Deceptive billing practices.
I attempted to allow a 1 year domain name registration to expire, but 1&1 Internet Inc (aka 1and1 dot com) claim that they can renew the service and if no form of payment is available on file, invoice you for the difference. On their invoice, they threaten 3rd party collections and additional fees of $18.95 if you do not pay. I dispute that a creditor/debtor relationship is created.
Why exactly do I say their billing practices are deceptive?
1. They know that most casual purchasers of domain names shop around, and won't bother to read the Terms and Conditions because they don't normally vary much from registrar to registrar. This practice is designed to obscure the real intent, which is to trap you in their contract terms.
2. The contract is difficult to cancel, requiring multiple odd steps, emailed request confirmations and delays in getting final confirmation that it was indeed cancelled.
3. If your product is approaching renewal, you will not get an invoice. You will be sent an invoice ONLY after it is too late to cancel. Once you have received the invoice they will operate as if you have borrowed money from them, failed to pay, and you can't return or cancel the product. You are now subject to 3rd party debt collection.
4. They will not do anything to soften the blow, reverse the invoice, offer an incentive credit - it will be ""We apologize for the inconvenience, but the contract says X, Y, Z."". In my case, they said I was ignorant.
I may have been ignorant of their unusual terms and conditions, and that is my own fault. However, they could handle this kind of scenario much better and in a way were I would not have resorted to having my attorney send them a cease and desist letter.
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