Tag Archives: Bad Customer Service

1and1 Incompetence, Part 11

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Just received this:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

The invoice in question #356714991 was for domains that were renewed in March and later. The previous issue that had complicated your ability to submit cancellation request was resolve well in advance of these renewal dates. As such nothing would have prevented you turning off the renewal for the domains in question. You will need to resolve this balance in full in order to prevent billing issues. This matter and the previous issue you had are separate matters entirely.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
Brett Neally
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

OK, so after faxing signed documentation, then submitting list after list, now I am supposed to cancel the domains AGAIN?

What part of CANCEL THE DOMAINS do these people not understand?

1and1 Incompetence, Part 10

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The saga of 1nd1′s incompetence continues unabated.

I was actually excited yesterday to find that my account had been unlocked, allowing me access for the first time in several weeks to my DNS settings.

I should be more careful about those optimistic tendencies when it comes to 1and1.

Today I received my latest  invoice.  Not only are they charging me for domains that I canceled and I have all of the confirmations proving it, but they added all of the domains I have been complaining about for four months now.

That means there are TWO invoices in my account for the exact same identical fraudulent charges.  Not only have they not fixed the one I have submitted complaints about over twenty times, but they have now created a brand new fraudulent invoice with the same domains!

Just how many times does a customer have to complain and submit iron clad proof of their mistakes to get someone at 1and1 to actually fix a problem?

I cannot answer that question.  I have sent them lists, signed faxes, corrected invoices, complaints and I am posting it here for the world to see, and they still cannot get their act together.

Just how much incompetence can one company exhibit?

If I were anyone in management at 1and1, I would be absolutely embarassed that a situation this cut and dried could go on this long, and generate this much negative publicity.

1and1 is incompetent.

1and1 is dishonest.

1and1 is the worst company I have ever dealt with.

I challenge anyone at 1and1 to answer my claims that they are completely incompetent.

I have to go now and generate ANOTHER correction request for this latest invoice, but when i get that done, I am going to post about even more problems with their cancellation system.  They will deny transfers to another registrar even on domains that you cancel!  Then they still bill you for them!

1and1 Incompetence, Part 9

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Well, I let a week go by after Brett Neally promised to fix my account.  I should not be surprised that absolutely nothing has changed.

My account is still locked.

There is still a late fee showing in my account for a fraudulent invoice.

That invoice still has not been corrected to reflect the changes that I have submitted beginning on January 10 to dozens of 1and1 employees by fax and email.

One more instance of deception, incompetence, and atrocious customer service from 1and1.

1and1 Incompetence, Part 8

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My continuing battle with 1and1′s fraudulent activities…

After creating all of those posts yesterday, I sent a notice to all of those 1and1 email addresses inviting them to visit this blog and read all about it.  It appears that struck a nerve with at least one 1and1 employee.  Here is what I received today:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

The balance that was released to collections was for the January invoice and not for the invoice that was refunded.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
Brett Neally
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

Of course, since he was responding to an email I sent that said exactly that, I replied:

Yeah, that’s what I SAID!

The January invoice IS FRAUD!

FIX IT!

His response:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

I’ve looked extensively through your case history and this is what we are willing to do. You previously sent an email with a PDF attachment for domains you wanted to cancel. Please reply back to this email with that list as plain text. We will then forward a case to have those domains removed from your account. We will then pull the balance from NCO financial and wipe it from our systems. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and we will work to try to resolve this issue.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
Brett Neally
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

And my retort:

This is the 17th time I have submitted this exact same list.  By fax, by email, as an attachment, with and without signatures, to David Rubel, Damien Son, John Keefer, Complaints, Support, Billing, the BBB, the FTC, and whoever else I could find.  It is even posted several times at http://RippedOffConsumers.org.

But I will jump through yet another hoop.

And by the way, the way you phrased your response offends me.  I should hope you would be willing to correct your own errors.  I did not create this problem, 1and1 did, by screwing up the transfer for over a month in the first place and not granting me the ability to cancel these domains until almost a month later, then refusing to fix it in a reasonable time frame.  As you see below, I have been trying to get this fixed since January 10.  Your fellow employees have lied to me and given me the runaround for 2 1/2 months.  So thank you for being willing to do what should have been done in January.  I hope you mean it.

