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URL: http://www.1and1.com   badReviewer: Anonymous 05-27-2006 Here is my horror story, which is going on as I write this post I had several business accounts with 1and1. When i started moving my domains to DreamHost, I decided to get rid of some of them and set then to expire. Customer ID 8192373 (in chronological order) 11/16/2005. I have canceled Business Hosting through http://cancel.1and1.com 02/09/2005. Received bill for 29.95. Emailed back with explanation that account had been downgraded long time ago, requested, but never received refund. 02/21/2006 according invoice #351266021 $18.27 supposed to be returned to my AmEx XXXXXXXXXXX card. I checked my statements and nothing was ever returned. Billing department claimed that refund had been made on 12.07/2005, which is not true. I can provide my statement, if need. Questions about account ID 8192373, that need to be answered immediately: - When am I going to receive my refund for this account? - What was the reason for 1and1 to “lock” my account in the first place? - When I will be able to access my domain’s DNS information? Customer ID 7416728. It’s been more than a month since both of my "Contract IDs" for this account have been locked. ContractID 5130497(instant domain): this account has been locked for NO REASON for a period of over 1 month. It has never been a part of any dispute, and has been paid on time. According to ICANN, this is a violation of 1and1's agreement with them. Contract ID 5584352(business hosting): 29(!) domains set to expire were renewed by charging my credit card. I set the domains listed above to expire without any renewal. It was done BEFORE its expiration date. When I received instructions, stating that I have to fax cancellation notice in order for my request to be processed, I immediately called to 1and1 customer support and explained that I don’t own a fax machine, therefore cannot fax anything. After 40+ min conversation I’ve got an impression that this problem has been resolved. To my surprise I received a bill, which listed all canceled domains as renewed. I called back again . After being on hold for 35 min I had a 45 min conversation with customer service representative, who tried to find where exactly in domain registration process customer agrees that he/she needs to own a fax machine in order to get out of contract (which customer entered without using any faxes). Feeling aggravated that he cannot find anything related to faxes in domain registration procedure, this customer support representative simply chose to hang up on me. I called back immediately, but was placed on hold. After waiting for another 15 min, I just gave up. When I received notification that my credit card had expired, I decided not renew it until this conflict would be resolved. I contacted billing department, which stated: “The fax cancellation procedure was phased out at the end of last year.” This is about time 1and1 decided to fix that nonsense related to domain names management. If ‘faxing’ cancellation was an illegal demand, which is why it was “phased out”, why do I have to be responsible that all these domains were renewed behind my back? I did EVERYTHING that I could by calling , emailing, being on hold, talking to outsourced customer support, who has no idea what they are talking about. 1. I demanded to unlock all my accounts and issue me a refund for all domains, that were illegally renewed. After I set them for cancellation/expiration at http://cancel.1and1.com, I notified 1and1 customer support by email and by phone that I did not plan to renew these domains. I did tell them that i do not own a fax and that I never entered any contracts, which required access to fax machine. I sent tons of emails, but no one tried to resolve this matter More information at http://1and1sucks.info STAY AWAY FROM 1and1! Dmitri Ivanov http://dotbeyond.com badReviewer: Anonymous 05-27-2006 This has got to be the biggest sham on the internet. I've never met more UNresponsive theives in my entire life. They are useless. In reference to one person who said "maybe they haven't been using computers long enough" I've hosted my own website for years and decided to try someone else simply for convenience. I assure you there are no technical issues causing problems here, simply horrible service. Sebastian Gonzalez is the head of customer service but I don't know that he's ever been told what customer service really means, rather his title should read "head of collections" as that's the only thing their customer service is trained to do. They sent me a bill for $29.94 long after I'd cancelled, then tried to collect through an agency. When I contacted them they immediately agreed I had cancelled but that it took a month to cancel the contract so I owe them But I was also going to have to pay them (who forwarded an incorrect bill to me.) STAY AWAY, THEY ARE THIEVES!!!  