Complaints

This profile includes complaints for IONOS, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  IONOS, Inc.

  100 N 18th St Ste 400 Philadelphia, PA 19103-2704

  
• 

  IONOS, Inc.

  100 N 18th St Philadelphia, PA 19103-2707

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased ****** ****** emails through this company as they host my website domain. They are the reseller of my ***** email addresses and for 7 months I have be trying to move my emails directly to *****. I've conferenced with ***** they've explain all they have to do is log into their reseller portal and release me. The technicians of course are based overseas and have been no help. Due to to antiquated billing systems they have shut down my email several times for a 3 day past due payment without notice. I want to move my addresses back to ******* Please help me get my ***** back to ****** I no longer want ionos to be my reseller.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/17/2023

  Hello *************************, 
  
  Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and on behalf of IONOS, I am sorry that 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 service that need the most attention. 
  
  Upon review of your account, we have found that we were unable to successfully process payments. If a payment is unsuccessful, service will lock until the issue has been resolved. Once payments were processed the service was unlocked and available for use. In addition, it has been noted that you have been interested in migrating to ****** directly since June 2022. Our support team has provided the steps to do so and are more than happy to help facilitate. Our support teammate ***** followed up via telephone to assist you with this transition and has been awaiting your response. While we always aim to assist in the best way we can, as ****** Workspace is a 3rd Party, we are limited in the assistance we can provide for certain requests. In order to address specific ****** Workspace questions, support is provided by ****** directly. Once the actions required to transfer are processed within IONOS, a consultation with ****** to complete the process is necessary. 
  
  Again, we are sorry to hear that the ****** Workspace service has not met your expectations and thank you for your feedback. Please feel free to reach out to our support team at [email protected] or via telephone ************** to complete your request. 
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/03/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  3/3/2023, Regarding not being able to use or access new and previous business emails
  
  
  I've had a domain name with Ionos AND a business email since January 2021.
  
  
  I called customer service at Ionos on 1/17/2023, to ask if I could continue with Ionos as my business email host, if I transferred my domain to another registrar/*******. I was told that, "yes" I could continue with Ionos as my business email host but I had to first, transfer my domain and then my business email could be connected, externally. I was told the process is simple and would take about 5 days. (Meaning, email downtime 3-5 days.) I was told that I would not lose my previous business emails, "they would archived." I did the transfer but when I called back, I was told, "you were lied to/we can't do that." I tried another customer service number and spoke with "****", who said that she couldn't help me either, she would not transfer me to a supervisor, then she hung up on me. I was told that customer service is only in the Philippines and NO customer service or corporate offices are in the U.S. I called back again and spoke to "******" and then a tech named "****" who said that he could, in fact, connect my business email externally. But, I would be required to "CODE", on my end. Not "simple" and I have no idea how to do that.
  I want access to get my archived emails, as promised. My business email name has been changed to a different name (by Ionos) and when I tried to enter a new password, as the Ionos site NOW requires, my email doesn't work and I have no access to previous important emails. In conclusion, I want to know if my domain/website is still linked to Ionos, in any way. I can't have a business email that doesn't work for months, who can?!!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/13/2023

  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 our support team has provided the correct information via email and telephone. A copy of the email is listed below. However, the domain has not been set up as an external domain at this time. In order to reactivate your email address, as a mailbox back up is available within your control panel, please visit ******************************************* for step by step directions. Our support team has attempted to reach you on the telephone number on file and have left a message, they will be following up later today. 
  
  Dear ********* *******,
  
  Thank you for contacting us.
  
  We are sorry to hear that you could no longer access your email *********@****************.com. As per checking, the reason why you can no longer access it is that it was disconnected from the domain and was renamed to ***************************@*************.info. In order to reactivate the said email address you need to reconnect it back to the domain name by adding the domain as an external domain on your IONOS account. Kindly refer to the link below.
  
  Setting Up an External Domain at IONOS
  *******************************************
  
  If you still need further assistance, please contact us by phone at 1-484-254-5555 (US), 1-844-296-2059 (Canada), +1 (816) 621-4796 (International), or simply reply to this email.
  
  You may also contact us via Live Chat from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm EST. Please make sure you are logged in to your IONOS Control Panel when initiating a Live Chat.
  
