Ionos by 1&1

I did wonder why my business dropped off, but never thought it could be because of something so simple that Ionos did not proactively add. They used to be the top rated hosting company, but they have disconnected my server for my website, let me other domains expire with no notice and now this. If this is considered "top notch" then we are all in trouble. When I asked the technician why this had not been done, he read the same sentence to me over and over, stating "an SPF has been added to your domains". Maybe he thought I was deaf....or stupid.

What makes the service so non user friendly is that they won’t cancel any charges without taking you through so much personal information only to be hung up on. They go through great pains to get so much of your personal information, banking, and hang up. I’ve been told I’d be getting a refund only to not receive one. I explained my compromise issue after they alerted me! I was yelled at and told that I had been misinformed about cyber breach. They started a new account twice for me that I’m locked out of. Still no refund for services and products not ordered or needed.

I am supposed to speak to only ONE representative who never calls back. Archie. Supervisors I was told would call back never have. They fought with my bank very hard to get charges I never made restored. I was charged $69 for a product. After over verifying myself they still never justified the charge or told me what I was being charged for. They can’t. They don’t know who I am they tell me. I tell them ‘ then stop taking my money!’ They was so much time just to hang up on you. The company is so inept that I have an account service representative that is never avail and is the only one who can fix the issue.

This is a very scammy business. My bank blocked them twice and they created a virtual card?!?!? They are very rude as well. One rep kept falling asleep on phone and kept saying hold on. Don’t be lured by the low prices they offer. Go to Godaddy for example. They actually service the client. I’m not always 100% thrilled with godaddy but not for the same reasons. They are legitimately available and I don’t have to through one man named ARCHIE! Bottom line, they keep charging over a year after I asked them to stop. They stopped when the bank Blocked them and broke right through again, Horrible experience. I don’t even have any access to the accounts. They know this. Go elsewhere.

I was finally able to cancel the package and still today I received an email saying that I had a past due balance that, if unpaid, would go to collections. Surely this was a mistake that would fix? I called and they asked for a pin. I explained there was no pin requested of me. I didn't have any account info expected the customer ID number on the email. After finally getting into the account with a temp pin emailed to me, the representative stated he could not give any credits but rest assured he would escalate the request and gave me a reference number. This company has ruined it for any cold calling company that wanted to give a "free" trial. I figured a free trial wouldn't hurt, but this company has proven me wrong.

I never received an invoice for this new monthly contract, but assumed that it wasn't an issue, but I was still receiving emails about not being able to take the $65 out, and eventually threatening to take down my site. I called concerned, but they assured me that it was no issue. My site wouldn't be taken down. I then received an email that said they would take my site down in 5 days. I called, they said I had nothing to be worried about. On the day that they were taking my site down, I received a warning that it was being taken down. I called, they said I had nothing to worry about. A few hours later my site was down. I called, they said it would be back up in two hours. Site was still down days later. I called, they said it would be back up in two hours. Site was still down days later.

Then I was called to be reminded that I have a charge that wasn't accepted, and when I started to explain that I needed help and had some concerns the woman on the phone with me HUNG UP ON ME! I called back, they said that there was a bug in the system that they were trying to fix, but it had been escalated. They recommended that I pay the $65 and be refunded. Okay, so let's try that. Days later, my site was still down and I wasn't refunded. I emailed my direct contact and she informed me that I couldn't get a refund until this "bug" was fixed. At that point I was tired of being scammed and decided to end my contract. I was surprisingly issued a credit for my contract (still waiting to see if I actually receive the full amount).

Now, as I'm trying to set up new hosting, I'm unable to receive my domain. I searched my website and found out that a seller in Germany (**, Germany also happens to be where IONOS is based) wants me to pay $198 USD to obtain this domain. Upon finding this out, I decided to call IONOS again, and ask to be escalated to the highest person possible. This was the second call I made this morning, because the first person decided not to respond after sitting on the phone together for almost 20 minutes. Because I called on a Sunday, I have to wait until Monday to find out if I'm able to get my business's domain back after I spent $250 on merch, business cards, etc with the website on it.

I do take the blame for not being able to foresee the future, the crime and the Pandemic that ensued and perhaps for not staying on hold for 8 hours a day to sort every detail out, however I did expect a little leeway regarding getting me back up and running. Did I get ANY help? NO. Just directed to Paragraph 13 of the Terms and Conditions. Please Note - They may dazzle with prices and offers, but sometimes it helps to have a little compassion and humanity in the business world, especially during Pandemics and/or other natural disasters and crimes. Thanks for nothing IONOS, I now face financial ruin.

We tested our site and files on other web hosting and no issues, no problems, it is usually a server issue with IONOS AKA 1&1. They have good prices but mooch you in support so NO FREE SUPPORT. False advertising. We are stuck with them because we paid in advance, and they have scammed and cheated us and will not give us a refund. This is the worst web hosting company online. You need to find another host or get scammed. Do not use ionos.com or any of their affiliated sites to host your website. IONOS by 1&1 » Your Host Matters. A lot.