1and1.com's Customer Service Stinks

So, I received notification from my bank that my debit card account was overdrawn and I received a penalty overdraft fee of $10. I couldn't understand how it could be overdrawn as I only use that account for photos at Costco and for spending cash when I need it. I knew I had about $40 in there. Turns out 1and1.com had automatically withdrawn approximately $45 to automatically renew some domain names/website addresses that I owned and no longer wanted. They never sent me any notification that the web domains were going to be renewed, or I would have cancelled them at that time.

When I contact customer service, they repeatedly say "renewal fees are nonrefundable" and "We're sorry. There is nothing we can do."

Of course there is something they can do. They could do the right thing and refund the money. They could do the right thing and notify the owners of the web domain names that they are going to be automatically renewed. They could do the right thing and not have an automatic renewal clause placed in the fine print of their terms you have to agree to in order to use their service. They can refund the money, they just won't. It especially irks me because I cancelled the accounts 2 days after the money was withdrawn because I don't want to do business with such a lame company.

So, my recommendations? Use Eweb.com for your internet domain name needs. I have another account with them that is cheaper and they actually send out renewal notifications.

Some of the Emails I sent/received are as follows:

My complaint is that I was automatically charged just under $45 to renew some domain names that I no longer want. This automatic renewal resulted in an overdraft charge on my bank account. When I emailed customer service to cancel my account and receive a refund, I was told that the domain renewals are nonrefundable (see email below) even though it had only been 1 day since the domain renewal had occurred.

I called the customer service number today and the gentleman on thephone explained that the domain renewals are nonrefundable. When askedwhy a courtesy email reminding me that the domains would be renewed was not sent, he told me that only some customers receive those emails. If I had received an email, I would have cancelled my accounts before they automatically renewed. I have gone in as of yesterday and deleted/cancelled those 5 domain names. I am again requesting that the $45 that was billed to my paypal account be refunded as I do not want those domain names. I believe that a refund is warranted and would demonstrate the integrity of 1and1. It seems unfair to be charged for an unwanted product/service without an opportunity to turn it down.

Thank you,

Ryan H.

Dear Ryan H., (Customer ID: ******)

Thank you for contacting us. I am sorry for this inconvenience. However, we send out nofications 45 days prior to a domain's re-registration. We inform you that you need to cancel these domains well before their renewal dates to avoid invoicing. There is nothing we can do in this situation. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

--Sincerely,

Joseph Quinn
Customer Service
1&1 Internet

(They did NOT send an email 45 days prior and I hate the statement "There is nothing we can do in this situation." What they mean is, "We don't want to do anything to make this right. We count on people to not read the fine print so we can screw them later on. We will not give up any immediate profits." However, I hope they lose big in the long run when people stop using their service. I for one will never use 1and1.com again.)