Adcenter Idiocy (Warning to anyone using a promo code!)

[Johu]

I just saw this on digg, and I'm making sure that I pause my Adcenter account before it hits the $200 promo code limit... maybe this is an isolated case - if it is, let me know. I'd rather not get the run-around that this guy did:

http://www.digg.com/tech_news/Micros..._read_invoices

[SonicReducer]

Billing errors happen with any service, it's not unique to Adcenter. I'm spending about $500/day with MSN and have no problems.

[ablaye]

$500/day on MSN?? Wow. That's a lot. You must be getting a lot of traffic.

[Landeweerd]

People make mistakes...

[xfiver]

I also used the $200 promo and did not get over it.
But somehow my balance is -$90 (negative). Does that mean they will charge me $90? Even tough I did not pass the $200 limit.

[ghoti]

I had this billing problem, too. I would suggest that anyone who has used a MSN promo code recently should check their credit card statements.

[adCenter411]

Hi everyone,
I apologize for this inconvenience. The adCenter team is aware of this issue with some promo codes and we're working to fix it. We will be issuing refunds shortly to customers who have experienced this issue.

I will keep you updated as I learn more.

Thanks,
adCenter411

[Claymation]

$500 a day, and you have NO problems?


Impossible.
I've never used a system so full of bugs and inadequacies as adCenter.

[Coupons]

This is really sad. A giant company like Microsoft should know better.

[SonicReducer]

Originally Posted by Claymation

$500 a day, and you have NO problems?


Impossible.
I've never used a system so full of bugs and inadequacies as adCenter.

Well, none that I have seen anyways. Maybe I am not watching my invoices closley enough.

[aeiouy]

I am going to have to go back and do some research to see if this happened to me.

[DruSam]

It's true unfortunately. I used the $200 promo code and I was charged that $200 for this month. I contacted adCenter, awaiting a response

[Coupons]

Isn't it possible to remove the credit card from the account?

[tvmatt]

I was the one who posted the original blog linked to in Digg. They still haven't fixed my issue. I was told that they credited everyone who had been overcharged, but since I never allowed the credit card to be overcharged in the first place, they have no clue how to remove the $100 overcharge from future attempted charges. I just want to pay my bill and leave, I never thought it would be this hard...

If any adCenter rep reads this, please let me know who I can contact to get this resolved... everyone I speak to at adCenter claims that actual people cannot touch the billing system.

[aeiouy]

I just checked my account where I got the $200.00 credit and it all was taken care of fine.

It would be nice if they actually showed the actual credit and billing in the transaction history but they don't. They just say it was consumed and it looks like the activity for the $200 never took place in the actual transaction log.

However, when I bring up my actual stats it reconciles with what they have billed me and giving me credit.

So if any MSN people see this, I think it would be a good idea to make sure the credit billing and transaction show up in the billing history.

[tvmatt]

Well, I finally agreed to let MSN charge me $121.28 and they said that hopefully I'd get the $100 error refunded to my credit card soon... but I couldn't get verification of that from the billing department (since they can't speak to customer service). Guess I'll just have to wait & see what happens from here...

[born2win]

I thought of using adcenter promo coupon next time when they announce on seeing all these things I better stay with Adwords itself. Thanks for this thread.

[MTbiker]

My account shows a $39 spend, well below the $200 coupon, and they are looking to bill me $7. ???

Not only that, one of my campaigns hit about $30 and it's on "budget pause" now. That's weird when the budget is $70 and set to spend until depleted.

[ghoti]

Well, I just got an e-mail from MSN indicating that they refunded me...but the e-mail is hilarious. It says:

To correct your account, we have:
- Applied a refund of $905621 to your credit card. This amount reflects the value of the promotion coupon consumed on the date of the incorrect billing. The refund should appear on your credit card statement.
- Updated your adCenter account balance. You will see this transaction in your online adCenter invoice within the Billing tab.

Woohoo! I'm rich!!

[mediology]

You need to learn to use adcenter just like adwords and yahoo/overture.
If you set your monthly budget to be spread across the month it will take your budget and average it out. So say it is $300 for the month it will give you $10 per day (if 30 days in the month) give or take a little.
Some days it may go to "budget pause" if you reach the $10 early in the day.
Also if you have "spend until depleted" or whatever the terminology is then it will run through the money until it is gone however if you have your end date set to the end of the month it still for some reason will budget pause if it feels you will run out of money before the end of the time period you preset.

After a few days of using it you will figure out how everything works and how to bid effectively and keep your account from pausing.

I used the free $100 and the results were really good so kept advertising. So the protional code worked for MSN in my case.

No problems with the service and their customer support is quick, freindly and has answered all of my questions.

Hope they fix everyones promo code issues!