stay clear!Reviewer: angry customer 05-27-2006 imply the worst hosting company I have ever dealt with. Our server goes down at least 6 times a day and after 3 months of fighting for a cancellation and our domain back we are no closer. One server tech said we are on a server with very high load hence the slow performance and constant downtime. Another blamed in on our scripts and another said it was fine and the problem is with our internet connection!! The technicians are clueless in the main and it's plain that their first language isn't English so it's hard enough holding a normal conversation let alone explain DNS issues. The support staff are rude and talk down to you like you're a child. You cannot speak to anyone in authority who can actually do anything. They rarely reply to support emails. Their prices are very high considering you get shoved onto a high load server when it's supposed to be business class hosting. ....and the worst thing is YOU CAN'T EVER LEAVE because they just don't let you. They hold your domains to ransom, they hold your details on your payment card! STAY CLEAR! AVOID!!!Reviewer: Anonymous 05-27-2006 Lured by their affordable domain registrations I recently purchased about twenty or so domains through these people. After reviewing my account profile I've noticed they'll split up all of the various domains within different "packages" which means several unneeded layers of menus/clicking. With fairly high sprits for a Friday afternoon the 800 # to tech support is dialed and the nightmare begins. Calling their tech "support" line is a nightmare of untold proportions. The tech immediately told me that I was talking too low to be heard. Sounds reasonable enough? I turn up the outbound on the phone and try to keep the receiver straight. She still says I can barely be heard. The rest of the following conversation took place in almost shouting volume. After she was finally able to hear me I tried to explain in detail the problem in paragraph one. In short, I wanted all the domains to be merged to a single table format list for easy manageability. She went on to ask if I wanted to transfer a domain to 1&1. Continuing, I restated that the domains were purchased through 1&1 and just needed to be organized on their back end. When she understood what I was asking for she stated that it was possible. I think "Great"! Here's the kicker; She wants a "five point ninety-nine maintenance fee" (her exact words, meaning the same price to purchase another domain) to rearrange every domain that they didn't properly organize in the first place! In so many words I went on to say that the terms were unreasonable and that I wasn't about to shell out a bunch of money just to organize my account! My second inquiry of the day was regarding another domain I had purchased three days ago, had my credit card charged for and never showed up under my control panel. I had to spell out the domain (avemariarealestate.net) before she repeated it back to me properly. Variations of her misspellings included, but weren't limited to (avmararealstate.net),(avemarareelstate.net) and (avemarraestate.net). After about two minutes of awkward silence the tech tells me that she doesn't know why avemariarealestate.net isn't showing up under my account. She submits a support ticket with her next level boss and says she'll call back "soon". With the three day weekend approaching it leaves one feeling quite doubtful that you're a priority when dealing with such vague terms as "soon". At this point my patience is at an end. Mustering all the manners possible (remembering that English is not her native tongue) the conversation comes to a close. She says they'll call back when the problem is resolved, but nobody here is holding their breath. This is personally the worst "support" I've ever received from any company. After today's ordeal it is quite obvious that 1&1 is not a customer-centric organization. After reading the preceding review I hope that you take the time to seek out other providers prior to being lured by this entities "bargain" prices. While I consider myself a fairly thrifty shopper, value is also something that should not be ignored. If paying six bucks a year buys you this kind of "service" then my personal recommendation would be to take your money elsewhere. In Summary: * Tech/billing "support" from (insert some place cheaper than the USA in here for outsourcing) that can barely speak English * Poor quality phone line/equipment that requires your customers to shout * Outrageous "maintenance" fees for simple administrative functionality that should be included free of charge * Passing the buck on a simple issue, failing to solve the problem while the customer is on the line * Indifferent/tired/burnt out tech that ends up being next to useless in solving a client's problem Closing Thoughts: Avoid 1&1 like the plague!  greatReviewer: Anonymous 05-27-2006 I have a dedicated server. They are a German company, and until recently, all of their servers were located in Germany. This caused a real latency problem from access to the U.S. Now however, it appears that they have their US customers now hosted in the US. Access has been significanty faster on all the sites I host. For the cost of the server I can host up to 100 domains on the one Plesk License. Good by me. I do plan to change servers in the future, but that has little to do with 1and1 and has more to do with my increased needs and I will soon need a server of my own configuration. Now more than ever, I recommend 1and1.com |
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