I have a mini-review on my weblog.  So far the service is pretty good.
Posted by Niel Eyde at Tue Dec 16 18:31:35 2003

1&1 hosts my MT blog. It pretty much works, but I can't seem to export my entries, which is A Bad Thing. I suspect that the process runs too long and gets canned, but I don't know haw to prove this on way or the other. Nor do I know what to do about it. :-(
Posted by Simon Brunning at Wed Dec 17 02:45:07 2003

Yes. 1and1 is cheap fast and good.
Posted by Brendan at Thu May 12 08:15:16 2005

Nazi's of the Internet.

1and1 is the WORST host/registrar on the web. Most domain name registrars do not use threats, intimidation and extortion to renew domain names, But, one and all, 1and1.com DOES. Just have a look at this gem from 1and1 billing:

Reminder
Mr.


701 Lee Road
Suite 300
Chesterbrook, PA 19087
USA
1&1 Internet Inc.
Dear 986987697,

Our declined debit note informed you of the current amount due to your customer account, and we politely requested settlement.
Unfortunately, we have not to this date received payment and therefore will have no alternative but to terminate our services.

Invoice ID Invoice Date Currency Amount Net Due Date Dunning Level
USA .com/.net Domain II
5,99
USA .com/.net Domain II
5.99 $ 01 06/15/2005 06/15/2005

Total amount due $ 5.99
In Accordance with our Terms and Conditions we will place a temporary freeze on your 1&1 package(s)
in 3 days unless you reply to this letter or we receive payment in full.
If payment is not made in full within 10 days, we will have no alternative but freeze your account and
transfer this matter to a debt collection agency. In addition to any agency costs there will be a service
charge of $18.95 added to your outstanding amount and your server contract will be terminated.
Page 1 of 2
In order to reactivate your account, please transfer the outstanding amount to:
Citibank, N.A.
Account No.: 54348256 (1&1 Internet Inc.)
ABA No.: 021000089
When making payment please ensure that you quote your 1&1 customer ID and your invoice ID.
Upon receipt of the outstanding balance we will reactivate your account.
If we do not receive payment by 06/29/2005, we will have no alternative but to transfer this
matter to a debt collection agency. Any additional costs incurred (agency costs, default interest, etc.)
will be added to your account to be paid in full by you.
If you have activated a domain with 1&1, we retain the right to disconnect said domain.
Sincerely,
Your 1&1 Team
www.1and1.com

======================
Do yourselves a favor and find a registrar/host that understands that we sometimes are away from the computer for a few days.

Also, the control panel of 1and1.com is the worst peice of trash concieved by man.

Obviously, I will remit my fees and transfer all domains to a less threatening host/registrar.

These buisness practices - regardless of the TOS - are illegal. Anyone want to begin legal action against this company, contact me.
Posted by 1and1 sucks at Wed Jun 22 21:10:10 2005

Yes, 1and1 does suck.  So does their support.  But you don't have to go in circles and wait on hold for hours.  Instead, contact this guy:

Richard Winslow
richard@1and1.com
610-560-1470

He is in charge of angry customers, I think.
Posted by Upset at Tue Nov 8 09:59:03 2005

WARNING CONCERNING 1&1:
They lock you from domains that are NOT in dispute. That is, according to ICANN, a violation of their agreement with them. Throwing all purchased domains into one “account” and disabling access to configurations for ALL domains (even when not in dispute, overdue, etc.) is supposedly not allowed. 1and1 does it all the time. Avoid at all costs and don't be lured into their private domain hell with cheap rates.
Posted by Mike at Mon Jan 30 19:31:18 2006

1and1 billed me for services I didn't sign up for, tried to charge a credit card that was several years expired, then sent the bill to collections. The comments on my posting on the topic suggest I'm far from the only one. Their business practices are located somewhere between inept and criminal.
Posted by Alex  Halavais at Mon Feb 13 08:24:00 2006

I have to agree, 1and1 sucks. I was told that my account was pass due and had my sites shut down and had been turned over to a collection agency, so I paid what they said I owed so that my sites would be reactivated and then fight them over it, and it has now been over 36 hours and is still locked. There website billing section is worthless and so is there customer service. If you have a problem, they do not want to talk to you and if you are the least bit upset about your problem, they hang up on you. They extort money from you and hold you hostage. In my opinion, DO NOT USE 1and1. THEY ARE A RIP OFF.
Posted by ward at Wed Apr 12 18:19:30 2006

whoa.

to read some of the previous comments, you'd think 1&1 is all hellfire and damnation. unfortunately people who are happy with them (over 5 milllion) must not read or post here.

my own experience has been a very positive one. i have not had to wait more than 10-15 minutes, and my problem got solved in about another 10.

i always keep my billing info up to date, and i scan tech forums before calling phone support, so i should be ok.

