1 and 1 Hosting Sucks

I’ve already complained about this once (1 & 1 equals 0), but it’s my blog so I get to again. If 1and1sucks.com wasn’t being squatted, I’d set up a site just so everyone would have a central location to complain about this company.

I just got a letter in the mail from a collections agency, billing me for 24 dollars worth of hosting I never wanted. (Actually $5.88, plus $20 in collections fee, I guess.) The clickthrough agreement for their free hosting allows them to change the conditions of that hosting at their whim, and they changed my hosting from free to pay. This is about as stupid a way of making money as I can think of.

I don’t spend that much on hosting. Every year, I maybe spend $400 total in outside hosting for various projects. I can rely on the university for most of my hosting needs. I probably influence something on the range of ten or twenty times that in companies I advise, students, and the like. Put that at $8,000 or $10,000 a year.

I actually took them up on the free hosting offer to evaluate their services. I wasn’t impressed with the response time on their servers, and went to another hosting company. And I can guarantee that when people say “I saw this ad in Dr. Dobbs for 1-and-1, and they look like a good deal,” they will hear of my experience with the company and stay far away. So, they weasel $5 out of me rather than actually behaving human and winning long-term profitable business. It’s just not a good way to make money.

It’s not like I’m going to fight a $24 collections in court. It’s not worth my time and effort. The most I can do is file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (they already have several), and tell everyone and anyone who asks to only work with reputable hosts. Never take 1and1 up on free hosting because it is isn’t really free. And if you can’t trust them on something as dumb as this, I sure wouldn’t trust them with any real business.

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40 Comments

  1. Posted 7/13/2005 at 7:04 am | Permalink

    I’ve stuck with the same hosting company since I first started my site because it is local with fantastic service. The prices are a bit above the $2/mo offers from some of the slick national companies, but you get what you pay for! (buffalo web hosting). Best of luck in this job search! Any place would be lucky to have you!

  2. Posted 7/13/2005 at 10:30 am | Permalink

    I had the same problem with one and one. To make matters worse the locked the domain name elmwoodstrip.org for transfer until I had paid the fee despite the fact that I had never used the hosting and had paid upfront for the domain name from them as a separate “purchase” from the hosting plan. Then after paying, when I wanted to transfer the domain to my new registrar, they held it hostage for about two weeks insisting on faxed paperwork which took them over a week to process.

  3. Shakeer
    Posted 7/15/2005 at 12:27 pm | Permalink

    I have the free 6 month Business Package with them (comes with a free domain). I never provided a credit card number, are you saying that they can still demand I pay when my service expires? I’m not sure if I even remeber my password for it.

  4. Posted 7/15/2005 at 1:13 pm | Permalink

    Actually, I did provide a credit card when I signed up many years ago (I paid for a domain), and they tried to charge it this February, but the card was long expired. Then they billed me via email, and when I refused to pay, they put it out to a collections agency. I’m a bit anxious to see if they have also screwed with my credit rating.

    Moreover, in order to cancel, they may require you to inform them in writing. I’d get some clear confirmation that the account is cancelled if you are not using it.

  5. dianeward
    Posted 7/25/2005 at 9:27 am | Permalink

    1+1 is horrible! I have several domains registered w/ them and even the renewal process is convoluted and disappointing. I regret ever following my friend’s bad advice to use 1-1. I wrote a nasty unhappy letter – since it is easier to be struck by lightning than to get someone from their company on the phone. They recently sent me a letter about comments I might have to improve their cust. support!!! Network Solutions is expensive, but reliable and I have never had to wait to get an intelligent and capable person on the phone who could fix things magically.

  6. Alex Halavais
    Posted 7/25/2005 at 9:33 am | Permalink

    I guess the best thing to do is to file a complaint with the BBB online. At least then, if people check the rating (OK, I didn’t, but from now on, I will!), they will see that there are problems.

  7. ShanD
    Posted 9/18/2005 at 4:07 pm | Permalink

    I also got an invoice last month from 1and1 … from an account I cancelled back in Janurary! Then, when I cancelled again, I got refunded for 18.81 dollars instead of the full 29.99 dollars, then I gave their customer service a call the day after when they sent me the 7 days until collections notice. They claimed it was a bulk mailer and a junk mail, and that I owe nothing.

    I have a sneaking suspision that tomorrow I will have been forwarded to collections.

