1and1.com HATER...AAAACCCKK!

[movingconcierge]

So before I knew anything about anything, I regged a ton of names with 1and1.com. Everytime I reg a name at 1and1.com, I think I'm putting it on my card. Well apparently this is not the case at 1and1.com.

Nearly four months ago, 10/06/06 to be exact, I get an email from 1and1.com that my card had a problem. I looked into it and indeed there was a problem. I could only spend x per day on that particular card. So, I replied for 1and1.com to do exactly that and let me know if there was still a problem. No response. Nothing. I think all is fine and well with the world.

Today I get a collections letter from 1and1.com for every name I have ever bought from 1and1.com! Worse, I go to check out my 1and1.com account...LOCKED! No notice, nothing. I was just in my 1and1.com account last week. No 1and1.com notifications to read, NOTHING!

So I emailed them just now to ask WTF? I hope they respond quicker than four months. I am going to call 1and1.com at this moment too.

Just in case another newbie is drawn in by that 1and1.com low price, don't do it kid! Run! They are evil...evil....imho

 

[movingconcierge]

I have been using 1and1 for a long time with no problems...

If the starter of this thread had read how 1and1 charges your account he would have known that they only bill you once a month for however many names you register.

I missed that one...I also missed the line where it said,

"We are going to try to charge your credit card every week even if you don't owe us anything.

If that charge fails to go through because you have the foresight to let your card expire so we can't extort money from you, then we will lock your account and not tell you about it until you discover it on your own.

If you send us one email about it, we won't respond or acknowledge your email. However, if you send 100 emails over the course of 3 days, we will unlock your account, but we still won't acknowledge that we're extortionists.

Further, it will be business as usual next week as we will be doing the very same thing that you just caught us doing last week. Can we interest you in a free .info?"


Where was that in the T&C's wiseguy?

 

[verbster]

Back on 4/11, I said I would TFR a domain from 1and1 and report the outcome.

A few days later, I unlocked a domain through 1and1 and instituted the transfer through a godaddy interface. Everything went smoothly except for the approval from 1and1. It's now been five days of waiting for approval.

This, in itself, is not out of line; even godaddy says a TFR taks 5-7 days. However, the big difference is that godaddy has a manual accept/decline feature to speed the process up to minutes instead of days; 1and1 doesn't, so it looks like I'll have to wait a couple more days for approval...at least I hope it's only a couple of days.

This is pretty inconvenient, so plan ahead. Because of this, I'm now trying to transfer several domans out in order to empty a package (mini-account) or 10 domains. I also changed credit cards just to see what would happen. I'll keep you posted.

 

[movingconcierge]

Thanks for the update, verbster. Be sure to tell us when...er, if they try to charge your card after the transfer.

When I had my last fiasco with their billing department, it was revealed that I owed them $18.98, but they decided to "forgive the debt" without further explanation. I'd love to know where $18.98 came from, but I will leave well enough alone.

It's funny. I get an automated declined debit card notice from billing. I respond to billing and complaints, and it's tech support who allegedly resolves the issue this time around? Tech support? So screwy...

 

[verbster]

Today made the seventh day of waiting for 1and1 to approve a domain transfer. About two hours ago, I finally sent them my first e-mail about it, wanting to know if there was a problem or something...and why they didn't have an accept/decline feature like some providers do in order to speed things up.

30 minutes later, I got the form reply that they will respond within 24 hours.

Exactly 30 minutes after that, I got an e-mail confirming the completion of my domain transfer. While this may have been coincidence, I prefer to believe that the 1and1 onslaught, led by movingconcierge, has made 1and1 a little more sensitive to e-mail from customers.

I don't know if I will be incorrectly billed, but I'm inclined to think not after reading about movingconciege's victory.

I'm a firm believer in the power of teamwork, sheer numbers and persistence; I think 1and1 may have gotten the message from the masses. We'll see. For now, all's well that ends well.

 

[movingconcierge]

Thanks for the follow up and congratulations on getting your domain out of the clink...

