How I lost 550$ to Google

[parkerscott]

Before I set up my website I looked into adwords. I signed up, and played around with it a little. I made a test campaign which I believed to be just that something to try before you buy. I didn't care too much for it, and it was too expensive for my needs.

Today I checked my billing statements, and I found a 200$ charge from google. I had no idea where it came from until I checked another statement. Another 200$ charge but from google adwords. I log in to google adwords and apparently I have been running a campaign that looks like complete crap for a very long time. I havent noticed any positives from it on my website either.

I got on the phone with customer service, and they told me there was nothing I could do. I told them I was going to dispute the charge with my bank (not sure if i can do that) and they told me i would be banned from adwords.

Am I out of 550$ or am I banned from adwords? If I get banned from adwords can I count on being deindexed as well? They sure make it easy to get started and the 100$ free adwords is nice too, but its not cool when you have no idea you are paying for something you are unaware of.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Tyman]

I'm not 100% sure but if you dispute it with your bank and they close your adwords account, couldn't you make another adwords account? Only way this wouldn't work would be if they have rules against making another account so hopefully someone with more experience can answer

 

[3things]

From their perspective it's no more than user error, you didn't pause/stop your campaigns so the platform did it's job and the ads kept running.

Chalk it up to experience, and either pay it or lose your adwords account. The account won't have a bearing on your organic search position FYI.

I made a similar mistake once, set up a campaign at about 3am half asleep, went to bed, woke up to find I spent $3,000 not $300 running a test (which grossed $200 revenue). Ugh. My mistake though, so I ate it and moved on

Bear in mind that if you get an account banned you'll never be able to open another in your own name, or use the same home address, etc.

If you're going to need adwords in future don't lose this account now.

Sucks, but sometimes we have to learn the hard way through our own mistakes. It was your own fault :/

 

[JamesSJ]

There's a preference in Adwords to manually add funds rather than automate it. However it's tucked away in billing preferences. For anyone else out there - turn this on and there will be no nasty suprises!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[3things]

I'm not 100% sure but if you dispute it with your bank and they close your adwords account, couldn't you make another adwords account? Only way this wouldn't work would be if they have rules against making another account so hopefully someone with more experience can answer

Yes they have lots of rules to prevent that. You need a new name, cc, billing address and won't want to log in to that fresh seperate account from your usual IP address. They're good at catching this stuff. It's not worth burning the account over $550, esp when google in this instance has done nothing wrong.

 

[parkerscott]

From their perspective it's no more than user error, you didn't pause/stop your campaigns so the platform did it's job and the ads kept running.

Chalk it up to experience, and either pay it or lose your adwords account. The account won't have a bearing on your organic search position FYI.

I made a similar mistake once, set up a campaign at about 3am half asleep, went to bed, woke up to find I spent $3,000 not $300 running a test (which grossed $200 revenue). Ugh. My mistake though, so I ate it and moved on

Bear in mind that if you get an account banned you'll never be able to open another in your own name, or use the same home address, etc.

If you're going to need adwords in future don't lose this account now.

Sucks, but sometimes we have to learn the hard way through our own mistakes. It was your own fault :/

It was my fault, but I had no idea it was going on considering it was a (test) I wasnt even aware that i started the test either. If I would have known i would have stopped it early on.

I dont plan on using adwords though. I ran a 550$ campaign that did nothing lol. If Im banned from adwords but i get my money back im happy. If adwords is the only thing i have to lose i dont mind.

 

[BlakeIC]

well i am banned from adsense, didn't effect any sites i had

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

I doubt you will get your money back. You setup a campaign and put in a $100 voucher. When it was used up your credit card was charged. It is up to us to ensure we are profitable, or fail fast.

So you are out of pocket. Do you also want to be banned or not? AdWords is a pretty good traffic source, and IMO an even better source of real-time market intelligence. Maybe one day you'll want to use it?

 

[D11FYY]

I doubt you will get your money back. You setup a campaign and put in a $100 voucher. When it was used up your credit card was charged. It is up to us to ensure we are profitable, or fail fast.

So you are out of pocket. Do you also want to be banned or not? AdWords is a pretty good traffic source, and IMO an even better source of real-time market intelligence. Maybe one day you'll want to use it?