  8. Brandon
    Posted 11/7/2005 at 12:50 pm | Permalink

    This is the worst hosting company I have ever used. I have had some bad hosting companies in my time, but this is really bad. They overcharge, do not hold true to their “90-day Guarantee”, and are VERY rude when calling to cancel.

    It would be great to see 1and1sucks.com get published! I would be a member.

  9. 1AND1SUCKS
    Posted 11/8/2005 at 1:03 pm | Permalink

    Yes, 1and1 does suck. So does their support. But you don’t have to go in circles and wait on hold for hours. Instead, contact this guy:

    Richard Winslow
    richard@1and1.com
    610-560-1470

    He is in charge of angry customers, I think.

  10. Posted 11/11/2005 at 11:53 pm | Permalink

    1and1.com locked our account without any explaination (3 year free trail thing)… We have 5gb traffic and on the expense tracker it shows we’ve used 1.2gb in november (less than 5), but apparently its totaling all traffic over 3 months (5.1gb) and counting that instead i guess, but i don’t really know since its been 4 days and they have yet to respond to any e-mails and they refuse to even answer any calls to their tech support (since its not in the package).

    Worthless, if you treat potential business like crap, I wonder how willing they’d be to sign up full time.

  11. Tab
    Posted 11/14/2005 at 12:47 am | Permalink

    Same here. Things is, I can’t ever recall signing up with them for anything. If they were offering something for free I may have, on a whim, just checked it out.

    Now I have recieved a letter from a collection agency saying I owe them $29.94 for services I don’t recall ordering, wanting or ever being billed for. They threaten my credit if I don’t pay them.

    It sounds just a little bit like blackmail, doesn’t it?

    Say it loud:

    “1 and 1 Internet Inc. SUCKS!”

    “1&1 Internet Inc. SUCKS!”

    United Internet (parent company) SUCKS.

    They are akin to street thugs ethically. Their service must be poor (I wouldn’t know, I’ve NEVER USED IT.) so in order to make money, 1 and 1 internet STEALS it from people.

    DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT TRY THEIR “FREE” HOSTING.

    THEY ARE THEIVES. THEY ARE LIARS. THEY ARE CROOKED.

    Maybe this isn’t worth one person going after them, but I think if all the people they do this to come together, we could make a noise and file a suit.

    I’m absolutely shocked and angered.

  12. Brooks Stephens
    Posted 11/30/2005 at 9:46 pm | Permalink

    Yes, I had an awful experience with 1 & 1 as well….but lets try to think positve here ladies and gents! I moved my sites to Frontpages Web Hosting Network (fpweb.net) and their service has been fabulous. From what I’ve heard and experienced, their support group is top notch, only hiring level 3 engineers, to avoid the middle man and speed up the response process. On top of that, their on the cutting edge of technology…their Sharepoint (team sharing tool) service is unmatched with an abundance of free add-on features. They are also starting to integrate all of their services into pocket PCs, so you can access real time data, anywhere, anytime of day. I highly suggest this group for anyone looking for a rock solid web host.

  13. Noreen
    Posted 12/27/2005 at 1:38 pm | Permalink

    I bought several domain name packages from 1 and 1 in 2004 for the duration of a year totalling over $600. No problems, until a year later, they send me an e-mail saying they’re going to charge my credit card for renewal for another year! I never authorized renewal for another and didn’t want ot renew as I went back to school and simply couldn’t afford to.

    I cancelled my credit card, but they still went ahead and billed my account and now my account is in collections. They say I owe them over $600 for something I didn’t even authorize. I can’t afford to pay this, but at the same time I don’t want my credit rating to get screwd up…I feel like I’m being blackmailed! I went to antifraud.com and am in the process of reporting them to several of the organizations mentioned on that website. I suggest you guys do the same…the more people that report these “theives”, the more chance that somebody in authority will do something.

  14. mettmann
    Posted 12/29/2005 at 6:43 pm | Permalink

    agreed they suck times infinity. Still on hold with Tech – since Billing is only M-F 9to5 est – their new billing system brought in during November (googled for that piece of info) doesn’t reconcile payments to accounts – thus locking out everybody’s domains – no email, no website no nothing – run away….. run away….

