ComplaintsforIONOS, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  REF: Customer ID: *********** 5/28/2023 I attempted to do business with IONOS. I was grossly misled by the sales agents false statements and agreed to a product for $33/month. After 3 days of issues, it was determined that not only was the product not compatible with my needs but it was actually double in price at $65. They apparently messed up the original order requiring them to cancel the original and resubmit it. Which charged me $77.09 on a second authorization. I was never given a compatible product for the agreed amounts, therefore, I canceled everything on 05/31/2023.As of the receipt of this complaint, after 11 calls to support including 3 supervisors, I have yet to receive refund of both of these, what I now deem, unauthorized charges. I am demanding a full and immediate refund of all charges regarding this incident.

  

  Business response

  06/06/2023

  Dear *******************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am truly sorry your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and service that need the most attention. 
  
  We work to provide a positive customer experience and our teammates are trained to match our products to our customer's needs to the best of their ability. We apologize that your experience has fallen short. We have forwarded this information to our Quality Assurance Team for quality and training purposes. This team will properly address the teammates handling this case and advise management for areas of improvement. 
  
  According to our records, your request for termination and refund has been addressed by our team, in which a refund was processed to the payment method on file on June 5, 2023 and the authorization hold has been released. 
  
  If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected].
  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused, appreciate your patience and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

  Customer response

  06/16/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I do, however, find it disappointing such a  measure was required to compel this organization to comply with legal business practices. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased URL registration and hosting. ($1 and $12 respectively). I asked for a refund in the required time, however they refunded the $12 for hosting but not the $1 registration. The non-refund of the registration is preventing me from registering the URL with a different provider. They refused to return my registration fee and release my URL.

  

  Business response

  06/06/2023

  Hi *****! 

  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am sorry to hear that your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I appreciate the time spent to provide your feedback. Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and services that need the most attention. 

  Upon review of your account, I see that you spoke with our Executive Solutions Team on June 2nd and they were able to address your concerns and issued a refund as well as sending you the Authorization Code for a domain transfer. 
  
  If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact myself or my team directly at [email protected]. 
  

  Thank you, 
  ****, IONOS 

• Initial Complaint

  05/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  5/23/23 I purchased a domain name and email package with IONOS. My Business that I’m started has been out on hold because IONOS has the new domain name I purchased in my account on HOLD. I have an active account with them that I’m currently using for my current domain hosting that’s in good standing. When I called to let them know they took my money but did not give me the service or domain I payed for they told me, I had an OLD account from 2019 that had a balance due of $32. I was NOT made aware of this especially since my current account I’ve been consistently using with no problem until NOW. When I spoke to two representatives there, I was informed that the balance was SETTLED and that they would expedite the complaint to get it resolved with 24 hours! It has been 3 days and NOTHING has been resolved. I called again today only to find out that the balance is NOW supposedly not settled. I have no knowledge or recollection of an old account from 2019. This should have been addressed before and it’s 4 years later! I want my money back and I want my current domain name UNLOCKED along with my admin or EPP code so I can go to a different hosting site. That was ALL the money I had at the moment to invest in myself and my new business. I can even connect to my new website because of this unnecessary hold up. I am highly unsatisfied and I do NOT recommend anyone use them. I’ve been getting the runaround and TERRIBLE customer service for 3 days now and I’m over it. This is my last resort to get this issued resolved IMMEDIATELY!!!

  

  Business response

  06/07/2023

  Dear *************************************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am truly sorry your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and service that need the most attention.
  
  In order to activate new services with IONOS, any outstanding debts, must be settled. Please note, several notifications regarding outstanding debts are sent to the email address on file along with the notification center of the control panel for the account in question, prior to any suspension or termination of services. We understand the value in customer's data and registered domains, and we work hard to ensure our customer's are made aware of all debts prior to termination of services. Please note that it is the responsibility of the customer to manage their own accounts which includes monitoring invoices, updating payment information and canceling unwanted services. If you have not been in receipt of these notification please be sure to mark IONOS email addresses as safe senders. 
  
  As a one time courtesy, we have cleared the balance due and removed all ordering restrictions. You are now able to order new services at this time. Please reorder your recent order as the order did not process due to the outstanding debt. 
  
