Problems with 1&1 webhosting

Potsdamerplatz

I've read about all the nightmare stories on the internet about this company and I'm the latest victim to fall into their grasp.

At the moment it's not a big problem but I'm wondering where it's going to end up and how I should deal with it.

I signed up with them just over a week ago and registered a co.uk domain with them which all went very smoothly and I'm very happy with it and the service provided.

I then spent a couple of days looking around for webhosting before then deciding also to sign up for 1&1's Beginner package. The 60-day no quibble refund if I wasn't completely satisfied also gave me peace of mind.

Within a couple of days I knew I'd made a big mistake. I found 1&1's control panel complicated and couldn't seem to get anything to work as it should. After several e-mails and telephone calls to customer services (which weren't terribly helpful) I decided to cancel my webhosting contract and this I have done just 3 or 4 days into my contract.

Last night I received 2 invoices. One for £7 (for the domain registration) and the other for £46 for the contract I'd cancelled a few days beforehand.

So I went back onto the phone today and they have promised to sort it out. But it will take 2 weeks for the contract to be cancelled and for me to get my "refund"

Fortunately I haven't paid them a penny so far. I owe them £7 for the domain registration and this I am quite happy to pay. But there is no way I'm going to pay them £47 for a contract which has already been cancelled before the invoice was sent out and which will take 14 days to take affect.

I've cancelled my Paypal agreement with them so they can't take funds from my account. But that still leaves me owing them £7 for the domain registration.

What's the best way to go about doing this?

I don't want to set up another Paypal contract as this could let them take the £47 which is disputed (even assuming I do get it back at a later date)

I don't want to set up a direct debit for the same reason.

So that leaves me with 2 options. I can telephone their billing department and use my debit card to make the payment. But would they still have access to my card details in order to take the £47 at a later date?

Or should I contact their billing department again and offer to send a cheque for the £7 owed. There is no mention of this payment option on their website though.

All advice and help would be appreciated.

This is no an attempt to get out of paying what I owe 1&1. I fully acknowledge that I owe them £7 for my domain registration fees and am more than happy to pay this as soon as possible.

But I won't pay them £47 for a cancelled contract even although customer services assure me it will be refunded at a later date under the moneyback guarantee. There are too many horror stories online about customers who have lost out in similar situations.

tracey_sam

i am sat here still on hold after 1hour with 1and1, all i''m trying to do is cancel my account and move my domains and e mail to a better service who doesnt loose my emails! i cant even do that, they have a fault on their cancellation page which means you cant enter your IPS tag, i've waited 5 days, still no reply, meanwhile no emails, and my business is seriously affected.
my advice is do not go near this company, they have no customer service dept on the phone, which i think tells a lot about the company. i have had intermittant service over the past year and they never tell you when there is a fault, you have to call them and complain then they admit nothing but the fault then miraculously fixes itself!! shocking shocking service.

Potsdamerplatz wrote: »

I've read about all the nightmare stories on the internet about this company and I'm the latest victim to fall into their grasp.

At the moment it's not a big problem but I'm wondering where it's going to end up and how I should deal with it.

I signed up with them just over a week ago and registered a co.uk domain with them which all went very smoothly and I'm very happy with it and the service provided.

I then spent a couple of days looking around for webhosting before then deciding also to sign up for 1&1's Beginner package. The 60-day no quibble refund if I wasn't completely satisfied also gave me peace of mind.

Within a couple of days I knew I'd made a big mistake. I found 1&1's control panel complicated and couldn't seem to get anything to work as it should. After several e-mails and telephone calls to customer services (which weren't terribly helpful) I decided to cancel my webhosting contract and this I have done just 3 or 4 days into my contract.

Last night I received 2 invoices. One for £7 (for the domain registration) and the other for £46 for the contract I'd cancelled a few days beforehand.

So I went back onto the phone today and they have promised to sort it out. But it will take 2 weeks for the contract to be cancelled and for me to get my "refund"

Fortunately I haven't paid them a penny so far. I owe them £7 for the domain registration and this I am quite happy to pay. But there is no way I'm going to pay them £47 for a contract which has already been cancelled before the invoice was sent out and which will take 14 days to take affect.

I've cancelled my Paypal agreement with them so they can't take funds from my account. But that still leaves me owing them £7 for the domain registration.

What's the best way to go about doing this?

I don't want to set up another Paypal contract as this could let them take the £47 which is disputed (even assuming I do get it back at a later date)

I don't want to set up a direct debit for the same reason.

So that leaves me with 2 options. I can telephone their billing department and use my debit card to make the payment. But would they still have access to my card details in order to take the £47 at a later date?

Or should I contact their billing department again and offer to send a cheque for the £7 owed. There is no mention of this payment option on their website though.

All advice and help would be appreciated.

This is no an attempt to get out of paying what I owe 1&1. I fully acknowledge that I owe them £7 for my domain registration fees and am more than happy to pay this as soon as possible.

But I won't pay them £47 for a cancelled contract even although customer services assure me it will be refunded at a later date under the moneyback guarantee. There are too many horror stories online about customers who have lost out in similar situations.

mrmarble

Perhaps you could send them a one-off payment via PayPal?

I am not sure I would worry too much about them taking further unauthorised charges from the card anyway though - your problems with them are due to the fact that they are a large bureaucratic organisation, rather than that they are out to to defraud you!

booler

your problems with them are due to the fact that they are a large bureaucratic organisation, rather than that they are out to to defraud you!

My experience and that of thousand of others would suggest otherwise. there are many reports of 1&1 seemingly going out of their way to take money that they are not due and failing to return it.

They are in a class of their own with regard to customer service and support and it is not a top class. I don't have enough posts to place a link but just go into google and do a search for 1&1 problems.

alvinsmith

1&1 web hosting is sucks, you can try godaddy or hostgator. They are much more reliable than 1&1.

Vodabury

Customer complaints to 1&1 appear to be dealt with in a high-handed manner and they have no interest in resolving anything to your satisfaction. They have a "take it or leave it" attitude. Bye bye. 1&1, no more custom from us ever again.

digp

can't believe hostgator and godaddy have been recommended.

what;s your budget?
try medialayer.com or layer7host.com for hosting

digp

what made you pick 1 and 1?

my view is always go on recommendation / pick a small provider.

Eye8u

Why didn't I read this before getting involved with 1&1.

I browsed their site and looked at a website solution. As far as I was concerned I did not sign up to any contracts.

I then started getting email invoices from them, which I ignored thinking they were scam. Then came the debt collection agency letters. I paid the £47 and told them to cancel my account.

I have now recieved an invoice for a further £43 for a web page that I have been told I must pay and which cannot be cancelled for another six months.

Could this be a scam...?