  15. Scammed!
    Posted 1/7/2006 at 12:50 pm | Permalink

    This website highlights 1 and 1’s unscrupulous practices. It looks like 1 and 1 have a class action lawsuit on their hands. Check it out…
    http://www.thebleedingobvious.com/

  16. Jim C
    Posted 2/13/2006 at 11:00 am | Permalink

    Poor Service from 1 and 1

    1) I had to wait six weeks after ordering a Root Server III in order to get provisioned.
    2) I’ve been hung up on by their support line several times with the recorded message that says, literally: “We are too busy, goodbye”.
    3) When I have gotten through that roadblock, I get “That extension is busy, press 1 to try another.” I have to keep re-trying over and over.
    4) Then when I do get someone, they are non-technical so they can not answer my questions. They usually put me on hold for a long time and comeback with something like “No”. They refuse to transfer me to a technical person.
    5) The release of linux provisioned on my server was Fedora Core 2. Fedora Core 2 GA’d on 18 May 2004. That’s 1and1’s standard release. An OS that is over 2 years old. When I request a newer release, I’m offered Fedora Core 3. Fedora Core 3 was GA’d on 8 November 2004. That’s 15 months ago. And I have to request it be loaded on my server specially? Forget about Fedora Core 4.
    Even though It was GA’d on 13 June 2005. Eight months is
    apparently not enough time to provision a release at 1and1.

    Stay away from 1and1. Stay far far away.

  17. Posted 2/24/2006 at 10:58 am | Permalink

    I glad I’m not in this boat all by myself. It makes me feel a “little” bit better to know that I wisely coughed up the money to get the collection agency off my back.

    I had not been using 1&1 for quite some time (in fact, I forgot about it about after my initial sign-up and switching to a much better internet hosting company). After a year or so, when they needed to charge my credit card in advance for their services, it had declined since I had cancelled it previous. I then got various emalis and threats for collection agencies to pursue. I took my time to cancel the 1&1 in mid-September of 2005. However, my billing cycle was, apparently, from 1-Sept-05 through 1-Mar-06. So, even though I had cancelled, officially, on 25-Sept of last year, I still this bill for the entire 6-months. By me cancelling, I figured the bill would no longer be necessary. What other company bills for a service that had been cancelled. Well, to my surprise, yesterday (23-Feb-06), I got a letter in the mail from a collection agency. Good grief. I’ve now spent 30 minutes on the phone with 1&1 literally yelling at the poor rep and explaining the situation. She kept saying there’s nothing they can do since I clicked to sign the Terms and Conditions when I initially registered for the service. I spent so much time on the phone and got so upset that I just finally decided to call it quits and then call back the collection agency to pay the bill (oh, yeah, and they charge $5.00 to use a credit card…on top of the $19.99 late fee 1&1 charges for a $29.00 bill!!!).

    Never before in my 10 years of Internet usage have I ever dealt with such a terrible company. Never.

    For anyone who still may be reading this thread in mid-Feb. 2006– Stay away from 1&1 as mentioned above.

  18. Bo
    Posted 3/26/2006 at 8:22 am | Permalink

    Hi,
    Another hosting company not to use is h2oh-hosting.com
    I cancelled my acount 5 days ago. There policy said to cancel you needed to do that 7 days in advance. Now they have suddenly changed there policy to 30 days and written cancelation. The wont transfer my domain name, another domain name i purchased through them 6 days ago.
    They don’t get back on any emails from me, and do not have a phone number.
    Man…my domain name is kept hostage, and i probaly gonna have to purchase a new domain name, cause i had it.
    H2OH-HOSTING.COM SUCKS BIG TIME!!!
    DO NOT DO BUISNESS WITH THEM.

    • Posted 5/3/2011 at 9:16 pm | Permalink

      What a joy to find somoene else who thinks this way.

  19. Joe
    Posted 4/6/2006 at 12:19 pm | Permalink

    They “lost” my web site in web site builder. I have called them every day for 10 days, spend 30 minutes on hold, and spoken to someone in the Phillipines who has just said “we have escalated it to admin.” Finally, I got hold of someone in the U.S. who told me: yup, we lost it. Good luck to you. Sorry about that. His boss is Richard Winslow, thanks to the poster above for providing his number, since all the employees at 1 and 1 are under pain of death NOT to give it out.

  20. Mark
    Posted 4/6/2006 at 9:54 pm | Permalink

    I’ve also had a horrible customer experience with 1and1. Their actions and methods are borderline criminal. I’m in Canada so there’s not much I can do but I urge you Americans to write your attorney general or whoever deals with fraud of this scale.

    Absolutely sickening.