I'd like to think I had something to do with it, but I am just a whisper compared to many others abused by 1and1.com 's abusive business practices. There are many people who have dutifully logged their complaints and broadcast recorded conversations with 1and1.com employees.

My sole goal with this thread is;

1) keep it alive with relevant information and let others share their stories (good & bad...but I'd bet it's mostly bad), and

2) scare the bejesus out of newbies who think a free .info from 1and1.com is cool. That free .info is the stinky cheese in a rusty rat trap.

Keep us posted on the billing element of the transaction please.

 

[dgridley]

I think Murphy's law is particularly apt when it comes to 1and1: whatever CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong.

 

[verbster]

Another update: In my last posting, 1nad1 tech support said they would get back to me in 24 hours, but 30 minutes after that I got an "transfer successful" e-mail. I thought that was a happy ending. Turns out, there were more hoops to jump through.

An hour ago, I got the promised reply from 1and1 support. They said they checked and verified the transfer went through, but they also noticed I hadn't gone to a special address/admin section and removed/cancelled the domain which had successfully transfered the day before...and that I better do that to avoid future issues and complications (like movingconcierge?). I had no idea I had to do another step like this and had never heard of the address they gave me--https://cancel.1and1.com.

So I followed the link (like going down the rabbit hole) to the new admin tools. To my surprise, they were pretty neat, albeit unknown and a bit convoluted. They had options for cancelling/deleting/allow to expire (domains and packages)...and one about moving to a new location (maybe a transfer?).

Anyway, I managed to do everything right and got to the "one last step" notice. Turns out that now they will send me another e-mail that I have to use to verify that I just cancelled the domain like they asked me to...that the domain I just cancelled will not be removed or cancelled until I respond to the e-mail they are supposed to send...and if I don't get the e-mail, I must contact their billing dept to resolve the issue. Sheesh!

So it's been around 45 minutes now since I cancelled the domain, but I haven't received the "final" step, the e-mail from them, that verifies I did everything I was supposed to, I guess.

Willl let you know what happens. The unfortunate thing is that I've got quite a few domains with these guys. If each one takes this much time to deal with, yikes! I'm now sure that I'll have to use this new admin feature to cancel every domain I have, for whatever reason, to get them off the books and "avoid future issues."

movingcocierge, I found myself wondering if you did all of this. If you did, and still had all of your trouble, well, I'm already thinking of what a mess it will be.

Update: one hour later or so...got the "final step" e-mail to verify the cancellation, but it says if I click the link in it, the domain and the package it was in will all be cancelled. I wrote back, but I'm sure I'll have to call to get it straightened out. This is just way TFM time and trouble to transfer a single domain.

 

[dgridley]

Unfortunately, some of us have followed that exact stepof going to cancel.1and1.com, cancelled the domain, and STILL got charged later either because it was not cancelled "in time" or not verified independently later. My understanding was that even though you cancel online, you still needed to fax or snail mail a form to them so they have an actual signed confirmation from you.. good luck and welcome to Hell.

Another update: In my last posting, 1nad1 tech support said they would get back to me in 24 hours, but 30 minutes after that I got an "transfer successful" e-mail. I thought that was a happy ending. Turns out, there were more hoops to jump through.

An hour ago, I got the promised reply from 1and1 support. They said they checked and verified the transfer went through, but they also noticed I hadn't gone to a special address/admin section and removed/cancelled the domain which had successfully transfered the day before...and that I better do that to avoid future issues and complications (like movingconcierge?). I had no idea I had to do another step like this and had never heard of the address they gave me--https://cancel.1and1.com.

So I followed the link (like going down the rabbit hole) to the new admin tools. To my surprise, they were pretty neat, albeit unknown and a bit convoluted. They had options for cancelling/deleting/allow to expire (domains and packages)...and one about moving to a new location (maybe a transfer?).