Then I pasted the January 10 email that I sent trying to fix this that included exactly the text list he is now requesting.  Remember, I have sent that same list over twenty times, in half a dozen formats.  Damion Son even made me print, sign, and fax it several weeks ago.  But now they need ANOTHER copy of it, even after he “looked extensively through your case history”.

I am not slamming Mr. Neally, yet.  He seems to genuinely want to make me go away.  I don’t get the impression he is actually sorry it happened, or even surprised, just that he wants me to shut up and go away.

And finally, at 2:18 PM CST today, I received this:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

Thank you for replying with this information. A case has been escalated to remove the account and balance from NCO financial. Please allow a few business days for this balance to be removed. I apologize it has take so long to resolve this issue.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
Brett Neally
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

Now, that appears promising.  It is ironic that as I was reading this email message my phone rang.  Caller ID said NCO Financial.  I let the machine get it.

Mr. Neally has made promises that I only half expect to happen, just based on history.  I will have to wait and see.

But, as of right now:

1) My account is still locked, denying me access to the 235 domains I still have registered there that were never in question. (I now make sure to move them to a competent registrar before they expire.)

His message does not address when my account will once again be made available to me.

2) The January invoice has still not been credited, revised, or removed.  It still shows as “Payment declined”.

When I faxed the signed invoice corrections at Damion Son’s request the credit was issued within hours.  I will let you know.

3) There is still a Late Fee of $18.95 showing on my account.

Although every email message I get has some form of apology in it, I do not feel apologized to, if you know what I mean.  I feel more like they are apologizing for getting caught than out of any real concern for the hours I have spent trying to get them to correct their own errors.  Please excuse my language, but I do not feel like anyone at 1and1 gives a damn about me or the problems they have caused.

I understand that companies make mistakes.  It cannot be helped.  But when they first of all refuse to acknowledge the error, then try to blame it on the customer, then continue to antagonize that customer at every turn, that company does not deserve to be in business.

1and1 is just not reliable, ethical, or competent.

1and1 Incompetence, Part 7

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I received a message today that my account had been turned over to a collection agency.

I have still not received a reply to my repeated emails and faxes asking why they did not follow up as Damion Son promised when I faxed the signed documentation over two weeks ago.

Once again, 1and1 is proving that they care absolutely nothing about their customers, and do not have the ability to provide even marginally competent service.

Please, please spread this around.

Do not let those you care about get robbed and violated by 1and1.

Stand up now and fight back!

1and1 Incompetence, Part 6

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From my last post, Damion Son, supposedly “upper management” according to david Rubel, asked for the list of domains to refund, although i had sent it a dozen times already.  I sent it again.

Here is his reply:

From: complaints@1and1.com
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 2:01 PM
To: Brian Gothard
Subject: C122680964

Dear Brian Gothard, (Customer ID: XXXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

I have spoken with our billing department regarding this matter.  They have informed me that you would need to fax a list of domain name that you wish to cancel with your signature.  And we can set those domain names to cancel and refund the account regarding the domain names.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely,
Damion Son
Customer Service
1&1 Internet

OK, this time they want it faxed.  This is completely outside their normal procedures and is listed nowhere in their terms and conditions, but I am willing to do what it takes.  So, I made a nice spreadsheet identical to their invoice, and identified each line item as “Keep” or “Cancel”.  I signed it and faxed it to both Damion Son and David Rubel.

One thing I have not mentioned:  the February invoice was wrong, too.  So, I did the exact same thing, and faxed them both together on March 10.  Then I emailed a PDF of the fax to Damion.

They issued a credit for the entire February invoice the same day.  They were not supposed to.  They credited domains that were not supposed to be cancelled as well as those that were.  They did not touch the January invoice which is causing all the problems, and the February invoice was not enough to cover the discrepancy.

I notified Damion Son of this fact by email and fax the same day.

On March 18, I once again sent Damion Son and David Rubel a request for the status of this issue by both email and fax.  No response.

I sent it again on March 23.  No response.

That gets us to the present.  I will post updates here as they occur.

If you waded through all of this, thank you.  It is a whole bunch of information, and i really don’t expect anyone to read all of it, but I hope the deluge makes enough of an impact that people are warned about just how bad 1and1 is.

1and1 Incompetence, Part 4

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Continuing proof that 1and1 is incompetent, dishonest, and cares nothing about their customers.

