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.

It's quite frightening just how many complaints their are online about this company, their poor customer service and disputes over contracts and packages. I guess I should have done my homework a bit better but that's a lesson learned now. :mad:

victor2

I don't know if they show an address to send payments to on their invoice, but there is a postal address on their website on the "Contact" page. I'd suggest posting a cheque for £7 to them (recorded delivery if you like), noting the invoice details on the back. If it doesn't go through then at least you've made the effort. You can check if the domain has been registered by doing a whois lookup. If they have, you'll have to deal with them to get it pointed at another hosting service. If they haven't, register it through somebody else and don't bother paying.

Hammyman

I've been using them for years. Their control panel is quite simple - I thought it was nigh on idiot proof. Maybe you're like a lot of my customers who don't actually read what is on the screen in front of them but instead read what they think is on the screen in front of them.

CoolHotCold

I must say I use them and used them for donkies for webhosting (now just domains)

Why not just make a new paypal account that isn't linked to anything (as in no debit cards or credit cards /DD linked) then transfer the £7 from the linked PP to the temp PP acount.

Watch out, if you do not pay them what you owe they will sell off the debt and get the debt collectors out on you. (Found out after my card expired and went on holiday, they were all very nice about it though)

Brian1945

I've used 1&1 since 2003 without any problems whatsoever. The control panel is simple enough for me, and I'm certainly no expert. On the few occasions when I've been stuck, their excellent telephone support has explained things. Billing too has been straightforward through direct debit - they take exactly what I owe, not a penny more. Of course I've never tried to cancel a contract, but why would I? I'm quite happy with the service they give.

debitcardmayhem

Hammyman wrote: »

I've been using them for years. Their control panel is quite simple - I thought it was nigh on idiot proof. Maybe you're like a lot of my customers who don't actually read what is on the screen in front of them but instead read what they think is on the screen in front of them.

Hey Hammyman I didn't know you knew my other half :cool: