First off I would love to go into detail like Thomas Hawk has with his horrible experience with PriceRitePhoto but I won’t.
My horrible consumer experience is with 1and1, the hosting company I can no longer recommend and if you use them I strongly recommend reading this and start your cancellation now.
It all started 6 months ago when I wanted to cancel my exchange hosting plan with 1and1. I emailed customer service directly and they responded with a link to cancel services. I went directly to the site and noticed for security purposes they have you sign a form and fax it to them to verify that you want to cancel your services, understandable. So I did. 30 days pass with no cancellation 60 days pass with no cancellation and then 67 days pass with no cancellation and they bill me for 90 more days of service. During that whole time frame I emailed them over and over asking them directly to cancel the service and they kept responding with the boiler template of “please visit cancel.1and1.com to cancel any service”.
2 months ago I left 1and1 for mediatemple because of stability issues of their root servers, configuration on my side or on theirs is unknown. I sign the contract for cancellation and I notice again the service will be cancelled in 30 days, I didn’t want to pay an extra $60 because by not cancelling the service in the next 13 days it would roll into the next billing period, so I crossed the 30 days out and put NOW. Doing so I can only guess voided the fax, in the fine print it said do not edit this form and without them telling me they billed me the next period. Noticing this I emailed their billing department for weeks trying to get a real response. 50 emails later, with mostly all the messages stating they never received the fax and me replying that I had confirmation emails to prove they did, I finally got a pleasing response, “we will credit you back”. Taking their word I waited and let my accounts just cancel.
Well they didn’t, I just got another invoice showing they charged me for my root plan. Knowing that that this day would come I called my credit card company days before and reported my card lost, freezing the card. And even though the invoice was after the date I froze the card I still need to call the CC company to confirm a non-charge. And I really hope there isn’t a charge because I rather not go through the CC company on the fraudulent charges from 1and1 even if it gets me back my money, I just want this to end.
I hate 1and1, I could only assume they do this on purpose because people, including myself, will just let it drag out for moths meanwhile charging them for services they don’t use.
Who is the CEO if 1and1.com?
So I had my clients domain through 1and1 until they let an internet
grabber (BlackIce) steal it.
My credit card expired and I didn’t know. The website came down and when
I called they said that it had expired for lack of payment. So I paid the collection fees and then had to wait until it came out of redemption to buy it again. Well for 2 monthe I tried everyday and every domain site said that it was already taken. Finally I found that it was gone forever.
Now there were NO e-mails as they said and no notices from their collection department. I keep all my e-mails even spam ones there was nothing.
Now Black Ice who owns tje name wants $1000.00 to buy it.ITs a drag cause its a name.
1and1 is a scam company.
So I had my clients domain through 1and1 until they let an internet
grabber (BlackIce) steal it.
My credit card expired and I didn’t know. The website came down and when
I called they said that it had expired for lack of payment. So I paid the collection fees and then had to wait until it came out of redemption to buy it again. Well for 2 monthe I tried everyday and every domain site said that it was already taken. Finally I found that it was gone forever.
Now there were NO e-mails as they said and no notices from their collection department. I keep all my e-mails even spam ones there was nothing.
Now Black Ice who owns tje name wants $1000.00 to buy it.ITs a drag cause its a name.
1and1 is a scam company.
Canceling your credit card does you no good. I had two websites with 1and1. After having a two month battle to cancel the first, I opted not to visit the website to cancel the second. I called in and was assured that the site had been canceled by phone.
Luckily, my credit card expired within a week of canceling. So I was never charged. But they also never emailed, called or snail mailed me to inform me that they were having trouble charging my card.
Now, TWO YEARS LATER, I have received a collection notice from their agency charging me for two years of service and a collection fee of $18.95.
I have been disputing this with them for a full week. They keep telling me I never cancelled and that they tried to contact me and they even locked the account to get my attention.
Well, I never received any contact from them. And how would I notice them locking the account if I wasn’t using it because IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CANCELED!!!?