  If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to:  [email protected].
  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused, appreciate your patience and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  05/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I created an account with IONIS for website hosting about a year ago. I made sure to disable auto-renew as the website was for an experimental project. A year later I am surprised to see an invoice in my email. I made sure to cancel the subscription once again and left it at that. To my surprise, I received a letter from collections for around 120 dollars. This is a clear exploitation by the company and clearly a fraudulent way of getting money for unused services. The best part is the website I created doesn't even exist anymore. Why would I pay 120 dollars for a service that doesn't exist and I don't need it? If you don't pay a Netflix subscription the service is paused and not sent to collections. Never received a collections letter for a service. Through further research, I have come to realize this is a blatant exploitation through German law (IONOS is located in Germany). IONOS Customer Service is running on ****, and it seems I have gotten closer to inventing the time machine than coming to a resolution with them. Luckily I am a reporter for a major station and will be running a story on this Fraudulent Company to raise awareness of this blatant scam. Can't wait for the ridiculous explanation I will receive from IONOS. It will be a nice piece to add to my story. Hopefully, IONOS can admit to its mistakes and resolve this issue quickly. Otherwise, I will be taking this issue to court, not for the money but for the principle. A class action lawsuit following this new story will bring justice. Im sure the Judge will love the countless reviews on BBB outlining the same issue I am currently facing.

  

  Business response

  06/06/2023

  Hi *****!  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am sorry to hear that your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I appreciate the time spent to provide your feedback. Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and services that need the most attention. 
  
  Upon review of your account, I see that you attempted to cancel the account prior to it going to collections. So, I am happy to offer you an extended courtesy and cancel the contract and balance in collections. 
  
  We do not discuss account specific matters publicly, I have sent you an email to the email address we have on file for your account. Please take a moment to review the information that I sent and reply when you have a moment. 
  
  Thank you, 
  ****, IONOS 
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been with this for over a decade getting web hosting. I began to notice monthly withdrawals from my business account but never paid attention to it, I figured it was hosting and domain fees. Then when I realized this was a lot of money from month to month I investigated. Apparently there's something called "php extended support" that they signed me up for without my consent. They had it on domains that weren't even linked to a website! It was on like 15 of my domains, and since 2021 it has costed me $1000! They said they e-mailed me basically saying if I didn't say "no" to it, they'd charge me. The e-mails went to my spam I never saw them. Very unethical as I trust them with my card to not get charged for anything I didn't consent too, especially monthly! This is something I didn't want and never used, and didn't even know I had. Again I emphasize, the way they did this was basically say "If you don't say no to this subscription, we'll go ahead and do it!" This wasn't like a free trial that I forgot to cancel, this was them adding things to my account WITHOUT my permission, knowledge of consent. I asked for a refund, and they refunded me for two months, when I sought a full refund they said it's basically my fault for not seeing the e-mails. Outrageous, I'm very upset. Attached PDF's of some of the invoices and picture of the charges. All invoices look like that.

  

  Business response

  06/01/2023

  Hi *******!  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am sorry to hear that your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I appreciate the time spent to provide your feedback. Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and services that need the most attention. 
  
  I can understand the increase in your hosting costs is frustrating - please allow me to extend a courtesy refund, explain the added charges and how to remove them going forward.
  
  The additional charges on your invoice is due to PHP Extended Support. This service is automatically added for customers using an outdated version of the scripting language PHP. According to our records, you are using a version of PHP that is no longer supported by the PHP community. While we do provide you with the option to continue using the outdated version, we charge for that service as it involves effort on our part to maintain it. We recommend that you always use the most up-to-date version to keep your applications and scripts running smoothly and reliably. Additionally, we sent emails regarding these changes on December 3, 2020, February 4, 2021, December 8, 2021, and February 20, 2023.
  
  We do not discuss account specific billing matters publicly, I have sent you an email to the email address we have on file for your account. Please take a moment to review the information that I sent and reply when you have a moment. 
  
  Thank you, 
  ****, IONOS 
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had attempted to open a website through IONOS knowing that they had a 30 day moneyback guarantee if I could not figure it out. I realized that it was way too complicated for my skill level so I asked for my money back immediately the following day after I made the purchase. They refunded me for the website builder that I had purchased but they never refunded me for the domain name and the domain guard. They are now telling me that they cannot refund that because it is not through them when my invoice is from them for it…? I’m a little confused as to why I can’t get my money back. I am definitely within the 30 days and I have been fighting with them for well over a week now. They don’t even answer half my emails. All I want is a refund and to no longer be associated with IONOS. They also told me that they had canceled my services, but today I had to physically go in and cancel it through ****** because it remained active.

