1and1.com seriously has the worst customer service...

Has to be a deliberate ploy IMO... frustrate the customer hoping he'll give up and pay...

PolurNET said:

Don't really get why they're doing that? :td:

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Are they just making it up that they renewed it when they didn't? Let's say the customer does win a legal battle, they'll end up with hefty bills.

Besides, isn't there a BBB (Better Business Bureau) organization where you can dispute flawed company policies in UK or US? Maybe you guys should try there and see what action can be taken.

Well it's not gonna work with me (thinking I'll get frustrated and just pay).

Also, as for the BBB, that company has no power to do anything. It's only a resource for people. They can ask and say things to companies, but they're not a government entity, so can't really do a whole lot.

I'll just issue chargebacks to my credit card that they've charged, and go from there. They told me on the phone that if I issue a chargeback, they'll refer me to a collection agency, and "get the money one way or the other, you choose." Of course, I'm not gonna pay the collection agency, either, and they don't have enough real information on me to put this on my credit score, I don't believe. And if they do, a lawsuit will ensue, I promise you that.

it's borderline fraudulent....

a registrar has NO right renewing a domain for you, it's the owner's responsibility to renew a domain PERIOD!

I forsee many complaints lodged against 1and1 in the months/weeks to come.

this is also not fair to those that want to pick up a name that the owner decides to let drop. imagine waiting for a name to drop, only to find that the registrar is forcing the owner to keep the name

The domains auto-renew by default and there's no toggle to shut it off.. that in itself seems highly suspicious to me.

As for complaints, people have been complaining about them forever.. which is one reason I let my card on file with them lapse.

Better Business Bureau does no good.. it's a clearing house for complaints but they take no action, just list complaints.

Isis said:

it's borderline fraudulent....

a registrar has NO right renewing a domain for you, it's the owner's responsibility to renew a domain PERIOD!

I forsee many complaints lodged against 1and1 in the months/weeks to come.

this is also not fair to those that want to pick up a name that the owner decides to let drop. imagine waiting for a name to drop, only to find that the registrar is forcing the owner to keep the name

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Hmm, that's certainly awful: I want to see if they own the "collection agency" too!
Besides, what kind of way is it to treat a customer like a bag of dirt for THEIR OWN [1&1] mistakes/unethical policies, by saying they'll report you to an agency: if that agency is any good or legal it should be them in hot water!

When I read a post a while back about the troubles with transfering and pushing, I wrote them a little note...the gave me some nice email back and explained what I needed to do in order to initiate a transfer with them. So I followed it. My customer gave up transfering it to Godaddy and signed up with them...(sorry dude)...they are STILL giving us troubles...

Also, they bill in one lump sum, not individually...I really don't like the way they run their business and the way they respond to their customers. I regret the mass of business I gave them.

If 1and1 monitors this board...GET IT TOGETHER ALREADY!!!!

wow... I personally use either godaddy. or dynadot.com both are awesome thus far

also does no one use tucows anymore?

I used to use tucows but I found it a pain as well

As often as I've been seeing this issue come up, maybe we should have a sticky to report registrars who use "unusual" or questionable systems and procedures or who have surprises that are awaiting the unwary emanating from the fine print of their TOS contracts.

I've been harping about registrar systems that are consciously designed to trap unsuspecting registrants and extract money from them and 1&1 happens to be one of the primary perps -> http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=117081&highlight=1and1

In retrospect, 1and1 had a hidden agenda working last year, (think Trojan Horse), w/ their 25 "free" .info domain promotion. Their stance is: You regged it, so you must want it. Hmm... Does that mean that registrars are the only ones allowed to reg a name for testing purposes? (Although for them, they can test a name out for traffic and if they don't like the results, will receive a total refund from the registry, if returned within 5 das). (Another peeve I have w/ them is that they don't allow bulk name server changes to be made- each name has to be changed individually using a 3-4 click process. Just another minor inconvenience they throw in to discourrage changing nameservers so that they can have the advertising/publicity benefit that is derived from the name resolving onto their page).

For instance, did you know that GoDaddy will register a name on an overlimit creditcard and that after the credit card refuses payment will, *w/o notice* to you, turn it over to their collection agency which adds a $25 collection fee onto the purchase *for each incident*? One day, I made 6 individual purchases, (each was for one or two regs), that I had, mistakenly, paid for w/ my credit card, (the default), instead of Paypal, and was shocked when, a few days later, I received 6 seperate collection notices, each w/ a $25 collection fee, ($150 total). Despite explaining that I had erred and had meant to, and would immediately, pay w/ Paypal, I was stuck, because "once it goes to collection, there's nothing we can do". B/S!! I can think of several ways to draw up a contract w/ their collection agency that would avoid this problem and while they are at it, why not refuse the charge, outright or at least send the customer an email explaining that a problem had occurred that needed to be attended to!

Be very careful about TOS agreements for online purchases, particularly if they involve charges that are recurring, (ie name regs). The credit card companies do not treat these charges in the same manner as other purchases and will pay the company for the purchase whether or not you have available funds. Yes, you can do a chargeback, but than you are left w/ the prospect of the company going after you, putting your account into collection, which will, potentially, screw-up your credit rating. I tried to use a maxed out credit card as a way of cutting off payment for auto renewals that were difficult to turn off, and it doesn't work. One company went as far as to charge a credit card that I had "de-authorized", by taking it off and disassociating it from my account, and they succeeded in charging it! Watch out!

i had problems with 1and1 lately also. simply, don't use them.
had some issues with domaindiscount24 also, but their customer support are very helpful and friendly so a big thanks to them.

jehnidiah said:

I don't even feel like writing any more right now. I'm gonna have an effin heart attack before I'm finished dealing with their billing department. I just had to write this somewhere, guys, sorry if it wasted your time. *sigh*

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Maybe you should post a review of 1 &1 in the Domain Company Reviews section, so that those that are deciding on purchasing domain names from 1 & 1 can first check other people's opinions.

Did that now, thanks for pointing to it, Shan.

am I right in thinking that sedo owns 1+1?

I'm not sure if they own 1 & 1 but i've heard so many horror stories about them!

if sedo is connected with 1+1 then pressure could be put on sedo to make changes.

I sent a pretty sharp email to 1and1.com two days ago that, in any other company, would have generated some sort of an immediate response; positive, negative, neutral. Not at 1and1...they are zombies and don't seem to give a red rat's ass what their customers think. I really have to say that 1and1 is one of THE worst companies that I have dealt with; they are even worse than Verizon, and city government.

Hey, what happens to your names if a registrar goes out of business? I don't have any information about 1and1 going out of business, just wishful thinking. I'd imagine that your account would transfer to the new company OK. Has anyone been through such a thing?

I have just put into motion the cancellation of my last and fondest domain name with 1+1. There is more than 6 months to go on this beauty, so I am well-strapped in. Drongo fax to the 1+1 pod people will follow next week. I will keep all of you posted as I know you will be watching the story with fear and loathing....

Both 1&1 (100%) and Sedo (51%) are owned by the German United Internet AG. That's the connection; not enough to complain about 1&1 to Sedo.

it might be possible to run a campaign pulling domainer listings from sedo and publicising this. could have a snowball effect.

Ive got a couple hundred domains at 1&1 and havent had any trouble.