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General discussion

Avoid 1&1 hosting service

Nov 26, 2005 10:52PM PST

Just wanted to share a horrible experince i've had with 1&1 hosting. I've been trying to cancel for several months and I'm still getting charged. The service quality is poor and the customer service is horrible. Just needed to vent.

Discussion is locked

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Yes i am using the Uk service and also have no problems so..
Dec 14, 2005 1:41AM PST

far.

Thanks

Andrew

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DEFINITELY AVOID 1&1 HOSTING!!!
Dec 23, 2005 10:45AM PST

Buyer Beware!!! They have a home-grown email system that fails often. To add to their less-than-adequate systems and services, just recently they made everyone change their name servers. If you did not get the email (I missed it because their email service is so unreliable) they went through and systematically deleted all of your domain names from their system-- as well as all corresponding email boxes. I had an entire company of programmers working when all of a sudden their email just DISAPPEARED! And then our website just disappeared!!!

Customer service replied: "If you are dissatisfied with your service we are more than happy to discontinue it for you" Lovely... just what you want to hear from your customer service representative.

I am doing just that... shopping for a RELIABLE service provider.

Good luck 1&1-- Just a bunch of BOZO's on the bus...

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May i ask.........
Dec 23, 2005 6:57PM PST

Are you using the Us service?

Like others have said the Uk service is perfect.

????????

Strange

Thanks

Andrew

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Using U.S. Service... not U.K.
Dec 26, 2005 3:14AM PST

I'm using the U.S. service... and it is bad all the way through... from their klunky home-grown email all the way to their customer service. Not good. I've been very patient with these folks but they just can't seem to ever get it right. And they do NOT listen to their customers. Too bad. It looks great from the outside... and it appears to work pretty good for a while... but inevitably they do something dumb and screw it all up, again and again. So, let me clarify, it is intermittently bad. And I've had so many people over time tell me they'd sent me email that I never received. I've heard this from other 1&1 customers as well. It's primarily around their email services where they're falling flat. If they would catch a clue and just get some decent email servers I believe most of their problems would go away. Obviously the home-grown version is tied to someone's ego which will eventually kill these folks.

Just more road-kill on the internet super-highway. Unfortunate.

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In all due respect..

I respect your outright hatred for this company - myself, I use internal email servers for my company, with forwarded email accounts from 1&1. Like I say - so far, so good, I can pre-order domains a week before being billed... I have externally monitored a 100% uptime from SiteProbe for the last 7 months on my own domain, which serves several other sites.

If you get a debit bill not approved email, sure - they shut you down - but it seems they give fair advance notice. As well - for DNS to be physically changed, or for all your accounts to be deleted - sounds malicious to me. I will admit - with a simple key logger software running, anyone could snag your password.

All in all - from the CGI Forms i utilize, to the 50+ FTP accounts i use... i choose 1&1.

I have run http://www.hawleywood.com - Hawleywood Interactive for 6 years and in all my experience have found them most reliable. And to say the least - it's not my first day at the rodeo.

Albeit - nothing beats an original in-house server with a nice 4-6mb backbone to serve your company online - I have several - all Windows Server 2003, which i like IIS.. NOTHING beats an in-house server you run yourself (given you know how to run it).

As for co-located/dedicated server offered by 3rd party vendor - go with 1and1.

If you don't pay them - you get shut down. If you happen to luck out with their 3month introductory trial - better have paid before your 3 month anniversary with them.

Night all!

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O.M.G.
Jun 6, 2012 8:29PM PDT

I was thinking of switching to them and glad that I have come through this thread

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You get what you pay for - 1and1 is NOT worth it
Jan 4, 2006 1:37AM PST

If you are willing to stay on premahold for hours to fix their problems. If you want to deal with SLOW server response and clogged email acoounts. This is the cheap service for you.

Some people will recommend this sub-par hosting co. because they (1and1) give the recommenders refereal $$. See their affiliate program.

There customer service is horrible. Their servers are slow. They have other tech problems. There are much better options than 1and1

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Touche

Touche friend. If you pay nothing I agree you'll get nothing. I pay for my package.. and i get results.

So i can understand why non-paying customers get fed up with getting cut off - u do get what u pay for.

