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Web design & hosting: Avoid 1&1 hosting service
1&1 is Horrible Hosting
by jimdeitzel - 10/9/07 9:53 AM In reply to: Avoid 1&1 hosting service by reviwer123Two extremely bad experiences with 1&1 hosting in the past month.
1) Have been using a MSSQL database for an ecommerce website for over 2 months. Last Friday the database disappeared. Called 1&1. They said that I never had a database setup under that account. It's been 4 days and the issue isn't resolved.
2) Add an additional account to my 1&1 account. I selected a Windows hosting package, which was what my current package also was. I did this to separate one of my websites so it wouldn't have any conflict with existing sites. Once I signed up for the windows account, they switched both accounts to Linux accounts. Then support said that I never had a windows account and that it would take 30 days to switch back. They also said that all files and database had been deleted. Once they finally moved me back to a windows account (5 days later), all my files were back.
The provide the WORST service ever!
not so sure
by jaz9031 - 1/8/08 9:01 AM In reply to: Avoid 1&1 hosting service by reviwer123I have had a successful site with them for well over a year and recently purchased a new one for another customer. I pay up front for a year at a time and I have not had issues. I have seen downtimes in the middle of the night but they are in EU and it is early morning there so I am able toget someone on the phone and vebt about the downtime I my sites are having.
Granted I have yet to try and cancel my account but in regards to that read the contracts.
You have to submit in writing (who does this anymore?) that you want to cancel. I would send it registered mail, then email them then tell your credit card company that you want all payments stopped if they attempt to hit it.
It is cumbersome but all online accounts are that way. They want to make it difficult so you say, Heck with it, I'll just deal with them.
1&1 says customer loyalty doesn't matter
by Cathie00 - 1/17/08 9:23 AM In reply to: not so sure by jaz9031I have decided to report my bad experience with 1&1 here, particularly since Hawleywood writes:
”Im sure the *ones* who do get screwed over take it to complain here. Lets estimate on the LOW side that 1 million customers minus how many complaints here.. = not enough to deem 1&1 a *once in while* good service providing company. DUH.”
And I am sure there are also many, many more who don’t complain. And, ("DUH") insulting our intelligence - for lodging legitimate complaints & trying to keep fellow consumers informed and aware - is in poor taste & is not going to increase Hawleywood's clientele.
And – despite the comment that “1&1 is simply the best.” - Hawleywood no longer uses their services. Interesting...
Anyway, here is the gist of my - all too familiar -experience:
This is for a recent CC declined payment for 2 additional domains I believed I had cancelled 6 months ago. The customer service rep. I eventually spoke to even had electronic records of my cancellation attempts – one which was successful.
Her unprofessional & condescending tone was the antithesis of quality customer service. It was obvious she was getting a great deal of pleasure from what she considered was my subservient position to her autocratic role. She stated that “it is not 1&1's policy to consider each customer and their history” with 1&1. She told me that it was inconsequential that I have paid for my primary subscription up until May 2008 & have been an up-to-date subscriber since 2004. All 1&1 is interested in is obtaining the approx. $12 for the cancelled domains + $18 for collection fees from me. Until I do, I cannot access my primary domain, photos, programs, web files or email.
This level & type of 'service' is not at all conducive to retaining or acquiring customers.
But with over 1 million (“happy”?) customers, maybe they think they don’t need to worry.
If you have (unfortunately) recently subscribed to 1&1, please be aware that their email reminders, warnings, invoices and advertising may come from any of the following addresses - to avoid having them ending up in your spam bucket:
announce@1and1.com / 1&1 Internet Team / 1&1 BestBuy Special Offer / support@1and1.com / 1&1 Internet Inc. / 1&1 Affiliate News / 1&1 Affiliate Team
There are probably others…(that went to my spam folder).
Research Might Have Helped Here
by HostGuru - 1/18/08 11:44 AM In reply to: Avoid 1&1 hosting service by reviwer123Too bad about your poor web hosting experience. In the future you may want to do a bit of research to determine a host's reputation prior to purchase.
Here are a few sites for ideas on research:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Basic_hosting/7026-6541_7-0.html?tag=ont.wh.basic
http://www.tophosts.com
http://www.thehostingnews.com
http://www.thewhir.com
http://www.hostsearch.com
http://www.webhostingtalk.com
Good luck fionding a new web host - a GOOD web host.
1&1
by sounddude51 - 10/12/08 7:57 AM In reply to: Research Might Have Helped Here by HostGuruI have been a 1&1 customer for years. I have a resellers account and host numberous websites with them. Their uptime over those years has been the best I've ever experienced and I have a service that monitors the uptime for me, constantly pinging my pages to check for downtime. The couple of times I've contacted customer service, they've been very friendly and knowledgeable and helped me solve issues quickly.
