Ripped Off Consumers

FTC Revised Guides for Online Advertising and Marketing

Admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:38:52 +0000

Online advertising has to follow the same rules and regulations as other forms of advertising; rules and guidelines intended to protect consumers and businesses alike. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the United States Government agency responsible for enforcing these laws.

In its simplest form, the entire concept is this:

Advertising must tell the truth and not mislead consumers.
In addition, claims must be substantiated.

Readers should note that this does not reflect a change in the laws or regulation, but in the Guides to compliance as issued by the FTC. The last time the FTC revised the Guides was 1980. This latest revision goes into effect today, December 1, 2009.

The following News Release was issued by the Federal Trade Commission. It is published here in its entirety. The original can be found at http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

For Release: 10/05/2009

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials

Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act.

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.

Celebrity endorsers also are addressed in the revised Guides. While the 1980 Guides did not explicitly state that endorsers as well as advertisers could be liable under the FTC Act for statements they make in an endorsement, the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement – or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers. The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.

The Guides are administrative interpretations of the law intended to help advertisers comply with the Federal Trade Commission Act; they are not binding law themselves. In any law enforcement action challenging the allegedly deceptive use of testimonials or endorsements, the Commission would have the burden of proving that the challenged conduct violates the FTC Act.

The Commission vote approving issuance of the Federal Register notice detailing the changes was 4-0. The notice will be published in the Federal Register shortly, and is available now on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release. Copies also are available from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,700 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

MEDIA CONTACT:: Betsy Lordan
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-3707
STAFF CONTACT:: Richard Cleland
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3088

(FTC File No. P034520)
(endorsement testimonial guide.wpd)

Tags:Advertising,advertising rules,Blo,celebrity endorsements,endorsers,Federal Trade Commission,Fraud,Ftc,ftc act,Marketing,simplest form

1and1 Incompetence, Victory?

Admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:56:09 +0000

I am very sorry I have not updated in awhile. To be brutally frank, I was almost afraid to write this post, as if it would jinx my good fortune.

You see, after all of my months of complaining and screaming and demanding, I finally got results! David Rubel admitted all of the errors and apologized for all of my troubles. He was very conciliatory, even offering some substantial monetary concessions to make up for all of the aggravation they caused me.

He does, however, continue to insist that I register a credit card or PayPal account with them. He holds that that is a requirement to maintain an account with them.

I continue to refuse to do it, on the grounds that even now I have NEVER received a correct invoice from them.

I think my main concern is that I cannot get any sort of account information from the website that actually reflects the transactions and reconciliation. Even now, if I go to my account and simply add up all of the invoices and credits showing there, nothing matches reality.

I will continue to keep a close eye on my account, and I will be ever vigilant to cancel every domain exactly according to their procedures. I will continue to save every email and make sure I can identify which Cancellation ID goes with which domain, since nothing in their system can correlate those for you.

I plan to post some step by step instructions for canceling domains at 1and1 in the near future. Not their standard crap, but how to successfully cancel a domain and maintain the necessary proof that you did it so when they experience “system difficulties” you can prove them wrong.

I am still not happy with 1and1, because of the absolute nightmare I had to go through to force them to fix their own mistakes, but I have proven that if you are willing to make enough noise, they will capitulate!

Tags:1and1,Absolute Nightmare,Cancellation,Concessions,Crap,Credit Card,David Rubel,Domains,Email,Good Fortune,Incompetence,Invoice,Invoices,Necessary Proof,Nightmare,Proof,Reconciliation,System Difficulties,Victory

1and1 Incompetence, Day 143

Admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:28:15 +0000

As of today, there has been absolutely no additional activity in my account. The credits promised by David Rubel have not appeared in my account and a corrected invoice has not been issued, so i still do not have anything to pay.

And yet, they are trying to bill me! For what, I wonder, since there is no indication anywhere in my account of actual current charges!