So now they insist I pay for 2 years of service. And get this. . . the acount is still not canceled. They will continue to charge me until I go through the “proper channels” to cancel the account!
Canceling your credit card does you no good. I had two websites with 1and1. After having a two month battle to cancel the first, I opted not to visit the website to cancel the second. I called in and was assured that the site had been canceled by phone.
Luckily, my credit card expired within a week of canceling. So I was never charged. But they also never emailed, called or snail mailed me to inform me that they were having trouble charging my card.
Now, TWO YEARS LATER, I have received a collection notice from their agency charging me for two years of service and a collection fee of $18.95.
I have been disputing this with them for a full week. They keep telling me I never cancelled and that they tried to contact me and they even locked the account to get my attention.
Well, I never received any contact from them. And how would I notice them locking the account if I wasn’t using it because IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CANCELED!!!?
So now they insist I pay for 2 years of service. And get this. . . the acount is still not canceled. They will continue to charge me until I go through the “proper channels” to cancel the account!
Include a search within an independant consumer protection agency in your evaluation process (Better Business Bureau, consumer protection agency or similar group in your own country). If a company is as great as they 'claim' to be and takes customer satisfaction and ethical business practices seriously, they should have no trouble geting an accreditation and getting a minimum of registered complaints(and these should be resolved).
1and1 is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau, they have the worst rating an "F" and have registered complaints by the hundreds. They are not the only ones with unsatisfactory dismal ratings to be sure, but other companies DO have good ratings without accreditation or are both accredited and with good ratings (this includes both medium sized companies and larger prominent companies).
BTW: A TOC/TOS should be read, but it should not negate the law nor be used to provide cover for illegal activity. If 1&1 is defrauding you like many others, document your case(dates, names), contact a consumer advocacy group in your region for advice, and contact the general attorney's office or equivalent.
I have investigated 1&1 thoroughly and found their major tricks using PayPal. They are crooks and steal money deliberately as their main business. That's why do not be surprised at anything they do. It is their profession!
If a company is as great as they 'claim' to be and takes customer satisfaction and ethical business practices seriously, they should have no trouble geting an accreditation and getting a minimum of registered complaints(and these should be resolved).
Nothings changed. Their 90 money back guarantee is a scam! Even if your not happy with it you can't cancel until the end of the full term. Bunch of clowns.
Amen.
After months of abuse by 1 & 1 I have started the process of transferring any client from 1&1 to GoDaddy, even providing my labor to do so for free because it is NOT cost effective to continue working with 1&1 for ANY of their services.
When a supervisor was requested after the disrespectful and poor-quality services delivered by a front-line support, I was repeatedly told “I will not provide you my supervisor.”
I will give 1&1 a short time to live before they go under with such poor support as in my experience has lead to the demise of other such companies.
I'd like to file a class action lawsuit against this company. Anyone with me?
1and1 is ruining people's credit if people let their subscription expire. That's crazy! I have plenty of hosting accounts on the internet, so I am very familiar with hosting policies. When a subscription expires, and your card is expired, your prepay doesn't go through. That then cancels the account.
But I guess 1and1 finds that it's profitable to send people to the NCO collection agency if they don't prepay for the next term without clicking the 'cancel' button, which is not even available on your control panel!
Anyone else think this is an unfair business practice? I think we should contact the Abbey Spanier law firm and file a class action lawsuit!
ABSOLUTELY! A domain expires, they can't charge you, so they send you to collections for a product they never even delivered!? The product here being the domain name registration. This is blatant fraud.
They told me that I was on a hosting account with them. WOW, really?! How does that happen exactly when I only use them as a domain name registrar and not a hosting provider?
Unfortunately, the blackmail is for $50, so not worth it to sue in small claims court, but well worth a large class action lawsuit!
ABSURD!!! BTW, this is a prime example for all of your neo-con republican nazi's who want to do away with class action lawsuits under the guise of 'tort reform' then we would be left ZERO power to stop croporate corruption!