  ****************************** 
  Sincerely,
  Mart 
  IONOS Customer Service
  IONOS Inc.
  ********************************* * *********************************
  
  Again, we appreciate your feedback and will be forwarding your information to our Quality Assurance team for quality and training purposes. This team will properly address the agents handling this case and advise management for areas of improvement. Please contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected] with the subject line referencing the BBB Complaint:******** with any additional questions. 
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ******** ***** 
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  ********************
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/22/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
  
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  The response to me on BBB compliant #********, from IONOS, does not reflect what actually happened. The reason I was not connected to my business email for two months was wrong information, misdirection and poor service,- starting on 1/17/2023. This was not mentioned in the response, this make the IONOS response to me, not accurate and not reflective as to why I contacted the BBB. The response is deceptive and misleading. 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/27/2023

  Dear Stephanie Gardner,
  
  Here within IONOS we work to address our customer's concerns as quickly and as accurately as possible. However, while we aim to assist in the best way we can, there are times we are limited in the assistance we can provide for certain requests. As the domain is not registered with IONOS, the information available to IONOS is limited to public information displayed through the WhoIs Registry. The registry information shows that the domain is registered through ******, and the name servers are with ******. If you have name servers that differ from your registrar, the domain settings (i.e mx records) will need to be updated with the company that your name servers are set to. Our support team advised that the domain will need to be set up as an external domain within IONOS and to contact ****** to update the MX records. We understand that after contacting ******, they referred you back to the registrar ****** who then advised to contact Shopify. The set up process varies from each host provider and unfortunately, this information is not readily available based on the public DNS records. 
  We understand the frustration and apologize for the extended time to address your concerns. Typically, the change of registrar and reconnection of email is within the time frame provided by our support team however, this is also dependent on the knowledge of the domain settings. 
  We appreciate your feedback and should you wish to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected] or respond directly to our emails. 
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ******** ***** 
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  ********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/20/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
  
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: two unresolved issues are still pending.

  Also the response is not correct, I've had a domain with IONOS since January 2021. 

  Regards,
  
  
  
  ********* ******* 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/28/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have never worked with such a fiasco company in my life. There is never a simple solution. All you get is everyone you talk to has a different solution and escalation to fix the problem. You get charged for things you don't sign up for and later discover you have a bill. When you call about the problem of billing it's sent for investigation but never solved. Just recently, I was trying to redeem a domain and I was told I have a balance from the past. This was a balance I was told would be corrected. When I ask again, I am told they have no record of me calling. Nevertheless, I was told I would be given a discount on the balance and redemption of the domain. They made me pay the balance through a wire transfer which cost $25. I was told to call back and email proof of payment and I did. I was then told the redemption process has started and should be restored within 24-48 hours. Every time I call back I am told 24-48 hours. I called back today because I am fed up. Now I am told I have another balance of a product I did not ever use that was automatically added. They took my money without giving me what I paid for and was promised. They are crooks and no one knows what going on! I asked for my money back and now I am told they don't see the payment after they told me they did last week. After I complained, I was left on hold after an hour and a half of back and forth about the process and billing.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/02/2023

  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, a request to redeem your domain was made however due to an outstanding debt within IONOS, the request was placed on hold until the balance was settled. Due to the amount of time that has passed payment must be rendered via Standard Wire transfer. While our support team aims to assist in the best way they can, there is always room for improvement. The outstanding debt stemmed from two previously cancelled accounts in which our support team did not initially catch. We apologize for the oversight and have allocated the wire payment properly and cleared the remaining debt as a one time courtesy. In addition, we have forwarded this information to our Quality Assurance Team for quality and training purposes. This team will properly address the agents handling this case and advise management for areas of improvement. 
  
  All order restrictions have been removed. Should you wish to redeem the domain, please respond directly to our email sent to the email address on file for the account and will be happy to assist. 
  
  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused and look forward to your response. 
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/13/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Credit card fraud - I just discovered a charge on my credit card. It is for a business and person that I don't know. Apparently they also charged it last year for a small dollar amount and I didn't catch it then. It's impossible to reach anyone at Ionos who can help. I've called twice and each time they push me to the Security team and nobody picks up. And there's no email address.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2023

  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. 
  