  

  Business response

  05/29/2023

  Dear *********************************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am truly sorry your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and service that need the most attention. 
  
  According to our records your orders were placed and terminated within days. Please note that due to the 30 day money back guarantee, the system will automatically trigger the reversal invoices within the 30 day time frame. As a courtesy, I have manually reversed invoice ************ in the amount of $11.00, please allow up to 7 business days for the refund to process to the payment method on file. We ask that any chargeback disputes be dropped as this could result in an open balance on the account that must be paid to IONOS. As when a chargeback dispute is filed, the funds are removed from IONOS and returned to the financial institution. As we have issued a reversal of the invoice, this would effectively provide two refunds one of which would need to be settled with IONOS. 
  
  If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected].
  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused, appreciate your patience and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  July 2022 Ionos took a payment of about $98.00 for a year of hosting using autopay. I contacted the company to get help to resolve issues I was having with my account in July. I was on the phone with someone for over 5 hours (he explained that I needed to purchase a product in order for him to help me backup my files in case there's a issue.) and after the call the rep asked me to take a survey and I gladly agreed. I asked the rep to send the survey to another email address. I took the survey and started to update my website. A couple of weeks later I attempt to go to my site to attempt to repair the issues and I was not able to gain access to my account. I called to ask for help once again and I was informed that my account was cancelled. I asked why and I was told that there was a security issue and because I did not respond to their email in 7 days it was closed. The email change and purchase of a new product caused the security issue. I asked why didn't they just locked the account since it was paid for the next 11 months and they informed me that they don't protect files, they delete them.After requesting the backup I paid for they have been telling me for months that they will retrieve them and give them to me. They started telling me in Feb 2023 that they do not have my files. They deleted 15 years of my work due to an security issue (they thought someone was attempting to hack into my account). To protect me they deleted all my work! Makes no sense at all. I've been requesting a full refund of my payment and they have been telling me they will refund me but still haven't and it's been almost a year. These people have ruined my business by deleting my writings, poems, and irreplaceable videos and photos.

  

  Business response

  05/29/2023

  Dear *****************************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am truly sorry your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and service that need the most attention. Our records indicate that we have recently your concerns on February 28, 2023 and on May 22, 2023 and the contract in question has been terminated due to a violation of our terms and conditions.  For the records of this complaint, please review the most recent email from 05/22/2023 that is listed below:
  
  Dear **. *********************** (Customer ID **********,
  
  Thank you for contacting us.
  
  We have received an escalated case regarding a refund request for Account *********.  I apologize for any inconvenience caused in this matter.
  
  Upon review of your account history, I show that our Security team detected invalid contact information that was provided for Account *********, in violation of our terms of service.  They reached out several times to the contact information provided, requesting validation of the information that had been provided, but unfortunately they did not receive a response.  The account was then locked and further requests were sent prior to the contracts under the account being canceled due to the violation of our terms of service.
  
  We work constantly to provide the best possible service to our customers, but we are unfortunately limited in the assistance we can provide for your request.  The account was correctly locked and canceled in keeping with our terms of service. Any data that was stored in the contracts would no longer be available for retrieval, as data is only maintained for a 7 day period after an account is canceled and data cannot be maintained perpetually.  We would also be unable to issue any amendments to invoices already charged for the account, so we would be unable to provide the full refund you had requested.
  
  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reply. Thank you for your understanding in this matter and again I apologize for any inconvenience caused.
  
  Sincerely,
  *********************
  Solutions Manager
  IONOS
  
  Again, while we aim to assist in the best way we can, we are limited in the assistance we can provide for certain requests. As the contract was terminated due to a violation of our terms and conditions, and we were not contacted in time to address the request, all data has been deleted and is unrecoverable. 
  
  If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected].
  We appreciate your understanding  and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  05/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Today I received an email from IONOS stating I owe $17 or my account, contract # ******** will be sent to collections. Several months, (last year 2022) ago I canceled my account with IONOS. Even though I canceled my account, I continue receiving these emails. I would like to make sure IONOS stops billing me and that they actually do cancel my account. I can no longer login to view my account as my account has been canceled. 