I called them this morning and was on hold for approx 7 minutes.. a far yelp from your 6 hours. yup, servers are still up and running... NO ISSUES WHAT SO EVER!!

And I am in no way an affiliate of 1&1.. i don't recommend them for my own benefit.. nor do i debate this article formy own financial freedom.. lol.

The ONLY real option which is better is for you to get your own Unix/NT server and then administrate it yourself.

--
TTFN

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Nothing to be proud of
Jan 30, 2006 6:26AM PST

I don't think this guy should be extolling the virtues of 1 and 1 with his web site below

http://www.hawleywood.com

Check it out - its soooo sloooow.

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They seem to be the best out there so far.
Feb 2, 2006 2:01AM PST

I just checkd this site http://www.hawleywood.com and it is pretty fast.
I am here because I am starting my own business and I plan to use 1and1 services, but I must say all these reviews make me little bit nervous.

Have good day all!

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My site slow?

LOL - most likely your dial up.. lol

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Who do you recommend MindPlay?

Who may I ask do you use for your web hosting services?

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HOSTING
Mar 15, 2006 3:33PM PST

i host a few hundred of my own domains, and do reseller hosting, and have tried numerous hosts for such. i've ended up with ourinternet.us for past 2.5 years.
excellent plans, very good quality.
1and1 ABSOLUTELY sux. u will regret using them. GUARANTEED.

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Avoid 1 and 1
May 20, 2008 11:33AM PDT

We have been using it for 3 years and one day our site is not accessible. We call support then they said server is down. OK it can be happen. How long of down time can you accept?
Maybe an hour? It happened a 36 hours ago and it is still down. I called number of times. The only I heard is "Sorry we are working on it" which is a script to be told to say. what kind of problem can let them abandon client's the most interests? Beware of their horriable support and if you need reliable service. Avoid 1 and 1.

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Extoll this :P

For anyone tracking this -- I use DreamHost now Happy Mainly for the plethora of diversity they allow on dedicated server systems.

1&1 was reliable - but not dynamic enough to meet the needs of a programmer/developer Happy

UPDATE!

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This thread got bumped so here's my $.02
Apr 17, 2007 9:14PM PDT

I have the Home plan with five domains now and i'm really happy with them. Maybe it's a difference between business and home plans, I don't know. (Or maybe it's just a bill paying problem from what I read here.)

Someone I knew wanted to put up a site to sell their house and was surprised at how quickly and cheaply I was able to register a domain. (Maybe that's universal, but everything I do is usually ready a lot sooner than is indicated in the Control Panel.)

I can set up an POP email address in a matter of minutes, and upload large files for backup or to make available to others easily. And their FAQ's are pretty thorough. They have directions for PHP, step-by-step directions for setting up a WordPress blog (even though they have one available through them), and news, games, etc. for your site.

The two times I called them I wasn't on hold long at all. I've had no complaints.

@hawleywood -- Is it just me, or is your "Rotating Portfolio" running a little behind schedule? Seriously though, your page loads a little strange. Too many seperate images. It kind of "pieces" itself together (and I have DSL). Thought I'd mention that. See here. Mischief

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Opera is the browser I use most often. I like it much more

Its obvious you don't do this for a living. Thanks for the insult however - i think you're mebbe using the least used browser on earth which is Opera as you quote in YOUR own website: www.one-tweak-loop.com - "Opera is the browser I use most often"

My company prides itself on being customer-obsessed rather than being self indulging. With a layered client list and as a major outsourcer to some of the largest media companies in canada - i can afford your flack.

I must say that even though you have DSL that doesn't mean everything just goes poof. most times sites dont just go poof and appear. Anyway - as much as id like to debate the article with you - i feel you would lack the true substance which warrants a meritable discussion on this topic.

All i see on your site is basic HTML and basic (albeit clean) .css - do you have any PHP or Python or heck, Perl you want to debate?

See you in the big leagues.

PS - Your site burns my eyes.
--
Mr. Hawleywood

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(NT) touche
Apr 27, 2007 10:25AM PDT
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What do you recommend???
Jan 4, 2006 10:14PM PST

Before setting up my site, I sent emails with questions to my "finalists". One reason is because, anymore, companies don't tell you anything outright, & also to see how they fair in Customer Service.

The first email I didn't even get a response to, and the second came AFTER I gave up on them and set a site up somewhere else. Great help!

