Introduction

My name is Kenneth Yu. Thank you for reading this blog. Currently I reside in Yokohama, Japan, doing my master/PhD program at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. I believe in fighting for a cause and fighting for justice.

It is my hope that this blog will expose some of the malpractices of 1&1 Internet. Please click on the below link to start viewing in chronological order.
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>> Begin Reading Here <<

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Table of Contents:

1. 2/18/2007 --- 1&1 Internet Hosting
2. 8/20/2007 --- Cancellation
3. 8/21/2007 --- No Access!
4. 8/23/2007 --- We Delay, You Pay
5. 11/07/2007 --- Fraud
6. 11/08/2007 --- Not Alone
7. 11/08/2007 --- Broken Record
8. 11/09/2007 --- Help on the Way
9. 11/10/2007 --- PC Financial
10.11/11/2007 --- BBB
11.11/12/2007 --- Cheating Service Level
12.11/14/2007 --- Feedback
13.11/16/2007 --- More Silence
14.11/18/2007 --- Card Cancellation

Card Cancellation

I really liked this President Choice Financial Master card. I got it from the local Supermarket many years ago when I was still in university. It offered 1% cash back in the form of grocery points. I've gotten a binocular (which I still have) and a lot of food with the points. I brought it with me to Japan as an emergency measure.

This is some sort of defeat I guess, but I feel okay about it. The time has come for me to let go. I've done all I could to fight this company. Being a student in a foreign country has somewhat limited the amount of energy I can spend on this, but enough is enough. I can sleep soundly knowing that I held my composure in this frustrating time.

Let it be known that 1&1 Internet still has not replied, not to mention any sort of apology. They got what they wished for though: I am letting this case slide away. PC financial has given me nothing but great service. They didn't even try to persuade me to keep the card. They knew my situation and knew what was best for my situation. Of course, they also knew that I've been a loyal customer for the past 5-6 years. I know I am going to apply for another one once I am back in Canada.

More Silence

Nothing from 1&1 Internet, so I guess they are keeping quiet and hope this will slide as time go by. So I sent another email:
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Billing Department,

Account number:(deleted). It has been more than 7 days since my last message to you and I still have not received any sort of communication. I have requested a refund of an unauthorized charge to my credit card for a domain name that should have been canceled more than a month ago. I have filed a complaint with BBB and you action towards the resolution of this matter will be recorded with BBB accordingly.

I am now requesting a proof of termination letter to be mailed to my address on file. This was suggested by my credit card company to prevent future fraudulent charges. The letter must state that all accounts related to this credit card number has been terminated. For the record, it is extremely frustration to deal with the non-existent customer service of 1&1 Internet.

Kenneth Yu
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They wouldn't even write an email stating a refund is not possible. 1&1 Internet has the worst customer service. period.

Continue to: 11/18/2007 --- Card Cancellation

Feedback

1&1 Internet has the most insulting customer service system I have ever dealt with. Not only do they NOT reply to your emails when the issue gets the slightest bit complicated, they will annoy you by sending feedback requests in the middle of the dispute.

I have received so far, 3 of them during the dispute. Here is one example. I received it after the blank email they sent me. The email actually revealed which incompetent agent was behind the deed.
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Dear Kenneth Yu,

Thank you again for choosing 1&1 web services. We are writing to follow up on your recent contact with Eshall B*****. As 1&1 is constantly striving to improve service performance and provide greater value to our customers, we ask that you please take a moment to follow the link below and answer a few survey questions.

http://survey.1and1.com/survey.php?deleted.

Your opinion is greatly appreciated. The survey will only take a minute or two, and will help us to better serve you in the future.

Thank you for your time and consideration.


Sincerely,
1&1 Internet, Inc.
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Of course I gave them all lowest score and left a nasty bit in the comments. By the way, I have forwarded the website to my credit card company for investigation. One fact is, I have no proof that this cancellation took place. I am willing to take the the loss of $5.86CAD if that means 1&1 internet won't harass my Canadian residence when the charge-back takes place.

Continue to: 11/16/2007 --- More Silence

Cheating Service Level

I just received a reply from the billing department of 1&1 Internet...of absolutely nothing. That's right. It's getting a bit comical, they managed to sent me an email with my original message inlined and no additional content. This is hilarious. I wonder what will come next.

They probably didn't really want to reply to the email, but it's been sitting in their email queue, so they got rid of it by replying with nothing. I know, because I was a clerk in a Customer Service department in my last job. Now the email is at the end of the queue. The agents have satisfied the max queue time service level by simply doing nothing. So when the customer service department calculates their stats, it LOOKS good.

