Meta takes $40K, holds our business ransom
tidbyt.com
tidbyt.com
I'd use the payment method you used before, because that always worked, and then chargeback the old payment that clearly didn't work. How are they going to side with Facebook when you've got all that documentation that they don't recognise that payment?
Sucks to say it but having to double-pay this invoice may still be a better scenario than having the business fully banned from Meta Ads.
I get that there’s a real risk here that you could wind up out another $40k at the end of the day and your problem still isn’t solved, but if losing access to the Meta market is as fundamental a risk to the business as I took away from the post, then it seems to me like job one is to ensure that the business survives and that the (admittedly unpleasant) process of getting trued-up on the $40k is exactly the kind of thing that your lawyer is for.
(source: patio11 has mentioned more than once holding a handful of shares in companies he's a customer of to make him eligible to use that approach)
I'm not an expert on finances at all, but I'd pay using the old method, then chargeback. If they then cancel your account, they'd have to repay the new payment too, and I think someone there would start wondering why the hell they're cancelling you then.
Editing to add: One avenue that would probably work fairly well would be to get a lawyer to send a mean letter to Meta's general counsel. $40k is enough money to make the hourly rate worth it, and an attorney will be happy to help further if Meta tries to be punitive.
This 100%.
Why not? Why can't they just add something to their merchant agreements to the effect of "if a customer files a chargeback that's resolved in their favor, you may not retaliate against them in any way"?
As I think someone else mentioned, that would be a no brainer if you had no expectation of every doing business with them again but I wouldn't do that in this case.
Chargebacks are not as powerful as you think. Do enough and you won’t win anymore regardless of how right you are. Uber, Amazon, Google, etc will straight up ban people who do chargebacks with no recourse.
EDIT: I would strongly recommend you don’t do a chargeback and fix it some other way. It took me almost 200 days for Meta to restore my account and I was still out the money. If you need that account don’t charge back.
The issue arises when there is no other merchant, in other words - when there is a monopoly, or something close to it.
Which is exactly the case with Meta. That's the issue. If you are in U.S., please ask your representatives to take some anti-trust action and split this company once and for all.
What a great ad for Meta's regard for their customers. This company actively makes the world worse and anyone giving them a single dollar of revenue is participating in that.
Follow Tesla's example and delete your Instagram and Facebook accounts. "We have to use it for our business" is a lie people tell themselves.
I guess it makes sense - all the people who are excited about Tesla as a company don't need the ads. So, reaching people who just want to ... buy a car?
A business development manager at Meta saw this post yesterday and escalated the issue internally. They provisionally unsuspended our account this morning.
This afternoon, the collections team confirmed that they received our payment, and applied it to the account.
Thanks to everyone for their advice and input. For what it's worth, we'll definitely maintain a presence on Meta, but our team is taking a second look at TikTok for marketing.
I wouldn't say it works like magic, but I can say it has worked several times.
Which statute authorizes fee shifting for attorneys fees?
Not having recourse for being deplatformed sucks, but for the rest, take the Internet out of the equation and it's a bog-standard contract dispute between companies, that the law is well-equipped to handle.
Or sue / chargeback and end your relationship with the platform.
Either way it has become a marketing opportunity that is probably worth the 37k.
A couple of times in my life, I've had good luck contacting the office of Chairpman of the Board. I had problem with a debt collector of American Express, I was a financial delinquent in those days, and I contacted American Express directly. I asked for the Chairman of the Board's office, and talked to his assistant. I explained the situation about how I was being lied to by the debt collector, the assistant arranged to have the debt recalled to American Express, and I worked w/ Amex directly after that.
Another time, also w/ Amex, my friend's consulting invoice wasn't being paid my Amex in a timely manner. I recommended she contact them using the same approach, and an assistant helped her get paid.
More recently, I had a problem getting my tax return processed with the Internal Revenue Service. I complained to my Congressman, his office put me in touch with a tax advocate at the IRS, and everything was cleared up. This is the second time I needed to do this.
The goal is to get someone's attention because Facebook is so big.
Oh and a letter from a lawyer.
> Same exact situation. Millions in spend. Jumped over to TikTok.
> Nearly every time I interact with the ads products, I hit multiple bugs ...
If you have no serious competition you have no incentive to do better.