April 30, 2009 3:03 AM:

Dear Brian Gothard,

We recently contacted you regarding a declined payment or an expired credit/debit card and have not yet heard back from you. Our records indicate that there is an unpaid balance in your 1&1 customer account: KXXXXXXXX

A recent payment may not have gone through due to a simple error, such as an expired credit card or incorrect settings in your PayPal account.

Please update or correct your billing information in your 1&1 Control Panel within the next 7 days to avoid any downtime of your package.

In order to do this, please go to https://admin.1and1.com

1. Log in to the Control Panel with your customer ID or a domain name from one of your packages and your password.

2. On the ‘Account’ page, click on ‘User Settings’ > ‘Payment Method’ and select the payment method that you are currently using.

If you are using a credit card, select ‘Credit Card’ and proceed as follows:

Check that your payment details are correct. If they are correct as is or if you re-enter the same credit card details, please send a reply to this e-mail confirming that you have checked the current information and no update on your part is required. We will then charge the outstanding balance to your credit/debit card.

If your payment details are incorrect or outdated, please update your information and click on ‘Save’. There is no need to contact 1&1 as a new debit will be attempted automatically.

If you are using a PayPal account, please select PayPal and then click ‘Go to PayPal’.

Log into your PayPal account and verify your data under ‘My Account Profile’.

Please make sure to update your information in the next 7 days to avoid downtime. If we do not receive full payment in 7 days, we will freeze your 1&1 package(s) in accordance with our terms and conditions. If your package(s) are frozen it may take up to 1 business day to reactivate them once the matter is resolved.

Please be aware that if this matter is not resolved, you may be sent to a debt collection agency. If the account is sent to a debt collection agency an $18.95 charge will be added to the unpaid balance.

For further details, please find attached a payment reminder note in PDF. It can be opened and printed with the help of the Acrobat Reader. Click here to download Acrobat Reader:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

If you have any questions, you can e-mail us at 1&1 Internet Inc. billing@1and1.com.

Or you can reach us Monday through Friday (except holidays) 9am to 5pm EST at 1-877-300-8316 when calling from within the US or Canada. International customers can reach us at 1-610-560-1621. Your normal long distance calling rates apply.

We will be glad to assist you in clarifying any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Your 1&1 Team
1&1 Internet Inc.
www.1and1.com

And I forwarded it to my list of a dozen or so email addresses at 1and1 with the following reply:

And this is my reminder that once again you have not followed through on your promises.

There is still not a VALID, CORRECT invoice in my account available for payment.

There is no indication in my account that any additional credits have been issued.

There is still a Late Fee showing in my account.

There has, in fact, been absolutely no change in the two weeks since I was promised a resolution, proving that you never intended to do anything more than convince me to give you a credit card so you could STEAL money from me.

1and1 is once again proving my point that you cannot be trusted with any automatic access to my payment accounts.

This message states that you “have not yet heard back from” me. Well, you have heard from me repeatedly and loudly. You just choose to ignore me.

You are still proving either your incompetence or your larceny.

And since you still cannot get your act together and supply me with a valid invoice, I expect any day for my account to lock up again, once again denying me access to that which I legally own.

ANY limits placed on my access to my completely paid domains will be fully documented to support my case against 1and1 for breach of duty, breach of trust and breach of contract.

I suggest you familiarize yourself with:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-breach-of-trust.htm

http://www.yourdictionary.com/law/breach-of-contract

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Breach+of+contract

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breach_of_duty_in_English_law

That is the short list. I am sure there are plenty of angles. You have done such an atrocious job of handling this problem that the hard part will be deciding which direction to come in from.

I am sick of useless promises and lies.

Is there a single competent person in your Billing Department?

Brian Gothard

Stay tuned for further developments!