Anyway, I managed to do everything right and got to the "one last step" notice. Turns out that now they will send me another e-mail that I have to use to verify that I just cancelled the domain like they asked me to...that the domain I just cancelled will not be removed or cancelled until I respond to the e-mail they are supposed to send...and if I don't get the e-mail, I must contact their billing dept to resolve the issue. Sheesh!

So it's been around 45 minutes now since I cancelled the domain, but I haven't received the "final" step, the e-mail from them, that verifies I did everything I was supposed to, I guess.

Willl let you know what happens. The unfortunate thing is that I've got quite a few domains with these guys. If each one takes this much time to deal with, yikes! I'm now sure that I'll have to use this new admin feature to cancel every domain I have, for whatever reason, to get them off the books and "avoid future issues."

movingcocierge, I found myself wondering if you did all of this. If you did, and still had all of your trouble, well, I'm already thinking of what a mess it will be.

 

[verbster]

The good new is that the domain I transfered does not expire for nine months. The bad news is that it looks like it will take that long to finish one single transfer.

I got the "final step" e-mail to verify the cancellation, but it says if I click the link in it, the domain and the package it was in will all be cancelled, not just the single domain. I wrote back, but I'm sure I'll have to call to get it straightened out. This is just way TFM time and trouble to transfer a single domain.

 

[iggy]

I think we can all say

"stay away from 1and1.com if you are not patient want things done fast, and be informed"

 

[JYM]

well I think I will register a domain from them simply because of it's extremely low prices. I don't plan on selling this domain since I will use it for a personal site, and the nameservers will not change after I set them so I guess that is the only use for the domain.

 

[movingconcierge]

You can reg a name at godaddy for $5.23...$0.76 cheaper than 1and1.com....you can reg names at regfly on coupons for $2.88 (.net) and they just had a .info sale for $0.89...

There are two types of people in this world, those of us who believed Fahrenheit 911 and those of you who didn't...

I'm not saying that everyone who uses 1and1.com is pro GWB, I'm illustrating a parallel phenomena; that in the face of what appears to be overwhelming evidence of incompetency, arrogance, and outright scandalous behavior, there will be those who choose to ignore it because they think it won't effect them. Well, it's annoying to those of us who were already affected...

But, again, you're welcome back here if, or when, things turn shitty... _\|/_

 

[Chronos]

Unfortunately, some of us have followed that exact stepof going to cancel.1and1.com, cancelled the domain, and STILL got charged later either because it was not cancelled "in time" or not verified

And not only 1and1
I noticed yesterday that Yahoo charged me the last days of February for a domain tranferred to Godaddy in January.

Why realized until now?... Well, I moved out because Yahoo has not PayPal option and my credit card was about to expire. Later I got another which number I never disclosed to Yahoo.

The domain was transferred to GoDaddy, Yahoo didn't say a word and the original credit card on yahoo's file never were charged so I gave for granted no charge was made.

Yesterday I was preparing a statements' review for the bank and I found the charge on the card which Yahoo ignored its existance, so how did they get the number?

I went to Yahoo and the domain in fact was "active", charged and renewed on its expiration date, February 22, when it was registered on March 9... which means that anyway Yahoo is stealing days on registrations.

I admit that never noticed the need to cancel as described for 1&1, but getting the number of a card that never was provided to them is simply abuse!

 

[floatingworld]

well I think I will register a domain from them simply because of it's extremely low prices. I don't plan on selling this domain since I will use it for a personal site, and the nameservers will not change after I set them so I guess that is the only use for the domain.

its a bit like saying 'I don't need any toilet paper because I don't have any plans to have a crap'.

 

[izmas]

bump for all you n00bs out there that do not know the TRUTH

 

[verbster]

It's down to clicking on a link to finally cancel that pesky domain out of 1and1 permanently. The problem is that the e-mail message said clicking the link would cancel my package, not just the domain... Here's the e-mail...you tell me.

"We have received a cancellation request regarding your 1&1 package (with
the abovementioned contract ID) through the 1&1 online cancellation tool.