Where were we?  Oh yeah, my account is now locked because I refuse to pay a fraudulent invoice.  1and1 is trying to charge me for domains I had no ability to cancel because they were incapable of transferring the contract for over a month.

David Rubel, the Billing Manager, is pretending all of this is my fault and ignoring my messages, even after I have submitted proof on multiple occasions.

So, on February 16, I issued a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission regarding their dishonest business practices.  I sent the reference number to David Rubel, along with another outline of the entire situation.

Here is his reply:

From: billing@1and1.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 12:21 PM
To: Brian Gothard
Subject: CXXXXXXXXX – 1&1 Internet Inc. Billing Re: ATTN: David Rubel
FW: KXXXXXXXXX Reminder

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXXX)
Thank you for contacting us.

Please provide me with an incorrectly charged domain, as my records now show the contact with the domains are on this account and they were correctly invoiced.

Unfortunately the rest of your email are features we just do not offer at this time, except for the cancellation of domains as at any time you can go to can go to cancel.1and1.com to cancel a domain.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
David Rubel
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

Can you believe this?  His records show the domains were correctly invoiced?  Again, I question whether he is that incompetent, or intentionally stonewalling me.  I cannot believe anyone is this stupid.  I have sent him emails every three or four days for several weeks with a complete explanation, and spoken with him on the phone!

So, I once again sent him the list he requested, and the entire history, with full documentation.

I sent it again on February 18.

And again on February 24.  This time I added every 1and1 email address I had been able to acquire.

On February 25, I received instructions from complaints@1and1.com on how to cancel domains.  It did not address any of the real problems, just blamed me once again for not knowing how to cancel domains.

That was the day I submitted my complaint to the Better Business Bureau.  1and1 has an “F” rating, the worst you can get.  They have hundreds of complaints, proving that 1and1 does not care about their customers.

I sent the reference number to everyone at 1and1. No one cared enough to respond.

On February 27, I sent another request that they fix my invoice so I could pay it.  Never received a response.

Not being one to just sit down and shut up, I still refuse to just pay the incorrect invoice.  1and1 created this situation, and I intend to make them fix it.

Next post: RippedOffConsumers.org is born!

Sick and Tired of Getting Ripped Off?

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If you are like me, you are fed up with being treated unfairly by big companies.  Once upon a time, the customer was always right.  Businesses realized that only by satisfying their clients could they hope to grow and prosper.

Smart companies still operate that way today, but there are those which have made it their practice to treat their customers like garbage.

Disposable clientele.

They believe that if that customer is not happy and decides to leave, they will just pick up another one or three to replace them.  And sadly, many times that is true.  With thousands of new people getting on line every day, it is not difficult to replace a customer or two.

But what these impersonal monoliths do not realize is that there are those of us out here who will not simply take their crap and move on.  We choose to warn others of our bad experiences.

We choose to stand up and fight.  We choose to spread our stories far and wide in the hopes that someone else can avoid repeating our mistakes.

For that purpose, I have established this website as a digital soap box.  I have a handful of customer service nightmares of my own to post here, and I will be partnering with other consumer advocacy sites to bring you more comprehensive information, but I want to hear your stories.

I am offering you a place to voice your complaint and strike a blow against unfair practices, bad customer service, and in some cases outright fraud. I will also be providing how to articles and links to resources where you can initiate effective consumer complaints, such as the Federal Trade Commission, your State Attorney General, various Better Business Bureaus and the like.

What can you or I do as one person?  Very little.

What can you AND I do, along with a few hundred thousand like minded individuals who are sick of being pushed around?  We can spread the word about these companies who choose to mistreat their customers and convince others to avoid putting themselves in the same situation.

Together, we can strike a blow against indifference and bring customer service back!

This site is in its infancy.  I am still working on a lot of the functionality, including the submission form, but you can submit your story for possible inclusion through our Contact Us page.  Make sure to include as much detail as possible, and be prepared to back up your claims.  I am not interested in undocumented bashing, because that does not do any good.  I want dates, names, and specific details.  Don’t worry if you are not a writer.  Submit your story and I will edit it for clarity.  I may need to contact you for more information before publishing. So, go ahead, click here to submit your story.

Make sure to bookmark the site and come back often to check up on the latest warnings.