  21. Mike
    Posted 4/23/2006 at 2:19 am | Permalink

    Alex, I’ll just add another voice: I purchased a Windows busines account in June of 05. It is only for web presence and a few pop-mail accounts. I receive invoices by email and check in the control panel. Big mistake. Check what they charge you! Approaching Apr 15 I consolidated business expenses and discovered that they began charging for dedicated server (they tell me) in Sept 05. No invoices, not US Mail. They can’t tell me what it is used for because I have no Customer ID (it was registered by a different customer, using my credit card, but a different email address). I can’t even cancel the account because I need a password. Kafka would love to have known 1and1. This is theft, or incompetence, or both, but may be costly to prove. In addition, I have no idea what that server is being used for. Needless to say, avoid 1and1. There isn’t enough involved to warrant an individual lawsuit, but perhaps if there are enough of us?

  22. Posted 5/6/2006 at 9:14 pm | Permalink

    The right to publish the truth has been blocked by 1&1.com
    HealthWatcher.net is moving its web site in a few days. For temporary access to our main URLs just click on the links below. We will let you know when all is back to normal.

    Our previous ISP was 1and1.com in Pennsylvania. They and their lawyer in Philadelphia have both failed to provide the necessary services in a manner that would protect the right to free speech and fair comment. It seems that they knuckled under to a frivolous and vexatious attack on my right to criticize an advertisement that appeared in a weekly newspaper in Canada. If your ISP has treated you as poorly as I have been treated, we are all in for a big wakeup call.

    Please send all e-mail to drpolevoy@yahoo.com for further information.
    Please put this in the Subject line: Update on healthwatcher

    We will send you complete details about what this company has done, and would like to see the right to fair comment protected on the internet.

    Terry Polevoy, MD
    938 King Street West
    Kitchener, ON N2G 1G4

  23. Ampersand
    Posted 5/14/2006 at 12:48 pm | Permalink

    Just to clear things up concerning Polevoy:

    Polevoy’s sites are chronically shut down, moved, deleted etc…because he is a chronic liar, libelist and defamor. He’d like everyone to believe it’s a freedom of speech issue. What Polevoy doesn’t get, and there’s alot, it’s not freedom to lie, libel and defame.

  24. Amara
    Posted 6/9/2006 at 11:55 pm | Permalink

    I’m glad I read this before I signed up with them. I try to always research companies if I’m uncertain about them. I am about to try and pry my two domains from Tripod, not sure how that’s going to go. I want to register them at godaddy and host them elsewhere. I want private registration (not available with Tripod) versus my home address and full name being available on freaking whois. 1&1 was in my top 5 of possible hosting for my sites. Not anymore. Between this and the other website against them, I don’t want to go there.

  25. FrgualYankee
    Posted 6/26/2006 at 2:34 pm | Permalink

    If there is going to be a class-action lawsuit against this scam company, count me in! They have sent a debt collection agency after me even though I never ordered anything from them ever.
    In Nov 2005 I got one of those bogus ‘renewal’ letters from DROA requesting that I renew a domain name that I had never registered, ‘internetfinancialverfification.com’ (name changed to protect privacy). I checked the WHOIS database and sure enough, there was my name and address. But the phone # was bogus (like in Red Plains, North Dakota instead of Red Plains, Wyoming. And the email address was from a domain in China. Looked like somebody was going to do some phishing and didn’t want to use their real contact info.
    I contacted 1and1internet and their scummy German registrar, Schlund AG and got no response. So I filed with the Internet Crime Commission and just to be safe, called the FBI.
    In Jan 2006 1and1internet tried to put a charge on my credit card. I called my credit card cvo and they said that they would not only dispute the charge, they would shut down the card and issue me a new one with a different number.
    So in June 2006 I get a letter from NCO financial services trying to collect the ‘debt’ that I had gotten reversed by my creidt card co. I called them and they said that as part of their investigation they had asked 1and1internet to verify the debt. They couldn’t, because they have such a lax system for processing credit cards.
    I talked to someone in the billing dept today asking where the heck do they get off trying to bill me for something I never ordered and threatening to get my credit report involved. This idiot told me I need to write them and tell them I never ordered anything. I told him that I wrote them back in Nov 2005 and they should pay better attention, I have wasted enough time with this. And besides, can’t they figure out that if the name and address are in one state in the US, the phone number is in a completely different state, and the email addy is in China that something isn’t right? His answer was that they have ‘millions of accounts’. Well good, that will be all the more money they can be sued for!

