I was checking out this host.

www.1and1.com

Has anyone heard of them tried them out? Any feedback is welcome.

I've never used their services, although I do know they are pretty large and reputable. Here are some feedback from customers in the Webhostingtalk forum: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/search...earchid=798450

Here you go, hope it helps : http://www.webhostingjury.com/reviews/1and1 Good luck.

1and1 is one of the bigger players on the web hosting scene with quite a bit of goodwill and reputation. You can give them a shot to see if they suit your needs.

I know someone who uses them and they are extremely happy with them

My short answer is to avoid 1and1 if you can. I've been with them for around 3 years - and they've got steadily worse. They're okay, until you need support. I thought their prices were reasonable, and one of their main advantages - but they're not actually that cheap, and once they've got you involved in a billing cycle, it's very difficult to get rid of them.


Changing web-hosts is a hassle – but after being pushed a little too far by 1and1, I decided that enough was enough. After doing some research I found a superb web-host who charge half as much as I was paying with 1and1; I'm completely shocked how much better a host can be.


I dislike 1and1 for the following reasons:

• billing errors
  I've had emails and billing responses sent to me in error - requesting I pay x-amount of money. Responses have sometimes been completely unintelligible half-complete replies to other customer's queries. I got to the point where I had absolutely no confidence in the company at all.
• unexplained downtime
  There have been times when I've been unable to access my webspace / website, and databases associated with my account; unluckily for me this occurred while I was demoing a site to a client. I received no apology or explanation from 1and1; rather than own up, their policy seems to be to hope customers won't notice.
• automatic account locking
  At one stage I was unable to make a payment because the billing departments IT system was down. Subsequently my account, was locked and sent to a debt recovery agent, making all my domains and sites unavailable for nearly a week.
• no flexibility
  To get anything more than basic hosting, expensive upgrades are needed. The level of functionality vs. cost often seems arbitrary; for example - why should I pay over £72 pounds a year extra just to receive SSH access?
• no follow up to complaints
  I've sent complaints on numerous occasions and not received responses. When I have received replies, they've been 'stock' replies - standard templates. They don't listen and it's impossible to speak to anyone who can actually help. Everything is run according to scripts.
• automatic rebilling
  I cancel my account - they respond; not by refunding me the money I'm owed, but by re-billing me for each domain previously registered, using brand-new two year contracts!

I sound like I'm ranting - and I suppose I am. I'm just deeply dissatisfied with this company - and still slightly shocked that they can get away with such levels of incompetence.


Avoid 1and1 like the plague - there's no such thing as a free lunch.

1and1 does not provide support for customers at all, it took 3 months to get a simple request through, I recomend against them.

lwhitmore, that review is a scary story. While downtime and unfortunate circumstances can affect any company, things can be done to restore the customer's good will. When there's no hope for improvement, the only logical move is to change hosts.

hmmm..ill research more about this...

I've had a shared plan with them for over 2 years. No problems; last downtime I noticed was over a year ago. But read all the fine print and exactly follow their procedures for sign-up, cancelling and/or anything else you do.

But read all the fine print and exactly follow their procedures for sign-up, cancelling and/or anything else you do.

Yes, some customers have trouble following procedures to the letter, and with big companies, procedures are everything. You're not the first 1and1 satisfied customer i see stressing the importance of that.

lwhitmore, great review.

I was with 1and1 for more than 5 years. My biggest complaints: They're pricing is actually rather high, they don't offer a whole lot of features, and when you sign up for hosting you're locked into with a service contract.

They are one of the biggest. I always say - like them - give a try. Just make sure about their money back policy

Stay as far away from them as possible, they conned me completely, I had exactly the same problems as lwhitmore except that I actually got replies from support/billing which in a way made my situation worse. I upgraded because the price of a better package had been lowered everything was fine but then after a while the price nearly doubled, I questioned it and they fobbed me off with a load of crap about it only being for new customers, anyway they managed to convince me that it was right so I paid up, after a while I decided to downgraded the account because I wasn't using half of the features but I never got a refund for the three months I'd paid in advance, then to make it worse they charged me for the downgraded package.

This was bad enough but again after a few months the price of the downgraded packaged nearly doubled again. As much as I didn't want to I cancelled it, waited for a debt recovery letter and paid the full amount, after getting into a bit of financial trouble when I first turned 18 (credit companies make it too easy to get in trouble) I couldn't afford to have the debt against my name so I paid it all.

Anyway like I said don't ever use them, I wouldn't even bother visiting their website.

--Stream

Stream, it lokks like you have registerd here to write that only.... I think that you do understand that web hosting company can't be good for everyone. And if they are not suitable for you that doesn't nean they are suitable for others.

Originally Posted by ~ServerPoint~

Stream, it lokks like you have registerd here to write that only.... I think that you do understand that web hosting company can't be good for everyone. And if they are not suitable for you that doesn't nean they are suitable for others.

One I was just stating my own opinions about them and the trouble I had with them and as you can see from another post it would appear that lwhitmore has had similar experiences as me and a few other people I've talked to in the past have also had major problems with them too.

Second, the title of this thread is called '1and1 - good or bad' and the author asked for any feedback which is all I done, gave feedback of my experience with them.

And last, it seems to you that I registered here just to write that? considering I joined on the 18 April 2008, posted that yesterday and had three other posts between them, I'd like to know how you came to that conclusion?

--Stream

i signed up for their basis hosting plan once couple of years back and not heading that way again. their basis plan has lot of limitations. for example, i was not even being able to run SSI (server side include). i contacted them and was told that i had to upgrade my plan to run SSI which is crap. this is basis hosting feature for all the other hosts.

i however register my domain with them since its cheap and comes with free privacy

BAD!! 1and1 get the Bad Web host of all time award.

totally agree with lwhitmore

http://www.webhostingstuff.com/revie...ternetInc.html

95% bad reviews ^

They not good, so much i can say but i said it too many times.

Dan

Originally Posted by dansgalaxy

BAD!! 1and1 get the Bad Web host of all time award.

totally agree with lwhitmore

http://www.webhostingstuff.com/revie...ternetInc.html

95% bad reviews ^

They not good, so much i can say but i said it too many times.

Dan

Guess you have tried them personally.

Not intentionally... I took over admin of a chairtys site and they were with them... soon realised they were being over charged and the support = 0

Dan