I bought a domain name from 1&1 Internet back in 2003 and have paid around £10 annually for it ever since. I am terminating the website it’s attached to in a few months, therefore I want to let go of the domain. So, in mid-December I logged into my 1&1 Control Panel and went through the termination process. I completely cancelled my entire contract with them, not just the domain itself. I received confirmation then forgot all about it as it seemed pretty final to me.

Last week I received a letter from 1&1 demanding the immediate payment, in full, of £10.56 otherwise the matter would be forwarded to a finance company and lawyer where additional costs of £15 would be added aswell as other fees. They seemed to think that my contract was still active and that I wanted the domain, despite the fact that I had successfully terminated my contract with them approximately 1 month before the domain renewal was to take place.

I logged into my 1&1 Control Panel again where the ‘Administration’ tab was greyed out and the status of the domain was showing as ‘delete’. It has been displaying this ever since the day I terminated. So, I had no control whatsoever over that domain anymore. The fact that they automatically renewed is not my problem. Because of the nature of the letter, which to be frank is fairly threatening, I almost added a credit card to my account so that they could take the £10.56. But wait, why the hell should I pay? I cancelled fair and square. I don’t want the domain, I don’t need the domain and I no longer have control over it. Common sense got the better of me so I sent an e-mail to the billing department on Saturday, then wrote a letter and sent that off yesterday.

Just as I’d sent the letter off, an e-mail came through from Billing:

Thank you for your email. This is to inform you that the account was cancelled in 12.08.08. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

Oh really, so it was cancelled on 12.08.08, was it? So you have access to a time machine aswell as everything else, then? I sent another e-mail once again explaining that my part in the cancellation process was complete and asked again for someone to clear this matter up. Late this afternoon I received another reply from their Billing department:

I am pleased to confirm your account was sucessfully terminated by yourself. The invoice of £10.56 was issued before termination was actioned. I have cancelled this invoice as a goodwill gesture. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

So, they finally realise that I did indeed successfully terminate the account, like I’ve been saying for days? I’m so pleased they cleared that one up for me I won’t firmly believe that this is the end of the matter until I receive an official letter of confirmation because the invoice is still active in the Control Panel.

One thing I know, I will never ever give my business to 1&1 Internet again. I have dealt with several domain registrars over the years and their cancellation process is clear and concise. If a company is known to auto-renew and I don’t wish to then I simply cancel and the matter is closed. I have actually found countless “horror stories” relating to this company, over the past few days, doing exactly the same as they did to me despite the successful termination.

[update]

Shortly after publishing this entry, I received another e-mail from 1&1:

We are sorry to inform you that your current PayPal balance is insufficient to cover your recent order(s). In order to place new orders or renew your package(s), please update your 1&1 PayPal Limit.

To update your 1&1 Account Limit,

1. please log into your Control Panel using your Account number or a domain name in one of your packages and your password.

2. On the ‘Account’ page, go to ‘User Settings’ > ‘Payment Method’ and then select ‘PayPal’.

3. Click on ‘Go to PayPal’ and update your ‘1&1 PayPal Account Limit’ by ticking the ‘PayPal Billing Agreement’ box.

After completing these steps, you may resume your order process.

So, I was right to be sceptical about this after all. I wonder what the next installment will be!

[updated Friday 15th February]

I received a reply to my letter(s) and e-mails from 1&1 this morning…via e-mail. It’s a pretty lengthy one with the usual FAQ stuff about cancellations and such, but also a couple of apologies thrown in for the confusion and PayPal trying to take money from me when I was told the invoice had been cancelled. She confirmed that the account and the invoice have both been terminated and I will receive a credit note in support of this over the next 3-4 days.

I’m pleased that’s sorted out. I’ll never go anywhere near 1&1 Internet again, though, that’s for certain