Registrar Judge

Very poor customer service. They will send instant replies but it takes at least 3 emails before everything clears up.

Billing is slow too.

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I made a big mistake to register many domains with 1&1 as it offered good pricing. However, managing a big portfolio with 1&1 is a nightmare. You almost need to manage domains one and one. They automatically renew the domain name unless you explicitly send a fax to them for each domain name. Funny but their online system sucks. You don’t receive approval notice online to confirm that you don’t want to renew. Unfortunately their customer service is useless and no help under such circumstances. I had a hard a time to cancel, they renewed even though I had an expired CC on file. I did not want to pay and they filed with a collection agency for a handful of domains. In order to keep my CC score safe, I paid but transferred all of my domain names to Fabulous.

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Dear God, please help us domainers get past the ancient and prohibitive transfer/dns services 1&1 provides for those who unfortunately buy an aftermarket domain in an auction and discover it’s… it’s… gulp… registered at … 1&1!!!!!

One of the worst, if not the worst. Melbourne IT, you’re lucky 1&1 exists so that you’re not the “worst”, so to speak. But your number is coming.

When I first started domaining, I, like many others, fell into 1&1’s trap of registering my name there because it was cheap. That turned out to be a mistake when I wanted to transfer out my domain but couldn’t because my old credit card had expired and I didn’t own another at the time. My account was locked and I couldn’t change my mailing address, email address, or any other information. The support staff was unhelpful and did not demonstrate that they had knowledge of domain names. Register names at one of the “big” name registrars.

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The pricing and the fact that they offer free privacy registration gets them an overall rating of 2 from me. Without those 2 features it would have been a 1 star all the way because of their lousy customer service as well as the hassle you’re in for if you actually want to transfer a name away from them. My advice would be to steer clear of these guys!

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VERY scary registrar. I could not buy a domain because the seller couldn’t figure out how to get a domain out of there without me opening an account and leaving the domain at 1&1.

STAY AWAY.

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Domains renew automatically at the beginning of the year instead of when the domain’s actually supposed to expire, even if you haven’t opted in for automatic renewals, which is illegal.

Customers support doesn’t bother responding to emails or answering the phones. This is a very shady company. STAY AWAY!

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I believe I made the horrendous mistake of choosing a company because it had a 5 page ad in a popular computer magazine. In my opinion 1and1 is a horrible company and many customers have voiced a host of complaints on various blogs. It should be a warning that when their phone is answered by a recording that tells you if you have gotten a notice from NCO, a collection agency, to press a certain number. If they are a reputable business, why do they have to send so many accounts to a collection agency?
Also Investigative journalist, Kelli Jack, has written 30 articles about this company and has a suit pending against them. Kelli alleges that 1and1 stole her domain name and sold it. Kelli states: “1and1 should be shut down.”

And finally, the Washington DC, Pennsylvania Better Business Bureau has them listed as “Unsatisfactory” Read comments on the BBB why. Read some customer comments on Red Flag.

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I guess I am one of the millions of happy 1&1 customers who don’t normally have time to counter the ngative opinions often posted about my host.

I can’t blame 1&1 for taking customers to collections when they don’t pay their bill. It is the consumer’s responsibility to keep their account info up to date.

1&1 is not for “bulk domainer” to be sure. They simply don’t have the same level of domain management tools as other registrars (who charge more for their domains BTW) like GoDaddy and eNom.

Faqs at http://faq.1and1.com and toll free phone call should be able to help you change account settings, domain renewal preferences, transfers, billing information.

My own experience has been that the 1&1 tech support reponse time and quality have been getting better and better over the last 10 months.

You try getting over 7 million cusotmers, I bet you’d have a hard time pleasing all of them too.

Class Action lawsuit?? Ha. Doubtful scare tactics by 1 of 1and1’s competitors trying to stir up muck online. BBB? Also a joke IMHO. If this site is run by a 1&1 affiliate, then negative comments are imediately suspicious.

Anyway, I will stick with 1and1, and will give tham a mostly POSITIVE rating. They work well for me!

Judge for yourself. Don’t let nasty comments scare you. The truth is relative.

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Gosh.
Just…don’t.

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0 Stars all-across

These guys decided to take my domain name while it was not even expired, and make use of the reasonably high google rating for their own SEDO parking company. I can buy my domain back for 3500 euros, but, since they took the domain, my business is nearly dead. These guys steal domain names, then offer a long bureaucratic process involving faxes and fees to extort more money from you.

Avoid like the plague.

