1&1: The Most Hated Domain & Hosting Provider
As a form of disclaimer before I fly into this post, I have to admit that I worked for 24 Help, a supplier of offsite, white-label customer support to brands such as Sony Erricsson, Xbox UK, Norton and 1&1. I worked, specifically, on the 1and 1 contract and even visited their head UK office in Slough to liaise with “2nd level support”. However, this post is regarding their offerings and service – not them as an employer (which they were in an indirect way).
I have dealt with 1and several times in a professional capacity with regards to web development and hosting. Whilst their packages and services are competitive, they rely heavily on their advertising in every tech magazine you can think of with expensive 2-6 page spreads about how they are “Europes #1 Web Host”. Little do they tell you, they are also Europes #1 Hated Webhost.
Hate, for me, is a very strong word. It is a word reserved for sheer contempt towards someone or something. It usually boils over into unbridled anger and – in some cases – violence. However, having experienced 1st line technical support as a customer, I can see why they are hated. In fairness to them, a lot of their complaints arise through people misunderstanding their service – the usual “non-savvy” customers. However, there are many people I have spoken to who hate them for a variety of reasons:
1&1 Customer Service
This is the single most complained reason regarding 1and1 when I have spoken to people. It comes down to one thing: the lack of it.
Most responses are at 1&1 are spoon fed from a guidebook of palm offs and there is little to no attempt to actually resolve the issue at hand. Whenever I have spoken to customer service operatives via the telephone they are often ill-trained, non-technical and unable to deal with the simple queries a web hosting provider should get including such gleaming responses as “What is an FTP?”, “DNS takes 7 days to resolve” and “We don’t support PHP on our dedicated servers”. (I shit you not at these responses).
In fact, the lack of customer service has annoyed Gary Taylor of 3ac.co.uk to start a campaign called 1&1 Are A Disgrace. I highly recommend you read it as it’s jaw-droppingly amazing at how incredulous 1&1 customer support is via email, telephone and twitter.
SEO Compatibility
Working at a digital marketing agency, I often deal with a large variety of providers, CMS’ and custom builds. 1&1’s “E-Shop” system is so bad that our SEO team have simply advised against dealing with potential clients who are using this system thus losing 1&1 money in the process.
The reasons behind this include:
- The inability to enter custom Title and Meta Descriptions per page
- The inability to install Google E-Commerce tracking
- The inability to install Asycronous Google Analytics code to the entire shop platform
I mean, seriously, if you were to advertise yourself as Europe’s biggest web host – wouldn’t you at least fix these simple problems within your CMS.
1&1 Hosting Location
Their servers are based in Germany in their very own a state-of-the-art datacenter. It’s nice, it’s impressive, but it’s also in Germany! They don’t tell you this unless you ask for it (or do a hosting lookup).
From an SEO perspective this can create a multitude of problems (not so much as they once did thanks to geo-targeting through webmaster tools). It’s enough to make Baby Jesus cry, and no-one wants that.
1&1 Complaints
They do have a problem with complaints flooding the web. Simple queries such as 1and1 complaints produce over 40,800 results with the following 1st page listings:
1and1 complaints (Google Screenshot)
You would think they would fare better with a query such as 1and1 recommendations with 717,000 results, but the 1st page listings tell a different story:
1and1 recommendations (Google Screenshot)
There cover may be blown due to several negative responses are now ranking for brand name searches:
1&1 (Google Screenshot)
1and1 (Google Screenshot)
If you are still looking to host a website with 1and1, feel free – just don’t come crying to me and the thousands of other people who already hate them.
About the Author
Kev Strong
Kev Strong is an online marketing consultant at Newcastle Upon Tyne based digital marketing agency, Mediaworks. A lover of all things search and an ex-web developer, Kev Strong (a.k.a Goosh) is a specialist in advanced search engine optimisation.
Shane (2 years ago)
I had a domain tranferred there in october last year. I still dont have access to change the DNS setting and all core domain functions.
They said they’d sort it out last year. 5 support tickets later still nothing. Thing is as well, i never actually closed the other 4 tickets…
Not recommending them to anyone. will be transferring the domain away from them to another reputable provider as soon as people respond to my messages.
Gary Taylor (2 years ago)
Thank you for your support and this post Kev, it is great to see everyone getting involved and it is such a shame that 1&1 can’t even step up to the plate and make an official comment about why their customer service levels are so poor. Even acknowledging the issue seems to be too difficult for them at the moment…
Again thanks for your support
Best
Gary
Goosh (2 years ago)
@Shane
Thanks for the comment. This seems to be a common occurance with them. Quite literally, sit on the money, see how much they can get.
Not surprised you are not recommending them to be honest; I most certainly wouldn’t.
KS (2 years ago)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/ ?
Richard Bate (2 years ago)
I’m currently using a 1&1 VPS server for work (Not by choice i should add). The admin system is terrible – Most features only work in IE.
Moving domains from one provider to another (EG 1&1 over to 123-reg) is pretty much impossible.
Tech support emails are normally days apart.
Pretty much the TalkTalk of the webserver industry!
Mike Essex (1 year ago)
I use them for my personal site and totally agree. Not once have I ever received a helpful response from customer services. I’ve also been double charged (Thanks for the overdraft fee 1&1).
Graham Smith (1 year ago)
Having worked alongside Kev on the same contract and having spent time at their head office I also have first hand experience of their customer service and procedures. The thing I found completely irritating, having owned a 1&1 account, was the steps it took to actually cancel your package. It was an absolute ball-ache and what should be a simple task turned into weeks of unnecessary phone calls, emails and faxes just to cancel!