This guy seems a real ad word guru and I agree with him.
Just suck it up. It will no doubt help benefit you in future in terms of looking through the charges/possible ones. It is unfortunate, but it is not worth getting banned over.

 

[Mattie]

Unless you can afford to lose the use of Google ads for your business in the big picture, I would just pay for it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Unless you can afford to lose the use of Google ads for your business in the big picture, I would just pay for it.

Agreed, and in this case it's even simpler than that.

The $550 has already been paid.

You can dispute it, but you won't get your money back, and you'll get banned.
Or you can not dispute it, chalk it up to experience, and not get banned.

Either way, you're not getting your money back.

Sorry @parkerscott. I think those are your options.


Also, remember that you only think AdWords is too expensive because your revenues weren't higher than your costs. Maybe one day you can reverse that. So saying you'll never use AdWords because "it's too expensive" is a self-limiting belief.

HTH

 

[Joe Cassandra]

I did the same thing with FB ads. I wanted to run a test campaign and I thought I had put parameters on the days I was to run it. With FB ads, they bill in increments, not daily or anything.

Suddenly my CC gets hit with $300 in ads, I thought FB had ripped me off, I check my adwords account and it's still running in the background. You can't call FB only e-mail, so I'm emailing them (thinking, "It's $300, they make billions, they'll chalk it up to a rookie mistake.") All I got back was templated responses basically saying "It's not our fault you didn't run the ads as you thought. You didn't turn them off, sorry."

You can't lie and say there's a glitch in the system as these are some of the best programmers in the world . In the end, I had to eat it.

 

[firmwear]

It was my fault, but I had no idea it was going on considering it was a (test) I wasnt even aware that i started the test either. If I would have known i would have stopped it early on.

I dont plan on using adwords though. I ran a 550$ campaign that did nothing lol. If Im banned from adwords but i get my money back im happy. If adwords is the only thing i have to lose i dont mind.

I think you are making a mistake.

You do not plan on using adwords does not mean you will never consider using adwords in the future. In the future, you may need to use some other Google service in the future. Google is huge, and they have you by the short-hairs; it sucks, I know.

If you ban yourself and, later on, need some kind of Google service later you will be reduced to using fake names, addresses, and all other kinds of scam-artist tactics just because you will not pay for your mistakes now. $550 may seem like a lot now, but it will seem so small if you end up going this route, long-term.

The best businessmen never burn their bridges unless absolutely necessary, and $550 is not necessary. It is peanuts in comparison to protecting the integrity of your name.

If I were you I would ask for better terms, if cash is an issue, but definitely pay up. You will learn to beware Greeks (or Geeks) bearing gifts, and (for now) it will be an expensive lesson that you will not forget. Welch on your debts; then you have learned nothing and see where that gets you.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[JimClark]

I signed up, and played around with it a little.

That's the problem right there.

 

[parkerscott]

Looks like I will just have to chalk this up as a loss. There goes an entire months pay. Thank you google for making it exceptionally easy to set up an account, offer 100$ for an adwords campaign, and making a test campaign an actual campaign.

 

[CarrieW]

just for the future... whenever I do things online I make sure they cant get more than I want to give them... even if it means going to the store and buying a prepaid preloaded card...

buyer beware

I am sorry that it happened. I have yet to screw with adwords for fears like this. yea I know it doesn't matter if you are making money. but if you make a simple error like this it can really hurt you can get really burned messing with things you don't understand. technology just makes it that much easier to not understand the entire picture imo...

don't use your bank accounts or real credit cards for anything like this. the preloaded ones cost like $5 or something and then the same each time you load it. for the peace of mind you get not having shit linked so it can spend without you its worth every penny...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[parkerscott]

just for the future... whenever I do things online I make sure they cant get more than I want to give them... even if it means going to the store and buying a prepaid preloaded card...

buyer beware

I am sorry that it happened. I have yet to screw with adwords for fears like this. yea I know it doesn't matter if you are making money. but if you make a simple error like this it can really hurt you can get really burned messing with things you don't understand. technology just makes it that much easier to not understand the entire picture imo...

don't use your bank accounts or real credit cards for anything like this. the preloaded ones cost like $5 or something and then the same each time you load it. for the peace of mind you get not having shit linked so it can spend without you its worth every penny...

