That depends on who your provider is... some let you keep your email address and access through the web free of charge. Others look to hold you to ransom, stop you taking it with you or charge you if you want to keep it when you move.
Spark provided email accounts which are usually under Xtra. Spark will charge you to keep your email address if you don’t have a spark connection with them. Last we knew it was $5 a month and a pretty common request.
Vodafone has announced it will close its email accounts on 30 November. This includes all email addresses ending in vodafone.co.nz, vodafone.net.nz, ihug.co.nz, paradise.net.nz and clear.net.nz. Vodafone is encouraging customers to sign up for a Google Gmail or Microsoft Outlook email address and is offering an auto-forwarding service.
One other solution that is often touted is if you have any friends or family who have active accounts with Vodafone or Spark on the same platform as your email addresses, your mailboxes could be potentially transferred to their account to retain at no cost if they're okay with that.
Other providers will have different policies and unfortunately we can’t list them all but it is VERY important to find out exactly what happens, and what you should do before your switch goes live with your new broadband provider. Basically, we’d recommend that you don’t get tied in with a certain email address – make the change now and get away from these ISP email addresses!!
We recommend signing up to an email account from a web-based service from a major provider. The biggest are Gmail (from Google), or Outlook (formerly Hotmail from Microsoft). These email accounts are packed with features, have quite large, free, storage allowances and best of all, there is no chance your email address will be deleted when you switch broadband provider.
If you are looking to move ISP / email address and don’t want to be tied down to a historic email address where you have to pay for the service, here’s a simple process to ease the migration to a new email address.
1. Set up a new, free, web based email account like Gmail or Outlook
2. Set up a forwarding rule on your old paid for email account, such as Xtra from Spark, and have that email account forward all mail to Gmail / Outlook
3. Notify all your contacts you are changing email addresses (don't advertise the cut-off date)
4. Set up a filter in Gmail / Outlook to label all emails received and redirected from your old email account as "Recidivists" – or similar. As email are redirected in to this address update account details as they come in and leave or ignore things you’re not interested in.
5. Remind people who continually email the old email account (the ones who end up with the "Recidivists" label) that you are switching address
6. Send a final reminder two months after the original notification of change of address (only to the recidivists)
7. Pull the plug on the old email account at the end of the third month and have a new, clean and clear email life!
Moving to a web based, free email address like Gmail / Outlook will have the effect of making you ISP independent, whilst also ridding yourself of lots of junk mail and those fools who can't follow a reasonable request… you’ll also get the full features of these web based giants accounts which are impressive.
Hope that all helps – sign up for a Gmail or Outlook account by clicking below.
Get a free Outlook (Microsoft) account