Did you actually read the posts here moron?
I'll join!
I have four domains listed with 1&1. Normally when the term expires your domain reverts back to the hosting company or becomes available. NOT SO with 1&1!
Next thing I know I get a letter from a collections agency for $17,98 plus $8 “convenience fee”!
I can expect a similar letter for each domain I have with 1&1.
I called them and complained, to no avail. I requested authorization codes to transfer the domains which they sent immediately. However, they also blocked my abillity to unblock my domains. I only found that out when I received a message from GODADDY that they were unable to complete the transfer. According to technical support only “billing” would be able to unblock these domains. This would appear to be an incredibly unethical manner of doing business! I'd be embarrased to be working for such a company.
Needless to say that in my opinion and experience they are a very bad company to deal with.
SHOP SOMEWHERE ELSE!
i did the same thing and they reported mу to acollection agency, now they spoilt my credit score. I'm thinking to sue them, so be careful
oh, i just saw your post, i'm with you!
Subsequent to the transfer to Godaddy, I received a credit card statement for $17.95 for two years for two url's that were transferred too late (because they had them blocked) by two days. Unfortunately, it takes too much time, effort and frustration to argue for that amount, so I paid (twice: 1&1 as well as Godaddy)!
That's how they get away with collecting small amounts from thousands of users. This is essentially a German company using German customs in the US. You must cancel, else they have the right to bill again. How they get away with that here is a mystery to me. Normally I would just sue for the principle of the issue but the amount is so small that I just swallow my pride with a good whisky.
Candleman
Great stuff. Really enjoyed the read. Knowledge is power! best payday loan
It's a complete outrage! They need to be investigated by your state's Attorney General (that is of course unless your state is one of a number that have already started investigations), FTC, & FCC
Blatant Fraud and misuse of Collections Agencies.
I agree, of course. I contacted another former customer of 1&1 to check if they started a class action lawsuit. No one has as far as I know. The problem is that the amounts are so small that a law firm does not stand to gain a lot from the work they need to do. They have been reported numerous times to Attorneys General of various states and the BBB rates them “F”. I have reported their actions on other “complaint” websites also.
I hope people check them out before getting signed up by them.
Candleman
I have the same problem, they are trying to bill me for a service I cancelled. Not only that, they are also trying to bill me for a service that I did not have. Since then they have set Arvato Finance Services, a debt collection agency on me who are trying to claim costs for something completely different. I have since discovered that Arvato is belong to 1&1 because of emails I received, afs@1and1.co.uk from Kimberley Shannon at 1&1.
The afs must stand for Arvato Finance Services, what else could it be?
I queried this connection and since then neither Arvato or 1&1 has contacted me since.
Of course I intend to report them to the proper authorities for this attempted fraud, there are enough posts from people on the web all telling the same story of how 1&1 is scamming people with their auto renewal crap and bogus debt collection agency. I also intend to charge them for wasting my time with this BS and will sue them if I have to. I am not going to let them get away with this scam which seems to be on a global scale.
Scout .. AFS does stand for Arvato Financial Services. It does not mean that they are the same company. The email address from the workpool where cases are worked on my 1&1 agents who are dealing with customers that have been passed to AFS, it is just an email address. Just like complaints@ support@ legal@. It is just showing the department that is replying to you.
Do you honestly think that if they were trying to hide the fact they are the same company and operating a “scamming” operation, they would put it in their email address. I think not.
1&1 are a perfectly legitimate company, some people can’t grasp the fact of Auto-Renewal, but hey, that’s the customer’s problem, not 1&1.
L.