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1&1 is absolutely the worst web host and worst registrar on the planet - period. I have benn with them for over 5 years (unwillingly) and it has taken me this long to finally be free of them. Anyone who reads their contracts (If you use 1&1 you are subject to more than 7 contracts that they use for different products or services) would recoil in horror. You have to waive your right to sue them, waive your right to any ‘relief’ whatsoever, agree to mandatory arbitration in Pennsylvania, allow them to access, delete or edit your web content in their ’sole discretion’ allow them to determine if they will host your content at their ’sole discretion’ and waive the legal statute of limitations against them for legal actions.

Anyone who signs up with 1 and 1 is either a fool or a victim who doesn’t know it yet. If your credit card is maxed out or canceled, they will immediately refer your account to a collection agency. It is impossible to remove your credit card information from their service without supplying a new credit card. Domains that are canceled years before are billed forever, even if you cancel, unless you send a written request to cancel your account to both 1&1 and their law firm. (That’s in the 30+ pages of contracts too)

Their hosting is unreliable, awkward and lacks any flexibility. Their domain interface is a joke, the worst in the industry. 1&1 will be going the way of Registerfly, and if any of you are on it, you will be going down with this enormous nightmare of a company. Avoid at all costs and if you are there now, get out before you get screwed. I waited too long and it cost me thousands of dollars to leave them, but my freedom is now worth it.

Buy any service or domain from 1&1 and they will OWN you from now on!

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Echoing Screwed I, I e-mailed 1&1 two years ago asking to stop autorenewal. Now the account has apparently gone to collection because I have been unwittingly provided “service” for two years despite the card associated with the account having been canceled (lost) shortly after my cancellation e-mail.

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This place is full of con-artists. I also emailed them long ago to stop renewal. I even called. Regardless they keep pulling this crap and send a collection agency. By far one of the shadiest companies out there. On top of that they dont even behave like any other registrar… STAY AWAY.

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Like others on this thread I was also sent to collections (without my knowledge) for a pre-paid hosting account that I was rung through the ringer when trying to cancel. Instead of just closing my account when I canceled the account, they sent me to collections (no email, no notification, no letters). I found out about the collection over a year later when I was trying to qualify for a mortgage. My credit was spotless prior to this issue. Needless to say this sunk my FICO and lenders now don’t want to touch me because I have this $30 collection on my credit history. I’ve spent over two weeks on the phone and writing letters and emails with 1and1 and NCO (the credit agency) trying to resolve the issue with no luck. I’m now working with an attorney to try to get this resolved. BUYER BEWARE!!

Um - DrHiggins - get a life! Your review is obviously so fake!

I Am a real person. This is not a Fake review. No matter what the next 1&1 agent who jumps on here disguised as a “satisfied” customer has to say.

These idiots sent me to collections for $200 for domain names I chose not to renew. They claim that I am on autobilling and now I owe them!

Tell me - what domain registrar on the planet do you know Forces customers to renew a domain name? I have over 400 domains with GoDaddy and Never Once have I been sent to “collections” for not renewing a domain. Renewing a domain name is 100% voluntary. Stay Away From These Idiots!

Do not give them your business in any way shape or form. In fact - if you are with them Run! Change your service provider. I dont care who you use. This company needs to go away fast. This is bull$**T!

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The only value to 1&1 is their free privacy and low prices on registrations. Beyond that, tech support is clueless (Philippine CS reps for US customers, Eastern Europe reps for German and UK customers). Offerings and prices vary greatly across their three markets (Germany, UK, and USA).

Beware of their shaddy billing process for transfered in domains. If you have a domain at another registrar, and stupidly transfer it to 1&1, they create a date on their system when you transfer. Forever more you will be billed on that date AND on the actual domain expiration date according to the domain’s registry. Read: DOUBLE BILLED each year.

What’s supposed to happen on a domain registrar transfer: 1&1 charges you for a domain registration, they contact the registry and add one more year to the original expiration date, and then, and only then, at a moment in time over 1 year in the future comes around, based upon the domain expiration date according to the registry, they should bill you for a renewal. Every registrar get’s this ICANN stipulated process, except 1&1.

What does this do for them? it inflates their revenue, especially when they offer promotions for cheap domain registrations. They have been fraudulently billing since they entered the US market in late 2003.

There are 700,000 customers in the US, and millions of domains registered to them. At $9.00 a domain registration, that adds up to millions in fraud over 6 years.

How about some US Attorney General investigation? How about an investigation into their financials by the German regulators of the parent company United Internet AG, Germany. (UTDI on Xetra exchange).

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 threaten people with a 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!