  26. Posted 6/26/2006 at 8:27 pm | Permalink

    I have a one and one account they just plain suck ass thier support sucks i just called in to get a simple billing question answerd shit that woman in their would rather didle her self then answer my question one and one what a buch of jack asses

  27. FrugalYankee
    Posted 6/26/2006 at 9:02 pm | Permalink

    Well it lookl like there may well be a class-action lawsuit against these crooks. If you want to claim your share, visit here:
    http://www.bankraid.com/
    doesn’t matter if you are in the UK or the US.
    I’m mad as h*** and let’s sue the b******!

  28. FrugalYankee
    Posted 6/27/2006 at 8:38 am | Permalink

    While we are waiting to see what happens with a class action lawsuit in the US, anyone who feels they have been the victim of fraud/illegal business practices has the option of filing a complaint with the Attorney General in Pennsylvania http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/complaints.aspx?id=451
    You can do this online or on paper. They WILL investigate, and if there are enough complaints, 1and1internet will have serious legal problems.

  29. KC
    Posted 10/2/2006 at 7:08 pm | Permalink

    Damn it, I just signed up a basic account with them yesterday without checking it first, now I know I am in trouble. How many of you have successfully gotten out of their The 90-Day Money Back Guarantee wtihout getting your credit rating screwed?

  30. Jason
    Posted 10/12/2006 at 10:01 pm | Permalink

    I have read with great interest the comments about 1&1 and their cancellation policy, automatic renewals without notification and their use of a debt collection agency to enforce their policies.
    I myself have had problems with 1&1. In July, they automatically renewed my domains without any notification and in full knowledge my card which they were holding on file had expired 6 months previously.
    The first contact I had with 1&1 was a letter demanding the payment of 15.12, which was surprising, as I had had no previous contact with them. The letter also threatened to refer me to a debt collection agency which would incur a further 15.00 penalty.
    When I asked why I had not been sent a notification Email prior to the expiration of the domains I was told this was ‘not their policy to do so.’ I thought this rather unfair, as by not doing so, they were effectively trapping customers into a further extension of contract who, should a reminder had been sent to, may have cancelled.

    This raised an interesting point as 1&1 are ICANN accredited and under the terms of the accreditation agreement, the registrar (1&1) must send an expiry notification Email to the domain name holder prior to the domain expiring. This is stated in the rules clearly laid down my ICANN.

    Below is an extract from the ICANN ombudsman’s FAQ page:

    “Are registrars required to give renewal notices to domain name holders before the expiry of a domain name?”

    “Under ICANN’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement domain name holders have to be sent an email notice prior to a domain expiring. The email address will be the one you list on WHOIS, so it is important for you to keep it up to date. If the email is sent to the email address on WHOIS, and that address is no longer valid, the Registrars may little other chance of contacting you.”

    You can view the original text from the ICANN ombudsman’s website here:
    http://www.icann.org/ombudsman/questions.htm
    In addition to the above, 1&1 is also in breach of ICANN accreditation agreement by renewing the contract without assurances of payment for the services being renewed.

    “3.7.4 Registrar shall not activate any Registered Name unless and until it is satisfied that it has received a reasonable assurance of payment of its registration fee. For this purpose, a charge to a credit card, general commercial terms extended to creditworthy customers, or other mechanism providing a similar level of assurance of payment shall be sufficient, provided that the obligation to pay becomes final and non-revocable by the Registered Name Holder upon activation of the registration.”

    The fact that 1&1 renewed my domains in full knowledge that the card had expired 6 months previously has contravened the above accreditation clause.

    “3.7.5 Registrar shall register Registered Names to Registered Name Holders only for fixed periods. At the conclusion of the registration period, failure by or on behalf of the Registered Name Holder to pay a renewal fee within the time specified in a second notice or reminder shall, in the absence of extenuating circumstances, result in cancellation of the registration. In the event that ICANN adopts a specification or policy concerning procedures for handling expiration of registrations, Registrar shall abide by that specification or policy.”

    It may be argued that automatic renewals without prior notification are not fixed term contracts, but are an indefinite contract. Indefinite contracts are non-compliant with ICANN regulation 3.7.5.

    The above demonstrates how 1&1 are not fully complying with the industry best practice as set out by ICANN and in not doing so, are gaining at the customers detriment and to the disadvantage of other companies who fully abide by ICANNs rules.

    I have discovered 2 websites that are worth looking at:
    http://www.wasitfree.com (self help group regarding issues raised here)
    http://www.bankraid.com (scrutinizing the business conducts of the aforementioned company)

    Hope this information is of some assistance.

