Does anyone have any thoughts about this domain registrar/webhost company? I have several domains with GoDaddy.com but considering the junk mail I get and their cluttered interface, I thought about this company.
Any complaints or problems? I did a search for "1&1 complaints problems" and got some interesting results, but I'd like to find out what experience others have had before taking the plunge.
I personally like GoDaddy as they have given me excellent customer service (you can avoid most of the ads by selecting, 'Quick Checkout.')
Do NOT use 1&1. They are nothing but trouble. The control panel is horrendous and you don't get free forwarding or a free push. If the buyer of your domain doesn't already have a purchased product from 1&1, they CHARGE them to receive the domain! Even if they do already have a domain, the transfer can take up to a week.
If you do not notify them at least a month in advance, your domains get auto renewed even if you don't want them and there is no refund. There is no manual renew option, so you are left having to remember when each and every one of your domains is coming up for renewal to avoid the charges. If you cancel, you lose at least a month on the registration as there is no option to cancel at the renew date.
1&1 are cheap but shoddy. I will NEVER have their ads on my site unless they bring their policies in line with the competition because I don't want others having the same experience as me.
I have heard good things about Moniker and Namecheap and would give them a try if GoDaddy lets me down. So far they haven't and I don't expect them to!
1&1 makes it very easy and tempting to buy a name... then horrendously difficult to do anything with it, like sell, push, transfer, cancel, etc. They are a headache to use as their interface takes almost genius-level domaining smarts to navigate and figure out. Run screaming in the opposite direction, don't go near them. After a year, I finally, almost by accident, found out how to cancel my names with them myself rather than faxing them (which they used to require for dropping a name).
Godaddy is fine. A bit overclunky, I don't like some of their practices, and seem to have a lot of questionable 'glitches' that steer you to buying things you hadn't wanted if you're not careful, but all in all okay.
Namecheap for me has been the easiest and most pleasant experience. Not a single complaint from me.
Moniker is great and very secure for your best names. Not quite as simple to use as Namecheap but still very good, and probably the most secure. They boast of never having had a name 'stolen' from one of their users.
Welcome to Namepros, first-time poster. Glad you're asking questions like this first, rather than finding some of these things out the hard way like some of us
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BANNEN'S Best available dot coms list! Go reg 'em! #123 added.
Appalling customer services. For the second time this year I find myself in the impossible net of this unprofessional company. Want to get your hosting or domain from them? No problems, straight forward unmanned process.
Now, the issue rises when you have a problem. Tens of e-mails sent to their complaints department after their customer services department not only cannot help you but when you ask to talk to a supervisor, they inform you that that is not possible, since their supervisors are in Germany and speak no English at all!! So much for a company trying to do business in the UK. From my experience, it is the first time I ever hear that inexcusable excuse.
The issue? After many problems with their mailing and hosting services, I decided to cancel one of my accounts. Since I had billing problems before, I consider it sensible to refuse to pay the last bill until confirmation of the account cancellation. The last thing I hear from them, is a letter from a collections firm for £10.48+£15 collecting fees.
After updating the collecting firm on the issue, they withheld my file for a couple of weeks until I sorted it out with 1&1. Needless to say, this is unheard of and they were really happy to do it, so I guess this unique approach to customer service from 1&1 (do not answer customer requests, just pass the matters on to collecting firms) must be quite common.
I contacted 1&1 and the lady on the phone could only tell me over and over again that the matter was on the collecting firm hands and that there was nothing else I could do. After asking to speak to a supervisor she told me the German-only choice of people to talk to. It seems they sent me a link to the cancellation webpage the third week of December, according to them before blocking my account. According to me, my account was blocked the week before, no daily spam or e-mails (including their infamous one) arrived in my mailbox.
After a long and mainly pointless argument she acceded to give me the complaints e-mail address.
Again, after many e-mails and no response, I decided to threaten them with taking the matters further and suddenly I received a response e-mail from them. After some bargaining they took the original payment from me. End of the issue?
Not really. I just received a letter from them asking for an extra £2.50 from the, in theory, cancelled account. I have no idea what they are talking about, and promptly contacted their complaints department. Seven e-mails after, I haven’t heard anything back from them.
Since from my experience I know that my file must be already on collector’s hands for under £3, I decided to let anyone who might even think for a second of signing up with 1&1 know that this is just an automatic cash cow for some German company. Do not expect any sensible or caring answer from them when issues arise. You have been warned.