As a final step to complete the process and activate your cancellation
request, you will need to visit the following URL

http://cancel.1and1.com/cancel/confirm.php3?timestamp=xxxxxxxxxx [I took this out]

to proceed with the cancellation of your package.

Please note: If you do not activate your cancellation request within the
next 7 days, your request will be removed from our system and all
components of your contract will remain active."

To me, that sure sounds like clicking the link will delete/cancel the whole package that contains 10 domains, including the one transferred. I wrote again, and here is the reply...which explains nothing, spells confirmation wrong and doesn't help at all:

"Thank you for contacting us.

To activate the cancellation request you have initiated for your domain [xxxxxxx.com], please follow the link that was found in the Confrimation email our system sent you.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us."

A few hours after this e-mail, I got one from 1and1 asking me to rate cupport personnel that sent me the useless e-mail. Go figure.

Guess I'll write down the domains in the package and click the link. Fingers crossed!

 

[floatingworld]

It's down to clicking on a link to finally cancel that pesky domain out of 1and1 permanently. The problem is that the e-mail message said clicking the link would cancel my package, not just the domain... Here's the e-mail...you tell me.

"We have received a cancellation request regarding your 1&1 package (with
the abovementioned contract ID) through the 1&1 online cancellation tool.

As a final step to complete the process and activate your cancellation
request, you will need to visit the following URL

http://cancel.1and1.com/cancel/confirm.php3?timestamp=xxxxxxxxxx [I took this out]

to proceed with the cancellation of your package.

Please note: If you do not activate your cancellation request within the
next 7 days, your request will be removed from our system and all
components of your contract will remain active."

To me, that sure sounds like clicking the link will delete/cancel the whole package that contains 10 domains, including the one transferred. I wrote again, and here is the reply...which explains nothing, spells confirmation wrong and doesn't help at all:

"Thank you for contacting us.

To activate the cancellation request you have initiated for your domain [xxxxxxx.com], please follow the link that was found in the Confrimation email our system sent you.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us."

A few hours after this e-mail, I got one from 1and1 asking me to rate cupport personnel that sent me the useless e-mail. Go figure.

Guess I'll write down the domains in the package and click the link. Fingers crossed!

hey verbster, its now like watching someone all dressed up for a wedding and just about to go into church unfortunately step into a great pile of steaming dog poo and wondering about the next step. Its a hot day as well and little evidence of a breeze.........such is life with 1+1.

 

[movingconcierge]

yoshi, you should write a blook of 1and1.com poop quotes....

'get a steaming pile with each free .info!'

 

[Yugami]

Bump? Hi, I was just curious about this 1&1 company and found this thread through a google search of "1&1 sucks", hoping to find some information on why it is good or bad. I read through this whole thread and found it mostly to be complaining about domains and doing things with them, or about credit card problems. What if I don't have credit card problems? What if I'm not interested in domain names? I read an ad in a magazine about this company and thought I could use it purely to host files, so that I would be able to quickly share them with other people and myself. I dont have any need or want to be a "domainer".

What I saw in this thread was mostly a gathering of people that hate 1&1 and agreeing with each other. The majority of the people who posted in this thread did not even give a reason for their hatred. This guy, movingconcierge, seemed to get pissed any time anybody tried to give any sort of unbiased comment and only accepted comments from people who agree with him.

In the end I'm still confused about what exactly is wrong with 1&1. If I want a cheap way to host my files online, what would be wrong with using 1&1? I don't care about domains and I don't have credit card issues, so should I still be worried about using them?

 

[floatingworld]

quite simply their hosting is crap too if you read the multitude of reviews apart from this thread. the question you should be asking is not 'whats wrong with 1+1 hosting, it is which hosting services are recommended by np domainers? why not look at that? but while we are on the topic of your beef about the complainers (count me in) one of the key problems with 1+1 is the fraudulent lock-in when a customer wants to pull out of a service with ANY product towards the end of a period of payment....and as for not caring about domains what exactly do you expect the address of your site to be? and where are you going to reg it? oh, and welcome to namepros...