I wish there was a date on here so I could see how old this was. I’ve been a 1and1 customer for years, and as long as my problem could be answered over the phone I never had a problem…until now. I was in the process of moving my domains to another host because 1and1 doesn’t support ASP.net 3.5, when I saw that 1and1 had a deal to download Dreamweaver CS4 for free with a year contract. I agreed to that since free is good and I’d love to have Dreamweaver. I moved the domains into the new package but when I started the download process a different program (ULead gif Animator) downloaded in its place. I’ve called and emailed numerous times and all I get is “We’re working on it” which is bull. I seriously doubt their engineers are that incompetent. By the way, I canceled several things in the past and never had to fax anything.
i fucking hate them scum bags at 1&1 four years later after cancelling they are still sending debt letters fucking ruid my credit report. . . . 1&1 is just a total scam they held back one of my domains which was worth thousands DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH THESE ROGUES
If you’re thinking about doing business with 1 and 1 internet, then you may want to reconsider after your done reading this article.
1 And 1 Internet provides a range of services from web and dedicated servers. They are considered one of the worse companies in the U.S when it comes to providing technical support and customer services.
If you’re thinking about getting a dedicated server with them, then do not expect to receive very technical support. If you try asking a simple question about Plesk that is installed on their servers, you will get a response we do not support it.
Comparing the price on the dedicated servers with the other providers listed on google.com, 1 And 1 Internet is way over price. You can compare some of the prices using this link http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=cheap+dedicaed+linux+servers&aq=f&aqi=m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= or go to http://www.santrex.com.
1 And 1 Internet can even do a simple process of syncing there email between their billing and cancellation system that is used to cancel your account.
If you want to make a complaint against the company do no except a response from 1 And 1 Internet.
If you have a complaint about 1 And 1 Internet, then you should file your complaint by going to http://www.bbb.org. They will listen to you and they keep a total numbers of complaints that they receive against the companies.
As of October 4, 2007 here is total number of complaints that have been filed against 1 And 1 Internet Inc.
Find out more about this business:
Reported on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 3:56 PM
* BBB Accreditation
* BBB Rating
* Business Contact and Profile
* Alternate Business Names
* Additional Locations and Phone Numbers
* Licensing
* Customer Complaint History
* Government Actions
* Advertising Review
* Additional Information
BBB Accreditation
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This business has not been accredited by BBB.
Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation.
To be accredited by BBB, a business must apply for accreditation and BBB must determine that the business meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB Accredited Businesses must pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.
BBB Rating
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Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F
Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings.
Reasons for this rating include:
* Number of complaints filed against business
* Failure to respond to complaints filed against business
* Number of complaints filed against business that were unresolved
* Number of serious complaints filed against business
* Overall complaint history with BBB
Business Contact and Profile
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Name: 1 And 1 Internet, Inc.
Phone: (877) 461-2631
Address: 701 Lee Road, Suite 300, Chesterbrook, PA 19087
Google map Mapquest map Yahoo map
Business Category: Internet Services
eMail: sales@1and1.com
BBB file opened: December 31, 2003
Business started: May 2003
Business started locally: May 2003
Primary Contact: Mr. Oliver Mauss (CEO)
Complaint Contact: Mr. Joseph Quinn (Complaints Director)
Other Contacts: Mr. Frederick Iwons (U.S. General Manager)
Mr. Dirk Moreno (V.P. Customer Care)
Alternate Business Names
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1 & 1 Internet Inc
1 and 1
1&1
Additional Locations and Phone Numbers
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(610) 560-1507 (FAX)
Customer Complaint History
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The company’s size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgment on the validity of complaints filed.
Number of complaints processed by the BBB
in the last 36 months: 806
in the last 12 months: 249
Complaints Concerned:
Selling Practices (66 complaints)
46 Resolved
1 Unresolved
1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
18 Company did not respond
Advertising Issues (17 complaints)
13 Resolved
2 Unresolved
2 Company did not respond
Service Issues (113 complaints)
91 Resolved
3 Unresolved
5 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
14 Company did not respond
Customer Service Issues (3 complaints)
1 Resolved
2 Unresolved
Credit or Billing Disputes (464 complaints)
336 Resolved
33 Unresolved
16 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
79 Company did not respond
Delivery Issues (16 complaints)
11 Resolved
1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
4 Company did not respond
Refund Practices (49 complaints)
38 Resolved
1 Delayed Resolution
1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
9 Company did not respond
Product Quality (10 complaints)
10 Resolved
Contract Disputes (52 complaints)
39 Resolved
2 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
11 Company did not respond
Guarantee or Warranty Issues (9 complaints)
6 Resolved
1 Company made every reasonable effort to resolve
2 Company did not respond
Repair Issues (7 complaints)
7 Resolved
Government Actions
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The BBB has no information regarding Government Actions at this time.