Rob (1 year ago)
Two phone calls, several emails and lost of messing about with any resolve to solve a small issue with a htaccess. What a saga. Decided to move web hosts – http://www.web-design-talk.co.uk/410/appreciating-your-web-host/
Darren (1 year ago)
I’ve also had problems with their support, my problem was with DNS issues on quite a few domains meaning I couldn’t actually use them, they just didn’t seem to understand that 8 months was a ridiculous amount of time to wait for it to be resolved, and not actually be resolved, they kept mentioning it had been escalated to a higher department but there was no way of contacting them, very frustrating!
I still have a lot of domains at 1&1 but also have new hosting for renewal/new domains now.
I quite like the fact my post is page 1 of google for “1&1 hosting support” though
http://www.bedazzle.co.uk/1and1-hosting-support-is-crap/
Linda (1 year ago)
Regarding 1and1, predatory billing…cancelled both of my domains. I was charged my credit card for the service and then sent to collections to intimidate me to double bill me. DO NOT USE 1And1…
a. billing (1 year ago)
i tried a free 30-day trial. i hated it and stopped after 2 attempts.
i then cancelled online via their website within 14 days of starting my trial
i later found out (when i received an invoice 30 days after trial started) that not only did i have to cancel my domain name but i also had to cancel the contract! ie 2 separate processes – which i find very misleading and unfair.
they then invoiced me full 1 year subscription even though i have no intention of ever using the terrible service again and neither support nor complaints department offered any assistance at all.
do i have any course of action to avoid this payment?
Michelle (1 year ago)
Hi, I came across your post as per everyone else has a problem with 1&1! we are looking after a website who wants SEO but as you well know we are unable to add titles and descriptions to the various pages, did you ever find a way around this, i.e addition of code etc to bypass it?
Many thanks
Michelle
Annie (1 year ago)
Thanks for the warnings – I had no idea until now that the service provided was so bad.
I know you won’t want to encourage advertising, but does anyone have any recommendations for simple-to-use web-building packages? I have started using SquareSpace but there may be other good ones out there.
Thanks!
Dave (7 months ago)
someone hacks my account sent a whole bunch of emails, they cancelled my contract without warning or helping me out, gave 30 days to transfer 35 domains… made all my private domains public after it was hacked… and did i mention that i beleive they are the one that release my account info for me to get hacked.. If you are a customer just call give ur customer ID and state your problem , watch the idiots release your name “am i speaking with john doe”…. gonna sue their pants off
mick robson (4 months ago)
I’ve sent death certs etc just to cancel my deceaseds fathers contract but they just want more and more certs. To top ing it all they then sent a lettert to him saying they couldn’t collect payment and they would cancel within 14 days if not paid. Still waiting 4 them to cancel. Fingers crossed.
Mark Yousif (4 months ago)
1&1 what a joke, 6 months ago i opened a 1&1 eCommerce, 5 min later i realized that they were a load of crap, when it come to designing a custom web site, so we switched over to ekm power shop (fantastic business) but kept all our email with 1&1 due to all the work involved to switch over, i wish i had of now. 1st i had major problems with the email keep timing me out, i would be half way through a email and it would log off on me, after endless call and emails to 1&1 all they could tell me to do was delete my catch and cookies, which i add still dont work, i have to open separate browser for my emails and hope for the best so problem still not corrected! also we had a billing issue (part our fault) a member who set the accounts up recently left the business and had all the passwords to the control panel, they cut off our emails with no warning and left me 3 days with out my business emails and still waiting, understand that if u don’t pay u get cut off id do the same. but to resolve the matter should not take 3 days or more, i am still waiting! i sent over the form they asked for then 4 hours later when i asked “when we being put back on?” they said i needed to send a letter head over. this is my 3 day of non business due to these Muppets i don’t understand how trading standards have not shut them down or at least investigated them the code of practice is all wrong the ppl u talk to in the centers are like robots and all they seem to do is pass the buck and have no self blame. i thought it might be just me but then reading the millions of letters of complaints against them pisses me off even more due them knowing that there a load of shit and still taking on new customers. deal with the current 1s 1st get it right then move on. there an absolute joke STAY WELL CLEAR.
Warth Publishing Inc (3 months ago)
1&1
Warth Publishing Inc.
I wish I had read the criticisms of 1&1 before I bought their package. They billed me for over 30 domains I did not wish to renew. I stopped payment on this invoice and they locked my access to my account. All I asked for was a new corrected invoice. They refused. They kept sending me whois reviews and I could not access my account to cancel or renew domains. Every invoice was filled with mistakes that I was billed for. I am lost potential thousands of dollars in revenue. I could not cancel the package because I could not access my package.
They kept sending me more and more domains to renew but I could not access my account because it was locked. They said to unlock the package I would have to pay for the domain renewals I do not want renewed.
They said they would credit my account with the domains they erroneously charged me for. However, they did not. They only credited my account for 8 of the more than 30.
I have contacted the CEO and others to see if they know what is going on. No response.
I filed a complaint with the FBI Internet Fraud Division, the Better Business Bureau and other government agencies. I suggest others who have suffered from these people to do the same.
Amanda Goward (4 weeks ago)
I took out the free trial with one and one. I cancelled after 13 days via email however I noticed I had been charged from my PayPal after this period.
I emailed again to cancel and was sent a variety of automated response mails. I was told to go online to cancel, I did this but the system wouldn’t let me. I then called and was told that I should speak to complaints and got a variety of responses from them.
I have now been told that my non cancellation means I am in a weave month contract – quite rich as the non cancellation is down to their negligence.
It am still trying to get my money back and cancel. First I thought I was £71 down but now I’m being treated like I’m going to be stuck paying this for a year – utterly disgusting.
Any advice of who can help me would be great.
Amanda