Thousands of people have been duped by Facebook through exorbitant overcharging on its advertisements. You are shown a small amount on the screen when you book a Facebook advert, but the charges keep spiraling in the background. Many people have reported that their credit/debit cards have maxed out, as a result of systematic overcharging on ads by Facebook. This is no fake news; you can find tons of evidence of real life people who have been victimized by Facebook. Just search for ‘facebook ads overcharging’ and see for yourself. You will be surprised to know how Facebook is systematically fleecing people by overcharging them multiple times for adverts.
Facebook Ads Overcharging – How It Works
Let’s say you book a Facebook ad to boost a page and allocate $10 for the same. Facebook will also confirm that you have allocated $10 for the campaign. You are satisfied and are eagerly waiting for the ads to bear fruit. But then, something unexpected happens. You find out that your credit/debit card has been billed for a lot more; something like $100 or even more. You are stunned and not sure how to react. How could Facebook charge you $100 when you had allocated only $10 for the ad campaign? You are stupefied and have no answers.
No Customer Care Support
It’s shocking to know that Facebook does not have a dedicated customer support system. In case of any other company, you can immediately call the customer support number and get the issue fixed. But in case of Facebook, you just don’t know whom to contact or call. Facebook answers questions through their ‘Community’ platform, which is hugely unreliable and takes several days. If you have been overcharged by Facebook, there is very little that you can do to resolve the issue. You end up pulling your hair, as you cannot find anyone who could help you.
Your Credit/Debit Card Could Max Out– The Charges Keep Piling Up
And the worst part is that this is just the beginning of Facebook’s robbing spree. The charges keep rising and your credit/debit card gets billed incrementally. It does not stop at 5X, 10X, or 100X. The charges continue to rise till the time your credit/debit card is maxed out. Many people have suffered this fate and you can read these horror stories by Googling ‘’facebook ads overcharging’.
You Are Billed After Several Days
There is nothing much you can do, since the incremental charges are billed to your debit/credit card after several days. If your credit/debit card was charged in real time, you would immediately know about it. But Facebook ads charges keep accumulating and are billed to your credit/debit card after several days. For example, if you book your ad today, the incremental charges will show up after a week’s time. And there’s nothing you can do, since Facebook does not have a dedicated customer support team.
Many People Had to Block Their Credit/Debit Card
Since charges keep piling up and there’s no one to contact, the only option left for people is to block their credit/debit card. This has happened to many people who had booked Facebook ads.
Payment Options Include Only Credit/Debit Card
When you book a Facebook ad, the payment options you see at first glance are only credit and debit card. There are other options as well such as Digital Wallets and Net Banking, but these are not clearly evident. There’s a reason for this because Facebook wants to grab your credit/debit card information. If you use Digital Wallets or Net Banking, you will be authorizing one-time payment only. In this case, Facebook will not be able to charge you incrementally for the ad. This is why Facebook shows only credit/debit payment options on the screen. When Facebook has your credit/debit card details, it can fleece you to its heart’s content.
Facebook Is a Monopoly – It Can Cheat You at Will
Thousands of people have been cheated this way by Facebook and you could be their next victim. Facebook claims to bring people together, but what it’s really doing is robbing people of their money. Since Facebook is a monopoly in social media, it can dictate the terms and conditions to its advantage. Facebook also feeds on the weak Information Technology laws to find loopholes that allow it to cheat customers.
Competitors Are Gobbled Up By Facebook – Instagram and WhatsApp
Whenever any competitor has tried to emerge, Facebook has quickly gobbled it up like a greedy, hungry monster. This is being done to ensure that Facebook can continue to be a monopoly and keep cheating customers. Take the case of Instagram, which was acquired by Facebook in 2012. Next,it was the acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014. You should be careful about booking ads and making payments on these platforms since they are also a part of Facebook.
Tips to Avoid Being Overcharged by Facebook
Here are some things you can do to avoid being overcharged for booking adverts on Facebook.
- Do not share credit/debit card details: You need to avoid giving your credit/debit card details to Facebook. Use other available options that allow you to control the amount of money being charged. Digital wallets and Net Banking can help avoid overcharging by Facebook.
- Fix your credit/debit card usage limit: Some banks allow you to fix the usage limit on the credit/debit card. You can use this feature to limit the overcharging being done by Facebook.
Other Things to Remember
#DeleteFacebook:Due to recent privacy concerns related to Cambridge Analyticadata leak, the #DeleteFacebook campaign is gaining momentum. Why not delete Facebook altogether? Many leading personalities have already quit Facebook and you too can do it. Elon Musk, Will Ferrell, Cher, Jim Carrey, Farhan Akhtar, Rosie O’Donnell, and Steve Wozniak are among the ones who have deleted their Facebook accounts.For promotional activities, you can try other digital media platforms.
Last but not least, spread the word about the systematic overchargingbeing done by Facebook. Everyone needs to know about the evil being perpetrated by Facebook. Hopefully, governments and consumer forums will come to know about these unfair business practices and action would be taken against Facebook. The overcharging by Facebook for its adverts is quite similar to a scam. It needs to be exposed and stopped.