Recently, the server my account was on started having problems. I always assumed that they had backups to ALL their servers and ALL site content. Apparently, this is not the case. As my sites were offline for a day. I wrote an email to customer service and within 24 hours, got a reply, stating that the server my account was on had issues, was going to be replaced, and all data would be transferred to the new server. This was in process and would be resolved soon. I was instructed to call or write a particular department and I would be given credit for the downtime, which I did.
Today, checking my email, there were multiple notices from my service that the sites were down, up, and down again. I checked a couple of sites and they were offline. I checked later, and two of the websites were back up, but others were not. Which is strange because you would assume they would all be either on or off.
I've had websites online for many MANY years and with the host I was on before this, I could be offline for days, and even weeks. 1&1 has, up until recently, been the most reliable web hosting company I've ever been with in nearly 20 years. And their prices can't be beat. I'm willing to give them a little slack because computers do go down. Of course, time is money, and if the situation does not right itself soon, or even gets worse, then I will be shopping for the next best deal.
Filed complaint with BBB
by starnowski - 5/21/08 7:37 AM In reply to: Avoid 1&1 hosting service by reviwer123I have been a customer for 2 plus years with 1and1 hosting 5 of my sites. In that 2 years they have had 3 major outages that lasted 24plus hours. The last straw was on 4/29/08 when my site/customers experience intermittent downtime which lasted until 5/13/08 when my sites were COMPLETELY down for 5 days. On 5/19 they came back up but have been experiencing intermittent downtime ever since. On 5/21 I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau since their customer relations department was unwilling to communicate with me. A company should not be allowed to operate this way.
DITTO
by xuxasdad - 5/24/08 8:03 AM In reply to: Filed complaint with BBB by starnowskiI have been with them for 3+ years and host 9 e-commerce sites with them. Their customer service is now in the toilet. My sites have been down more than up in the last 2+ weeks and I cannot get anywhere with their tech support in the Phillipines. I would avoid 1&1 like the plaque. Now I have to try and find a reliable hosting company and am not sure where to begin.
You should publish the contact info for the BBB to make it easier for everyone else to report them as well.
1 & 1 doing better at customer service
by sounddude51 - 11/8/08 1:28 PM In reply to: thanks by hur35As an update to my earlier posting about a recent experience, they did switch out servers and had our websites up within hours. I spoke with a very nice customer service rep who referred me to an email to write to about credit. I received an email that said I would get one free month credited to my account for the problems. I was only down on all sites less that 24 hours. I also got numerous email requests to take special surveys to rate their customer service and I could write anything I wanted, not just tick pre-selected easy questions. I did so.
I feel now in the wake of this that 1 & 1 is trying to do all they can to regain what they had years ago, the reputation of being #1. It's tough when you get so big so fast. My experience was for the most part positive and my sites have been up perfectly since. This was the only down time problem I've had with my years with the company.
Compared to the well known host I had prior to this who was a nightmare to work with, could not be reached, and would leave servers crashed for a month, at much higher prices, 1 & 1 is still my host of choice.
1&1 Should I Proceed
by enwriter - 11/20/08 7:48 AM In reply to: 1 & 1 doing better at customer service by sounddude51You've recently posted on the 1&1 review board. I am looking to start a website and sought to use 1&1 has my web host.
What attracts me to 1&1 is the fact that it's well recognized, and because I am a beginner it's also beneficial that it offers free web development. They also offer forum set up and Chat forums. Do you think it's a wise choice for me to sign up?
Many people stated having billing problems but I am opting to buy a prepaid debit card which has no link to me to sign up. Based on your experiences do you think 1&1 is the right choice for me?
Re: 1&1 Should I Proceed
by sounddude51 - 11/20/08 8:31 AM In reply to: 1&1 Should I Proceed by enwriterI'll admit that I was surprised to read the list of problems that so many have had with 1&1. I've been with them for years and this was the first problem I had had and they handled it quickly, professionally, with solid backup and credited me not a day but a month for the trouble. Their packages are very inexpensive and they offer great web developement tools at no cost, and others at low cost.
Remember, they are a discount host so expect everything that may go with that. You do pay for top service and I can't promise that 1&1 will be a problem free hosting service for you. All I can do is share my experience which seems to be far less problematic than some of the others here. Also remember, 1&1 has thousands of happy customers, and those here are those that apparently did not get what they expected.
I hope this has helped you with your decision. Whatever you do, be forward with 1&1 if there is a problem, but also be nice. Customer service personel tend to shut down if yelled at. And if it doesn't work out, move to another company.
Good luck,
rw
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