Tags:1and1,5pm,Bad Customer Service,Billing Department,Blo,Credit Card,Cust,Customer Id,Customer Service Nightmares,David Rubel,Domain Name,Domains,Email,Email Addresses,Fraud,Fraudulent Activities,Incompetence,International Customers,Internet Inc,Invoice,Monday Through Friday,Outright Fraud,Reply

1and1 Incompetence, Day 136

Admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:10:03 +0000

April 23, 2009 2:41 PM:
From David Rubel, 1and1 Billing Manager:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

This is David, billing department supervisor. We are going to credit your account $152.83 and zero out your balance. We will also require you to update your payment method to a valid credit or debit card using the process below. If you do not do this we will unfortunately have to cancel this account as we require a valid payment method on file. I truly do apologize that this occurred and hope we can regain your trust as a valued customer once again.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
David Rubel
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

NO customer service skills whatsoever! STILL making demands!

9:12 PM My Reply:

That is unacceptable.

Once again, you choose to antagonize me.

I have tried to be reasonable about your incessant failures to act in an ethical and professional manner, but you always choose to issue some form of threat, as though I were the one who caused all of these problems in the first place.

Just in case you haven’t noticed, I do not trust you.

As I have repeatedly stated, you have proven your inability to properly invoice, and the time it takes to correct errors is ridiculous. You cannot be trusted with access to my accounts on any automatic basis.

You say you require a valid payment method. I require a valid billing method, which you have yet to supply.

I have NEVER received a correct invoice from 1and1 on this contract. Not one.

Even now, today, there is not a single correct invoice in my contract. You have never once shown me that you are capable of issuing one. Now you expect me to trust you to bill me properly. Not a chance!

I am more than willing to pay any proper and correct invoice, but I do not trust you to automatically charge the correct amount.

I have absolutely no reason to believe that I will not be billed for domains I cancel following your stated procedures.

You have billed me for almost EVERY domain I cancelled, and then taken almost a month to figure it out and issue the credit.

I do not intend to let you fraudulently charge my credit card every month, then fight to get my money back.

If you want to regain my trust, issue an invoice for $53.94. When I verify that it is valid, I will pay it. You will never have to worry about me owing 1and1 another penny, I assure you.

I can also assure you that any attempt to cancel my account will be addressed by my attorney, and will result in escalated complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. I have plenty of documentation to prove your breach of trust.

If you cannot handle this, have your boss contact me, as I have requested time and again.

Most Sincerely,
Brian Gothard

Am I being unreasonable here? Should I just trust in their promises to fix the issue and correctly charge my account from now on?

RIIIIGHT!!!! KEEP READING!

Tags:1and1,Bad Customer Service,Billing Department,Billing Manager,Billing Method,Blo,Credit Card,Cust,Customer Service,Customer Service Nightmares,Customer Service Skills,David Rubel,Domains,Federal Trade Commission,Fraud,Incompetence,Internet Inc,Invoice,Reply

1and1 Incompetence, Day 134

Admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:00:58 +0000

April 21, 2009 8:13 AM:
From David Rubel, 1and1 Billing Manager:

I apologize, please be patient as we work on this issue, pelase be assured we are still working on this and will get back to you as soon as possible.

Tags:1and1,Billing Manager,Blo,David Rubel,Incompetence

1and1 Incompetence, Day 133

Admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:58:55 +0000

April 20, 2009 2:51 PM:

There has been no further activity in my account, no update, and no answer to any of my questions for a period of six days.

Tags:1and1,Bad Customer Service,Billing Department,Blo,Customer Service Nightmares,David Rubel,Incompetence,Invoice

1and1 Incompetence, Day 127

Admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:49:10 +0000

After yesterday’s promising exchange with David Rubel, 1and1 Billing Manager, I was absolutely livid to receive this:

2:41 AM From 1and1 Billing:

Dear Brian Gothard,

We are writing to inform you of a matter requiring your attention. We regret to inform you that your current PayPal merchant agreement limit is not sufficient to cover your recent invoice at 1&1.

Please take a moment to log into your 1&1 account and update your PayPal account limit as soon as possible, so that we can continue to offer your 1&1 services without interruption.