  While we aim to help the best we can, we are limited in the type of assistance we can provide as the email address you are using is not associated with an IONOS account. We have attempted to reach you at the phone number provided within this complaint and have left a message. We are sorry to have missed you. In order to address your concerns further, please contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected] with the subject line referencing the BBB Complaint:********. 
  
  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused and look forward to your email. 
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/11/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had purchased a web hosting plan for one year, and about 100 domains for one year. After one year, i no loinger need the service and have not used their service and the domain is only extended if one pay for it. So why is the company charging me money for canceling a domain? the account system is purposely created so hard, that it is hard for anyone to cancel or delete a service. i have never requested for auto renewal of services and have not signed any documents for the same, however, the company is claiming that i owe them renewal charges. I am sure other customers also had the same experience from this company.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/21/2023

  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, due to the nature of our industry all services within IONOS are set to automatically renew as agreed upon at the time of the order. For our customers convenience, automatic renewal can be deactivated within the control panel. In addition, all notifications of the upcoming renewals are provided within the notification center of the control panel. According to our records, we received requests to deactivate a number of services however, the services referenced we did not receive a request to deactivate the auto renewal which is why the services renewed and the balance remained outstanding. 
  
  In accordance with our terms and conditions, domain name registrations are non-refundable, however as a courtesy, we have cleared the balance due for the domain renewals and reduced the balance due for the Web Hosting services as we did not receive a request to terminate until now. We have sent a ****** wire link to the email address on file to settle the remaining balance due. 
  
  I also wanted to confirm that when a balance is passed to collections, we stipulate with the collection agency that it have no effect on the customer's credit history and it is not reported to credit bureaus.
  
  If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: [email protected] or respond directly to our emails. 
  
  Once more, we apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/28/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  4 EMAIL were sent requesting the account to be closed, and still the customer service keep saying they didn't receive request.  Then one email says has to call their customer service for confirming request.

  Calling their number, just puts you on hold and then transfer to a Philippine center, where further wait happens and waste of time

  An email was send to me saying the final balance is now 86$ and i paid it as a courtesy.  I requested them to send me a final settled statement, but never received any 

  and after 1 hour they again send me another $176 bill.  
  

  I am waiting to see if I receive any further collection notice from them, and then I will file at the local PD for cheating and file a lawsuit against them as well. 

  Regards,
  
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/13/2023

  Dear *****************************, 
  
  We have attempted to reach you on the phone number we have on file and were unable to leave a message as the mailbox is not set up yet. We are sorry to have missed you. We have reviewed your account and found that while we did receive requests via email to terminate services, the Web Hosting Business contracts along with the domains on invoice ************ and ************ were not listed in the requests. As per our shortened domain dunning process (most common domains will terminate after 30 days of non-payment and the associated fees will automatically reverse) The final amount due was a reduction in the amount owed for the Web Hosting services as these services were active and available for use until termination date. Please note, IONOS does not bill for usage, rather the allocation of resources. 
  
  Please note, our cancellations team is available Monday- Friday, 8am-8pm, EST and can be reached at **************. In addition you are able to terminate services within the control panel. For directions on how to do so please follow this link: ************************************************************************************************************************************ We are sorry for any extended wait times as we work to address all customers as quickly as possible. 
  
  We have sent an email to the email address on file with more account specific information. When you have a moment please review, and respond directly to the email with any additional questions. 
  
  Once more, we apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/07/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  on 2/4/23 I registered a domain with IONOS. Almost immediatly I discovered this wasn't a good fit as the website builder was too restrictive for what I wanted to do. I called less than 20 hours after registering to speak to a rep to cancel. I was told that he would be lowering my plan and refunding all monies minus the domain name fee as it hadn't even been 24 hours and I requested the auth codes to transfer the domain. On 2/5/23 I received multiple invoices. On 2/6/23 I contacted IONOS again as my new host indicated the authorization of website transfer did not go through and its being restricted to await 60 days. On 2/7/23 I called again to IONOS and the first rep refused to allow me to speak to a supervisor, thus needing to call back again to get someone who would assist, After speaking with the supervisor ****, I was told that I was unable to transfer the domain for 60 days so I should go ahead and change my domain name and register that. Basically the resolution is the change the name of my business? I have been given multiple stories and no one at ionos has said the same thing. **** continued to compare me to other customers and attempted a verbal strong arm into the IONOS service. Currently I am now unable to use my domain for 60 days! This is entirely detrimental to buisness and if I was provided accurate information, I would have made different decisions. I am financially out of the monies paid to another, more customer focused provider as I can't actively use the website for 2 months thanks to Ionos.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2023