  

  Business response

  05/12/2023

  Dear ***********************************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am truly sorry your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and service that need the most attention. 
  
  Please note, as per Section 4.9 of our terms and conditions, the fees for domain registrations/renewals are non-refundable. According to our records we received your request to terminate the service on the date of renewal and invoice. As IONOS sends 2 domain renewal notifications to your control panel message board prior to invoicing for any domain renewal, followed by the invoice itself, if you wish deactivate the auto renewal, you are able to do so within the control panel, this process should be completed at least 5 days prior to the renewal date. 
  
  In order to process this request, please follow the below steps:
  
  1. Log in to the Contract Service with your IONOS Customer ID and password.
  Forgot your password? We explain how you can assign a new one in the article Change Your IONOS password.
  2. If you have more than one contract, click on the contract you would like to cancel.
  3. In the Update auto-renewal setting panel, click Next.
  4. Toggle the switch next to Automatically keep my contract to turn contract auto-renewal off.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Review the listed impacts related to contract cancellation, and if you are ready to continue, click Disable Auto-Renewal.
  7. Please inform us of the reason for your cancellation by choosing one of the options displayed. Then click Next.
  
  Auto-renewal for your contract has now been disabled. The date that your contract will expire will be displayed after the final step. Alternatively, you are able to contact our cancellations team directly at *************** to process your request. 
  
  According to our records, your concerns have been addressed by our support team on May 9, 2023. I can confirm your services have been terminated and no new invoices will generate. 
  
  If you have any additional questions, please contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected].
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************
  

  Customer response

  05/15/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 04/30/2022 I purchased one year of web hosting which included the domain name gotagsale.com. On 4/05/2023 I canceled the contract and received Email conformation (see document submitted). I also received email reminders that the contract would expire. However, I started to get attempts to charge my credit card for renewal fees. Two calls to try and find a solution at IONOS customer service were unsuccessful. I ask that the the BBB please help as this is very frustrating and contacting IONOS is very difficult for the consumer. Here is the account information; Name: ************************* Customer ID: ********* Email address: ***************** / ************************ Web Hosting Business Contract: ******** Date: 04/30/2022Term: one year Domain associated with hosting: gotagsale.com

  

  Business response

  05/08/2023

  Dear *****************************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am truly sorry your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and service that need the most attention.
  
  According to our records, our team has recently addressed your concerns. Although we did receive and process your request to deactivate the domain gotagsale.com, this terminated the domain only and did not deactivate the Web Hosting contract as stated within the confirmation email attached to you request. We understand that by briefly reviewing the cancellation confirmation, this information can be missed so as a courtesy, we have cleared the a balance due on the account and can confirm the account has been set for termination. The termination date has been set for 2 weeks out to allow for any data back up required. Upon termination all data, web files and any emails will be deleted and irretrievable. 
  
  We apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Should you require or wish to retain these services please via email to: [email protected]. 
  
  Once more, we apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

  Customer response

  05/15/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Please note that one feb 7, I requested to cancel services with Ionos(screenshot attached) My services would no longer be active as of May 2. Ionos continues to harass me with emails and invoices for money and still made an attempt to charge my card after I told them I do not authorize any transactions with them and any attempt on my card is considered fraud. This company still proceeded to this.

  

  Business response

  05/12/2023

  Dear ***************************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am truly sorry your experience with our company has not met your expectations. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  Direct feedback from the customer is an important resource as it helps us focus on the aspects of our products and service that need the most attention.
  
  According to our records, our team has been attempting to address your concerns. Although we did receive and process your request to deactivate the domain gracescatering.com, this terminated the domain only and did not deactivate the Web Hosting contract as stated within the confirmation email attached to your request. We understand that by briefly reviewing the cancellation confirmation, this information can be missed so as a courtesy, we have cleared the a balance due on the account and have set the termination out for 14 days for your Web Hosting service. This will allow any data, web files or email content to be backed up as once the contract is terminated all data, emails and web files will be deleted and irretrievable. A cancellation email confirmation has been sent to the email address on file.  
  
  We apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Should you require or wish to retain these services please reach out to our team via email to: [email protected]. 
  
  Once more, we apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

  Customer response

  05/15/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