they might not be perfect for everybody, but you gotta love the super cheap domains, and the fact that they duke it out with the godaddys and yahoos of the world means consumers will get more for the money as prices drop and features increase.

ok so i'm the odd man out at this forum, but i got no problems with 1&1. 1&1 is 1-derful for me.
Posted by Rob at Tue Apr 18 04:06:56 2006

I feel with everyone here except with the post above. I gave 1and1 2 years of business and I just couldn’t take it any more. There was always a problem with billing and once they even shutdown my sites after payment was made on time, all they did was apologize with no explanation. So I switch to people-host.com and so far so good. No issues yet, way better than my first two months with 1&1.
Posted by the web guy at Tue Sep 5 17:33:38 2006

I've been using 1and1 for several years and have been quite happy with them. I get 150GB of web space for just $10/month which is pretty sweet. There are also a fair number of good tools and utilities, and they do have awesome prices for domain registration. I think I have 8 domains registered with them, and five are free, because I've my hosting package, and the others are only $5.99 for a year. I guess I don't really fit in with the others who hate them, but they've been pretty awesome so far.
Posted by Steven Hepting at Fri Sep 15 14:56:34 2006

I have used 1and1 for a year now, and their service and support is second to none! I have always experienced prompt responses to any questions I have had. Maybe if the rest of you would pay your bills on time, you'd experience a higher level of satisfaction. Do you people just expect 1and1 to continue hosting your website when you are not paying as you promised? If you know your billing information is not current, then update it. If you know that your bill comes due next month, don't wait until the last minute to check your billing information. How is it illegal for them to withhold services that you are no longer paying for?
Posted by Jonathan Mills at Thu Sep 21 07:33:12 2006

I have read with great interest the comments about 1&1 and their cancellation policy, automatic renewals without notification and their use of a debt collection agency to enforce their policies.
I myself have had problems with 1&1. In July, they automatically renewed my domains without any notification and in full knowledge my card which they were holding on file had expired 6 months previously.
The first contact I had with 1&1 was a letter demanding the payment of 15.12, which was surprising, as I had had no previous contact with them. The letter also threatened to refer me to a debt collection agency which would incur a further 15.00 penalty.
When I asked why I had not been sent a notification Email prior to the expiration of the domains I was told this was ‘not their policy to do so.’ I thought this rather unfair, as by not doing so, they were effectively trapping customers into a further extension of contract who, should a reminder had been sent to, may have cancelled.

This raised an interesting point as 1&1 are ICANN accredited and under the terms of the accreditation agreement, the registrar (1&1) must send an expiry notification Email to the domain name holder prior to the domain expiring. This is stated in the rules clearly laid down my ICANN.

Below is an extract from the ICANN ombudsman’s FAQ page:

“Are registrars required to give renewal notices to domain name holders before the expiry of a domain name?”

“Under ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Agreement domain name holders have to be sent an email notice prior to a domain expiring. The email address will be the one you list on WHOIS, so it is important for you to keep it up to date. If the email is sent to the email address on WHOIS, and that address is no longer valid, the Registrars may little other chance of contacting you.”

You can view the original text from the ICANN ombudsman’s website here:
http://www.icann.org/ombudsman/questions.htm
In addition to the above, 1&1 is also in breach of ICANN accreditation agreement by renewing the contract without assurances of payment for the services being renewed.

"3.7.4 Registrar shall not activate any Registered Name unless and until it is satisfied that it has received a reasonable assurance of payment of its registration fee. For this purpose, a charge to a credit card, general commercial terms extended to creditworthy customers, or other mechanism providing a similar level of assurance of payment shall be sufficient, provided that the obligation to pay becomes final and non-revocable by the Registered Name Holder upon activation of the registration."

The fact that 1&1 renewed my domains in full knowledge that the card had expired 6 months previously has contravened the above accreditation clause.

"3.7.5 Registrar shall register Registered Names to Registered Name Holders only for fixed periods. At the conclusion of the registration period, failure by or on behalf of the Registered Name Holder to pay a renewal fee within the time specified in a second notice or reminder shall, in the absence of extenuating circumstances, result in cancellation of the registration. In the event that ICANN adopts a specification or policy concerning procedures for handling expiration of registrations, Registrar shall abide by that specification or policy."

It may be argued that automatic renewals without prior notification are not fixed term contracts, but are an indefinite contract. Indefinite contracts are non-compliant with ICANN regulation 3.7.5.

The above demonstrates how 1&1 are not fully complying with the industry best practice as set out by ICANN and in not doing so, are gaining at the customers detriment and to the disadvantage of other companies who fully abide by ICANNs rules.

I have discovered 2 websites that are worth looking at:
www.wasitfree.com (self help group regarding issues raised here)
www.bankraid.com (scrutinizing the business conducts of the aforementioned company)

Hope this information is of some assistance.

Regards,

Jason
Posted by Jason at Thu Oct 12 19:31:48 2006