  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, registrars must impose a lock that will prevent any transfer to another registrar for sixty (60) days following a change to a registrant's information. Meaning, a domain that has been recently registered or transferred from another registrar is locked for 60 days. The lock is a part of the transfer policy from ICANN and applies to all registrars. We apologize that this information was not provided to you at the time of cancellation. However, while we are unable to process a transfer to an alternate registrar, you are able to add or edit your DNS in the event you wish to use external services with your IONOS-registered domain. For additional information on editing DNS Records please review this link: ******************************************************************************************************************************* Alternatively, you are able to contact our support team at ************ or schedule a callback within your control panel for a time that is more convenient to you. ***********************************************************************************************
  
  At this time I can confirm that your account has been downgraded to an Instant Domain contract only and the associated refunds have been processed to the payment method on file. We apologize for customer service received as we work to provide a positive customer experience at all times. We have forwarded this information to our Quality Assurance Team for quality and training purposes. This team will properly address the agent handling this case and advise management for areas of improvement. 
  
  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.
  *************************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/06/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have gotten statement of charges form ionos, for the amount of 120$ from a credit collections company, I disputed the charges because this debt was not mine, I also asked for proof of this debt, and they sent me a invoice with my name and address (from what I assume was from an old account I had) because I did use them at one point, however my information was stolen with the ******** leak, this was explained to the customer service agent he said that he will get it corrected. guess what! it was not corrected got another letter today telling me i now owe 180$ + 15$ for collection fee this is 100% illegal when the debt is not mine I want the debt dissolved since there was no real proof of debt aka no signed contract or anything with my signature on it.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/21/2023

  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.
  
  I want to confirm that the account in question has been confirmed fraudulent and we are having the balance removed from ******. The process of removing a balance from collections and clearing it from our system is not automated, so you may receive notifications about the balance still being due in the interim but these can be disregarded. I also wanted to confirm that when a balance is passed to collections, we stipulate with the collection agency that it have no effect on the customer's credit history and the balance is not reported to credit bureaus.
  
  If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us here in the Executive Solutions Team via email to: ******************************.
  
  Once more, we apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/28/2023

  [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 just wish this didnt cost me time and energy from my work causing monetary losses because of the harassing phone calls from radius
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/06/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hello! I hope you are well. I reached out to IONOS as I had only vocally agreed to sign up for the $15 a year domain hosting and not the $15 monthly local listings. I believe this was authorized without my explicit permission, and I am just now backtracking on the charges I've realized have happened continuously over the course of the past two years. I reached out to the company and they were only willing to refund the last payment and cancel the service, but I believe that it may have been over the phone authorization that was miscommunicated to me personally. Let me know if it is possible to receive a refund for the total of $240.00 that I was charged for the service. Thank you!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2023

  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. 
  
  As with all cases of this nature, we have reviewed your account history to check for any information available regarding your concerns. We found that the order for this product was processed through a consultation with an outbound sales teammate on Aug 9 2021, at which time an email confirmation was provided and subsequent monthly invoices were sent to the email address on file. The information available in our system shows the service in question was active and available for use since the order was placed, and no cancellation was requested until now. While we always aim to provide a high level of customer service, we are limited in the assistance we can provide for this specific request. Please keep in mind that it costs IONOS to provide the resources and tools associated with our products, as well as maintenance and security, and for this reason our charges are based on providing these resources, and not based on a customer's usage. 
  
  As the order was valid, paid for, and made available for use, the invoices also remain valid. Given the circumstances, we are unable to accommodate your request to provide a full refund for a service that was already rendered, and would not be able to provide refunds or compensation in addition to what was offered by our support team. 
  
  While we are unable to provide the resolution you are seeking, I hope this information helps explain our processes and policies regarding refunds for service. 
  
