I have used several domain and hosting companies over the years including fasthost and webfusion, 1and1 are by far the worst, I brought a domain from them unfortunately I got a chance to use the name and was going to just let it expire. Little did I know that 1and1 set up expensive auto renewals plus they dont tell you prior to the renewal that they are going to renew the domain on you behalf. The first I heard about the renewal was a demand from a German solicitor asking for nearly a £100 for a domain I didn't want. This company must be earning millions from this shady tactic, there renewal cost are more than the original sign up cost. What a switch sell! Stay Clear.