Can You Report An Internet Company To The OFT (Office of Fair Trading)

JazzaBing

My problem lies with a Domain name and hosting company called 1and1, things like different versions of my surname for instance which I'd like to keep, a .COM, .NET, .INFO, etc

I have several Domain name registered with them but they are costing me £10.45 per year to renew.

However the very same company in the USA charges their US customers just $5.99 for exactly the same thing.

This is just for the name, not hosting, etc

If you try and register a new Domain name with them for $5.99 it forces you go to the UK site and pay 300% more for the same thing.

Beside being 300% cheaper on the US site they offer free privacy options to protect you from Spammers, etc - which they do not even offer you in the UK site a all at any price. Which is the main reason I wanted to use the US site


Any advice? I'm appalled at the price difference to begin with.

They quote language differences as being the reason there is a UK site but I think it's purely to rip off the UK consumer, same product (or really inferior product) triple the price.

I really want to report this company and make an official complaint about them - how do you go about it? What can be done?

JazzaBing

These are their Terms & Conditions BTW which you only see half way through the ordering process - if you order from France you only pay 7.16 Euros for a .COM Domain name - surely there's Laws to protect members of the European Union from Being ripped off between country to country? converting the Euro's to UK Pounds means the French pay about £4.88 the British more then double at £10.45 .. how can this be possible or even legal?



Who are international customers?
International customers are defined as customers from countries other than the US and Canada.
Residents of the UK, France, Germany, and Austria:
Residents of the UK, France, Germany, and Austria are requested to order at the 1&1 website that corresponds with their country. This ensures customer support, language preferences, and features and tools specific to these countries.

UK 1and1.co.uk
France 1and1.fr
Germany 1und1.de
Austria 1und1.at


Residents of certain countries:
Unfortunately, 1&1 cannot offer services to certain countries. Please see 1&1 Terms & Conditions for details.
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dmg24

The company have done nothing wrong. If they were differentiating their pricing within the UK, this would be an issue, but they are not.

The company are simply appealing to a different market. Supply and demand.

We all know that different items cost different amounts in different countries. Would you be complaining if a DVD cost more in a different country?

Sillychuckie

Use a US based one that is cheaper and allows international purchases then.
Shop around...
Check if UKReg / Fastesthosts / GoDaddy offer anything better.
You don't have to have them all registered at the same company.