Anyway, what you all of you recommend, as far as cheap, reliable web hosting? CHEAP & RELIABLE are the operative words. I know register.com is well talked of, but they charge an arm, leg, and first born for their services!

What do you all use?

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Just sent 1&1 written request to cancel immediately
Jan 18, 2006 4:03AM PST

Hi yall,

Yeah, 1&1 is awful. I am technically adept but have never written HTML and don't want to. I liked the low prices and the templates, but nothing worked. Got no info from the FAQs and tech support confirmed the dysfunctionality of the Web Creator software. Just sent letter to cancel immediately. It's either refund or chargeback but I will get my money.

Tell everyone that 1&1 absolutely blows. Giving totalchoice a try.

B

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1&1 is an absolute nightmare to deal with!!!!!!
Jan 10, 2006 4:42AM PST

I made the unfortunate mistake of becoming a 1&1 customer. Until I became a customer, I had perfect credit, that is before my 1&1 credit card expired. The email address I gave changed during my subscription, so of course I did not receive the promised reminders. Rather than canceling my subscription due to the expired card, they automatically renewed it and sent my information to a collection agency within 2 weeks of the payment due date. No phone call, no snail letter, nothing?

Immediately after receiving the letter from the collection agency, I called 1&1, paid the debt, and closed my account. Did they bother to tell the collection agency this? NO WAY! I recently preformed a credit check; the only tick on my account is from NCO FIN/99 which states that I?m ?Seriously Overdue? for 3+ months. After waiting on hold for 30 minutes, the so called customer service agent promised to email me a note stating that my account is in good standing within 10 minutes of hanging up so that I can attempt to repair my credit. It?s been hours, and still no note.

Avoid them at all costs! They have no idea what customer service is or how to do it! They are an absolute nightmare to deal with!!!!!!

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1&1 Internet nightmare
Aug 6, 2009 7:26AM PDT

Hi, It seems as though we are the latest victime of 1&1 Internet's lack of customer service. We have had the same thing happen to us with them reporting us to a collection agency over a missed payment. The payment was because our credit card had expired unbeknownst to us, but payment was immediately taken care of when the mistake was discovered. I am interested in knowing if you or anyone else has been successful in getting 1&1 to cooperate in removing the bad report on your credit history?
THank you!

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Poor support ? that a joke ?
Jan 11, 2006 2:06PM PST

When a company doesn't respond to the customers, saying it 'has poor support' is a compliment. It should have been 'no customer support.'

And that's my experience with www.1and1.com.

Last November I ordered their hosting plan. The first thing I tried was to setup FTP accounts for my family. To my total surprise, I can't assign user names at my will! Every ftp name I set, 1and1 automatically prefixed it with a long weirdo number. For example, ''john'' would become ''u31312068-john''. In order to login a user needs to remember all this stupid long number that is meaningless to him.

I don't know what people think about it but to me it's not acceptable. I sent an email to support@1and1.com right away to complain and ask if there's any way to get rid of that junk.

More than 1.5 months past yet I got absolutely no response from them. Several days ago I got 2 emails from them, at first I thought finally they realized that there is a paid customer who needs help. But hell no! Those emails were their advertisement and survay, bragging about how good their services are !! How ironic to see the email started with ''As a valued 1&1 customer, your opinions are important to us'' ! Oh, yea ...

I have been using www.icdsoft.com for 3 years. They have an amazingly quick response to customers' question s -- all requests are answered in one hour. In my 3-year experience I asked many questions yet never once had one left unanswered for more than a hour. Yesterday I just asked a question and in 40 minutes I had exchanged 4 emails with them (2 from each side).

I also checked out www.bluehost.com that I might consider ordering. Same, exchanging 4 emails in one hour.

With the efficiency like this around, the so-called support from 1and1 is really a joke.

I wish I had never tried their offer. Now, after reading the comments in this thread, I am wondering where my 'get-my-money-back' journey will lead me to. As for those who are willing to pay 1and1 and 'do their quality assurance' for them, I would say: may God be with you.

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1and1 review
Jan 11, 2006 2:14PM PST
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1and1 internet dedicated server hosting
Jan 6, 2008 6:00PM PST

This is a warning to anyone considering using 1and1 for dedicated server hosting.