Please follow these instructions to update your 1&1 account limit:

1. Log into your Control Panel at https://admin.1and1.com, using your Customer ID, or a domain name from 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 marking the ‘PayPal Billing Agreement’ box.

For any other billing-related questions, please send an e-mail to billing@1and1.com. Or you can reach us Monday through Friday (except holidays) 9am to 5pm EST at 1-877-300-8316 when calling from within the US or Canada. International customers can reach us at 1-610-560-1621. Your normal long distance calling rates apply.

We will be glad to help you with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Your 1&1 Team
1&1 Internet Inc.

http://1and1.com

THEY TRIED AGAIN TO CHARGE ME $341.62!

I forwarded it to billing@1and1.com

12:23 PM:

Mr. Rubel,

This is exactly why I will not allow any automatic access to my PayPal or credit card accounts. Even though you claim the problem is being addressed, your system is still trying to charge me $341.62, when I owe you a grand total of $53.94.

Whatever you are doing, it is not working.

1:43 PM:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

In regards to the failed pay pal debit response you got today. The system automatically tried to charge the incorrect invoice and declined today. We will not attempt to charge that invoice again.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
David Rubel
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

Am I the only one who thinks that a COMPETENT person would have anticipated this and made some effort to stop it BEFORE the system automatically STOLE money from a customer?

He admitted yesterday that the invoice was completely wrong, but did not stop the charges?

And notice: NO attempt at an apology!

Keep reading… It gets better!

Tags:1and1,5pm,Bad Customer Service,Billing Department,Billing Manager,Blo,Canada International,Credit Card,Credit Card Accounts,Cust,Customer Id,Customer Service Nightmares,David Rubel,Dear Brian,Domain Name,E Mail,Fraud,Fraudulent Activities,Grand Total,Incompetence,International Customers,Internet Inc,Interruption,Invoice,Merchant Agreement,Monday Through Friday,Outright Fraud,Pay Pal,Paypal Account

1and1 Incompetence, Day 126

Admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:19:43 +0000

After my last instructions to David Rubel, I began seeing credits issued in my account. On Saturday even, which surprised me.

But the credits did not add up to the fraudulent charges, so I tried again.

On Monday, April 13, 2009:

11:56 AM

I have received several credit notes. Thank you for issuing those.

Those credits, however, do not address the original improper billing for the domains about which I have been complaining since January 10.

The rest of the April invoice is also still incorrect. Your system confirmed that every one of those domains would be canceled, and I have all of the confirmation emails.

I submitted the solution below. It is your decision as to whether to use it or not, but as I have repeatedly told you, I owe 1and1 a grand total of $53.94.

I have explained it in terms that an elementary school student can understand it.

I await the rest of my credits, and instructions for paying $53.94.

Brian Gothard

2:30 PM David Rubel:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

Invoice number XXXXXXXXX went to a collection agency as we were never able to process the charge. We contacted our collection agency and wiped the balanced owed with them and terminated the invoice on our end. Since we never charged you that amount and the invoice has been wiped, that invoice is no longer an issue. Invoice number XXXXXXXXX was also entirely credited by us.

I understand the domains you want to keep with us and pay for were charged on both the invoices I previously stated and both invoices have been already either wiped or credited. Right now the main issue lies with the newest invoice which have been removed from our system already.
i took a look at the invoice and on my end the entire invoice does indeed look to be incorrect.

Due to the complicated nature of this case I just want to get your feedback on this assessment to make sure there is no confusion before I go a head and begin solving this and making sure the crediting is done properly

I just want to keep you informed and to let you know we are working on getting this issue resolved and fixed. I am very sorry this happened.
This should have been resolved a long time ago and will work on this until it is resolved fully. Once again i deeply apologize about how complicated this has become.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
David Rubel
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

3:55 PM My Reply:

THANK YOU!!! This actually sounds like you are paying attention now. I am tired of being told I did something incorrectly when it is 1and1′s fault this happened in the first place. I am a professional Management and IT Consultant. I could teach every one of you something about how to treat a customer, because I have been absolutely abused.

