.UK Right of Registration promotion
Nominet (the UK domain registry) has announced that we can register everyone’s reserved .uk domains (you have one reserved for you until 10th June 2019 if you own a qualifying .co.uk/.org.uk/.me.uk domain) for free. Whilst we have provided an interface in the client area to claim them, many of you have not done so, so we’re going to take the step of registering them all for you from September 11th onwards unless you opt out. A lot of questions can be answered by checking out Nominet’s information site here:
https://www.theukdomain.uk/advice/do-i-have-uk-rights/
However, we understand you may have further questions about this so here are the most common ones:
Are they really free?
Yes, 100% free, you will not be charged for these registrations at all for the initial 2 year period. After that, standard .uk rates apply, which are the same as .co.uk.
Why is this so important?
Whilst we’ve helped several thousand domain owners claim their domains so far, we envisage a situation in 2019 whereby anyone will be able to register the .uk version of a domain for which you are the .co.uk or .org.uk owner. After calling approximately 300 customers by phone to gauge what the preferred course of action is, over 99% wanted the domains registered for them immediately. We’re confident that this applies to the rest of our client base, which is why we’re taking the step of claiming them automatically for you.
As an example of the consequence of not claiming your domain, imagine you own, for example, londontaxicompany.co.uk, and you haven’t claimed your .uk domain by 10th June 2019. On June 11th, your competitor can now register and use londontaxicompany.uk, undermining your .co.uk based website. It’s potentially very bad news.
Do I have to do anything? How do I opt out?
If you’re happy to have them registered for free and added to your account, then do nothing. If you don’t want your free domains, then simply open a ticket through the client area before September 8th, stating which domains you don’t want to claim.
When will they be registered?
We will be registering the domains from September 11th onwards, until October 31st. You will receive a registration confirmation for each domain we register on your behalf, and it’ll appear live in your account instantly, as with any other domain.
Can I transfer domains to you I own elsewhere and then claim the free .uk equivalent?
Yes. Just submit a domain transfer for your qualifying .co.uk/.org.uk/.me.uk domain in the normal manner at https://my.freevirtualservers.com/cart.php?a=add&domain=transfer , transfer it to us by changing the IPS tag at the current registrar to EASY-INTERNET. Within 4 hours it’ll show as active in the client area and you can then claim the free .uk version through the client area claim interface.
What are the ongoing costs?
The first 2 years are free, and there’s no obligation to renew, though we expect most will. In an ideal world, .uk wouldn’t exist, but it does, and business owners in particular need to protect their brand names. Auto renew will be enabled by default on these domains.
If you have any further questions, please open a ticket from the client area at https://my.freevirtualservers.com/clientarea.php.
