I was very happy with Name Secure for around 10 years. There have been scandals and small price hikes(that at least came with a warning, explanation, and some form of apology at least when I talked to customer service). I never once had an issue with DNS and even when my domain registration expired they kept it going for much longer than any other registrar would. They wouldn’t use your domain as free advertisement space for themselves (I’m pointing my finger at you GoDaddy.). The only reason I ever emailed support was because of something I couldn’t do via their system and I think I’ve only contacted for help once in all the time I’ve been with them. In other words I was very happy. I send business to them and I took all my business to them. That ended a few months ago.
I went to check on my account like I do on a regular basis and I saw that I had some domains up for renewal. Then I also saw that my registration had gone from $9 a year to $15. Now you say whats $6 bucks a year? Well its lunch for me, but in reality its several domains I own. 6 x 8 domains = $48 bucks a year now. That’s a nice all you can eat sushi dinner + a few bottles of hot sake you are preventing me from having. Now most places now charge this rate, some slightly less, and some slightly more. The point that pissed me off was more that they had no warnings, no explanations, no apologies, and no decency to acknowledge this was a dirty business move that has hurt customer trust. Now most people will bite the bullet and take it. I’m not most peoples. I found cheaper domain registration that provides more services at around the same price I used to pay with them.
Now maybe I should of been aware that they were into dirty business tactics when they were snatching domains that people would used their services to check for availability while making a decision on getting the domain. Forcing them to register with them in the end.
http://www.freeaccess.com.au/Structure:%20/2008/01/08/namesecure-nsi-cheating-market-by-front-running-domains/
The rest below are just some emails I have received from NameSecure.
In response to the customer outcries they sent this:
Dear Valued NameSecure® Customer,
Recently, you were notified that the price of domain name registrations was increasing. We value our customer's feedback, and appreciate some concerns that were voiced regarding the price increase.
As a result, we have now brought your domain name pricing down to $14.95 each for 1, 2 and 3 year terms. Secure a longer term, and your price will go down even more.
Again, we thank you for taking the time to communicate with us, and we value your continued support. Remember, you can always save more by joining our Domains Discount Program. Learn more here
For more information about NameSecure, please visit www.namesecure.com.
Sincerely,
The NameSecure® Team
support@namesecure.com
Not much consolation to the users. Pretty much it was a here’s some change and now shut up.
Email in response about my outrage about the price hike and their sneakiness about it. (Response time 1day):
On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 3:53 AM, Namesecure, Support wrote:
Dear John Ramirez,
Thank you for contacting NameSecure Support. We are focused on delivering quality Customer service and addressing the issues you are having.
To ensure continued quality and to provide the best products that we can, we felt it was necessary to increase our pricing on our standard domains. We still feel we are competitive with many other domain providers and will continue to do our best to serve you and your business needs.
Our domains feature:
· Web Forwarding by both URL and IP
· A one page mini-site that can be customized to your business information
· Many other useful features such as Zone File Control and Domain Lock-Protect
Please note: We still offer a great deal on domains if you purchase with hosting, email or private registration. Domains (com, net, org, biz and info only) are only $3.99 for the first year.
Also consider our Domains@Discount program – ideal if you plan on buying many domains.
We hope this information has been helpful and thank you for choosing NameSecure for your online needs.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please reply to support@namesecure.com and reference Service Request # 1-505370565.
For all other issues, please contact us via our online form at http://www.namesecure.com/support.
Sincerely,
kkra
The NameSecure Team
support@namesecure.com
www.namesecure.com
Yay for canned responses. I replied with:
John Ramirez to Support
Feb 10
Hello,
Seeing that you have a well prepared canned response for this, it leads me to believe that I'm not the only person with this complaint. While I appreciate paying a premium for better support, that would only matter if you had a direct line where I could call. Furthermore it would only really matter to me if I wasn't proficient in what I do. I don't need support and I didn't come to NameSecure because of the great support people talk about, since no one recommended me to you I did research and found one of the cheapest places that did what I needed. Over the years I have heard more complaints than praises from fellow colleagues and yet I didn't leave. Yet now I'm considering leaving and taking the next cheapest offer which is close to half of what you are charging for the domains I'm going to migrate over. If you have an accounts retention department please forward this issue to them in order to see if they can do something about this. I hope you take into consideration how long I have been a loyal customer.
Regards,
John Ramirez
No reply for a week:
John Ramirez to Support
Feb 18
So I haven't had a reply for a week. Not even a status update or a I forward this to someone to look at email. I think this proves a point against you in regards the charging extra for better service.
Regards,
John Ramirez
Wow took them 4 more days for what looks to me another canned response:
support@namesecure.com to me
Feb 22
Dear John Ramirez,
Thank you for contacting NameSecure Support. We are focused on delivering quality customer service and handling requests quickly and efficiently.
We understand your request for a lower price for your domain names. However, our pricing is fixed, so, we are not able to change it. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Please consider our Domains@Discount program, as you can get a reduced rate for buying many domain names.
We hope this information has been helpful. For additional inquiries regarding this matter, please reply to this e-mail address (support@namesecure.com) and reference Service Request # 1-505370565. For all other issues, please contact us via our online form at http://www.namesecure.com/support.
Sincerely,
Rodney E.
NameSecure Support
support@namesecure.com
www.namesecure.com
My last reply:
John Ramirez to support
show details Feb 22
Guess I wasted my time thinking that there would be any attempt to keep your customers. Well I'm jumping ship with everyone else I see complaining. In the past you notified your customers of your price changes. At this point I understand why you didn't tell anyone. I'm very disappointed to see what you become and now regret all the recent recommendations I have made and will retract those recommendations. Last renewal I was considering migrating to my host since they charged about the same and gave me free domain privacy. Though like a loyal fool I am, I just stuck with you.
Regards,
John Ramirez
Never heard from them again. Well except for that mass email they sent out to everyone giving them chump change. So avoid these guys at all costs. If you registered with them because of my recommendation. Please migrate your domains elsewhere. If you need help migrating send me a message and I’ll gladly walk you through it.
Miku3sm
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