You are correct that the charge would not process. When I could not get a resolution in January, I canceled your access to my PayPal account to avoid incorrect charges.

But that January invoice is still listed in my billing overview, without a credit, so from my end it appears to be active. No matter which Invoice I choose, the “Payment Details” button only gives me information on the same credit item.

If there is some useful version of my account information that actually reflects the status of my account, please tell me how to find it.

I will wait as patiently as possible for your resolution to complete, but I am understandably very short on patience at this point. I have been told on several occasions that this was being fixed, and it has not happened yet.

As long as in the end my account shows an amount due of $53.94, and the Late Fee is gone, I will be content. Assuming, of course, that my domains are properly represented.

Once we reach that stage, how do you propose I pay you? I will not allow any automatic access to any of my accounts. I still do not trust your systems. No matter how hard I try, it is impossible to successfully cancel a domain with 1and1, as evidenced by the April invoice. I prefer to maintain control of my own money instead of having to convince you to give it back when this comes up again next month.

I will continue to cancel or transfer domains well in advance of their expirations, and I will keep complete documentation of every one, since I expect to have this problem every month.

I would suggest you take a serious look at your internal systems to find out why this continues to happen. 1and1 is infamous for it.

It sounds like things are going well, right? I thought so, too, but read tomorrow’s entry because THEY TRY TO CHARGE MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT AGAIN!

Tags:1and1,Bad Customer Service,Billing Department,Blo,Cust,Customer Service Nightmares,David Rubel,Domains,Email,Fraud,Grand Total,Incompetence,Internet Inc,Invoice,Invoices,Reply

1and1 Incompetence, Day 123

Admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:04:26 +0000

I changed up my post numbering. “Part” was just not reflecting the extent of this situation.

April 10, Day 123 of my 1and1 Nightmare:

7:47 AM

David Rubel, 1and1 Billing :

Please call me at 877-300-8316 Extension 2525 or please provide me with a numebr and time I can call you at so i can assist you in resolving this issue.

10:51 AM My Reply:

No.

We tried that on January 13, and you lied to me. I will only deal with you in writing, and very publicly.

I want your boss.

You told me you did not have the authority to fix this, and that “upper management” was looking into it. You specifically told me Damion Son was working on it.

Well, Damion is the one who had me sign and fax documents TO YOU to cancel these domains, and is now acting like these are brand new issues unrelated to that.

I think you are both liars and thieves, and nothing you have done has proven me wrong yet.

You have had every opportunity to fix this. You have proven that you are either incapable of or unwilling to correct your errors.

Besides, there is nothing I can add that you have not already received dozens of times and chosen to ignore.

I have submitted plenty of documentation that would allow you to fix this, and you ignored it.

I have explained it every way possible.

I have sent signed faxes and dozens of emails.

Every email, fax and explanation is now available to the public at http://RippedOffConsumers.org. And from the response I am receiving, they are on my side.

I keep getting messages from people who had similar billing problems with 1and1, and just gave up and paid the bill.

I don’t give up.

I don’t shut up.

For a very quick summary visit OPEN LETTER TO ANYONE AT 1AND1 WITH COMMON SENSE at http://rippedoffconsumers.org/1and1-complaints/open-letter-to-anyone-at-1and1-with-common-sense/

I sent you your own personal copy, but I guess you ignored that, too.

Just in case you “lose” this email and need easy access to the entire history, I am currently ranking number 1 on Google for “David Rubel 1and1″.

11:10 AM David Rubel:

We are attempting to process refunds for any double charges and other incorrect domains but we will not be able to fully help and figure out what is going on without being able to speak to you and resolve this once and for all.

Please provide me with a number or call me at the number I previously provided so we can resolve this.

12:04 PM My Reply:

You had your chance(s), and lied to me.

I do not trust you.

If it is necessary to deal with you to fix this, I will only do so in writing so there is absolutely no confusion. No more runaround.

