Consumer Complaints: Google Bills Incredulous Non-Customer for 3 Grand
Yikes. Reader Charlie Flint just wrote in with this horror story. The short: Google bills him $3,000 dollars for an Adwords account that he doesn't actually have. To our untrained eye, this sounds very much like someone has gotten his bank details somehow and is using Google Adwords to funnel money out of his account, but we're no experts. Can anyone with similar or not-so-similar experience tell Charlie what the hell is going on and what he can do about it?
The story's after the jump.
Earlier today I tried to get cash from an ATM, and got a "insufficient funds" message. Perplexed, as I should have had enough money to at least cover a $20, I skipped back to my office and checked my BofA account.To my horror, there were two charges, totalling more than $3,000, from Google Adwords.
Now... I don't have a google adsense account. I didn't really even realize what it was until I logged on to their site (its those little ads all over sites).
I call my bank. I can't actually dispute the charges yet because they're "pending" and haven't actually been debited from my account. They recommend I contact Google.
I do so. They seem at a loss. They show no accounts related to either of my email addresses, nor the one URL I "own" (a personal website... I am just a regular working class joe... I own no businesses, nor do I want to assume the costs of promoting the ones I work at). The best they can do, I'm told, is have someone in Billing investigate it. Could take up to 48 hours.
Frustrated and dejected, I call back BofA. Can I cancel my card and put a freeze on my account? Yes... but if Google were to figure out their error and want to do a chargeback or credit to my card, they'd be unable to. And at this point, I can't afford to wait on them sending me a check after figuring out whatever's happened here. I'm already going to be overdrawn by $3,000 thanks to these two charges.
So now I wait. I wait for my account to become "officially" overdrawn when the transactions clear "pending" so I can dispute them. Wait for the $ to be credited as the result of the dispute. Wait for Google to get back to me on why I've been charged $3k for something I'm utterly unfamiliar with. Wait to buy groceries, since I certainly can't use my debit card. Wait to see what else bounces while I'm in this "negative zone."
Maybe I should buy google adwords for "bad customer service."
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Comments:
Charlie, you should probably cancel your debit card regardless, because clearly *someone* has that information & is using it to get Google to bill you. You may need to switch over your checking account too.
I would say it is a little early to be claiming bad customer service. Just from the breif account, it sounds to me like they have been trying to help. Things like this happen, and can take a little hassle to resolve.
The bigger measure will be what happens in the next few days...
For example, will the bank forgive NSF fees? Will Google be able to clear it up? If the bank makes you eat NSF fees will Google pick them up? If it is ID theft, will they both help you protect yourself? Or will they treat you like it is all your fault?
Give them a chance to make it right before you complain about bad customer service.
I have no official or profitable connection with BofA or Google - although I *use* Google every day...
To Valkraider's point, Google actually has been relatively responsive. I imagine that hearing "it'll take 48 hours to get back to you" caused me to hyperventilate a bit, given that $3k was on the line.
They got back to me last night, though. They've identified that the charges were fraudulent, and have advised me to work with my bank to dispute/reverse the charges. Unfortunately, that's all they'll tell me... not what account my card was associated with. No user names, addresses, etc, etc, etc to help me actually sleuth where my information was compromised. (In fact, they said without a subpoena they wouldn't release any other information at all)
So... now I'm working with Bank of America, an organization that Consumerist readers will know isn't exactly known for it "consumer first" thinking.
I have to wait until each fraudulent charge actually "clears" (versus being "pending"). One cleared last night, so I've disputed it, and those monies will be temporarily restored to my account (or more accurately, I'll be that much less in the hole). Once the second charge clears, I'll do the same with it.
Hopefully, since BofA is aware of the situation, I won't get smoked with overdraft charges for anything that comes in during this limbo period.
I've also killed my debit card (which is what was charged), and my account has been "frozen" for 24-48 hours while they do that. So... the only way I can tell what's going on is to call them, as I can't access the website during the interim. Mind you, no real complaints about that, since I can respect the need to establish some security around the account.
Bottom line... this appears to be a case of credit card fraud/id theft, versus anything Google has actually done wrong. It is, to be sure, a HUGE pain in the rump.
Appreciate any advice from others who've had similar issues, if there are any "safety steps" I haven't taken yet, but should
Charlie
Pay with Cash :)
A way for me to monitor my spending is to use cash. It's very different than just swiping a card... I get into trouble with that. I always keep a decent stash in my apartment.
Yikes. That's horrifying. A poorly (or aggressively) configured AdWords account can quickly run away with your wallet if not properly monitored.
Charlie, can you check your online banking history and see if you can find a $5 charge from Google any time in the last month or so? Google charges a $5 fee to activate an AdWords account, so finding that fee might give you at least some idea as to when this exposure of your account info occurred. If you don't find that fee at all, my hunch would be that the exposure just happened and they billed the $5 along with your initial click traffic.
In any case... damn. So sorry to hear about this.