I am still struggling with the idea of publishing this blog on Digg.com. I don't want to be a whiner, but I hope the other people will have a chance to see how the biggest hosting company handles accounts and customer service. There is a good chance that this blog will be buried easily since my case seems so insignificant.

On the side note, I have heeded to my friend's legal advice and changed the name of the blog to 1&1 Internet Exposed, instead of 1&1 Internet Fraud before the blog goes public to avoid the slightest chance of them suing me for defamation. I was also careful by refraining from using logos. Some companies can sue you silly for doing that, especially when you have a bone to pick with them.

Continue to: 11/14/2007 --- Feedback

BBB

I have filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau. There has been zero communication from 1&1 Internet since November 8th, 2007.

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re:Mr. Kenneth Yu and 1 & 1 Internet Inc

Thank you for completing the BBB Complaint Form. Your online complaint has been submitted and we will begin processing it. This process involves contacting the company for a response. When we receive a response we will provide you with a copy. At that time, should you wish to amend or provide additional information relating to the complaint you can do so.

Unless you have heard from us otherwise, please allow 30 days from the date of notification, before inquiring about the status of the complaint. Please know that due to the large volume of complaint activity facilitated by the Bureau, we appreciate your adherence to the 30 day time frame. If the company contacts you directly about your complaint or resolves the matter, please let us know either by email (info@mybbb.org) or by phone (202) 393-8000, so that we can keep the information current and take timely action in processing the complaint.

Thank you for allowing the Better Business Bureau to be of service.

Please keep this email for your records.

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In the desired outcome section I typed:
1. Termination of all accounts associated with my credit card.
2. Full refund of $5.86 (woohoo?)
3. Compliance of 1&1 to ICANN agreement, where the accounts should've been left to expire.
4. An apology from the head of customer service.

I wonder how far this can go.

Continue to: 11/12/2007 --- Cheating Service Level

PC Financial

I called collect from my dorm public phone to PC Financial Master Card. It was nice to talk to to an English-speaking representative after being bombarded with Japanese for the past few weeks.

I expressed to Monica from PC Financial about my concerns that 1&1 Internet will send out their collection agency minions to hurt my credit rating and harass my family in Canada. Monica assured me that 1&1 internet does not have the right to do so and since I have already paid them for the service and I am merely disputing it. So I went through with the dispute. She also advised that I should cancel my credit card if they continue to charge it.

This $5.86 has been the ONLY charge made to my credit card since I left for Japan. I spent a lot of time with 1&1 Internet to ensure that there would be no financial ties to my card because I only planned to keep use this card for emergency. Little did I know that by not cancelling the card caused me so much grief.

I am grateful though, that at least the PC Financial staff is assisting me in this somewhat isolated situation I am in right now. May justice prevail.

With things set in motion, I wrote 1&1 Internet another email to let them know how things are going:

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1&1 Representative,

This is regarding case number: (deleted). My customer ID is: (deleted). There has been no communication from you billing department since my last request 48 hours ago. My email to your complaints department also has gone unanswered. I have some good news for you and hope this will expedite the resolution.

I have obtained access to my cousin's email and in turns, access to the administration page. I have put through and activated the termination process. Hopefully this will be enough to stop you from mentioning "Please click on the link," or "Please go to admin page" in every single one of your response to me.

Even though the termination should go without hiccups, I still feel that your company lack the decency to issue me a refund. Therefore I have filed for a dispute with my credit card like I said I would. The good news is, the amount is only for $5.86CAD. A company as big as 1&1 Internet will hardly suffer if the dispute shall rule in my favor.

The next step is to file a complaint against 1&1 Internet with BBB, but the good news is, the BBB rating of 1&1 Internet is already rock-bottom, my mere complaint cannot possibly hurt it more. Yet for the sake of argument I will go through with it if the issue is not resolved.

Right now I am in touch consumerist.com, hoping they will launch a full-scale investigation on the legitimacy of 1&1 Internet's business practice, but the good news is, they are very busy so probably it won't happen very soon. With that being the case, I have made this little blog to document all that goes on in this case. It is my plan to submit it to Digg.com, but the good news is, a small fry like me probably won't stir up any controversy.

http://1and1exposed.blogspot.com

I hope you will get back to me with some good news too. My loss is a mere $5.86CAD or $5.86 + 4.37 if you include the pro-rated fee you take away from my first refund. It will be interesting to see how much resources your company is willing to dispense in fighting with me.

Kenneth Yu

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Continue on: 11/11/2007 --- BBB