We signed up for two servers with 1and1 , and we were working on the assumption that 1and1 support is almost non existant (Which is very true).

We are Microsoft Gold Partners , and have extensive OS and hardware experience.

I signed up on the basis we would not need 1and1 support for anything other than a physical hardware fault.

When we had a physical hardware fault it took 1and1 3 days ! to replace a stick of memory.

When the server came back the OS had somehow been corrupted.

The 1and1 windows recovery system didnt work (1and1 suggested we use a linux emergency recovery) , but as we have no linux experience this was about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

The Serial console access , also didn't allow us to press f8 for DS restore mode or safe mode (from which we could have recovered the OS).
(essentially rendering the serial console access useless).


So all the "safety features" 1and1 offered didnt work correctly , essentially leaving us with one option and that was to do a clean install of the OS , (Which fortunately does work from 1and1 control panel).

we now have a day or so's work to recover the server just because the 1and1 service is so bad. so all in all 3 days + downtime for our customers.

My complaint to 1and1 customer support was never answered (2 months+)
There is no online ticket system to track issues.
If you leave an issue with 1and1 support they will not resolve the problem.
If you call regularily to get problems resolved you might as well be speaking with a monkey , as you would get a similar response.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS , YES THEY ARE CHEAP BUT you will pay for it in customer dissatisfaction (Unless this server is going to be used for something completely non critical - ie you can wait up to 1 week for it to be fixed , and you have the time to rebuild the server whenever there is an OS issue.

(I did research before signing up , and thought that due to our technical skills and experience we could ignore the support issues with 1and1 but this was not the case as there are times when hands on server access is needed (especially when most of the 1and1 tools offered for server recovery do not work).

You have been warned.

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Same experience in Germany
Jan 18, 2006 11:05PM PST

I had ordered a web-space with 1&1 in Germany for a period of six months. After six months, when i expected that the service will be terminated, 1&1 extended it on my behalf and charged for the next six months.
After I was able to track down hidden telephone numbers, and could talk to one of 1&1 employee, she said, if you dont cancel, the service is charged automatically for the next six months. On my request that I had no such knowledge and that I have not really used this service during the last six months, and would not use during the next six months and that the six-month's period has just ended, she agreed to cancel my service and return the money 1&1 had drawn from my bank account.
Three months have passed, and 1&1 has not returned the money. After many calls and many emails, I get the same answer. "your contract period is not over yet and the money cannot be returned!". Interesting to note that that they did cancel my service after I talked to 1&1 representative -- since than, my web-space is not there, BUT I MUST PAY! Not sure, if the contract will expire even afer second period is over. My advice is STAY AWAY FROM 1&1.

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1and1 1&1 internet
Jan 23, 2006 11:07PM PST

the ABSOLUTE WORST registrar on the planet (& probably other planets, too, which is where there customer support staff come from).
Don't give these guys your c/c number or you'll regret it for a long time.
Hidden auto-renewal policy, try to not renew and see what happens.
Try even contacting billing dept., and see if you can get through.

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Almost went with them, too...
Jan 24, 2006 9:43AM PST

Wow, there sre a lot of greviences here, and to think I almost went with them!

You think they'd be good, considering they advertise ALL over PC World magazine.

That's almost like Mircosoft having a hard to use OS! Oh, wait...

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wth?
Sep 15, 2007 3:55AM PDT

What the heck? Are you all newbies or something? You WANT your domains to be renewed every year. After registering a domain, and starting a meaningful site, there should be no reason for you to ever drop a domain. You should either
a) Keep maintaining and updating your website or
b) Keep the site in existance if you're unable to keep updating it for some reason.

I'd *never* register a domain with anyone who didn't auto-renew my domains before the expiration.

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Slow Email
Jan 27, 2006 10:39PM PST

For the last few months I have noticed that their email service has been running very slowly... emails regularly take 40+ minutes, and sometimes even up to 6+ hours to be delivered!

Their technical support people seem totally uninterested... it seems that they have been outsourced to the Philippines some can barely speak English. Emails to their support people also go unanswered for days... perhaps they are getting delayed on the mail servers too!!! (Yes, sarcasam is the lowest form of wit!)

I have been a satisfied customer for several years, but will now have to switch to another hosting company. It seems that 1and1 have totally forgotten about customer service in their rush to cut costs.