This company has many issues and the worst is when you try and move away. We found that although we followed all their instructions they failed to release the domains on transfer, then allowed them to expire without notification (going into redemption), then refused to help unless we paid them a fee and restarted another account with them.

Nice game of hostage. Buyer beware - don't trust this company with the domain registration they'll make you pay for it in every way possible.

We are formally complaining to the better business bureau - we suggest all other people who have been abused in this way do the same.

Mark

I love 1and1! I found them on a referrel because they offered a 3 year preview package. within the first 2 years I upgraded to the developer package, and have refereed over 100 customers to their site (where they are presently hosted to this day)

Their customer service is awesome, but when you call after hours its a race between england, germany and india as they are awake when we are sleeping.

I have read many of the reviews both here and for other hosting companies, and it seems that so many are quick to judge and point the finger. I just don't understand remarks like these!!!

SOMEONE PLEASE HEAD THIS ADVICE!!!!!


IF YOUR SITE IS BUSINESS MISSION CRITICAL DO NOT PURCHASE THE CHEAPEST POSSIBLE PACKAGE!

Hosts like 1and1 try to appease the masses, if you are paying more on another provider, be smart, find a package on 1and1 that closely matches your spending dollar for dollar, then compare the services.

If you need high reliability and functionality go to a higher package, they offer both managed and colocated as well.

When businesses cut corners then blame others for the lack of their own hindsight, it send a flacky message to cutomer.

A message to those who have downtimes and no response from 1and1. Read the freaking EULA, its all in there. Typically what happens is that you CREDIT CARD DATA needs to be UPDATED. Calling billing and ask them if the data is current.

I have experienced only 2 billing issues, both were my own, and each time, I calmly emailed them asking for assistance, they were more than happy to work with me thru both challenges.

1and 1 Tech support is priceless. I work for a fortune 500, as an IT manager, and inherited some gowdawfull hosts, we will be moving to 1and1 colocated in the upcoming fiscal year.

Hands down, I will stick with 1and1 for the thick and thin. I'm sick of runing to other hosts for one freakin feature that I probably wont use in the first place.

I even have friends coming to me now saying hey man can you host my site, cause the host I was on dissapeared, went under, ripped me off, etc etc etc.... My 30+ sites have been up and running smoothly for 4 years.

Best of luck in everyone's choices...

-Chris

Despite what everyone says 1and1 is great. 1and1 actually means 99.99% uptime. My web site has not been down for over 3 yrs now. Their prices are affordable compared to others. Their Tech Support is very helpful and so is Billing support.

It would help if their error codes were in English all the time instead of German or French.

So far, I have had no problems other than a few slow momments at peek times. I don't ever really need Customer Service (I only needed them once and they were helpful).

For a cheap and reliable host, go with 1and1.com!

I've got a 1and1 'professional' hosting package and it's superb. Their comprehensive automated back-end system works perfectly. I rarely need to contact them directly but when I do they are always very quick to answer the phone and extremely good at resolving complex issues.

I notice many of the reviews complaining that 1and1 technical services staff are often "Foreign, often Indian". Er, so what? Are people more interested in dumb racial stereotyping and backward thinking than getting a job done efficiently?

Also, everyone I see giving negative reviews here has hidden the type of package they use, and many have said how cheap their new package was, so we can assume they've paid very little for a rudimentary package, yet get upset when they don't recieve high-end technical service! Put your hand in your pocket and pay for it.

I've been a web developer for nine years so I do know a bit about it. Once I used to opt only for small hosting companies that I could contact diretly, 1and1 have been so good I changed my policy. I think they're great.