    Regards,

    Jason

  31. Posted 1/22/2007 at 12:09 pm | Permalink

    Thaumaturgical may as well be traumaturgical !
    The suporters of 1and 1 , obviously have not had their wake up calls yet !
    I am not asking anyone to side with me .
    The Better Business Bureau and I
    are sufficient to equate that , 1and 1 = UNSATISFACTORY.
    If you want to take the position that everyone complaining
    is just having a bad dream , I hope your diagnosis is accurate.
    However do not be embarassed and do come back and see me
    when you wake up.

  32. Posted 1/22/2007 at 12:23 pm | Permalink

    My last post had a typo
    http://1and1group.blogspot.com
    It is case sensitive and it is my Blog ,
    which I think it is Thaumaturgically vented.
    — Alex where did you get that one “thaumaturgically ” ?
    I think I know… from talking to often to 1and 1 phone support … right ?

  33. Posted 1/29/2007 at 2:01 pm | Permalink

    I have a You Tube 1and1 presentation at my blog.
    It seems like the most appropriate way to
    bring closure to a nasty experience.
    You can now join me and see me
    Le Blogue http://1and1group.blogspot.com

  34. Posted 8/15/2007 at 1:01 pm | Permalink

    1&1 more than just sucks on both sides of the Atlantic. They deserve to go out of business. They’ve made em so incensed with the poor quality of their service the thuggy nature of their responses that I’ve actually started a blog they are busy populating with their ineptitude and I am moving almost 100 domains off them.

  35. Posted 12/14/2007 at 2:36 pm | Permalink

    Don’t ever use this company. They are ripoffs. If you give them your credit card info(you have to to buy domains) they won’t let you revoke it. Damien Christopher a manager in the billing dept. is an unethical jerk.Has personality problems. 1 and 1 domain name company sucks.

  36. gallen1119
    Posted 8/30/2008 at 9:34 pm | Permalink

    They do suck! Trying to cancel a six month contract and they are trying to make me a year. Total SCAM!

  37. Paula
    Posted 2/20/2009 at 3:49 pm | Permalink

    I think this company stinks! I used them for a short time and because I wanted to cancel I am now having troubles and they sent me to their “collections” NCO.
    LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING!!!!
    I have written them, with a certified letter to the CEO Oliver Mauss and I know they got it because the little green reply card came back to me. I have also faxed them any many times. THEY NEVER REPLY TO MY QUESTIONS. NEVER!!

    Stay away from this company, they don’t care about customers. If they did they would reply.

  38. Paul
    Posted 5/18/2009 at 12:23 pm | Permalink

    1 and 1 is the absolute worst provider. They do not meet their up time commitments and trying to cancel is a mess. I used their clunky interface and accidentally chose “as soon as possible” rather than “end of contract” as the time for canceling. That part is my fault and within 1 day my domain was in the redemption period. So, I called their tech support and sent me their redemption recovery form and I faxed it in. I didn’t hear anything for several days so I sent an e-mail back to get a status. They then said I couldn’t recover to my previous account and had to create a new one. I did that. They then said to just e-mail the form with the new account number. I did that and said to attach it as an addendum to my previously faxed form. They e-mailed me back and said they needed a new signed form. So, I faxed a new one. Several days go by and I get a notice that they’ve received and are processing my form. I then get an e-mail that they need my new password in order for this to work. Then, at the 11 day mark I get another e-mail that says they need “approval from the domain owner” in order to transfer it to the new account that they had me set up and they needed an authorization number. Of course, I can’t get the authorization number because the domain and my old account are gone. So, I call them up and was transferred to 6 different people and spent an hour trying to get this figured out. I then find out that the last e-mail was a default message and that the domain will be restored within a few days (at a cost of $40) but I’ll also need to buy a new hosting package. No way.

    As soon as the domain is restored I am transferring it as fast as possible to a new provider who offers more reliable service, a better administrative interface, and customer service that doesn’t bounce me around to 5 different people to get a simple answer. 1and1 is the worst and I would recommend just about any other provider.

  39. kevin
    Posted 12/13/2009 at 3:17 am | Permalink

    1and1 hosting is a scam. Not to go into much detail, but I just canceled a hosting account with them, and as a result, they revoked access to the domains tied to that hosting account…..domains that they charged me $90 for two days after I canceled the hosting account. Now they won’t let me access those domains unless I open a new hosting account. So, they have my $90, while I have no domains, yet the domains are in my name in whois.

    What they’re doing has to be illegal. Theft and credit card fraud sounds familiar, as does extortion. 1and1 doesn’t require a hosting account to register domains, and there’s no reason to require it for accessing domains.

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