5 ms·

I lost $100K+ on AdSense due to what I believe is a nasty competitor seeking to get my account disabled. After making the case to Google, they said they would r

I lost $100K+ on AdSense due to what I believe is a nasty competitor seeking to get my account disabled. After making the case to Google, they said they would reinstate the account and pay me what was owed. I then suggested measures that we were going to take on our end to prevent competitors from doing that again, and lo and behold, 24 hours later the Google rep tells me I'm not getting paid. No lawyer was willing to take the case, because it's Google. I literally lost $100,000 because I suggested to Google that we would take proactive measures to prevent fraud. As if having the knowledge to do so meant we were committing fraud.

halflings 10y ago
What do you mean by "lost $100K+". Does that include revenue from potentially fraudulent traffic? The thing is, if it's impossible to tell if that traffic was fraudulent, Google is most likely reimbursing the advertisers. It's not like they are putting the money in their pocket.
- omarchowdhury 10y ago
  I had $100K in total earnings that were unpaid by the time the disable happened. We were getting regular payments beforehand.
Silhouette 10y ago
No lawyer was willing to take the case, because it's Google. That seems bizarre. The last account I read of an actual legal action against Google was a small claims procedure for a few thousand, and IIRC the conclusion was that Google basically didn't show up on court day and lost by default. I could understand not working on contingency if a lawyer feels the case isn't clear-cut, but no-one taking a six-figure case? Surely they must have had more than just "It's Google" to put them off if everyone was saying no?
- adventurer 10y ago
  Lawyers are really expensive. You would need to turn it into a class action or you would be blowing through a ton of money, up against the best lawyers in the game.
  - mbesto 10y ago
    Uh, if you are legitimately losing $100k, then spending $10k on a lawyer is...umm...not expensive?
    - adventurer 10y ago
      $10k would be extremely cheap? H3H3 is facing a copyright infringement suit. His lawyer sent him a bill for the month for $50k of prep work.
      - Silhouette 10y ago
        IP-related lawsuits are notoriously expensive, but what we're talking about here seems to be alleged breach of contract. The discovery process ought to obtain Google's records of ad views and whatever they're relying on to justify withholding the payment, and then either they have enforceable terms that allow them to do that or they don't. I know the US legal system has an awful reputation for costing lots of money that mostly only goes to the lawyers, but really, if you can't effectively enforce your rights even after being ripped off to the tune of $100,000, your legal system is literally worthless to any normal person. I find it hard to believe that even the US system is that crazy.
        omarchowdhury 10y ago
        I didn't reach out to many lawyers. After hearing a few not wanting to be David against Goliath, I just came to terms that I should not be building a business on a revenue stream like Adsense where an automated review can mean the difference between being in business and not, and moved on. I sense you may be implying that maybe I was breaking the TOS, but know that we were getting paid significant amount by Google already, and had no business practice change by the time we were canned at the $100K level.
- ballenf 10y ago
  Seriously. I'm a lawyer and I'll take the case. Since no one else wants it, let's do it on a contingency basis. (I am a lawyer, but that was not an actual offer -- just an offer to discuss.) Another would be to file a claim in small claims court for the max allowed there -- say $10k or whatever and see what happens. You could even represent yourself there after doing a few hours research. Judges will practically let you write your briefs in crayon in some jurisdictions.
  - throwawayhv 10y ago
    I'm a lawyer and I'll take the case. (Throwaway account because I'm afraid of retribution by Google...) How would a prospective client get in touch with you? (Edit: I am not the person you replied to...)
  - omarchowdhury 10y ago
    This happened in 2012. 5 years, would that be nearing the statute of limitations for this sort of thing, if there is one?

halflings 10y ago

What do you mean by "lost $100K+". Does that include revenue from potentially fraudulent traffic? The thing is, if it's impossible to tell if that traffic was fraudulent, Google is most likely reimbursing the advertisers. It's not like they are putting the money in their pocket.

omarchowdhury 10y ago
I had $100K in total earnings that were unpaid by the time the disable happened. We were getting regular payments beforehand.

Silhouette 10y ago

No lawyer was willing to take the case, because it's Google. That seems bizarre. The last account I read of an actual legal action against Google was a small claims procedure for a few thousand, and IIRC the conclusion was that Google basically didn't show up on court day and lost by default. I could understand not working on contingency if a lawyer feels the case isn't clear-cut, but no-one taking a six-figure case? Surely they must have had more than just "It's Google" to put them off if everyone was saying no?

adventurer 10y ago
Lawyers are really expensive. You would need to turn it into a class action or you would be blowing through a ton of money, up against the best lawyers in the game.
- mbesto 10y ago
  Uh, if you are legitimately losing $100k, then spending $10k on a lawyer is...umm...not expensive?
  - adventurer 10y ago
    $10k would be extremely cheap? H3H3 is facing a copyright infringement suit. His lawyer sent him a bill for the month for $50k of prep work.
    - Silhouette 10y ago
      IP-related lawsuits are notoriously expensive, but what we're talking about here seems to be alleged breach of contract. The discovery process ought to obtain Google's records of ad views and whatever they're relying on to justify withholding the payment, and then either they have enforceable terms that allow them to do that or they don't. I know the US legal system has an awful reputation for costing lots of money that mostly only goes to the lawyers, but really, if you can't effectively enforce your rights even after being ripped off to the tune of $100,000, your legal system is literally worthless to any normal person. I find it hard to believe that even the US system is that crazy.
      - omarchowdhury 10y ago
        I didn't reach out to many lawyers. After hearing a few not wanting to be David against Goliath, I just came to terms that I should not be building a business on a revenue stream like Adsense where an automated review can mean the difference between being in business and not, and moved on. I sense you may be implying that maybe I was breaking the TOS, but know that we were getting paid significant amount by Google already, and had no business practice change by the time we were canned at the $100K level.
ballenf 10y ago
Seriously. I'm a lawyer and I'll take the case. Since no one else wants it, let's do it on a contingency basis. (I am a lawyer, but that was not an actual offer -- just an offer to discuss.) Another would be to file a claim in small claims court for the max allowed there -- say $10k or whatever and see what happens. You could even represent yourself there after doing a few hours research. Judges will practically let you write your briefs in crayon in some jurisdictions.
- throwawayhv 10y ago
  I'm a lawyer and I'll take the case. (Throwaway account because I'm afraid of retribution by Google...) How would a prospective client get in touch with you? (Edit: I am not the person you replied to...)
- omarchowdhury 10y ago
  This happened in 2012. 5 years, would that be nearing the statute of limitations for this sort of thing, if there is one?