  Thank you, and we appreciate your understanding in this matter.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/05/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Contract including 2 domain names was set for renewal around January 27th, 2023. One of those domain names, which is not in use, was billed 4x the regular price hefty price for a product that is not in use.The contract was canceled a few days later (January 31st, 2023) as IONOS states on their website "30-day money-back guarantee: If you are not satisfied with a product you have ordered, you can make use of our money-back guarantee within the first month."I received a cancellation email that evening (that my contract would be canceled on January 31st, 2023) and my contract, as well as the domains were REMOVED from my account (rightfully so, as it's canceled).I contacted customer service as there was no pending refund and my products (2 domain names) were removed from my account. They refused the refund, stating it has to be canceled 3 days prior to renewal, which is ignoring their 30-day money-back guarantee, and "If you wish we can add the domains back to the account so you can use them until the next renewal."So they charge my card, accept the cancelation, and if I want to get those domains back on the account until the end of it's renewal, I have to ask them for this?How is this not an automatic process?Why is the 30-day money-back guarantee not honored?This is a multi-billion dollar company.Customer service just tells you to use their useless hamster wheel called the "help center" which gives you vague answers and directs you nowhere OR to call their outsourced off-shore phone centers that are impossible to reach.I've been with them for nearly 10 years now, 20+ domains (at least), but they're the SAME typical greedy, shady, large corporation that preys on hidden terms and conditions and auto-renewals, with terrible customer support. No different than *******.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2023

  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. 
  
  Upon review of your account, we have found that the domains in question have been registered since Jan 2021. There has been no change in domain renewal pricing since the time of order. Any change that has occurred in total price for the domains is due to VAT. While IONOS does have a 30 day money back guarantee, as these services have been active since 2021, this guarantee is not applicable. In addition, in accordance with our terms and conditions domain name registrations and renewals are non-refundable. This information has been described at the time of order. 
  
  IONOS allows for a termination request to be processed within the control panel. For step by step directions on how to process please review this link: ************************************************************************************************************************************ Please note, as all services are set to auto renew, in order to properly process a cancelation of a product we must receive your request to cancel at least 3 days prior to the renewal date, in order to avoid invoicing and contract renewals. 
  
  As a one time courtesy, we have reversed the associated invoice for the cancelled contract. Please allow up to 7 business days for the funds to be returned to your financial institution. 
  
  We appreciate the time you have spent with us thus far and again thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ***************************;
  
  Executive Solutions Manager
  1&1 IONOS, Inc.
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/03/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Account transaction 1/30/23 Hosting account purchased (money charged from card)I was then contacted saying that I owed a previous balance. I followed up and the balance was only $1. They then proceeded to send me an email asking me to wire the $1 through bank transfer. I replied and spoke with a representative that agreed the transaction fee would be more than the $1 fee so we agreed that we would ask for the balance to be waived so they could activate the current subscription. 1/31/23 I called back every day since and still the current subscription in which I payed for is not activated. 2 representatives hung up the phone and disconnected the line abruptly. I still have not had any correspondence from billing as the phone representatives say they are I. Another country and the office in America only has authority to change it. I have missed out on money as deadlines have past and still no correspondence from the billing department. It is simply waiving the $1 balance and activating current hosting subscription and I have waited all week for a solution. Im wondering how they sent me a request to pay via bank transfer but no one is able to take care of the situation at hand. A huge inconvenience.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2023

  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.

  As stated by our support team in order to activate new services with IONOS, any outstanding debts, must be settled. As a one time courtesy, the balance of $1.00 was being waived. We apologize for the length of time to address your request as all requests are reviewed by several teams and I can confirm at this time your order has been activated, effective Feb 7, 2023 and is available for use.

  For further clarity, during the order process IONOS sends the amount of your purchase total for authorization to your financial institution. Once authorized, this amount is placed on hold and removed from your available balance immediately. When you receive your invoice the transaction clears and the hold is released to us. This process can be confusing as some financial institutions do not reflect the initial reservation as a hold, rather it seems as though the funds have been pulled from the account. Then once the invoice generates and the funds are actually pulled from the account it may look as if there are two transactions for one order. According to our records the authorization hold was placed on January 31, 2023, and the funds were released to IONOS on February 10, 2023, after account activation. If you have further questions on this process, we ask that you contact your financial institution.

  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.
  **************************************