Advertising Review
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The BBB has no information regarding Ad Reviews at this time.
As a matter of policy, the BBB does not endorse any product, service or business.
BBB Reliability Reports are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. Information in this BBB Reliability Report is believed reliable, but not guaranteed as to accuracy.
BBB Reliability Reports generally cover a three-year reporting period. BBB Reliability Reports are subject to change at any time.
If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted the BBB for a BBB Reliability Report.
ID: 1040770
Report as of: 10/5/2010 3:56 PM
The CEO of 1and1.com has no control over there employees and they treat there customers like shit.
The link for the site is http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?national=y&compid=1040770
You can you also reach me on irc.cyberchatnet.com
Uh… 100loveheart sounds a bit like a 1&1 employee advocating for his employer.
I have seen numerous clients charged AFTER deactivating auto-renew and repeatedly telling 1&1 to cancel all services. The fact that 1&1 ROUTINELY ignores such instructions and continues to bill clients for services they DO NOT WANT even after they indicate the same is the single most-significant reason I recommend anyone EXCEPT 1&1. This company has never left me feeling positive about an interaction with them during my career.
I opened my webhosting account on April 2nd… I thought I only had to pay a £9.99 activation fee then £2.99 a month after that. That’s what the payment screen said. However when the invoice came through it said I have to pay 47.18 on the 10th of April! The second I received it I sent a letter saying I felt misled and I wish to cancel, went though there link and it says I the earliest I can cancel my account is in 2 weeks! (April 18th)
So because the invoice falls on the 10th I’m doomed to pay it!
I’m gonna try calling them tomorrow to get the invoice cancelled as I must have a 7 day cooling off period… What a bunch of scumbags, I hope Karma catches up with them, however most of these comments go back 3 years so I won’t hold my breath!
I know how you feel 1and1 have ruined my life .my 11 year old son got hold of my card details and started to purchase domains from them after running my credit card dry they aloud him to set up 15ks worth of credit setting up many hundreds of direct debit accounts at no time did they see this as suspicious they just continued to do so. When i informed them of this they said that they did not believe this was done by an 11year old and that i should pay the balance of 15k in full. They are now taking me to court, making sure it is within their favourable jurisdiction London i come from Glasgow. I will not get a fair hearing as i cannot afford a solicitor nor can i pay to have my witnesses to travel and stay over night. The foreseeable out come Bankruptcy for me they really are corporate gangsters who really can do as they wish. All these domains they have charged me for have been locked down from day one by 1and1 this is nearly a year ago they have now started to send renewal debt letter yet they know this is now in the hands of the court. They even seem to have their own judge appointed to the case.
I looking and making out options to host all my domain names.. need to choose the best one.. thanks for your review on 1 & 1
We had similar experiences with 1and1, very poor service. On one one ocasion they were going to turn us off a when something went wrong, without offering solutions/support and on they are also advertising themselves as UK hosts on TV when they are clearly hosted in germany: http://www.server-centre.net/blog/1and1-move-to-germany.htm
I had no more idea about it.But as I read this excellent I am sure.Well script.
Agreed, there are a lot of people in this situation (me included)
Nice work
1and1 one of the bastard company ever my monhtly payment yesterday £17.96 now becomes £ 71.96 what the fuck
Yes the amount is small from you, they are doing this to everyone who tries to leave, meaning the profit from this scam must be vast. The point is, if you have grounds to sue then you should sue them and claim legal and personal costs for deliberately trying to defraud and wasting your time. 1&1 would not have a leg to stand on.