 

[Yugami]

I'm just saying I wouldnt care about keeping and/or transferring the domain I would be using. And yeah, I would like to know a good cheap place for hosting. Like you said, in this thread there werent any complaints about hosting. In fact, there were some positive comments about 1&1 as a host. And I don't really have a beef with complainers overall, just the ones that dont give any reason or dont accept other peoples' opinions. It's ignorant and doesn't help people like me who are reading the thread looking for real reasons not to use this service.

 

[movingconcierge]

I'll summarize what I feel the some of the problems with 1and1.com aka 1 & 1 Internet Services are:

1) Their control panel is slow

2) Their control panel does not allow for bulk edit of anything; dns, etc

3) Their after hours tech support is either farmed out to third world countries or only ESL drones work their nightshift

4) Their business hours tech support is rude, uncaring, unsympathetic, and relatively clueless

5) Thier billing department is rude, uncaring, unsypathetic, irresponsible, and cannot reproduce warning letters or emails that were supposedly sent.

6) Their billing department takes 1/2 or more to answer the phone.

7) Once a 1and1.com aka 1 & 1 Internet Services, Inc. employee does answer the phone they read from a script. You can't make them vary from the script. If you do, you get wrong information, attitude, or they just hang up on you.

8) They like to lock peoples accounts.

9) They do not charge your card with each purchase. Instead they build up the charges into monthly bills.

10) In order to cancel or transfer a name, you have to go to a different website.

11) In order to cancel or transfer a name, you have to request a form to fill out.

12) In order to cancel or transfer a name, you have to FAX that form to 1and1.com

13) In order to cancel or transfer a name, you have to get a confirmation of receipt of that form.

14) They like to trap people into their accounts by making it very difficult to close your account.

15) They charge you for many things that other registrars do not charge for.

16) They have a very bad track record with numerous people across many forums, blogs, and opinion / review sites about charging people after an account has been closed or a name transfered.

17) They refuse to take any responsibility for these service flaws.

Does anyone else have points to add to this list?

This was from another thread. Also, I do accept positive opinions about 1&1, but my opinion of thier opinion is that it is a coincidence that they have not experienced what hundreds, probably thousands of users have. I equate it to a blind pig finding an acorn in the forest. Possible, but not likely.

Indulge me and answer these few questions:

1) Why would somebody create Bankraid.com just to discuss how evil 1and1.com is?

2) Why would 1and1.com register ihate1and1.com

3) Why, in the face of 1 & 2, would you want to chance wasting your money and time when there are hundreds of other hosts / registrars out there?

So you see, it is not me who is ignorant, but rather those who look at this well-beaten path and still ask "why not?." Search...read...learn...

Good luck and welcome to NamePros!

 

[smallmax]

Newbie mistake - What to do now?

I'm a total newbie and I've purchased almost 100 domains from 1and1 over the past 3 months, including "free" .info domains. Any advice on a plan ahead in order to not get totally screwed by them in the about 9 months?

 

[RickM]

Personaly i think that if people can go this far to criticise a host, it seriously can not be good. Avoid 1&1 like the plague.

Any company as big as oneandone are all ery poor. Examples: webfusion, fasthosts, etc

Best bet is to goto a hosting critique and review site and take a look at whats the best.

I personaly recommend hostgator for budget hosting and clook.net for QUALITY hosting. Remember, you get what you pay for - if you go for clook you realy do get quality.

 

[floatingworld]

I'm a total newbie and I've purchased almost 100 domains from 1and1 over the past 3 months, including "free" .info domains. Any advice on a plan ahead in order to not get totally screwed by them in the about 9 months?

hello smallmax welcome to namepros. you have time on your side. I would suggest that you select another registrar such as godaddy or namecheap and start to transfer them over in batches. begin with 1 name to get the hang of it, and then do a few each month particularly as there will be the additional cost involved. .coms will be the easiest so start there. .infos will be slow as you need to get an authorisation code out of 1+1. finish up with 3 months to go as the nearer the deadline the more of a problem it will be.