains linked to their service, the registrar of record is as follows for all of them:

Registrar Name PDR Ltd
Registrar Address Directi Web Technology Private Limited,
Registrar Address Unit No.501, 5th Floor
Registrar City Mumbai

This feels to me like a reseller type arrangement.

"KiwiGeeks" per the companies register appears to be a trading name for Kiwihosting.net Limited who has a single director and shareholder as noted above. So I suspect this is the down-side of dealing with a 'one man band'... all of the filings listed in the company directory link to just a single person.

So if that person has sadly passed away, your options are limited.

My next move would've been to approach the Registrar and having explained the situation, ask them to make changes - either update the DNS records for you or arrange for the UDAI so you can take control of the name.
But I'll admit for most offshore registrars I don't see them as being particularly responsive.
Another option would be, if you already have the UDAI, would be to initiate a domain transfer to another registrar and update the DNS servers of record, you can then take control of the name +/- TTL's.

This is why domain owners need to retain the creds required to manage their stuff, and not completely trust their hosting providers, IMHO. Bare minimum, UDAI lets you move the domain elsewhere at any stage.

No signature to see here, move along...

Ragnor

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#2706796 12-May-2021 21:58

If it's a nz domain all you need is the UDAI (which is basically registry key/password for the domain) to transfer the domain to a new provider, but I'm guessing your your friend didn't save it to password manager when he created the domain? Have him check his email, the provider may have emailed it to him after registration.

See

https://dnc.org.nz/tools-and-services/how-do-i-2/transfer-my-domain-name/

https://dnc.org.nz/tools-and-services/how-do-i-2/get-a-udai/

Ragnor

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#2706799 12-May-2021 22:03

BlakJak:

Registrar Name PDR Ltd
Registrar Address Directi Web Technology Private Limited,
Registrar Address Unit No.501, 5th Floor
Registrar City Mumbai

PDR is an authorised nz registrar

https://dnc.org.nz/tools-and-services/find-a-nz-provider/nz-authorised-registrars/

Probably best to contact them (if you can't find the UDAI)

https://publicdomainregistry.com/contact-us/

t0ny

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#2706864 13-May-2021 09:53

Thanks all for the help. Issue is resolved now. Seems someone tried to transfer the domain to AWS in the past and didnt complete the configuration which i have now done. I have the UDAI now and will transfer the domain to another registrar