I want your boss.

Attached is the fax I sent on March 10 at Damion Son’s request, fully two months after I began sending YOU the same information.

The necessary corrections to the April invoice are available in the email I sent TO YOU and everyone else at 1and1 last night, and at http://rippedoffconsumers.org/1and1-complaints/open-letter-to-anyone-at-1and1-with-common-sense/

If you want to go straight to the spreadsheet, just click here. http://rippedoffconsumers.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/summary_of_1and1_fraudulent_charges.htm

The explanations just don’t get any simpler.

Those documents are publicly available, and have already been spidered by Google, Yahoo, Live, and several other engines, so I don’t think you will have any trouble finding them.

No one has yet provided me with the answers to the questions raised in that document.

The only thing you could do by phone that you cannot do with those documents is antagonize me further.

Either fix it according to the provided information, or submit to me IN WRITING why you refuse to do so on a domain by domain basis.

If you are incapable of understanding those simple documents, have your boss take a look at them.

And I want an apology for the way I have been treated.

A REAL one, not just “we are sorry you don’t know how to use our broken and shoddy systems”.

12:18 PM David Rubel:

Dear Brian Gothard, (Cust: XXXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

We are issuing a refund for the following domains totaling 179.80. Also your transfer will be activated and processed per your request. If you have any questions comments or concerns please respond to this email.

4gclick.com
broadcastyoursite.com
businesspressroom.com
obamalies.org
christiannewsreleases.com
christianpressreleases.com
churchnewsrelease.com
churchpressreleases.com
lifesavingjobs.com
myformattedresume.com
myprbuddy.com
myreputationgenie.com
petdailynews.com
prnewsagency.com
prnewssource.com
publicitygenie.com
reputationgenie.com
restaurantmojo.com
resumecircle.com
zipmojo.com

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

–
Sincerely
David Rubel
Billing Department
1&1 Internet Inc.

2:26 PM My Reply:

That only fixes a portion of the problems, and creates another opportunity for 1and1 to get “confused” about the situation.

Your $179.80 credit would still leave $423.50 worth of bogus charges on my account.

Invoice XXXXXXXXX is the original problem. It should have been $35.96 instead of $188.79, per the fax I just forwarded.

You refunded the entire amount on XXXXXXXXX. I still owe you $17.98 for that one.

Invoice XXXXXXXXX is a complete fiasco. It includes double billing for the same domains from Invoice XXXXXXXXX, plus all of the domains I canceled during March. That invoice should be credited in full.

Plus there is a Late Fee in my account that I expect to be removed.

I owe you a grand total of $53.94, and have been trying to pay it for months.

I have been running multimillion dollar companies for 15 years, and it is obvious that this mess will continue to get worse unless drastic action is taken. This is not a problem that can be fixed within normal procedures. You let it get way too far out of hand.

Here are my suggestions:

To keep from creating more confusion and screwing up the account even further, CREDIT EVERYTHING. Get the account to $0 and start over.

1. You already credited XXXXXXXXX via XXXXXXXXX. Let it ride.

2. Issue a credit for $188.79 to offset XXXXXXXXX.

3. Issue a credit for $341.62 to offset XXXXXXXXX.

4. Remove or offset the Late Fee for $18.95. I would prefer it be removed completely, because it offends me to be accused of late payments when I have tried every way I know how to resolve this.

5. Issue a brand new invoice. I have created an identical format to your invoice, so it should be easy to understand.

Continued…

Tags:1and1,Bad Customer Service,Billing Department,Blo,Common Sense,Cust,Customer Service Nightmares,David Rubel,Domains,Email,Fraud,Fraudulent Activities,Grand Total,Incompetence,Internet Inc,Invoice,Nightmare,Outright Fraud,Reply,Upper Management

OPEN LETTER TO ANYONE AT 1AND1 WITH COMMON SENSE

Admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:10:11 +0000

I contend that 1and1 as a company consists of incompetent thieves and liars, and you continue to provide me with evidence of those facts?