I recently tried 1and1.com after hearing some mixed reviews. I have used Hostway and many others and liked them very much, but they are far more expensive than 1and. BOY WAS THAT A MISTAKE. Within the first week of hosting my newest site flashgamesetc.com the site was down on the fourth day that they were suppose to be hosting my site. I called in and waited for 50 MINUTES waiting for a rep, and when one finally answered I proceeded to ask why my site was down since this morning, and what was being done to fix this. I further expalined that I had paid for some rather expensive advertising for this same site, and was losing money as a result. The customer service rep responded in a heavily accented voice (sounded like he was from India and was almost incoherent) stating that the server my site was hosted on went down 3 hours ago (actually it was 6 hours ago at that point not three as he stated), and ONLY after 20 customers called in about the problem did they actually start on looking into the problem. They actually stated that no one looked into the problem until after 20 seperate customers called in. No monioring of the servers, no belieivng the first customer, rather they waited for 20 customers to call in before even seeing if there was a problem!! I asked when to expect the server to be abck up as it is vital to have my site up during this time since I am paying for expensive advertising. They stated they just started working on the problem moments ago, and had no clue what the problem was, or when it would be handled. I asked to be transferred to another server, and was told no. I asked for a supervisor, and after another 30 minute wait the rep came back on and stated the supervisor could NOT BE DISTURBED. I expalined I had been on hold for roughly an hour and 20 minutes total, and my site was still down, and I must be transferred to another server, and must speak to a supervisor immediately. He again refused. I finally was transffered to a different supervisor than his own that could not be disturbed, and was told that they HOPE to have the problem fixed within the next 24 hours, but it very well could take longer, as they had no clue what the problem was other than it was a server problem. I asked to be refunded for the hosting fees since my site was down, and asked the supervisor for my site to be transferred to another server yet again. I was told it would take 3 days to update the name servers etc, so he would not recommend transferring servers. I explained I had transferred servers with Hostway before and this was done immediately. He stated he knew most companies could do it instantly or seemingly instantly, but they had no way to do it faster than 3 days. Currently my site is still down with no end to this dilemma in site. I would have to say this is the WORST HOST ON THE INTERNET. They even stated to get refunded for the down time I would have to email another department as they do not handle anything like that or even transferring servers as pretty much everything is handled by another part of the company who NEVER TAKES PHONE CALLS! HORRIBLE! STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS!

I went with several web hosting companies before finally settling on Banana Hosting. I must say that of all the different hosting companies I tried, 1and1 was the ABSOLUTE WORST! Their customer service was lax, abysmally dismissive, incompetent and downright lazy. Furthermore, their web site builder tools were always "down" or undergoing "maintenance". Not to mention that whenever I tried running their web site builder, it would freeze and crash my computer. When I contacted their customer service for that issue, I was simply told "it was being looked into." Of course, the issues were never resolved. I guess it's like the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." If you're looking for a reasonably priced web hosting service with SUPERIOR technical and customer service, try Banana Hosting. They are the BEST hosting company out there. Their Banana Light 100 service gives you all the tools you need to get a professional presence on the web quickly and efficiently. They also have stellar customer service and respond to your questions quickly and are always willing to help.

I don't know why I fool myself. Over quite a few years this dreadful company has been screwing up my web services, email services, administration and support.

I currently have five accounts with them - it is a cheap and cheerful way to obtain domains for customers and friends - but I currently have no email serevice to any of the five. Thats right, they have lost five out of five email services. They have been out for approximately a week.

Initially the tech support seemed causually interested, then anoyed and finally indifferent to the problem. Currently I have no email service and 1and1 don't even reply to my requests for tech support.

Ths is not the first time that I have had very serious problems with 1and1, though I was foolish enough to beleive thier explanations and appologies in the past I now realise they appear little more than a marketing scam.

When things work OK, fine, when they don't, who cares?? Certainly not these people, in my experience.

Unfortunately I travel very extensively and it is difficult to arrange transfers of hosts, but that has to be a priority when I return to the UK.

Please, please, do not get involved with this company. The last time I had this level of problem with them, I cancelled all my accounts but they kept on charging my credit card.

Eventually, I had to cancel my credit card with the bank and get a new card, in order to be sure that 1and1 would not be taking any more money to which they were not entitled.

Prebilled for a domain a month ahead of renewal time, when I told them I was going to transfer and to reverse the charge I was told it was not possible. They refused to allow my domain to be transferred and now say I owe them for the domain and also a $19 late fee because I disputed the domain charge with my bank. They will not unlock my account so I can transfer this domain or any of my other domains until I pay for the year of the domain I don't want with them along with the $19 late fee. I've spoke with several supervisors and they have even informed me they have sent me to collections. This seems like it has to be illegal. I'll likely end up paying the $25.00 just to get my account unlocked and get out of this bad bad nightmare. I was with directnic and godaddy before this and have never, ever had this sort of experience.

[B]Take Action[/B]
If you've been screwed by 1and1, please file a complaint with the following organizations:

DC Area Better Business Bureau - [url]http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?national=Y&compid=1040770[/url]
United States Federal Trade Commission - [URL=https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01]https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01[/URL]
PA Attorney General's Office - [url]http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/complaints.aspx?id=451[/url]
ICANN/Internic - [url]http://reports.internic.net/cgi/registrars/problem-report.cgi[/url]

In most cases the company is listed as:
1 & 1 Internet Inc.
701 Lee Road, Ste 300
Chesterbrook, PA 19087
877-461-2631

Eventually these agencies which are geared towards consumer protection will recognize a trend and take appropriate action.

This company likes to tack on illegal charges to your credit card beyond that which you authorize them to take.

Trying to get a refund for the illegal charges is like getting your teeth pulled. Stay away from this company unless you are a masochist.