Yeah its a really really shitty lesson. Even better is that the 550$ i spent did absolutely jack shit. Im always aware of what I link my credit card too, but this didnt even cross my mind until it was too late. When I set up the "test" campaign I had no idea it was running or that I was getting charged for it.

 

[CarrieW]

Yeah its a really really shitty lesson. Even better is that the 550$ i spent did absolutely jack shit. Im always aware of what I link my credit card too, but this didnt even cross my mind until it was too late. When I set up the "test" campaign I had no idea it was running or that I was getting charged for it.

I have no idea what you mean by a "test" campaign... I have never been in it.

 

[parkerscott]

I have no idea what you mean by a "test" campaign... I have never been in it.

I dont either apparently. Thanks google lol

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[CarrieW]

LOL that was funny... the situation isn't tho, sorry you lost the money... at least be thankful it was a credit card and not a debit card. that would have been way way worse if they pulled it out of your checking account or something

 

[SerpKing]

Yeah its a really really shitty lesson. Even better is that the 550$ i spent did absolutely jack shit. Im always aware of what I link my credit card too, but this didnt even cross my mind until it was too late. When I set up the "test" campaign I had no idea it was running or that I was getting charged for it.

Don't blame the clicks, maybe the offer/product/service/store needs work. It's all a learning process

Good choice on eating it as a lesson and not making an emotional in-the-moment decision. It would be extremely short-sighted to dispute the charge with your CC provider. You will have way more expensive lessons down the road I'm sure

 

[Deleted21961]

I don't get it. You didn't read terms of service, so it's your fault. Take responsibility, pay what you owe them and stop crying.

Oh, and learn your lesson.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[parkerscott]

I don't get it. You didn't read terms of service, so it's your fault. Take responsibility, pay what you owe them and stop crying.

Oh, and learn your lesson.

Thank you for your wonderful hindsight captain obvious.

 

[1PercentStreet]

Thank you for your wonderful hindsight captain obvious.

No need to be rude.
You were complaining about being charged something you forgot about and he was simply stating to pay the fees.

It's your fault and you shouldn't play this side-walking/scammy way of charge backs. Pay the fee even if they ban you, you signed an agreement(checking the box).

 

[parkerscott]

No need to be rude.
You were complaining about being charged something you forgot about and he was simply stating to pay the fees.

It's your fault and you shouldn't play this side-walking/scammy way of charge backs. Pay the fee even if they ban you, you signed an agreement(checking the box).

Thank you for your contributions as well.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[mgore714]

There goes an entire months pay.

What country are you from?

I ask out of curiosity since you mentioned a month's pay. However, if it's a month's pay because you're under 18 then consider reaching out to Google and telling them that. Even though it's your screwup, you are not of legal age to enter into a binding agreement. Nevertheless, they will still likely ban you. Good luck.

 

[parkerscott]

What country are you from?

I ask out of curiosity since you mentioned a month's pay. However, if it's a month's pay because you're under 18 then consider reaching out to Google and telling them that. Even though it's your screwup, you are not of legal age to enter into a binding agreement. Nevertheless, they will still likely ban you. Good luck.

Thank you. I am from the u.s. and im an adult. It is my screwup but I do believe there was a bit of deception on their end. I also have no recollection of starting the campaign either. I remember signing up for adwords, and searching for keywords but I do not remember actually authorizing a campaign to start.

 

[SYK]

Thank you. I am from the u.s. and im an adult. It is my screwup but I do believe there was a bit of deception on their end. I also have no recollection of starting the campaign either. I remember signing up for adwords, and searching for keywords but I do not remember actually authorizing a campaign to start.

You're still partially absolving yourself of blame, man. It sucks but just accept your mistake. Taking responsibility for every action, good or bad, is an empowering thing.

Take note of how many people in this world apportion blame to others; then remind yourself you don't want to be one of them.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[parkerscott]

nah

You're still partially absolving yourself of blame, man. It sucks but just accept your mistake. Taking responsibility for every action, good or bad, is an empowering thing.

Take note of how many people in this world apportion blame to others; then remind yourself you don't want to be one of them.

 

[SYK]

nah

OK. Carry on with the self-pity then.