The response below is typical of your “customer service”. Blame the customer and play stupid. I will try to make this as simple as possible.

This is a copy of the domains on the invoice you claim you will not be issuing a refund for.

Please address each individual line item with the exact reason the referenced Cancellation ID was not completed as your system confirmed it would be. I will be happy to provide each individual confirmation email sent by your system if you cannot find them. I kept copies.

Also explain why, if the cancellations were not completed as your system confirmed, the domains are no longer in my account, and are currently in “Redemption Period” status? I unlocked them, but all transfer requests are being denied.

Does ICANN need to look into that?

Also please explain how you were able to renew domains that were transferred to a competent registrar prior to the dates you claim to have renewed them. The transfers of 4gclick.com, broadcastyoursite.com, businesspressroom.com, and obamalies.org to GoDaddy all completed on March 15. How exactly were you able to renew the domains AFTER they were transferred?

Please also note that that is 7 days from the date the transfers were requested, when ICANN requires you to accept it within 5 days. I will be issuing individual complaints on those.

As for the domains with no Cancellation ID listed, please explain why over twenty requests by email and fax beginning on January 10 have not been sufficient to result in the cancellation of those domains. I received responses from Damion Son, David Rubel, and Brett Neally confirming that the signed faxes were received, and I have dozens of emails proving the same.

Those domains were fraudulently charged to my account in January for expirations in December, during a period of time when 1and1 denied me any means of canceling those domains, again in contravention of ICANN policy. I had absolutely no access to nor control of my domains for 7 ½ weeks. If I keep getting the runaround I will issue individual complaints to ICANN about each of those, also. That would be 277 complaints, but I am almost willing to do it already after the way I have been treated.

Do you truly want to continue providing more proof of your incompetence? Do you want me to continue to issue complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau, and ICANN?

Do you want me to join the growing number of people calling for a class action lawsuit regarding your unethical business practices?

Or would someone with at least a little bit of common sense like to take over and get to the bottom of this? I have done nothing wrong. I have made every attempt to explain your errors and get them fixed, and you keep blaming me for your incompetence.

Here it is as simply as I can present it:

(Spreadsheet moved to external page. Click to view Summary of Fraudulent 1and1 Charges.)

I do not want to hear from Damion Son, David Rubel or Brett Neally. I want to hear from their boss, whoever that may be. Or are you afraid you will get fired for creating this mess in the first place?

I Hate 1and1

Brian Gothard

http://RippedOffConsumers.org

—–Original Message—–
From: complaints@1and1.com [mailto:complaints@1and1.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 1:56 PM
To: Brian Gothard
Subject: C127942769 Re: Public Challenge Issued – Prove Me Wrong

Dear Brian Gothard, (Customer ID: XXXXXXXXX)

Thank you for contacting us.

The latest invoice that was generated on the account was for the domain

name renewal in the month of March. The previous issue was regards to

the invoice that was generated in the month of January due to the during

the transfer process.

Unfortunately we will not be refunding the account for the domain names

on the latest invoice on the account.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

–

Sincerely,

Damion Son

Customer Service

1&1 Internet

Tags:1and1,Bad Customer Service,Better Business Bureau,Billing Department,Cancellation,Cancellations,Common Sense,Cust,Customer Id,Customer Service,Customer Service Nightmares,David Rubel,Domain Name,Domain Names,Domains,Email,Federal Trade Commission,Fraud,Fraudulent Activities,Icann,Incompetence,Invoice,Proof,Redemption Period,Thieves And Liars,Transfer Request,Transfer Requests

Ripped Off Consumers

FTC Revised Guides for Online Advertising and Marketing

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials

Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Victory?

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Day 143

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Day 136

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Day 134

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Day 133

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Day 127

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Day 126

Related posts

1and1 Incompetence, Day 123

Related posts

OPEN LETTER TO ANYONE AT 1AND1 WITH COMMON SENSE

Related posts